Modular versus Integrated
Modularity and integration happens throughout the value chain, and is the key to providing a superior user experience and extracting profits.
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Google Shopping is changing its model, suggesting Google is joining the Anti-Amazon Alliance; 3rd-party merchants should do the same.
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The fate of Harry’s and other DTC companies, particularly relative to companies like Credit Karma, highlight how the Internet elevates the importance of demand over supply.
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Apple has won through integration, but integration combined with network effects and economies of scale can result in bad outcomes that look a lot like monopolies.
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Companies succeed or fail not based on technology but rather according to their ability to integrate within their value chains.
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Intel is in an increasingly bad position in part because it has been captive to its integrated model. Or, you could simply say they were disrupted.
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Netflix has a lot more in common with Uber and Airbnb than you might think: it all comes back to the Law of Conservation of Attractive Profits, a core principle of disruption
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The Anduril Lattice SDK, Understanding Lattice, Anduril + Palantir
Anduril announced the Lattice SDK, which isn’t as exciting as a new weapon, but is in fact much more important for the future of the U.S. military
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GM Kills Cruise, Fleets Versus Autonomy, Robotaxi Outlook
GM killed Cruise’s robotaxi ambitions, which were never a good match; then, mapping out a future robotaxi world.
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An Interview with Gregory Allen About Transforming U.S. Defense
An interview with Gregory Allen about U.S. defense and the role that tech plays in overhauling what is a very dysfunctional process.
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An Interview with Ben Bajarin About Smartphones, AI, and Intel
An interview with Ben Bajarin about AI’s impact on the smartphone market, including the differing strategies between Apple and Google. Then, a long discussion about what to do about Intel.
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Intel Earnings, Intel’s Nadir
Intel’s earnings were bad again, but the downward movement in the stock should have been priced in years ago; current management, meanwhile, can’t be evaluated for at least two more years.
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AMD Acquires ZT Systems, AMD’s Integration, Substack In-App Purchases
AMD is acquiring ZT Systems in a bid to integrate AI system design and AI chips; then, more on Apple’s creator tax
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An Interview with Google SVP Rick Osterloh About Pixel, Android, and Smartphone History
An interview with Google SVP Rick Osterloh about the Made with Google event, and understanding the company’s approach to Android and Pixel in the light of smartphone history.
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Integration and Android
The most important takeaway from Google’s Pixel event is that it is Android that matters most, and Google’s integration with Android is worth preserving if the goal is spurring innovation.