Sherwood News

Chick-fil-A launches its own streaming and entertainment app

Original content and in-app games will make up the fast-food giant’s digital (chicken) feed

10/23/24 8:21AM

You’ve heard of chick flicks… Now, though, Chick-fil-A is changing the meaning altogether. Yes, the rumors are true: America’s largest chicken-sandwich server is launching a streaming and entertainment service as of next month (which Hope King at Axios called “the modern-day equivalent of the Happy Meal toy”).

On Monday, the fast-food chain announced that its new free app will be available from November 18, complete with family-friendly shows, podcasts, recipes, and games designed to keep adults and kids occupied between waffle fries. Described by the company as “the ultimate digital playground,” Chick-fil-A Play will also feature original content, including episodes of the “Evergreen Hills” animated series that the company has spent the past five years fine-tuning.

Secret sauce

The obvious question to all of this is: why? Well, in part because it sells so many strips and nugs that it can effectively do whatever it wants. Last year, the company brought in $21.6 billion worth of sales — an almost 20-fold increase from two decades prior — across its ~3,000 restaurants. These astronomical figures are even more staggering considering that all Chick-fil-A outlets are closed on Sundays (in keeping with the brand’s well-reported conservative values).

Indeed, the drive-thru aficionado has seen strong growth off the back of its unique business model. The company’s franchise system generally only allows for one location per owner, ensuring that operators aren’t spread too thin and helping to maintain their focus on customer service. Looking forward, Chick-fil-A’s ever-widening reach shows no signs of slowing, with the company also in the midst of a $1 billion global expansion into Europe and Asia.

Watch this space... Chick-fil-A’s move into entertainment is part of a new trend of companies making their own original content to communicate products and brand stories, following both Lyft and Airbnb making forays into media and the announcement of ‘Starbucks Studios’ in June.

Tom Jones17h

OpenAI’s ARR reached over $20 billion in 2025, CFO says

Sam Altman’s $500 billion artificial intelligence behemoth hit a major financial milestone last year, according to a new blog post over the weekend from OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar, as the company confirmed it had hit a more than $20 billion annual revenue run rate at the end of 2025.

Elsewhere in the blog post, Friar spent time addressing the company’s shifting goals, referencing plans to “close the distance between where intelligence is advancing and how individuals, companies, and countries actually adopt and use it.” As has become customary in the AI company press release genre, the CFO was also keen to tout the unending growth of the business, writing:

“Both our Weekly Active User (WAU) and Daily Active User (DAU) figures continue to produce all-time highs. This growth is driven by a flywheel across compute, frontier research, products, and monetization.”
“Compute grew 3X year over year or 9.5X from 2023 to 2025: 0.2 GW in 2023, 0.6 GW in 2024, and ~1.9 GW in 2025.”

And, perhaps most importantly for current backers and those keeping an eye on the private company before its rumored mega IPO:

“Revenue followed the same curve growing 3X year over year, or 10X from 2023 to 2025: $2B ARR in 2023, $6B in 2024, and $20B+ in 2025. This is never-before-seen growth at such scale.”

That latest figure has certainly set tongues in the tech world wagging, just as the company announced it would begin rolling out ads to free and ChatGPT Go users. It also puts the chatbot giant a fair way ahead of competitors like Anthropic, the company behind Claude.

OpenAI Anthropic ARR race — Sherwood News

A business that scales with the value of intelligence

“Both our Weekly Active User (WAU) and Daily Active User (DAU) figures continue to produce all-time highs. This growth is driven by a flywheel across compute, frontier research, products, and monetization.”
“Compute grew 3X year over year or 9.5X from 2023 to 2025: 0.2 GW in 2023, 0.6 GW in 2024, and ~1.9 GW in 2025.”

And, perhaps most importantly for current backers and those keeping an eye on the private company before its rumored mega IPO:

“Revenue followed the same curve growing 3X year over year, or 10X from 2023 to 2025: $2B ARR in 2023, $6B in 2024, and $20B+ in 2025. This is never-before-seen growth at such scale.”

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Opponents of the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal take fight to Europe

Europe is the latest frontier of the ongoing tug-of-war for the “Friends” back catalog.

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Ford reportedly in talks to buy hybrid vehicle batteries from Chinese auto giant BYD

Detroit’s Ford and China’s BYD are said to be in ongoing talks to partner on an agreement that would see Ford buy hybrid vehicle batteries from BYD, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal.

The report comes just days after President Trump toured a Ford factory in Michigan and implied openness to Chinese automakers coming to the US.

“If they want to come in and build a plant... that’s great, I love that,” Trump said on January 13. “Let China come in, let Japan come in.”

Last week, China’s Geely Automobile Holdings said it expects to make an announcement about expanding into the US within the next three years. Chinese carmakers currently face huge tariffs and software restrictions, effectively barring their vehicles from the US.

Ford has doubled down on hybrid vehicles amid high EV costs and the end of federal EV tax credits. The automaker is currently building a battery plant in Michigan where it plans to use tech from Chinese battery maker CATL.

Exclusive | Ford, China’s BYD in Talks for Hybrid-Vehicle Batteries After EV Market Flames Out

“If they want to come in and build a plant... that’s great, I love that,” Trump said on January 13. “Let China come in, let Japan come in.”

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Lawsuit alleges Lilly, Novo locked up telehealth to kill compounded GLP-1s

Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar estimated that around 1.5 million US patients are using compounded versions of the company’s drugs.

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