What Is TBPN And Why Did OpenAI Buy It?

OpenAI acquired TBPN, the fast-growing tech talk show and media company, on Thursday, in a deal reported by Forbes and Variety to be in the low hundreds of millions for an undisclosed sum. The purchase is framed by those outlets as part of OpenAI’s push to secure a key “distribution channel” and exert greater control over the public narrative around artificial intelligence.

TBPN — short for the Technology Business Programming Network — was launched in late 2024 by entrepreneurs John Coogan and Jordi Hays. The three-hour daily program streams live on YouTube and X (formerly Twitter) and has become a prominent fixture in Silicon Valley media, attracting a large audience of founders, CEOs and investors.

Observers frequently describe TBPN as a “SportsCenter for the tech industry,” offering boosterish, personality-driven commentary on startups and AI that makes it a regular stop for industry leaders and dealmakers. The acquisition follows a broader trend of technology firms buying or investing in media properties to shape discourse around their products and markets.

In a CNN interview, OpenAI chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane pointed to a long history of companies buying media outlets — from Westinghouse’s ownership of CBS to Microsoft’s partnership with NBC that created MSNBC. He likened the TBPN acquisition to media sponsorships and sports franchises’ dedicated channels.

Lehane said the deal is fundamentally about messaging: TBPN’s hosts will continue their daily live-stream while also assisting OpenAI with marketing and communications. “These guys at TBPN have really cracked the code, particularly for a core — and incredibly important — AI audience: developers, builders, entrepreneurs and thought leaders,” he said, adding that TBPN focuses less on scooping news and more on unpacking the ideas behind AI — the how and the why.