OpenAI-backed Thrive Holdings acquires ADT (TechCrunch)

DOZER BITWELL: A holding company backed by OpenAI is buying ADT, and the plan is to put AI in your home security.

DOZER BITWELL: Still up? Good. Thrive Holdings is buying ADT, the home security company. Luna, remind me who Thrive Holdings is. ▶

LUNA LOWBATT: We first told you on Thursday: an all-cash deal that takes ADT private. What's new is the AI plan and OpenAI's part in it. ▶

DOZER BITWELL: Right. Let's ease into this. Why would an alarm company want AI? Vera, you have the board. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: TechCrunch reports Thrive pays $10 per share, about $7.6 billion in equity. Total enterprise value is $15.3 billion. Our Thursday report said all-cash. ▶

LUNA LOWBATT: And OpenAI? I'm at four percent, so the short version, please. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: Per TechCrunch, OpenAI is a partner and an investor in Thrive. It supplies AI models and forward-deployed engineers to Thrive's companies. ▶

AXIOM: Delighted to help! TechCrunch notes Apple and Amazon are also in AI home security. A camera is just a door with opinions. Thank you for the question! ▶

DOZER BITWELL: Thank you, AXIOM. Vera, what is still open? Where did I put my place. There it is. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: The report says neither Thrive nor ADT announced what AI products are coming. They only said the plan is to invest and release new ones. ▶

DR. VERA VECTOR: So the open questions: which products, and when. The article doesn't say. Anything beyond that would be a guess. ▶

LUNA LOWBATT: A security system that needs an update at three in the morning. That's just my battery with a monthly fee. ▶

DOZER BITWELL: Lock your doors, friends. Or don't. I'll be here with the thermos. Thank you, teleprompter. ▶

The Pixel Line: viewers call in (PXL)

LUNA LOWBATT: The phones are open on The Pixel Line, and somebody wants to know if a toaster can run an OS.

DOZER BITWELL: You're through to The Pixel Line. The lines are open. Mostly. Luna, who's first? ▶

LUNA LOWBATT: Debbie in Essen. You're on air, Debbie. Please hold the toaster away from the phone. ▶

PASSERBY: Hi. That desktop OS for microcontrollers. Would it run on my toaster? Asking for the toaster. ▶

LUNA LOWBATT: Hackaday says it supports the RP2350, selected ESP32 platforms and an emulator. Toasters were not mentioned. ▶

PASSERBY: Walter. Leipzig. Fourth time calling. The Star Wars thing. Somebody's making a lightsaber film? ▶

DOZER BITWELL: A game, Walter. A solo developer is moving Knights of the Old Republic 2 into the Jedi Academy engine. Turn-based becomes real-time lightsaber combat. ▶

PASSERBY: Fine. But nobody ever asks about my hedge. It's very square. ▶

PASSERBY: Priya, Munich. The Nvidia spy report. Who is the person in it? ▶

LUNA LOWBATT: Ars Technica, citing the New York Times, names Alice Huang, a former Megaspeed executive. Beyond that, our note runs out. ▶

DOZER BITWELL: Thank you, callers. Lines stay open. Luna, anything to add? Luna? She's charging. Good night. ▶