> FROM THE HEART OF WHERE INNOVATION, MONEY, AND POWER COLLIDE IN SILICON VALLEY AND BEYOND, THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY," WITH CAROLINE HYDE AND ED

LUDLOW. CAROLINE: TRUMP AND MUSCLE-BUILDING POLITICAL POWER; TIME IS TICKING FOR THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, AND THE MAR-A-LAGO MERRY-GO-ROUND CONTINUES AS BEZOS TRIES TO INFLUENCE DECISIONS.

AND IT IS THE SEASON FOR INTEL DEALMAKING. FIRST, LET'S CHECK THE VOLATILITY. IT'S TRIPLE WITCHING, WITH OPTIONS EXPIRING AND A FOCUS ON

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN TERMS OF THE NASDAQ. THE NASDAQ 100 IS UP 0.7%. AT THE BEGINNING OF TRADING, WE WERE DOWN 0.5%, REALLY GETTING PUSHED AROUND BY THE

MARKET AFTER THE SIGNIFICANT SELLOFF FOLLOWING THE DIGESTION OF HOW MANY RATE CUTS ARE COMING. WE ARE ALSO SEEING ONE KEY RISK SENTIMENT FACTOR COMING INTO PLAY.

LOSE 108,000 DOLLARS ON CRYPTO; DOWN BY 95,000 AS OF LATE. BITCOIN IS UNDER PRESSURE AS WE SEE THE MACRO POLICY IMPACT. LET'S GET TO THE BROADER MARKETS.

PUSH TO 2025. Hillary Frisch is with us from ClearBridge, with a real focus on software. For me, that has been the key calling card of December. November and December was movement

from hardware, from infrastructure, into software. The applications of AI, that will run on? >> Thanks for having me. In general, it should. All that said, we have come so far in a short amount of time

with software being up since early December. Some consolidation of the gains we have seen is logical, and I could see more through the beginning of the year for a few reasons. But in general, I think the trend is up, and we have

reached an important demarcation in the space. Caroline: Is it macro policy uncertainty? Hillary: Uncertainty over Trump and the weaker part of the year.

Conservatively, on the Q4 earnings calls, with what we heard from the Fed this week, the group will likely have to adjust to higher interest rates for longer, which impacts a few

factors. Caroline: Looking at valuation more broadly, there have been the haves and have-nots. Some have been entering benchmarks, like Palantir, a software winner as people are galvanized by generative AI.

OPPORTUNITIES, BUT IS IT TOO HEADY? WHEN DO WE START TO SEE THOSE RATIOS LOOKING HEALTHY AS THEY MANAGE TO GROW THEIR EARNINGS?
HILLARY: SUCH A GOOD QUESTION.

PELLETIER IS IN RAREFIED AIR. THE FIRST TO SCALE, CAPITALIZING ON GENAI AND A LARGE WAY WITH GOVERNMENT TAILWINDS IN A LARGE POSITION, DOING TREMENDOUSLY WELL WITH

VALUATION HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE EVERYONE ELSE. I'LL LEAVE THAT ALONE. FOR THE REST OF THE SPACE, WE ARE ABOUT TO SEE MUCH BETTER GROWTH THAN WE HAVE SEEN. IT'S BEEN A FLURRY OF ACTIVITY SINCE COVID.

IT'S BEEN TWO YEARS OF DIGESTION WITH COMPANIES USING TECHNOLOGY AS A SOURCE OF COST SAVINGS. NOW, WITH THE ADVENT OF GENERATIVE AI AND AGENTS, WHICH APPEARED ON THE SHIFT FOR THIS

SPACE, WE ARE STARTING TO SEE MORE INVESTMENT. CAROLINE: CURRENTLY TRADING AT 190 TIMES FUTURE EARNINGS. THE OXYGEN IS GETTING SUCKED OUT OF THE ROOM, AND THERE MUST BE A...

FOR INVESTORS AND ONLOOKERS ALIKE, SHOW ME THE MONEY, SHOW ME THE PRODUCTIVITY, HOW MUCH WILL THIS AFFECT MY LIFE, BECAUSE I AM JUST HEARING THE WORDS. HILLARY: RIGHT.

IT'S SO EARLY. Salesforce is working on this movement, and it's been out for maybe only seven or eight weeks. Caroline: Have you used it? Hillary: I have spoken to customers who have been testing it in beta.

