Ben Thompson on business strategy
From Why Google Lost the Epic Games Lawsuit | Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson · · Sharp Tech Podcast
“Google took the Microsoft route which is we're going to be a horizontal software company, we're going to license our software or quote unquote open source it so everyone can use it, but they wanted Apple's control, they wanted Apple's profits. You don't get to do both.”
On , Ben Thompson, Founder at Stratechery, spoke about business strategy during Why Google Lost the Epic Games Lawsuit | Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson on Sharp Tech Podcast.
About Ben Thompson
Ben Thompson, founder of Stratechery, has been writing and speaking extensively about the intersection of AI, compute infrastructure, and corporate strategy. In a June 2026 article, he described Google's business model as one where "supply is free," consumers "willfully compete against each other to raise your prices," and users decide which customers get to pay, calling it "the most beautiful business model of all time." He contrasted Google Services' high-margin advertising business with Google Cloud's faster-growing but lower-margin AI-driven segment, and questioned whether Google Services' cash flow would ultimately fund a larger AI infrastructure play. Thompson also analyzed SpaceX's IPO and the concept of data centers in space, arguing that the fundamental advantage is "free power" and that the proposal offers an alternative path to unlimited compute, though he acknowledged the investment is "unbelievably risky." Thompson has also commented on the competitive dynamics among AI companies. He noted that Anthropic's willingness to pay for compute, driven by its demand and ability to raise money, makes it a key player in the market for scarce compute capacity. He discussed the implications of Anthropic's "Mythos" model, describing it as a major security threat and suggesting that limiting its availability helps the company maintain pricing power. In a podcast appearance, Thompson stated that "100 years from now when you look back on our moment, you're not going to talk about our politics. You're going to talk about the fact that we're living through a digital technological revolution that remade the economy which is reshaping culture and community." He also addressed Apple's AI strategy, arguing that the company's deterministic culture is fundamentally unsuited to the probabilistic world of AI, and that its decision to rely on third-party AI models may be a short-term win but a long-term vulnerability.