The Tech Download

Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon says artificial intelligence is set to change the way people use smartphones, even if the devices themselves are not going away.Speaking to CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal on “The Tech Download,” Amon said phones will increasingly be operated by AI agents that can carry out tasks on behalf of users, from managing apps to interacting with services across the internet. He described agents as a major shift for the mobile industry, comparing their emergence to the rise of apps in the smartphone era.Amon also said new categories of personal AI devices are beginning to take shape, including smart glasses, pins, pendants and other wearables. He said glasses are a natural fit for AI because they sit close to a user’s eyes, ears and mouth, allowing models to process what people see and hear in real time.The Qualcomm chief also discussed what the shift means for the semiconductor industry, including the need for more powerful and efficient chips in phones, PCs, glasses, cars and other connected devices. He said AI is forcing a rethink of chip architecture as devices increasingly rely on a mix of CPUs, GPUs and neural processing units to run models across both the device and the cloud.Amon also pointed to memory shortages and wider supply-chain constraints as key challenges for the industry, while arguing that the rise of AI devices could bring new players into consumer electronics.Subscribe to “The Tech Download” wherever you get your podcasts.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

DeepMind COO Lila Ibrahim shares what’s working right now when AI meets the classroom. She explains how LearnLM has been infused into Gemini and why Guided Learning is designed to teach step‑by‑step rather than just “give the answer.” We discuss an early pilot in Northern Ireland where teachers reported saving ~10 hours per week, and why DeepMind is pushing a teacher‑led, responsibleapproach so students learn to use AI openly and well. Ibrahim also addresses risks (cheating, accuracy) and how modeling responsible usecan build confidence and equity for different learning needs.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

DeepMind’s co‑founder and CEO Demis Hassabis lays out a pragmatic path to AGI—why he still sees a 5–10 year window, what current models are missing (reasoning, planning, continual learning), and why world models will likely converge with today’s LLMs. He explains how DeepMind became Google’s “engine room” for AI, shipping Gemini advances across products, and why AI for science (from AlphaFold to materials and energy research) is the most exciting frontier. We also touch on compute, energy constraints, and how to scale without cutting corners on safety.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Monica Long, president of Ripple, sits down with CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal to talk about the state of the crypto market and what President Donald Trump means for the industry. Long also discusses Ripple’s stablecoin and the current push towards so-called real-world asset tokenization. This episode was recorded at Paris Blockchain Week, as part two of a Beyond the Valley crypto mini-series.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Autonomous driving is quickly evolving, with Pony.ai at the forefront of this transformation. In this episode of Beyond the Valley, recorded live on stage at the CONVERGE LIVE event in Singapore, James Peng, Pony.ai's co-founder and CEO, speaks to CNBC's Arjun Kharpal about the rapid advancements in driverless technology. They also touched on how the company is navigating global challenges and what the future holds for autonomous vehicles in China and beyond.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his support for the crypto industry, a move which has had wide-ranging implications globally. Richard Teng, CEO of Binance and Chao Deng, CEO of Hashkey Capital, join CNBC's Arjun Kharpal to talk about what the change in U.S. policy will mean for markets and the industry globally. This is a special episode recorded at CNBC's Converge Live event in Singapore.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and autonomous driving are transforming the automotive industry. In our final special Davos edition of CNBC’s Beyond the Valley, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon and Volvo CEO Jim Rowan join Arjun Kharpal to explore how these technologies are reshaping the future of cars. Highlighting the potential of AI to monitor driver behavior, enhance safety and adjust car insurance premiums, the conversation explores how these innovations are set to disrupt the automotive and insurance industries. They also look into the evolving landscape of autonomous driving, emphasizing the need for robust safety and gradual development towards full autonomy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Max Tegmark's Future of Life Institute has called for a pause on the development on advanced AI systems. Tegmark is concerned that the world is moving toward artificial intelligence that can't be controlled, one that could pose an existential threat to humanity. Yoshua Bengio, often dubbed as one of the "godfathers of AI" shares similar concerns. In this special Davos edition of CNBC's Beyond the Valley, Tegmark and Bengio join senior technology correspondent Arjun Kharpal to discuss AI safety and worst case scenarios, such as AI that could try to keep itself alive at the expense of others.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange that’s rapidly built itself into one of the industry’s most influential players, is making big predictions about the future of crypto. CEO Richard Teng, who took the helm from Changpeng Zhao in 2023, sat down with CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss his outlook for 2025. Teng says that with clearer regulatory frameworks under the newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump, the crypto market could hit a new all-time high this year. In this episode, we dive into how Binance is navigating the evolving landscape and what the future holds for Bitcoin and the wider industry.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.