OpenAI has acquired TBPN, one of the tech world’s most talked-about daily shows, and the announcement came with a side of family drama. A joke by Jack Altman, a podcaster at Uncapped and a counteroffer by company CEO Sam Altman. TBPN co-founder John Coogan confirmed that the show has been acquired by OpenAI but will continue broadcasting live at 11am Pacific every weekday, unchanged in format and tone.
Sam Altman’s brother has something to say
Jack Altman, Sam’s brother, was quick to weigh in with a pointed question, asking whether an earlier acquisition offer for his own company, Uncapped, had somehow gotten lost in the mail.“Sam did the offer to buy Uncapped get lost in the mail?” he asked. Sam Altman’s response was tongue-in-cheek.“We can offer you a free ChatGPT pro account, two OpenAI t-shirts of your choice, and you have to have max and me on the show together to discuss what went wrong in your weightlifting career,” Altman replied.
Why OpenAI wants TBPN
For Altman, the acquisition seems to be personal.“TBPN is my favourite tech show. We want them to keep that going and for them to do what they do so well,” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Altman added that he does not expect the show to go any easier on OpenAI now that it is under the company’s umbrella.“I am sure I’ll do my part to help enable that with occasional stupid decisions,” he said.
A full-circle moment for the co-founder
For Coogan, the deal carries deep personal significance. In a heartfelt post on X, he traced a relationship with Altman stretching back more than a decade.
Altman funded Coogan’s first company back in 2013. He later helped untangle a critical logjam during a funding round for a subsequent venture. TBPN has been acquired by OpenAI!The show is staying the same and we’ll continue to go live at 11am pacific every weekday.
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This is a full circle moment for me as I’ve worked with @sama for well over a decade. He funded my first company in 2013. Then helped us fix a serious logjam during a critical funding round a few years later. When I took my second company through YC, he was president at the time, and then when I joined Founders Fund, the first deal I saw in motion was the post-ChatGPT round in late 2022. And as we started growing TBPN last year, he was the very first lab lead to join the show.Thank you to everyone that has been a part of TBPN until now. The last year has been the most fun and rewarding part of my career and we’re excited to have more resources than ever going forward.
