SED News: Apple Bets on Gemini, Google’s AI Advantage, and the Talent Arms Race

19 snips

Feb 3, 2026

Rapid in-flight internet and how it changes travel productivity. Tesla moving from Autopilot toward full self-driving. Apple reportedly using Google’s Gemini for Siri. Meta’s acquisition of Manus and Waymo’s scaling challenges. The intense arms race for AI talent and shifting stock compensation strategies.

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ANECDOTE

Gate-to-Gate Starlink Transformed Flights

Gregor Vand experienced gate-to-gate Starlink Wi-Fi on flights and called it a game changer for productivity.
He recommends seeking Starlink-enabled flights when you need reliable inflight internet.

INSIGHT

Apple Chooses Partnership Over Building Models

Bloomberg reported Apple will power Siri with Google's Gemini, signaling Apple prefers partnering over building base models.
Sean Falconer suggests Apple should focus on UX and hardware while leveraging Google's AI strength.

ADVICE

Reevaluate Vesting When Hiring Or Joining AI Firms

OpenAI removed the one-year vesting cliff to attract top AI talent and reduce hiring friction.
Consider how accelerated vesting changes your hiring strategy and employee incentives before joining or recruiting.

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SED News is a monthly podcast from Software Engineering Daily where hosts Gregor Vand and Sean Falconer unpack the biggest stories shaping software engineering, Silicon Valley, and the broader tech industry.

In this episode, they cover Starlink’s rapid rollout of free, high-speed in-flight internet, Tesla’s move to deprecate Autopilot in favor of full self-driving, and Apple’s reported decision to power Siri with Google’s Gemini models. They also discuss Meta’s $2B acquisition of Manus, Waymo’s growing pains as autonomous vehicles scale, and the competitive shockwaves triggered by Google’s advances in custom AI hardware.

Gregor and Sean then dive deep into the state of the tech job market, examining OpenAI’s decision to eliminate vesting cliffs, the escalating war for elite AI talent, and what recent layoffs really say about the future of software engineering. They explore how AI coding tools are reshaping the balance between junior and senior engineers, why fundamentals still matter, and what developers should focus on heading into 2026.

Finally, they highlight standout threads from Hacker News, including Doom running on wireless earbuds, the enduring appeal of wildly over-engineered side projects, and why hacking for fun still matters in an age of industrial-scale AI.

Gregor Vand is a security-focused technologist, having previously been a CTO across cybersecurity, cyber insurance and general software engineering companies. He is based in Singapore and can be found via his profile at vand.hk or on LinkedIn.

Sean’s been an academic, startup founder, and Googler. He has published works covering a wide range of topics from AI to quantum computing. Currently, Sean is an AI Entrepreneur in Residence at Confluent where he works on AI strategy and thought leadership. You can connect with Sean on LinkedIn.

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