The battle of the pipes has shifted to mobile. Verizon caught plenty of people by surprise when it announced it was buying AOL for $4.4 billion in cash (the cash part deserves a short moment to sink in). The question plenty of people are asking is, why? “Mobile,” says CFI General Partner Chris Dixon on this segment of the pod. “Increasingly it’s probably also mobile video.” CFI ’s Frank Chen joins Dixon to discuss the Verizon acquisition, and what might be the start of a fresh wave of buying as network providers like Verizon look to wedge their way further into both mobile video and the advertising technology that helps pay for it. “Everything is up for grabs in the video-to-mobile value chain,” Chen says. “Verizon sees it, and they want to be at the front of it.”
The CFI Podcast discusses the most important ideas within technology with the people building it. Each episode aims to put listeners ahead of the curve, covering topics like AI, energy, genomics, space, and more.