Meta's 'open' AI, data centers' hidden costs, and a $250M deal gone very wrong
About this episode
The episode discusses Meta's release of the open-weight AI model Glimmer, the implications of AI energy costs, and a failed $250M acquisition deal.
Meta released Glimmer this week, an open-weight AI model anyone can download and run on their own hardware — a contrast to Muse Spark, the company’s more powerful model that stays locked behind its own APIs. The release landed alongside a letter from Mark Zuckerberg arguing AI should be “for everyone” rather than controlled by a handful of labs, but as Equity’s hosts point out, the vision comes with some asterisks. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Rebecca Bellan take a look at Glimmer, Zuckerberg’s 6,500-word manifesto, and more of the week’s headlines, from the true cost of the AI industry’s energy needs to a $250M acquisition gone very wrong. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Who’s on the market for a $300 cocktail robot? Why Anthropic is adding watermarks to its generated text, and users are not happy. The potential cost Amazon’s planned data center in Texas and the startups racing to fix the grid…
More episodes of Equity
- Apple's Ternus era begins as Nvidia bets on the whole AI stack
- We're ‘dangerously close’ to dead internet theory according to Pangram's CEO
- Will TikTok and YouTube follow Meta’s new rules for teens?
- From the Spotify Mafia to the Lovable Mafia: inside Stockholm's founder network
- The DOJ is investigating a16z. What does this mean for venture capital?
- AI has a GPU pricing problem. Silicon Data wants to fix it.
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Equity podcast page.