Zero Shot (Private)

Welcome back to Zero Shot, where Brady, Praveen, and Rohin take on the big ideas and latest developments in artificial intelligence every Wednesday.

This week, Praveen looks at a new future career in India—the energy engineer. With Amazon and Microsoft committing to a combined $52.5 billion of investments in India, these tech giants’ data centres will require immense power. India currently doesn’t produce enough renewable energy to service this demand, and even if there were enough power, there are other hurdles.

Rohin considers how SaaS companies are contending with an existential crisis. If their clients can replace their software with AI agents, then what value do SaaS companies hold in the future? Some providers have opted to insert AI capabilities into their products and raise their prices, but that is not sustainable in the long run. 

Brady looked at Broadcom’s stock slump and provided another way to think about the AI investment bubble. The company designs chips for Google. Its revenue has shot up but the company is trapped in fulfilling contracts with lower margins. This all comes down to the picks-and-shovels vendors being unable to capture value in the AI supply chain. It’s another sign that the likes of Google, Microsoft, and Meta will reap the biggest benefits, no matter how the business of AI transforms in the coming years.

The cover art of Zero Shot is generated by AI. Everything else is made by humans.

We love to hear from our listeners! If you have comments, critiques, or suggestions, write to us at zeroshot@the-ken.com

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Additional Reading

Tower of the Sun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_the_Sun

I’m Kenyan. I don’t write like ChatGPT. ChatGPT writes like me
https://marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-i-dont-write-like-chatgpt

The Ken’s Case-Build Competition: Disrupt the Incumbents
https://the-ken.com/case-competition-2025/submissions/ 

Microsoft and Amazon’s multibillion-dollar bets on India
https://www.ft.com/content/d564ba34-7514-43ca-90db-b4fa01737a10

India’s e-bus dream is finally coming to life. The power grid can’t keep up
https://the-ken.com/story/indias-e-bus-dream-is-finally-coming-to-life-no-one-told-the-power-grid/

AI agents are starting to eat SaaS
https://martinalderson.com/posts/ai-agents-are-starting-to-eat-saas/

Broadcom tumbles 11% despite blockbuster earnings as ‘AI angst’ weighs on Oracle, Nvidia
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/12/broadcom-tumbles-10percent-after-earnings-as-ai-trade-sells-off-.html

Global funds view Indian stocks as a top hedge against AI risks
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-14/global-funds-view-indian-stocks-as-a-top-hedge-against-ai-risks



What is Zero Shot (Private)?

Join Brady Ng, Praveen Gopal Krishnan, and Rohin Dharmakumar of The Ken as they discuss the big ideas in artificial intelligence. You’ll get the macro view, explore their experiments in practical applications, go deeper than the news coverage you’ve seen, and hear about the implications of the latest developments. Nothing is off the table.