About this episode
Sam Altman called ads a "last resort" in late 2024. That day has arrived. OpenAI just announced ChatGPT is running ads—personalised ones based on your conversations. The company spent $8 billion in 2025 alone with zero profit, and an essay predicted they'll burn through cash by 2027. Meanwhile, Google's Gemini is betting on staying ad-free, preserving user trust while ChatGPT strains it. Host Rachel Varghese breaks down the enshittification playbook, why OpenAI's "code red" memo signals desperation, and whether ads can actually save a company hemorrhaging billions.Tune in.Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. Subscribe for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.
