It’s feeling a lot like Groundhog Day for Google, which once again finds itself in court over its dominance in search and ads. The tech giant already lost one big antitrust case and is now facing another, but the latest trial comes with some twists, including OpenAI exec Nick Turley testifying this week that his company would be interested in buying Chrome if it were for sale (which it’s not).
Meanwhile, Meta’s antitrust reckoning is also heating up, with regulators asking whether past acquisitions like Instagram and WhatsApp snuffed out competition before it even had a chance to thrive.
Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha are digging into the week’s headlines, from browsers and search to AI and social, and why these antitrust cases have us wondering if they’re really breaking up monopolies or just passing the baton to the next dominant player.
Listen to the full episode to hear about:
- Tesla’s massive 71% profit drop and how Elon Musk is doubling down on Tesla and AI
- How Mati Carbon took home the grand prize from this year’s Xprize Carbon Removal competition
- Vibe coding, Cursor, and which AI-powered coding tool OpenAI has its sights on acquiring next
- The $91.5 billion raised by U.S. startups in Q1 — and why more than half of it went to just 10 companies
Equity will be back next week, so stay tuned!
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.
Theresa Loconsolo
Audio Producer
Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University.
Anthony Ha
Anthony Ha is TechCrunch’s weekend editor. Previously, he worked as a tech reporter at Adweek, a senior editor at VentureBeat, a local government reporter at the Hollister Free Lance, and vice president of content at a VC firm. He lives in New York City.
Kirsten Korosec
Transportation Editor
Kirsten Korosec is a reporter and editor who has covered the future of transportation from EVs and autonomous vehicles to urban air mobility and in-car tech for more than a decade. She is currently the transportation editor at TechCrunch and co-host of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. She is also co-founder and co-host of the podcast, “The Autonocast.” She previously wrote for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review and CBS Interactive.
Maxwell Zeff
Senior Reporter, Consumer
Maxwell Zeff is a senior reporter at TechCrunch specializing in AI and emerging technologies. Previously with Gizmodo, Bloomberg, and MSNBC, Zeff has covered the rise of AI and the Silicon Valley Bank crisis. He is based in San Francisco. When not reporting, he can be found hiking, biking, and exploring the Bay Area’s food scene.
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