$GME CEO Ryan Cohen, OpenAI vs Elon Musk Continues, U.S. Gets Early Access to AI Models | Harley Finkelstein, Scott Strazik, Brian Elliott, Stephen Balaban & Michel Combes

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May 5, 2026

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Ryan Cohen, Chewy co-founder and GameStop CEO, pitches a bold eBay takeover. Harley Finkelstein, Shopify president, talks giant GMV, big-brand adoption, and AI shopping channels. Scott Strazik, GE Vernova CEO, gets into power demand, grid bottlenecks, turbines, and small modular reactors. Plus OpenAI courtroom drama, early AI model reviews, Coinbase cuts, and Meta’s AI spending debate.

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Large Codebases Break The Bigger Context Window Story

Bigger context windows do not solve enterprise coding because model intelligence degrades once too much code is stuffed into context.
Brian Elliott says large repos require system-level graph traversal and just-in-time retrieval, not simply a bigger advertised window.

Stephen Balaban Passed Lambda CEO To Michel Combes

Stephen Balaban handed Lambda's CEO role to Michel Combes after 14 years, framing it as bringing in infrastructure scale experience.
He compares the CTO role he is taking to Larry Ellison's transition while Combes emphasizes capital formation and operational expansion.

Lambda Wants To Win By Staying Focused On Compute

Lambda's strategy is deliberate focus rather than expanding into every adjacent AI business line.
Stephen Balaban says the goal is most compute at the lowest cost with flexible terms for both frontier labs and individual developers.

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(01:06) - OpenAI vs Elon Musk Continues
(09:19) - U.S. Gets Early Access to AI Models
(21:22) - Courtroom Simulator
(23:25) - Coinbase Cuts 14% of Staff
(28:37) - Meta's Cheap Stock May Be A Trap
(32:51) - Harley Finkelstein, born November 8, 1983, in Montreal, is a Canadian entrepreneur and the president of Shopify. In the conversation, he highlights Shopify's recent achievements, including consecutive quarters with over $100 billion in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) and a 34% increase in revenue to $3.2 billion. He also discusses the growing adoption of Shopify by major brands like LVMH and Lands' End, the impact of AI on entrepreneurship, and the expansion of agentic commerce through platforms like ChatGPT and Google.
(45:41) - Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Vernova, has over 20 years of experience in leadership, finance, and operations within General Electric, including roles as CEO of GE's Gas Power business and CFO of GE Aviation's Commercial Engine Operations. He discusses the significant role GE Vernova plays in global electricity generation, with its equipment contributing to about a third of the world's electricity outside China. Strazik emphasizes the company's commitment to meeting the growing global demand for electric power through its diverse portfolio, including gas turbines, nuclear power plants, wind turbines, and grid electrification technologies. He also highlights the importance of investing in automation and workforce development to scale production efficiently and address challenges in building new power plants, particularly in remote locations.
(01:12:59) - Brian Elliott, CEO of Blitzy, discusses the company's recent $200 million funding at a $1.4 billion valuation, highlighting their autonomous software development platform designed for complex enterprise use cases. He explains how Blitzy serves industries like banking and insurance by autonomously improving large codebases over extended periods, utilizing foundational models from OpenAI, Gemini, and Anthropic. Elliott emphasizes their direct go-to-market approach, demonstrating rapid codebase analysis and autonomous operation, setting a new benchmark for autonomy in software development.
(01:20:24) - Stephen Balaban, co-founder and former CEO of Lambda, has transitioned to the role of Chief Technology Officer, passing leadership to Michelle Combs, the former CEO of Sprint and SoftBank International. In their discussion, they emphasize a shared commitment to scaling the company's AI infrastructure by focusing on capital formation and operational expansion, aiming to provide the most efficient computing power for their customers. Balaban will continue to lead product vision and technology direction, while Combs will drive growth and operational excellence.
(01:29:17) - Ryan Cohen, CEO of GameStop and co-founder of Chewy, has made an unsolicited $56 billion bid to acquire eBay, offering $125 per share in a half-cash, half-stock deal. He envisions transforming eBay into a formidable competitor to Amazon by integrating GameStop's physical stores with eBay's online platform, enhancing services like live commerce and authentication of collectibles. Cohen emphasizes his commitment to the venture, proposing performance-based compensation and expressing confidence in his ability to revitalize eBay's operations.
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