OpenAI has made headlines with its recent acquisitions of personal finance startup Hiro and media company TBPN, as discussed on the latest episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. The acquisitions appear to be aimed at addressing two significant challenges for OpenAI: enhancing product offerings beyond chatbots and improving public perception. Hiro, which is folding, seems to serve primarily as an acqui-hire to bring in talent, while TBPN’s acquisition may allow OpenAI to maintain a media presence without losing editorial independence. The podcast hosts reflect on the implications of these moves, indicating a broader strategy to make OpenAI's GPT models more competitive in enterprise contexts, despite uncertainties regarding the direction of these acquisitions.
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Startup FundingProduct LaunchAcquisitionGenerative AI
OpenAI Acquires Startups Hiro and TBPN Amid Existential Challenges
TechCrunch AI· Anthony Ha· Monday, April 20, 2026
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Google Explores Partnership with Marvell to Develop Custom AI Inference Chips
Google is currently in discussions with Marvell Technology to create two new AI chips, including a memory processing unit and an inference-optimized Tensor Processing Unit (TPU). This move adds Marvell as a third design partner alongside Broadcom and MediaTek in Google's custom silicon supply chain. The negotiations follow Broadcom's recent long-term agreement with Google for TPU design and supply through 2031. Google's strategy appears to focus on diversifying its chip design partnerships rather than replacing existing ones. The newly designed chips are expected to enhance Google's capacity for inference, which has become a significant cost factor as the custom ASIC market is projected to grow substantially in the coming years.