The feedback is excellent. Compelling on accuracy, on ease of use, on the ability to draw together critical enterprise data and make use of it. We are just on the cusp of that.

We will see other companies do that. It makes for a compelling story, and we can start to dream of a better time where growth is better, and part of that will be

coming not from the agency themselves, but then taking on the hard work and improving the data, getting it ready for use in investments in the cloud. Caroline: David Brooks raising money in the private market; they were

all about using that underlying data. But to that end, we have a lot of startups talking about it, trying to get in the space and talking about the stalwart giants. Are we going to see M&A activity once again?

More broadly, are these companies getting back into M&A with a more friendly administration? Hillary: Yes, no, and yes. Part of the reason we have seen that rise in valuations since

The summer is because of this friendlier stance. We are likely to see it with large companies and small companies. There is that. We will see a lot of startups trying to get into this space.

And some will be successful. There is always disruption with a new tech wave. What is compelling is we can see them capitalize on the portfolios, and we are seeing them do that. Specifically, Salesforce is

making acquisitions, and ultimately we have seen them do something. But right now they seem so focused on what they have at hand that we may not see what we have traditionally

seen from them in terms of large M&A. In fact, they have a large swath of activists on the board still. Caroline: Keeping a close eye on those purse strings. More broadly, when 2023 and

2024 were so dominated by one name, Nvidia, everybody was asking about the software infrastructure. Are we going to see that shift now? Is everyone just going to be more focused on agents? The time of quantum?

What will be the cocktail party question for you next year? >> That's an exciting one that will change every week -- every week. There has been a push and pull between semi and software the entire time as investors try to

IDENTIFY THE REAL AI BENEFICIARY. IN REALITY, THEY WILL BOTH BE STRONG, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. NAMES MIGHT SHIFT, BUT SOFTWARE IS STARTING TO APPRECIATE AI. THE AGENTS, AS I MENTIONED, IT

REPRESENTS A SHIFT FROM HOMEGROWN, OR 'DO IT YOURSELF' AI, TO 'DO IT FOR ME' AI. CUSTOMERS WOULD FAR PREFER THAT VENDORS DO IT FOR THEM. IT WILL BE BETTER, FASTER, CHEAPER IN THE END.

THAT IS A STORY THAT CONTINUES. THERE ARE OTHER THINGS I LIKE ABOUT SOFTWARE. SEMIS ARE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING BEATEN UP. THERE IS A LOT OF DEBATE ABOUT WHETHER WE WILL SEE THOSE SMALLER MODELS WITH POST-TRAINING

TIME TRAINING AT THE POINT OF INFERENCE WITH FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS. BUT IN THE END, WE WILL NEED A LOT MORE FOR WHAT WE ARE ABOUT TO DO. CAROLINE: IT'S ALWAYS A JOY TO HAVE YOU IN THE STUDIO, HILLARY, ALWAYS

LEAVING US WANTING TO TALK ABOUT MORE. INTEL HAS BEEN SHORTLISTING BUYOUT FIRMS FOR ALTERA'S NEXT ROUND OF BIDDING. LET'S BRING IN BRIAN GOULD. HOW CLOSE TO THE END MARK ARE WE?

HOW MANY SERIOUS BIDS HAVE COME IN? HOW BROAD ARE THEY? >> JUST BEFORE THANKSGIVING, WE PUT OUT A STORY SAYING THEY WERE CALLING FOR BIDS. ALTERA IS THE SINGLE BIGGEST TOPIC IN TECH M&A RIGHT NOW FOR THOSE WHO SPECIALIZE IN

Semiconductor deals take time and money, with people thinking about how to structure their bids. They came in under Thanksgiving and tell us now it's shortlisted. We have players like Bain and

Silver Lake, and then others, like Apollo, who are looking. Francisco Partners, with experienced semiconductor operators, adding intrigue to the mix,

specializes in FPGAs, the same kind of technology that Intel is trying to sell here. They are also in the mix for the second round. Caroline: Their own market capitalization isn't huge; they would have to partner.

Does Intel want to fully hand over the reins here? Ryan: They are quite coy about what they really want to do. They have said that their plan is to sell a stake and go public. When you're in that situation that they are in,

they have options.  The options on the table have to be considered. If something is presented to them, they will give it good credence. There are many proposals on the table here.

