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Are companies falling out of love with OpenAI? | Equity Podcast

Humanoid robotics company Figure raised eyebrows this week when it announced () it would be stepping away from a partnership with OpenAI in favor of building its own in-house AI models. Figure CEO Brett Adcock alluded to a “major breakthrough” in their own process and plans to unveil “something no one has ever seen on…

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Humanoid robotics company Figure raised eyebrows this week when it announced () it would be stepping away from a partnership with OpenAI in favor of building its own in-house AI models. Figure CEO Brett Adcock alluded to a “major breakthrough” in their own process and plans to unveil “something no one has ever seen on a humanoid” in the coming month. 

Figure isn’t the only company experimenting with non-OpenAI solutions either. Just last week, researchers from Stanford and the University of Washington demonstrated () that it’s possible to train a highly capable “reasoning” model for under $50 in cloud compute credits, a stark contrast to the costs often associated with OpenAI’s models.

TechCrunch’s Kirsten Korosec, Margaux MacColl, and Max Zeff are diving into the biggest news on today’s episode of Equity () , including how the tide could be changing for OpenAI. 

Listen to the full episode to hear about:

• Notable new hires in startups and venture, from Stripe’s new lead for ‘startup and VC partnerships’ () to Andreessen Horowitz’s controversial pick () for its American Dynamism team lead.

• Two space startups teaming up to build the next generation of telescopes () . 

• Elon Musk’s latest play, and how Silicon Valley is reacting to the tech bros taking over the federal government (.) .

Equity will be back next week, so don’t miss it!

Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. 

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts () , Overcast () , Spotify () and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X () and Threads () , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here () .

Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we’ll talk to you next time.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ()

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2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. @efiritamaradeinyefa1510

    February 7, 2025 at 11:32 am

    First viewer and first to comment ,feeling like fly

  2. @gtleshow

    February 14, 2025 at 2:25 am

    Oh, so now companies are “falling out of love” with OpenAI? How adorably fickle.

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Science & Technology

Build Mode: Inside the Fundraise

Startup fundraising is harder than ever, and Season 3 of Build Mode is here to help. Whether you’re raising a seed round, preparing for Series A, pitching venture capital firms, negotiating a term sheet, or exploring alternatives to VC funding, this season is packed with practical advice from founders and investors who have successfully navigated…

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Startup fundraising is harder than ever, and Season 3 of Build Mode is here to help. Whether you’re raising a seed round, preparing for Series A, pitching venture capital firms, negotiating a term sheet, or exploring alternatives to VC funding, this season is packed with practical advice from founders and investors who have successfully navigated the fundraising journey.

Hosted by TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Editor Isabelle Johannessen, Build Mode is the TechCrunch podcast where founders, investors, and startup operators share honest conversations about what it really takes to build and finance a company. This season features Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures), Andrew Dai (Elorian), Ashley Tyrner-Dolce (FarmboxRx), Kristina Subbotina (Lexsy AI), Sydney Sykes (NVIDIA), Xavier Chi (Mbodi), Jack Groetzinger (SeatGeek), Sasha Orloff (Puzzle), Everette Taylor (Kickstarter), Manan Mehta (Unshackled Ventures), Julia Hartz (Eventbrite), and more. Together, they cover topics including avoiding down rounds, raising capital in today’s venture market, working with corporate venture capital, crowdfunding, startup financial readiness, fundraising as an immigrant founder, IPO lessons, and how to deliver a winning startup pitch.

If you’re an entrepreneur, startup founder, investor, or operator looking for actionable fundraising advice, this season is your playbook. New episodes begin July 9 and release every week on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe now and learn how to raise capital, grow your startup, and build with confidence.

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Science & Technology

Your Vaccine Questions Deserve Real Answers | Kizzmekia Corbett | TED

What good is a vaccine people don’t trust? Immunologist and TED Fellow Kizzmekia Corbett co-developed the first COVID-19 vaccine to enter clinical trials — but she says making the vaccine was never the hardest part. The real obstacle is the gap between scientists and the people who have honest questions about the shots they’re being…

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What good is a vaccine people don’t trust? Immunologist and TED Fellow Kizzmekia Corbett co-developed the first COVID-19 vaccine to enter clinical trials — but she says making the vaccine was never the hardest part. The real obstacle is the gap between scientists and the people who have honest questions about the shots they’re being asked to take. She shares a refreshing approach for taking on vaccine inquisitiveness and ensuring that humanity is ready for the next pandemic. (Recorded at TED2026 on April 15, 2026)

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CNET

Honor Magic V6 Unboxing (No Music ASMR)

The Honor Magic V6 wowed us in Barcelona at MWC. While it’s not officially available here in the US, we were still lucky enough to get our hands on one. Let’s quietly unbox it with CNET’s own Vanessa Hand Orellana. #honorphotography #asmrrelax #honormagicv6 #qualcomm #unboxing

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The Honor Magic V6 wowed us in Barcelona at MWC. While it’s not officially available here in the US, we were still lucky enough to get our hands on one. Let’s quietly unbox it with CNET’s own Vanessa Hand Orellana. #honorphotography #asmrrelax #honormagicv6 #qualcomm #unboxing

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