OpenAI acquires popular tech podcast TBPN

OpenAI announced that it has acquired the technology news podcast TBPN, the company announced Thursday.

TBPN is a daily podcast hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays that covers technology news and features interviews with major tech leaders, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman.

This announcement comes amid a broader shift in media consumption, as independent podcasts and creator-led videos from powerhouses like Joe Rogan or MrBeast increasingly attract audiences in the tens of millions that can rival legacy media companies.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report the news.

In the announcement, OpenAI CEO of AGI Deployment Fidji Simo wrote that their mission of bringing artificial general intelligence comes with a responsibility to have a space for "constructive conversation about the changes AI creates."

Altman has appeared on TBPN multiple times and is a frequent presence across media and podcasts, even hitting NBC's "Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in December.

The announcement says TBPN will maintain editorial independence and continue to choose its own guests.

"TBPN is my favorite tech show. We want them to keep that going and for them to do what they do so well," Altman wrote in a post on X. "I don't expect them to go any easier on us, am sure I'll do my part to help enable that with occasional stupid decisions."

OpenAI did not disclose the terms of the deal but said TBPN will be housed within its strategy organization.

"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," wrote Hays in a statement. "Moving from commentary to real impact in how this technology is distributed and understood globally is incredibly important to us."

TBPN is still fairly new, only starting streaming in 2025 and has just 58,000 subscribers on YouTube. But the channel has already attracted sponsorships from fintech companies Ramp and Plaid, Google's Gemini, and has a partnership with the New York Stock Exchange.

TBPN generated about $5 million in advertising revenue in 2025 and is on track to exceed $30 million this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.