The battle of the AI labs

The battle of the AI labs

Author: Financial Times April 29, 2026 Duration: 0:57

OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Deepmind, xAI and Meta - all of them are building models to push the frontiers of artificial intelligence, and all of them want to be the world’s leading AI company. Who will come out on top?


With the help of the FT’s expert reporters, technology news editor Murad Ahmed explores the battles going on between Silicon Valley’s frontier AI labs, and the personal rivalries driving them. 


Who will win out in the bitter rivalry between OpenAI and Anthropic? Can Elon Musk’s xAI or Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta catch up? Or is Google Deepmind destined to control our AI future? 


FT articles free to read: 

Anthropic’s Mythos AI model tests limits of global cyber defences

OpenAI investors question $852bn valuation as strategy shifts

DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis warns AI investment looks ‘bubble-like’

Meta releases first AI model since Zuckerberg’s spending spree

How Elon Musk’s Grok spread sexual deepfakes and child exploitation images


Tech Tonic is hosted by Murad Ahmed and produced by Edwin Lane. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


From the Financial Times, FT Tech Tonic steps beyond the breathless headlines and gadget launches to explore how technology is fundamentally reshaping our lives, economies, and social structures. This isn't just a series about the latest app; it's a deep, considered examination of the forces driving the digital age and their often unintended consequences. Each episode grapples with the complex interplay between innovation and its real-world impact, drawing on the FT's global reporting expertise to provide clarity and context. You'll hear conversations that dissect the power dynamics in Silicon Valley, investigate the ethical dilemmas of artificial intelligence, and explore how entrepreneurship is being redefined across different cultures. The podcast digs into the substance behind the hype, asking whether emerging technologies truly deliver on their promise to improve society or if they introduce new perils we are only beginning to understand. By weaving together threads from technology, business, and culture, the discussions offer a nuanced perspective that challenges simplistic narratives. Tune in for thoughtful analysis that connects the dots between boardroom strategies, algorithmic biases, and the everyday experiences that define our increasingly connected world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

FT Tech Tonic
Podcast Episodes
The quantum revolution: Brain waves [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:13
Quantum computers aren’t the only form of groundbreaking technology that use quantum physics. Madhumita Murgia hears from Dr. Margot Taylor, neuroscience researcher at The Hospital for Sick Children, who’s using quantum…
The quantum revolution: First port of call [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:20
The Port of Los Angeles is one of the world’s busiest — and most inefficient. It’s now using an early quantum computing application to help solve its logistical bottlenecks. Has it made a difference? The FT’s John Thornh…
The quantum revolution: ‘Spooky action’ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:23
In this episode, Tech Tonic dives into the science at the heart of quantum computing. How do technologists use unexplained subatomic phenomena to build powerful computers?FT artificial intelligence editor Madhumita Murgi…
The quantum revolution: The race to build a quantum computer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:51
Tech companies including Google, Microsoft and IBM are all working on plans for a commercially viable quantum computer. They say that these machines will be able to solve climate change, help develop new pharmaceutical d…
The quantum revolution: Q-Day [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:04
In the cybersecurity world they call it Q-Day, the day when a quantum computer will be built that can break the encryption of the internet. John Thornhill and Madhumita Murgia speak to cybersecurity expert and former pro…
Coming soon: The Quantum Revolution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00
Tech companies and labs around the world are building a revolutionary new computer. Quantum computers harness the mysteries of quantum physics to perform calculations that seem impossible. The people building them say th…
Climate tech to save the planet: Techno-optimism or greenwashing? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:22
Billions of dollars are being spent by tech companies and investors on new technology to fight climate change. In the final episode of this series of Tech Tonic, Eric Toone, from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures…
Climate tech to save the planet: Star power [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:09
Nuclear fusion is the reaction that powers stars and scientists say replicating it on Earth could produce all the energy we’ll ever need without the CO2. But no one has yet made a fusion reactor that actually produces mo…
Climate tech to save the planet: Hype and hydrogen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:17
The joke about hydrogen is that it’s the fuel of the future, and always will be. But green hydrogen is made from renewable energy and emits only water vapour, so amidst the fight to reduce carbon emissions, has green hyd…

«1...678910