OpenAI Acquires TBPN, Silicon Valley's Daily Tech Talk Show

OpenAI announced Thursday that it has acquired TBPN, the live daily tech and business talk show that has become a fixture for Silicon Valley executives, founders, and investors.

Credit: TBPN/OpenAI

The deal, announced in a company blog post dated April 2, 2026, marks the artificial intelligence company's first purchase of a media property.

TBPN, short for Technology Business Programming Network, is a three-hour weekday livestream that airs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. PT on YouTube, X, LinkedIn, and other platforms.

Hosted by former entrepreneurs Jordi Hays and John Coogan, with president Dylan Abruscato, the show covers real-time tech news, product launches, executive interviews, and industry analysis in a fast-paced format often compared to a sports broadcast.

It launched in 2024 and has grown rapidly without outside funding, drawing high-profile guests including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

The New York Times has called it “Silicon Valley’s newest obsession.”

In an internal memo to staff that was published on OpenAI’s site, Fidji Simo, the company’s CEO of applications, wrote that the acquisition aligns with OpenAI’s need to engage directly with builders and users of AI technology.

“As I’ve been thinking about the future of how we communicate at OpenAI, one thing that’s become clear is that the standard communications playbook just doesn’t apply to us,” Simo stated.

“We’re not a typical company. We’re driving a really big technological shift. And with the mission of bringing AGI to the world comes a responsibility to help create a space for a real, constructive conversation about the changes AI creates—with builders and people using the technology at the center.” Simo added.

Simo emphasized that TBPN will retain full editorial independence.

“TBPN will continue to run their programming, choose their guests, and make their own editorial decisions,” she wrote.

The show will sit inside OpenAI’s strategy organization and report to Chris Lehane, the company’s chief global affairs officer.

Its advertising business is expected to wind down under the new ownership structure.

Hays addressed the move in a statement included in OpenAI’s announcement.

“Over the past year, we’ve had a front-row seat not just to OpenAI, but to the entire ecosystem, covering the daily news, announcements, and launches in real time,” he said.

On the day of the announcement, Altman posted on X that TBPN was his favorite tech show and that he expected the hosts to continue operating without pulling punches.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Some outlets, citing people familiar with the matter, have reported the deal in the low hundreds of millions of dollars.

Hays added:

“While we’ve been critical of the industry at times, after getting to know Sam and the OpenAI team, what stood out most was their openness to feedback and commitment to getting this right. Moving from commentary to real impact in how this technology is distributed and understood globally is incredibly important to us.”

The hosts confirmed during Thursday’s livestream that the show will continue its regular schedule and format unchanged.

Coogan told viewers that editorial independence would remain intact and that the team planned to expand its reach with OpenAI’s support.

OpenAI closed a $122 billion funding round earlier this week, bringing its post-money valuation to $852 billion.

The TBPN purchase places the company in the media business for the first time as it seeks to scale conversations around its technology.