AI’s ‘Super Bowl’: Nvidia’s Rise, Tesla’s Letdown, and Meta’s VR Metaverse Closure

Articles mentioned in this episode:

You can follow Brian Barrett on Bluesky at @brbarrett and Zoë Schiffer on Bluesky at @zoeschiffer. Reach out to us at [email protected].

How to Listen

You can listen to this week’s podcast via the audio player on this page, but if you’d like to subscribe for free for every episode, here’s how:

For iPhone or iPad users, open the Podcasts app, or simply tap this link. You can also download apps like Overcast or Pocket Casts and search for “uncanny valley.” We’re also available on Spotify.

Transcript

Note: This is an automated transcript and may contain errors.

Zoë Schiffer: Brian, hello! It’s exciting to have another way to talk to you besides pinging you on Slack every few minutes.

Brian Barrett: Absolutely, it’s great since Slack lacks the voice feature.

Zoë Schiffer: True!

Brian Barrett: It’s unfortunate that Leah isn’t joining us today.

Zoë Schiffer: I know, right? It’s sad. But when Leah’s away, the mice will play, and we’ll discuss topics that Leah dislikes, so just wait.

Brian Barrett: Just to clarify, she’ll be back next week; she’s just under the weather.

Zoë Schiffer: Yep.

Brian Barrett: It’s allergy season.

Zoë Schiffer: Welcome to WIRED’s Uncanny Valley. I’m Zoë Schiffer, WIRED’s director of business and industry.

Brian Barrett: I’m Brian Barrett, executive editor.

Zoë Schiffer: This week, we’re delving into Nvidia’s annual developer conference, exploring why some Tesla influencers are leaving the brand, and discussing Meta’s recent decision to shut down Horizon Worlds on Meta Quest. To kick things off, Nvidia’s annual developer conference took place this week in San Jose. It’s a pivotal event in the AI realm, often dubbed the Super Bowl of AI. Developers, CEOs, researchers, and WIRED reporters converge here, all eager to hear what CEO Jensen Huang will reveal about the company’s future.

Brian Barrett: One interesting aspect of the Nvidia conference is its strong business focus. There’s not much that AI consumers or casual users of tools like Claude might directly relate to. One noteworthy assertion, taken with a grain of salt since he stands to gain from it, is that Jensen mentioned the revenue potential for Nvidia’s AI chips could exceed a trillion dollars by 2027.

Zoë Schiffer: Just pocket change.

Brian Barrett: Exactly, just pocket change for Nvidia at this stage. Interestingly, he introduced a new product, which I always appreciate, as I prefer practical announcements over mere promises. Previously, Nvidia had entered a licensing agreement with a company called Groq, which shouldn’t be mistaken for the occasional—