What's Uptin?

David Cox runs AI research at IBM and leads the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab. He's testified to Congress twice in 60 days, built AI his entire career, and he thinks we're getting almost everything wrong. In this episode: why 95% of AI projects fail, why China is quietly winning the open source war, why your chatbot could get your company sued, and why the real AI threat isn't Skynet ... t's poorly built software making bad decisions at scale.

GM President Mark Reuss doesn't hold back. Uptin asks about Hummer's insane electric comeback, the death of Apple CarPlay, robo-taxis, Gemini AI in your car, China's brutal price wars, Detroit's rebirth, and the one thing that keeps him up at night. If you care about the future of American cars, this is the interview you need to watch.

Meta has 3 billion users and they're still not satisfied. I sat down with Alex Schultz, CMO of Meta, to find out what their endgame actually looks like — and his answers were more candid than I expected.We get into why Americans still aren't using WhatsApp (and how Meta plans to change that), the real reason you have to demo the AI glasses in person, what Meta actually thinks about your kids on social media, and why he's more excited about AI in 2025 than anything else he's seen in years.Oh — and he admitted they're basically running out of humans on the internet. So now they want you using five of their products instead of one.Chapters:00:00 - "We're running out of people on the internet"01:18 - Why Americans don't use WhatsApp (yet)03:14 - The AI glasses you have to try in person06:04 - Is the VR headset still a priority?07:19 - The creator economy & getting paid09:10 - Facebook at 21 years old11:38 - Screen time, addiction & teen safety13:14 - Meta's new AI-only app: Vibes14:43 - Alex's marketing book & timeless principles16:49 - Detecting AI content: the cat and mouse game16:52 - What excites him most heading into 2025

Richard Teng took over Binance after a $4.3 billion US government settlement, a departing founder, and a wave of public skepticism. Two years later, the platform has gone from 170 million to nearly 300 million users and it's just getting started.In this episode, Teng breaks down how he rebuilt trust from the inside out, why compliance is Binance's secret weapon, what Trump's crypto agenda means for the global financial order, and why the next billion users are closer than you think.This isn't a story about surviving a scandal. It's a masterclass in leading through chaos and coming out bigger on the other side.

Just days after Uptin sold his agency, Uptin and Gary Vaynerchuk talk honestly about focus vs juggling, personal brand vs client work, and how to know when you’ve made the right move, even when there’s no “right” answer.They get into:• Why shiny object syndrome is actually part of the entrepreneur’s gift• The truth behind “hustle culture” and why Gary stopped using the word• How algorithms really work — and how to take back control of your attention• Why managing yourself is one of the hardest skills after leaving a job• Live streaming, live shopping, and what’s actually next for creators• Confidence, accountability, modern parenting, and why negativity feels louder than kindness• AI, IP, and why every creator may soon be in the character business

Everyone says dating is broken. But is the problem the people, the paradox of choice, or the app itself?Uptin sits down with Mark Kantor, Head of Product at Tinder, to find out how one of the world's most recognizable dating apps is quietly reinventing itself. From AI that scans your camera roll to figure out who you really are, to a new feature called Chemistry that could replace swiping altogether. Tinder is making some of its biggest bets yet.The conversation gets into the tension at the heart of it all: how do you build a product whose ultimate success is the user deleting it? Mark also shares why Tinder introduced face verification in California, what Gen Z actually wants from dating apps, and whether AI will ever be able to capture that elusive third stage of compatibility.

Love him or hate him, Logan Paul refuses to be defined by his past. From internet villain to co-founding Antifund, a venture capital firm with investments in some of the biggest tech companies in the world, this is one of the most unlikely reinvention stories in internet history. In this raw conversation at Web Summit Qatar, Logan opens up about building Prime into a global brand, why attention is worth more than capital, what it really takes to get his investment, and the two words that changed how he approaches everything.Whether you're an entrepreneur, a skeptic, or just curious how someone goes from being cancelled to closing deals with the world's biggest tech companies, this one's for you.

Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, sits down with Uptin to share his experience on one of the most consequential bets in tech history. From why Microsoft invested in OpenAI before most people had ever heard of it, to how the two companies now both collaborate and compete, Brad breaks down the strategy behind Microsoft's AI dominance. Uptin pushes him on the 15,000 layoffs, the future of work, and whether an 18-year-old should still bother going to college. Brad also shares what he witnessed firsthand in Abu Dhabi, why the UAE is ahead in the global AI race, and what genuinely keeps him up at night. This is a rare, unfiltered conversation about power, technology, and what the AI era means for all of us.

In this episode, Uptin sits down with Reid Hoffman, the Billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn and one of Silicon Valley’s most influential investors, to decode the reality behind the AI revolution.Key Discussion Points:The AI Bubble: Fact or fiction?The Job Market: Are roles disappearing or simply evolving?Upskilling: Why mastering AI is the most critical skill today.Global Impact: How AI could transform healthcare and aid in curing diseases like cancer.The Future of Work: Why the professional landscape will never look the same.The conversation also explores the rise of LinkedIn creators, the platform's shift toward video, and the philosophy of building a "useful" rather than "addictive" product. From mass layoffs to massive opportunity, this is an essential look at the disruption, uncertainty, and potential of the biggest shift in our lifetime.

San Francisco was written off. The headlines were brutal, the streets were struggling, and everyone said the city was done. So what happened?I sat down with SF Mayor Daniel Lurie right outside the iconic Ferry Building to get the real story. In this episode, we talk about how crime dropped 33% in his first year, why every major AI company is planting roots in San Francisco, what he's doing about homelessness, housing affordability, and skyrocketing rents and why he thinks a 25-year-old should pack their bags and move there right now.

Carlos Ghosn was one of the most powerful CEOs on the planet ... running Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi all at once. Then came the arrest, the scandal, and the escape in a box from Japan that shocked us all.Uptin travels to Beirut, Lebanon and pushes Ghosn on the questions everyone wants answered. Why did he run? Was it justice or guilt? And now that he's in Beirut with nowhere to go, what does life actually look like for a man the world is still watching?Follow: What's Uptin? To get inside the minds driving tech, money, and power.