2025.18: Meta and Its Many AI Plans

Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery!

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On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week.

1. Mark Zuckberg Explains Meta’s AI Strategy. Meta announced this week that it’s increasing projected capital expenditures for 2025 to between $64-72 billion, an upward adjustment that “reflects additional data center investments to support our artificial intelligence efforts.” So what do those efforts look like, and how does AI accrue to the bottom line? Ben’s interview with Mark Zuckerberg provides answers on several fronts, as Zuckerberg lists four categories of Meta’s future in which AI will be critical, and explains why the company is launching a standalone app to compete with Chat GPT. It all makes for a fun conversation that’s dense with information, and as a bonus, this interview reminded me that last fall Ben wrote that Meta is better positioned than anyone to capitalize on AI, and may ultimately become the most valuable company in the world. A good, spicy take for the weekend. — Andrew Sharp
   
   
2. Apple’s Big Loss. The biggest news of the week didn’t happen in an earnings call or keynote stage, but in a court room: the judge in the long-running Apple v. Epic case ruled that Apple had violated her order to allow apps to link out the web, and asked federal investigators to investigate the company for contempt of court. More importantly — at least for everyone else in the industry — is the fact that Apple must immediately allow apps to link out to the web for purchases in any way they deem fit. I will be writing more on this case soon, but published a special Friday Update to point out that Apple might still win on appeal: they may be acting badly, but it’s not clear the judge can simply force the App Store open without compensation. — Ben Thompson
   
   
3. The Other Side of the Trade War. One thing that has bugged me as a media consumer is that U.S. coverage of the trade war has been dominated by dire predictions and anxiety over what tariffs on China could mean for the U.S., but there hasn’t been much attention paid to the enormous short and medium term risks facing China. In short: The trade war puts tremendous stress on China’s economy today, and as excess manufacturing output is diverted to third party countries, those dynamics may also inflame China’s relationships with the rest of the world. Bill and I discussed all those risks, as well as increasingly precarious futures for Apple and Nvidia, on this week’s episode of Sharp China. — AS

Stratechery Articles and Updates

• Google Earnings, Search and AI, Building AI Products — Google’s earnings were well-received, but they made me a bit nervous; Google is focusing all their energy on the race between Search + AI and AI > Search.
• Intel Earnings, TSMC Earnings — Intel’s earnings were brutal; TSMC, in stark contrast, is absolutely killing it.
• Amazon, Trump, and Tariff Costs; Amazon Haul and Temu; Political Lessons — Amazon’s collision with the White House over tariffs highlights the political risk factors that every company needs to take seriously.
• An Interview with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg About AI and the Evolution of Social Media — An interview with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about Llama and the AI opportunity, the evolution of social medial, and what it means to connect.
• Apple Held in Contempt, The Crux of the Case, The Takings Clause — The judge in the Epic case released a devastating ruling on Apple’s lack of compliance in terms of allowing links to the win; Apple was clearly in the wrong, but still might win on appeal.

Dithering with Ben Thompson and Daring Fireball’s John Gruber

• Age and Founder Mode
• The Zuckerberg Interview

Asianometry with Jon Yu

• ASML’s Breakthrough 3-Pulse EUV Light Source
• How Semiconductor Yields Vastly Improved

Sharp China with Andrew Sharp and Sinocism’s Bill Bishop

• ‘Protracted War’ and ‘Struggle’; The Looming Risks for the PRC; A Politburo Study Session on AI; Apple’s Attempt to Pivot

Greatest of All Talk with Andrew Sharp and WaPo’s Ben Golliver

• LeBron and the Lakers on the Brink, Nikola Jokic Listens to GOAT, The Pistons Get Robbed in Broad Daylight
• The Wolves and the Red Wedding, The Lakers and an Uncertain Future, Takes and Questions at the End of Round 1

Sharp Tech with Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson

• All About AI Companions: Personalization Upsides, Dystopian Downsides, AI Therapy, Advertising Tension, and Lots More
• Meta and Its Many Plans in AI, Apple Gets Hammered in Court, The Costs of Waiting to Do the Right Thing

This week’s Sharp Tech video is on how Facebook handled the Snapchat threat.