OpenAI Acquires Popular Business Talk Show TBPN

OpenAI has made its first foray into media by acquiring the popular tech talk show TBPN — the Technology Business Programming Network. The program will now report to OpenAI's chief political strategist, Chris Lehane.

Hosted by former tech founders John Coogan and Jordi Hays, TBPN is a daily three-hour live stream on YouTube and X, covering technology, business, artificial intelligence, and defense.

The show has cultivated a dedicated following in Silicon Valley, serving as a trusted forum where industry leaders speak openly and face questions from their peers. It has earned a reputation as a sort of "SportsCenter" for tech, attracting top CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg, Satya Nadella, Marc Benioff, and Sam Altman to discuss the day's news, share insights, and sometimes even break stories of their own.

TBPN will maintain its independent brand, with OpenAI providing resources to help it grow. Not that scaling has been an issue; according to The Wall Street Journal, the show has built an empire on track to generate over $30 million in revenue this year.

OpenAI already produces its own podcast featuring in-depth conversations with the company's builders.

OpenAI will also leverage the founders' "exceptional communications and marketing instincts" beyond the show itself. Fidji Simo, OpenAI's head of AGI deployment, stated that TBPN will "make AI accessible to the world, helping people grasp this technology's full impact on their everyday lives."

Simo emphasized that TBPN's unique approach is essential for an unconventional company like OpenAI, where "traditional communication strategies simply don't work."

She confirmed that TBPN will retain editorial independence, continuing to "control its programming, select its guests, and make its own editorial calls."

Nevertheless, the acquisition may raise eyebrows. OpenAI, a highly valued AI lab nearing an IPO, is purchasing a prominent talk show that frequently covers the company and its rivals. Upon deal closure, TBPN will join OpenAI's strategy team and report to Chris Lehane—the political operative who coined the phrase "vast right-wing conspiracy" to manage press scrutiny during the Clinton administration.

Lehane, a noted practitioner of the "political dark arts," also spearheads the crypto super PAC Fairshake, which spent hundreds of millions to oppose anti-crypto candidates in the 2024 elections. He joined OpenAI that same year and has since advised former President Trump, advocating for sweeping policies such as preventing state-level AI regulation and relaxing environmental rules that could hinder data center expansion.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who called TBPN his favorite tech show in a social media post, believes the acquisition won't soften the show's coverage—including its criticism of OpenAI.

"I don't expect them to go easy on us. I'm sure I'll do my part to give them material with the occasional poor decision," he wrote.

For TBPN, the move represents an opportunity to move beyond mere commentary.

"While we've been critical of the industry at times, what impressed us most about Sam and the OpenAI team was their receptiveness to feedback and dedication to doing things right," Hays said in a statement. "Shifting from commentary to genuinely influencing how this technology is deployed and understood worldwide is a priority for us."