Remember Grammarly? Of course you do. The briefly ubiquitous piece of software that made sure you were using your possessive apostrophes correctly. Well, guess what? They just received $1 billion in nondilutive investment from General Catalyst to become an all-in-one AI platform?

Sounds like bullshit? Well, probably. But it's a business model we'll be seeing more of. We chat through the rise of zombie AI platforms, before digressing into a chat about Perplexity.

Remember Grammarly? Of course you do. The briefly ubiquitous piece of software that made sure you were using your possessive apostrophes correctly. Well, guess what? They just received <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/29/grammarly-secures-1b-in-non-dilutive-funding-from-general-catalyst/">$1 billion</a> in nondilutive investment from General Catalyst to become an all-in-one AI platform?
Sounds like bullshit? Well, probably. But it's a business model we'll be seeing more of. We chat through the rise of zombie AI platforms, before digressing into a chat about Perplexity.

The number one podcast about tech business and culture, from James "JR" Hennessy and Raph Dixon.

Down Round

Grammarly's Second Wind

A highly requested topic in the Down Round Discord is mental health and mindfulness apps — from meditation platforms like Calm to therapist marketplaces like BetterHelp. That's the topic of today, discussing the boom during the ZIRP era, the peak during COVID, and how it all relates to other engagement platforms like Duolingo.

Go to https://www.downround.net/ to sign up for PREMIUM and get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week.

A highly requested topic in the Down Round Discord is mental health and mindfulness apps &mdash; from meditation platforms like Calm to therapist marketplaces like BetterHelp. That's the topic of today, discussing the boom during the ZIRP era, the peak during COVID, and how it all relates to other engagement platforms like Duolingo. Go to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.downround.net/">https://www.downround.net/</a> to sign up for PREMIUM and get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week.

Feelin' Fine

On this premium episode we take a look at another Apple departure, this time for human interface boss Alan Dye, who is going to Meta. Also, the flood of hardware designers heading for OpenAI. Also, reports their top chip guy is also considering a move too.

We unpack what this says about Apple’s stalled product imagination, Tim Cook’s twilight years, and why the M-series chip miracle can’t mask a company losing its razzle dazzle.

We also say vale to the 'verse as Meta moves to significantly slow down spending on its titular project, which nobody used and in fact many were actively hostile towards.

On this premium episode we take a look at another Apple departure, this time for human interface boss Alan Dye, who is going to Meta. Also, the flood of hardware designers heading for OpenAI. Also, reports their top chip guy is also considering a move too.
We unpack what this says about Apple&rsquo;s stalled product imagination, Tim Cook&rsquo;s twilight years, and why the M-series chip miracle can&rsquo;t mask a company losing its razzle dazzle.
We also say vale to the 'verse as Meta moves to significantly slow down spending on its titular project, which nobody used and in fact many were actively hostile towards.

Meta Buries the Metaverse (PREMIUM)

Netflix wants to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount Skydance wants to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Both for many billions of dollars. Why? We break down the $70 – 100 billion bids, the Ellison–Trump court politics, and why this could mark the final enclosure of the film industry by tech.

Also: James chronicles the history of film industry disruption, and Raph reveals his long-awaited top ten movies of 2025 list.

We also provide some follow-up on prediction markets after last weeks episode.

Go to https://www.downround.net/ to sign up for PREMIUM and get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week.

Netflix wants to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount Skydance wants to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Both for many billions of dollars. Why? We break down the $70 &ndash; 100 billion bids, the Ellison&ndash;Trump court politics, and why this could mark the final enclosure of the film industry by tech.
Also: James chronicles the history of film industry disruption, and Raph reveals his long-awaited top ten movies of 2025 list.
We also provide some follow-up on prediction markets after last weeks episode.
Go to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.downround.net/">https://www.downround.net/</a> to sign up for PREMIUM and get ad-free listening PLUS an extra episode every week.

Grammarly's Second Wind

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