Meta
Meta AI serves images in WebP. Google serves in PNG. WebP is 26 percent smaller than PNG and 3x smaller in lossy mode. One is optimized for distribution at billion scale. The other is optimized for fidelity in the lab.
We assume corporate branding requires locking your proprietary font inside a strict walled garden. Google just open sourced their flagship typeface and made it the default in Docs to quietly dictate the visual aesthetic of the entire internet.
Technology
We assume the smart glasses market requires building a complex wearable computer that tries to do everything. Amazon can easily capture significant market share by simply building a highly specialized device dedicated entirely to reading.
Technology
We assume the modern tech monopoly was built by consumer visionaries like Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos. The reality is that the entire global software economy rests on the invisible architectural principles engineered by Barbara Liskov.
Artificial Intelligence
We assume the AI threat to software engineers is simply an algorithm that can write Python ten times faster. The actual threat is when the algorithm realizes human programming languages are an incredibly inefficient bottleneck and invents its own.
Meta
We think Meta is just a social feed where brands buy basic image advertisements. They are actually building an ecosystem where businesses can instantly generate custom applications using simple text prompts.
Product Design
Group audio calls are currently a chaotic mess of people accidentally interrupting each other. Discord is proving that spatial audio is the ultimate psychological fix that Apple and Meta will inevitably steal.
Artificial Intelligence
We spent the last decade building software that forced human employees to do all the heavy lifting. In the artificial intelligence era the only companies that survive will be the ones selling guaranteed business outcomes.
Product Design
Dating apps have a terrible business model where success means losing a customer. By transitioning successful matches into a post relationship ecosystem they can unlock an entirely new lifetime monetization funnel.
Artificial Intelligence
Everyone thinks artificial intelligence is a threat to the music industry. Streaming platforms secretly view generative audio as the ultimate tool to slash their royalty expenses and dramatically boost profit margins.
Technology
Analysts believe Apple has hit a wall with hardware innovation and extended upgrade cycles. The truth is they are quietly widening their pricing architecture to introduce a hyper premium tier that will redefine consumer luxury.
Economy & Markets
We assume disruptive technology companies permanently destroy the legacy industries they initially target. In reality the ultimate growth stage for these digital monopolies requires completely absorbing the exact traditional businesses they originally promised to replace.