PivotKara Swisher and Scott Galloway's 2025 Predictions on AI, IPOs, Podcasts, and Trump | Pivot
CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 1:00
Kara’s 2025 political prediction: Trump’s age, temperament, and “lame duck” reality
Kara predicts Donald Trump’s age will increasingly shape his presidency over the next two years, potentially producing a calmer public posture. She argues any moderation would come from fatigue, legacy concerns, and political reality—not a change in character.
- 1:00 – 2:22
Kara’s AI market call: the “rails” winners (IBM, Salesforce, and enterprise implementers)
Kara shifts to AI, predicting that less-hyped enterprise companies will benefit most by implementing AI on top of massive infrastructure spending by Big Tech. She likens it to the early internet, where the biggest long-term winners weren’t always the early headline names.
- 2:22 – 2:52
Scott’s AI power structure prediction: OpenAI + NVIDIA as a ‘new Wintel’ duopoly
Scott predicts 2025 will cement a dominant AI duopoly: OpenAI on the interface/model side and NVIDIA on compute. He argues they control the majority of AI queries and the processing that powers them, creating a concentration reminiscent of historical tech platforms.
- 2:52 – 3:53
The next unicorn wave: AI applications in healthcare, fitness, and travel planning
Scott forecasts a surge of AI-native consumer applications, especially in healthcare and travel, as the application layer matures. He describes AI becoming proactive—anticipating needs and taking actions rather than just answering prompts.
- 3:53 – 4:41
Scott’s personal workflow: uploading medical imaging and business decks to AI
Scott explains how he uses AI with sensitive, high-context inputs—from MRIs to business decks—to get recommendations and analysis. Kara reacts with surprise and probes what exactly he’s uploading.
- 4:41 – 5:14
‘Service as a software’: AI as proactive operator + travel platforms as beneficiaries
Scott frames a shift from ‘software as a service’ toward ‘service as a software,’ where AI executes services end-to-end. Kara notes that companies like Expedia may benefit as “ride-the-rails” winners that don’t bear the heaviest infrastructure costs.
- 5:14 – 6:07
Podcasts as the new political media buy: capital shifts from local TV to creators
Scott predicts 2025 will be a breakout year for podcasts, accelerated by political advertising and campaigning. He argues podcasts deliver outsized reach efficiently and will attract both money and talent as production costs stay relatively low.
- 6:07 – 6:37
Candidates sliding into the DMs: senators and governors asking to appear
Kara and Scott share anecdotes about elected officials and candidates reaching out to get on their shows. Scott jokes about the transparent motivation and warns politicians not to pretend it’s purely about policy discussion.
- 6:37 – 7:00
Podcast ad economics: faster growth, better demographics, and ‘pleasant’ discourse
Scott argues podcast revenues will grow quickly in 2025, driven by strong ad effectiveness and attractive audience demographics. He contrasts podcasts with cable news, claiming podcasts are more about learning and less about antagonism.
- 7:00 – 8:00
IPO of the year prediction: Shein and the rise of asset-light, software-driven retail
Scott picks Shein as his IPO of the year, noting it may list in London and exemplifies asset-light scale. He compares productivity metrics against legacy incumbents to argue why the model is so powerful.
- 8:00 – 8:30
Technology of the year: nuclear power as AI’s energy bottleneck solution
Scott predicts nuclear will be 2025’s technology story, driven by AI’s massive energy demands and Big Tech’s willingness to fund new capacity. He argues nuclear’s safety and reliability are being re-evaluated after decades of poor branding.
- 8:30 – 9:25
‘Substance of the year’: testosterone, masculinity politics, and young men’s struggles
Scott predicts “testosterone” will be a defining theme, tying election dynamics to economic and social anxiety among young men. He argues the ‘manosphere’ played a meaningful role, and that broader society is being forced into a more candid conversation.
- 9:25 – 9:43
Deal-making outlook: mega-LBOs and targets like Target and Intel
Scott closes his predictions with a finance call: major leveraged buyouts could return as capital sits on the sidelines. He names Target and Intel as two potential marquee targets.
- 9:43 – 10:07
Light wrap-up and host banter: ‘vacation together’ and the Pivot dynamic
The segment ends with playful banter about their year ahead and whether they’d ever vacation together. Kara and Scott joke about “conscious coupling,” kids, and personalities, closing the predictions on a comedic note.