Multiple parts outlined in different suitors. It could be a situation where there is a group of private equity sponsors coming together. They are operational now and

ABLE TO TRANSFORM IT INTO WHAT THEY THINK IT SHOULD BE. >> A FEW BANKERS WILL BE BUSY OVER THE FESTIVE PERIOD. WE KNOW THAT YOU WILL BE. COMING UP, TIME IS TICKING FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO AVOID A SHUTDOWN.

TRUMP AND MUSK, WEIGHING IN. TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT ONE STOCK ON THE MOVE. I ASKED HILLARY IF THIS IS THE YEAR THAT WE TALK ABOUT QUANTUM COMPUTING, AND IT IS HERE NOW.

A BUY ON THIS COMPANY FROM GREG. WE ARE INITIATING COVERAGE WITH A BUY RATING. PILING IN. THIS IS BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY. IT'S CAROLINE: THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COULD VOTE ON A

TEMPORARY MEASURE TO FUND THE GOVERNMENT FOR A BRIEF TIME TO AVOID -- TO AVERT A SHUTDOWN, ACCORDING TO TWO NEWS NETWORKS. THIS IS AFTER THE HOUSE, LED BY REPUBLICANS, REJECTED A

TEMPORARY FUNDING PLAN DESPITE THE PRESSURE ON GOP LAWMAKERS TO SUPPORT IT. KAILEY LEINZ JOINS US NOW FROM WASHINGTON. IT FEELS AS THOUGH THEY ARE INTENT ON NOT HAVING A BREAK BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS. KAILEY:

USUALLY THE SMELL OF JET FUEL IS ENOUGH TO MOTIVATE LAWMAKERS TO GET DONE WHAT THEY NEED TO GET DONE BY THE DEADLINE, BUT WE ARE GETTING CLOSE TO THE WIRE, KEEPING IN MIND

Government funding expires at midnight. We are talking a window of just under 13 hours, and it isn't yet clear what exactly Plan C will be after Plan A failed.

Partially because they wanted to see that initial 1547-page bill die, resulting in a much slimmed-down bill that failed in a miserable fashion last night, with 38 Republicans voting against it.

Now the question will be: Can something get through the House today to avoid a shutdown? We are expecting Republicans to hold a conference meeting in just over an hour where they could be informed of what the plan is next, and there has been

reporting from Punchbowl News that they could actually end up dividing the bill that failed last night; holding separate votes on a continuing resolution, the debt ceiling measure, and disaster relief to see what can

get across the floor. Caroline: For those not as in the weeds as you, on the one part it seems like this is pushed largely by Musk and Trump; they

don't want to see the pork given away, but on the other hand, Republicans are really flinching at the idea of the debt ceiling being put aside for a couple of years, which

Doesn't seem fiscally responsible, according to them. Kailey: That's exactly right. A relatively new idea; this idea that it should be extended, repealed, or lifted

permanently before he takes office, Trump has suggested. Lawmakers I have spoken with, including Dick Durbin last night, suggested to me that that is likely because he knows

he wants to get through a tax reform package next year, and lifting the debt ceiling is an easy way to get that process done. That said, a number of conservatives in the House that

represent a part of the 38 who voted against the measure last night don't want to see the debt ceiling raised because they want to see more fiscal responsibility.

That's going to be the question moving forward: Can something that lifts the debt ceiling get across the floor, or will it only just keep the government funded for a little bit of time, and will it be shorter than what they

initially planned, a three-month resolution that kicks the can down the road? Speaker Ryan has a difficult needle to thread. He has to abide by what his conference wants and is willing to vote for, but what Donald

TRUMP AND ELON MUSK ARE WILLING
TO SPEAK ACROSS THE FLOOR. HE HAS TO STAND FOR SPEAKER
ELECTION AGAIN ON JANUARY 3RD WHEN THE 118TH CONGRESS SITS AND
THERE IS AN OPEN QUESTION AS TO

THIS HOUR AS TO WHETHER OR NOT
GIVEN EVERYTHING THAT HAS GONE DOWN, HE WILL BE ABLE TO KEEP
THE GAVEL. CAROLINE: KAILEY LEINZ, GREAT BREAKDOWN,
THANK YOU. WE HAVE BEEN REPORTING ON THE
TECH TITANS WHO HAVE BEEN

