Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway's 2025 Predictions on AI, IPOs, Podcasts, and Trump | Pivot

It's Pivot's annual predictions episode! Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway share their predictions for 2025 on business, tech, media, and politics. From OpenAI and Nvidia forming the next great duopoly, to a potential Shein IPO, to podcasting's biggest year yet, Kara and Scott look at the major shifts ahead. Plus, insights on Trump 2.0, and why nuclear power is about to be the technology of the year. #pivot #podcast #karaswisher #scottgalloway #predictions #donaldtrump #openai #nvidia #nuclearpower Subscribe to Pivot on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pivot/id1073226719 Subscribe to Pivot on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4MU3RFGELZxPT9XHVwTNPR Follow us on Instagram and Threads at: https://www.instagram.com/pivotpodcastofficial Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@PIVOTPODCAST Send us your questions by calling us at 855-51-PIVOT, or at https://podcasts.voxmedia.com/show/pivot

Kara SwisherhostScott Gallowayhost

Jan 2, 202510mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

AI Rails, Political Podcasts, Nuclear Power, and Trump’s Aging Presidency

Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway share their 2025 predictions, spanning politics, AI, media, finance, and culture. Swisher argues that Donald Trump’s age and lame-duck status may temper his behavior, and that under-the-radar enterprise players will be the biggest AI winners, much like infrastructure firms in the early internet. Galloway predicts an AI duopoly between OpenAI and NVIDIA, a boom in AI-driven consumer applications (especially in health and travel), and a breakout year for podcasts fueled by political ad spending. He also forecasts Shein as IPO of the year, nuclear as technology of the year, testosterone/masculinity as the cultural “substance” of the year, and record private-equity megadeals targeting companies like Target and Intel.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Expect a potentially calmer but still transactional Trump presidency due to age and lame-duck status.

Swisher argues Trump’s physical limitations and focus on legacy, combined with Republicans seeing him as useful for only a few more years, may moderate his behavior without changing his character.

Look beyond the headline AI giants to ‘rails’ companies that implement and operationalize AI.

Firms like IBM, Salesforce, and Expedia may capture outsized value by integrating big players’ AI infrastructure into real-world workflows, echoing how early-internet infrastructure winners differed from first-wave website brands.

Prepare for an OpenAI–NVIDIA ‘OpenVideo’ duopoly dominating AI infrastructure and compute.

Galloway predicts these two will control the vast majority of AI queries and processing power, akin to the historic Wintel duopoly, making them central chokepoints in the AI economy.

AI will rapidly expand into consumer-facing applications in health, fitness, and travel.

From personalized medical recommendations based on uploaded lab data to proactive travel planning from card histories and calendars, a ‘thin layer’ of software will turn today’s powerful models into everyday services.

2025 may be a breakout year for podcasts driven by political ad dollars and audience shifts.

Campaigns are realizing a single large podcast hit can reach the equivalent of a week of cable primetime, with better demographics (mid-30s, engaged listeners) and more persuasive host-read ads.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

You may see a calmer Donald Trump, and it's not because he's a good person, or he's turning the tide, or anything else.

— Kara Swisher

I think those who ride the rails on these things are gonna be the beneficiaries… it reminds me of the early internet.

— Kara Swisher

2025 will be the year of a new duopoly. It'll be OpenVideo… people will start referring to it as the most powerful duopoly in the world.

— Scott Galloway

Software basically… SaaS goes from software as a service to service as a software.

— Scott Galloway

People go to cable news to sanctify their beliefs. People go to podcasts to learn.

— Scott Galloway

Donald Trump’s age, legacy, and anticipated behavior in his next termAI’s evolving ecosystem: ‘rails’ companies, OpenAI–NVIDIA duopoly, and new app-layer unicornsAI-powered personal health, diagnostics, and proactive services (travel, business, life admin)The rapid rise and monetization of podcasts, especially via political spendingShein and asset-light business models as a defining IPO and economic trendNuclear energy as the key enabling technology for AI’s energy demandsMasculinity, young men’s struggles, and their political impact in the 2024/2025 elections

High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.

Get more out of YouTube videos.

High quality summaries for YouTube videos. Accurate transcripts to search & find moments. Powered by ChatGPT & Claude AI.