Show Notes: The 2025 AI Year in Review
Jonathan and I are sitting down to wrap up what has been a truly transformative year for the AI landscape
If 2024 was the year of hype, 2025 was the year of the "Great Separation," where we finally saw which players could execute and which were just blowing smoke.
This episode is a longer pod so here are the chapters to jump to if you are pushed for time:
00:00 Introduction and Year-End Reflection
00:22 OpenAI's Mixed Year
04:35 AI Market Trends and Investments
06:47 Google Gemini's Progress
09:48 AI Skillset and Workforce Impact
12:05 Microsoft Copilot's Struggles
16:21 Power and Infrastructure Challenges
19:38 Apple and Meta's AI Journey
22:45 AI Application Success Stories
28:52 Conclusion and Future Outlook
The Big Shifts of 2025
We dive deep into why Google Gemini has arguably won the year. While they started weak, they’ve successfully re-engineered their entire organisation around an AI ecosystem, delivering incredible tools like NotebookLM and Nano Banana.
On the flip side, OpenAI has had a mixed scorecard.
Despite holding 70% market share, they’ve faced a "Code Red" at year-end, pivoting away from broad "empire mode" experiments to protect their core LLM.
We also tackle the "Microsoft Problem".
Despite its reach, Copilot is struggling with user delight due to heavy corporate guardrails, leading to a disappointing adoption rate compared to sleeker apps like Gamma.
Key Takeaways