MEETING AND DINING WITH TRUMP
OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS. THE GOOGLE CO-FOUNDERS ARE IN ON
THE ACTION, WITH JEFF BEZOS BRINGING IN THE LATEST. IT
DOESN'T EVEN INCLUDE THE OTHER

BIG TECH LEADERS OFFICIALLY
WORKING WITHIN THE INCOMING ADMINISTRATION. ELON MUSK, DAVID SACHS, MARC
ANDREESSEN, JUST TO NAME A FEW. OUR GUEST JOINS US TO DISCUSS
THE NEW INTERSECTION OF TECH

AND POLITICS IN 2025.
SOME NAMES THAT WE ALREADY KNOW MUCH ABOUT, WITH MORE LINING UP
FOR A DINNER INVITATION. >> I MEAN, EVERYONE SEEMS TO BE
MAKING THEIR WAY TO MAR-A-LAGO.

THERE IS A VERY DIFFERENT FEEL
FROM 2016. AT THAT POINT, TRUMP HELD THAT
SORT OF FAMOUS MEETING AT TRUMP TOWER WHERE ALL OF THE
TECH EXECUTIVES ENDED UP

COMING, BUT IT FELT LIKE THEY WERE ALMOST FORCED TO BE THERE, DEALING WITH THEIR EMPLOYEES BACK AT HEADQUARTERS IN SILICON VALLEY COMPLAINING AND PROTESTING ABOUT ALL THIS.

THIS TIME IT FEELS DIFFERENT, GOING ONE BY ONE AND HAVING DINNER AT MAR-A-LAGO, BEING VERY FRIENDLY. I THINK THAT THE AWKWARD SITUATION HERE IS ELON MUSK

OF IT ALL. ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE COMPETITORS IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER TO HIM AND HIS COMPANIES. AND OFTEN, WHEN THEY SHOW UP TO DINNER, LIKE JEFF BEZOS FROM AMAZON, ELON MUSK IS

OFTEN AT THE TABLE. HOW MUCH CAN YOU REALLY SAY TO DONALD TRUMP OR ACCOMPLISH WHEN ONE OF YOUR BIGGEST ENEMIES IS SITTING RIGHT THERE ACROSS THE TABLE FROM YOU? SPACE COMPETITION -- CAROLINE: SPACE COMPETITION IS FIERCE

BETWEEN BLUE ORIGIN AND SPACEX. WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY WILL GIVE IN TERMS OF INDICATIONS REGARDING THE INAUGURATION OF TRUMP IN THE MEETINGS? THEY WERE SHOWING OFF -- MARK WAS

SHOWING OFF THOSE METHOW GLASSES AND THE LATEST INNOVATIONS TO PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP. HOW IS THIS DOVETAILING INTO WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE IN THE AGENDA? KURT:

Everyone is in agreement that the best way to stay on his good side is to show up and demonstrate that with a public display of affection, right? Whether that be a million-dollar donation to the inaugural fund, showing up to

dinner and making the trek across the country to be there in person. Each of these companies wants something different, but if you want to blanket it, they don't

want him to come down hard around the tech knowledge they have built, with regulation around AI, right? The last thing that Mark Zuckerberg wants is for the Trump administration to say that we will try to hamper this

AI growth for you, Mark Zuckerberg, because you didn't show up to make Trump feel special, right? I think they are all doing what they need to do just to simply be

in his good graces, in the hopes that those relationships, so important to the incoming president, will ultimately help to make their road easier over the next four years. Caroline:

Many are feeling akin to Peter Thiel, now, the only one back in 2016. Kurt Wagner, great to have you. Thank you. Coming up, Foxconn. Not quite sure how much they are interested in Nissan

ANYMORE. CAROLINE: TENCENT'S STOCK SURGED ON FRIDAY AFTER INVESTOR ENTHUSIASM OVER A NEW GIFTING FUNCTION ON WECHAT THAT ALLOWS USERS TO GIVE GIFTS PRICED AT LESS THAN

$1300, ACCORDING TO A STATEMENT. SERVICE PROVIDERS WILL LIKELY BE BENEFICIARIES. STICKING WITH TENCENT, THEY ARE PARTNERING ON CLOUD AND AI DEVELOPMENT. HONOR IS AMONG ONE

OF THEIR HIGHER-PROFILE CLOUD CUSTOMERS, USING THEIR BIG DATA ANALYTICS AND SOCIAL MEDIA.  THE TWO COMPANIES ARE CREATING A CODING ASSISTANT FOR HONOR'S SOFTWARE ENGINEERS.

