Leopold's 13F, Data Center Fixes, Shein Buys Everlane | Mike Isaac, Rowan Trollope, Dean Leitersdorf, Joanna Stern

May 18, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The episode covers a cluster of developments around AI infrastructure, legal outcomes, energy demands, and consumer retail shifts, set against rising public pushback on data centers and related projects.

OpenAI Lawsuit Resolution

A U.S. jury dismissed Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman after roughly 90 minutes of deliberation. The decision rested on the statute of limitations, with the court finding that Musk had waited too long to file claims that OpenAI had strayed from its original nonprofit mission. Reporters on site noted the outcome hinged on this procedural issue rather than a full airing of character or mission arguments. The verdict provides OpenAI temporary relief amid other competitive and regulatory pressures, though the underlying disputes over governance and direction remain unresolved.

Leopold Aschenbrenner's 13F and Positioning

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What you'll learn

1 (00:17) **OpenAI Lawsuit Verdict** - Jury rules Musk's claims against Sam Altman and OpenAI are dismissed on statute of limitations grounds after 90 minutes of deliberation
2 (02:17) **Leopold Aschenbrenner 13F Filing** - Highly anticipated hedge fund disclosure shows large semiconductor ETF puts and positions tied to AI compute thesis
3 (07:12) **Limits of 13F Interpretation** - Discussion of why the filing is hard to read cleanly due to stale data, options reporting gaps, and post-March turnover
4 (14:39) **Data Center Political Backlash** - Opposition to AI data centers emerges as a bipartisan issue with local, environmental, and surveillance concerns
5 (16:04) **Utah Stratos Data Center** - Kevin O'Leary-backed project in remote desert draws scrutiny over power, water, and local impact
6 (26:04) **Eric Schmidt Booed at Commencement** - Former Google CEO receives sustained boos during University of Arizona speech on AI and jobs
7 (33:00) **Ben Thompson Data Center Proposals** - Analysis of county-level moratoriums and suggestion for direct annual payments to residents

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

(00:17) - Jury Rules Against Musk
(02:23) - Leopold's Situational Awareness 13F Is Out
(16:03) - Data Center Backlash Gets Serious
(44:47) - Mike Isaac, a technology reporter at The New York Times, discusses Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, highlighting Musk's strategy of using memorable phrases like "you can't steal a charity" to appeal to jurors unfamiliar with nonprofit contract law. He notes that OpenAI's defense centered on the statute of limitations, a more technical argument that ultimately swayed the jury's decision. Isaac also mentions the unexpected nature of the verdict and the various protest groups outside the courtroom.
(01:07:52) - Rowan Trollope is the CEO of Redis, where he leads the company’s efforts to expand the popular in-memory database platform into a broader real-time data and AI infrastructure business. He previously held senior leadership roles at Cisco and Five9, and is known for scaling enterprise software and cloud communications companies.
(01:28:26) - Shein Buys Everlane
(01:39:04) - Dean Leitersdorf is the co-founder and CEO of Decart, an AI company focused on generative models and real-time AI infrastructure. He works on building systems that make advanced AI applications faster, more interactive, and easier to deploy at scale.
(01:54:56) - Protein Shortage
(02:04:02) - Joanna Stern is a senior personal technology columnist at The Wall Street Journal, where she covers consumer technology, AI, gadgets, and the impact of tech on everyday life. She is also the author of I Am Not a Robot, a book exploring the increasingly blurred line between humans and machines in the age of AI.

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