Call it AI, call it Super Intelligence, only 2% of consumers are buying it
On a recent episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha and Sean O'Kane discussed a week of AI developments and startup news.
The White House brought together nearly every major tech CEO — including Zuckerberg, Bezos, Musk and Anthropic's Dario Amodei — to sign an AI safety pledge that President Donald Trump described as "morally binding." Trump also signed an executive order officially rebranding AI as "super intelligence," according to the episode.
Meanwhile, Meta and OpenAI are putting friendlier faces on their AI products, even as the biggest money in AI still appears to be coming from the enterprise, the episode states.
The hosts also covered what they described as the economics of consumer AI, along with a shifting IPO market. Among the items discussed: Oura pulling its IPO, Anthropic's leaked S-1, and OpenAI going back to private funding, which the episode frames as signs of how picky public markets have become. The episode also noted Quartermaster's $140 million raise to bring real-time sensors to maritime shipping, an industry AI has largely not touched; Atomic, a supply-chain startup from ex-Tesla veterans already running 90% of DoorDash's purchasing; and Startup Battlefield finalist Charter Space, which raised $5 million to bring insurance to satellites.
The podcast also promoted TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where Equity will open with a live show on the Builders Stage at 9 a.m., with a 25% ticket discount using code Equity25.
Based on reporting from the original publisher. Visit the source for full context and later updates.
Publisher excerpt
This week, the White House got nearly every major tech CEO in one room — Zuckerberg, Bezos, Musk, and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei among them — to sign an AI safety pledge that President Donald Trump called “morally binding.” Trump also signed an executive order officially rebranding AI as “super intelligence,” and meanwhile, Meta and OpenAI are putting friendlier faces on their AI products, even as the biggest money […]