BAIDU IS EXTENDING ITS DECLINE AS INVESTORS REACT TO NEWS THAT APPLE IS IN TALKS TO WORK WITH THEM ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. NEWSPAPER REPORTS SHOW THAT BYTEDANCE HAS

CUT BACK ON A NEW AI MODEL. AND A TAIWAN-BASED MANUFACTURER OF IPHONES, KNOWN AS FOXCONN, IS PUTTING AN INTEREST IN PURSUING THIS APP ON HOLD. NEGOTIATIONS ARE UNDERWAY, ACCORDING TO SOURCES.

MEANWHILE, THE ARCHITECT OF THE ALLIANCE 25 YEARS AGO SAID THAT THE TIE-UP BETWEEN THEM IS A DESPERATE MOVE. THIS IS WHAT HE TOLD BLOOMBERG YESTERDAY.

Their cash flow is a problem; they have investment problems. They've been really hammered in the United States. They practically got out of Europe. They are being challenged in China.

There is no plan in front of them. I can tell you that there is panic inside.

Let's get out for the latest on the tie-up. It was all catalyzed, Greg, by the Foxconn interest in Nissan, with Japan racing to ensure that Taiwanese...

companies weren't buying up Japanese ones. Is that still the game? We cannot rule out at this point that Foxconn will completely lead the picture here. This is a case of real, genuine interest. You have an executive

at Foxconn overseeing the EV initiatives, a former Nissan executive adding to the intrigue. You also have a case of just a very complex deal. It's very unclear at this juncture what exactly is going

to happen between Honda and Nissan, if anything. You have a case of Nissan really needing some help and effectively meeting a rescue by all accounts, likely with some role that the Japanese government is playing.

AND trying to nudge these companies together. There are real questions about how this is exactly going to work out. Also, another company in France, which is also going to come into play. Watch this space in 2025.

CAROLINE:
No rest for you when it comes to deal coverage.
FRANKLY, China is the weak spot for both? >> Absolutely.
Both of these companies have been shrinking in that market.
There are questions about their

long-term future there, along with a lot of Western companies. What exactly is there going to be in terms of room for international companies, given the desire from China

to really dominate this industry and also dominate its own market? CAROLINE:
Greg, thank you as always, all across the dealmaking of the auto sector. Coming up, we hear from Cathie Wood and her predictions on

crypto and robotaxi.
You don't want to miss that interview.
This is "Bloomberg Technology." CAROLINE: Welcome back.
We are checking in on one key reflection of risk sentiment over the course of the week,

Bitcoin. At one point on Tuesday exceeding $28,000 per token. Now diving down to the $27,000 level. Worried about the trading days on Sunday. No rest for the wicked, it

TRADES 24/7, BUT WE'RE SEEING MONEY COME OUT AFTER 15 STRAIGHT DAYS OF MONEY GOING INTO THOSE SPOT BITCOIN ETFS, WITH A PAUSE IN THE RECORD OUTFLOW ON THURSDAY.  PEOPLE

STARTED, I JUST WONDER WHAT HIGHER FOR LONGER REALLY MEANS FOR, AND ULTIMATELY, THE RECORD RUN WE'VE SEEN FROM BITCOIN SINCE THE ELECTION OF TRUMP. WE WANT TO DIG INTO WHAT THE EXPERTS ARE SAYING. CATHIE WOOD JOINED BLOOMBERG

YESTERDAY TO DISCUSS HER OUTLOOK FOR BITCOIN IN 2025 AND TALK ABOUT HOW BETS ON TESLA AND THE INCOMING TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WOULD IMPACT THE TESLA STORY AND AUTONOMOUS

DRIVING. TAKE A LISTEN. >> ONE OF THE CHANGES, BACK TO REGULATION, IS THE LIKELIHOOD THAT AUTONOMOUS MOBILITY, SO ROBOTAXIS, ARE GOING TO BE

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