Napkin Math

Profit and power in technology, every Tuesday and Thursday.

Oct 6, 2022

The Face That AI Built

My explorations in image generation

Oct 14, 2022

Who Wins the AI Value Chain?

It's A Brave New World

Oct 27, 2022

Venture Capital Is Ripe for Disruption

A world where a billion is a drop in the bucket

Nov 3, 2022

How Elon Wins

Twitter needs to pursue the algorithmic feed

Nov 10, 2022

Pinterest Has a Chance

The first full-stack shopping platform

Nov 22, 2022

6 New Theories About AI

Software with superpowers

Dec 1, 2022

The House of the Bloody Mouse

Where does Disney go from here?

Dec 8, 2022

The Primary Trends I’m Investing In Next Year

China, boring AI, vertical SaaS, and Apple's power

Dec 15, 2022

Should You Fire This Newsletter?

In which I analyze whether I’m good at my job

Dec 21, 2022

Meditations on AI Mecca

A dispatch from a hacker conference in San Francisco

Jan 5, 2023

It Is Always Time to Build

Interest rates do not equal innovation rates

Jan 12, 2023

In Defense of the Unoptimized Life

Give yourself the space to be inspired

Jan 26, 2023

How Technology Giants Die

GE, Amazon, and the flywheel of death

Feb 2, 2023

AI Looks Like a Bubble

Investors need to take a cold shower

Feb 9, 2023

The Meditations of Vinyl Jesus

Music producer Rick Rubin explores the creative process

Feb 16, 2023

Bada Bing: Why Microsoft Wants Google to Dance

Surely nothing bad will happen with an AI hooked up to the internet

Feb 23, 2023

When Content Creation Goes to Zero

AI is making a world where it costs nothing to produce anything. What happens next?

Mar 2, 2023

Should I Quit and Start a Franchise?

I’m wondering if I can deep-fry my way out of the apocalypse

Mar 9, 2023

Recommendation Algorithms Are a Necessary Evil (Sort Of)

AI is about to remake our information ecosystem and it is past time for us to prepare

Mar 13, 2023

A Dearth of Secrets, an Excess of Capital: SVB’s Explosion

We may be entering a more ruthless era in tech

Mar 16, 2023

Technology Is Good Actually

Startups screw up sometimes, but making things cheaper is a moral necessity

Mar 23, 2023

How AI Changes the Media Business

Why community and social network effects will be key to winning the future

Mar 30, 2023

Tinder Is Way More Important Than You Think

Forget AI, the people want to bone

Apr 6, 2023

We Don’t Know Enough About the Pornhub Acquisition

One of the world’s most important websites was sold and nobody cares