Mark Cuban’s disruption formula: from streaming and healthcare to AI’s next wave

Equity

TechCrunch

Founders, Silicon Valley, Finance, Ipo, Vc, Technology, Business News, Startups, Business, Venture Capital, News, Stock Market, Entrepreneurship, Techcrunch

4.2 • 365 Ratings

🗓️ 27 August 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Steve Jobs once said, “Everything’s a remix.” And that’s a philosophy that Mark Cuban has taken to heart, building an entire entrepreneurial and investment career on that simple belief. The real opportunity, Cuban says, lies in spotting patterns others miss and turning them into billion-dollar disruptions. On today's episode of Equity, Cuban joined Rebecca Bellan to discuss his decades-long strategy of betting on technologies before they go mainstream, from his early investments in local area networks and streaming services to his current healthcare and AI ventures. But Cuban's real insight isn't just about picking winners. It's about understanding why most people building in AI today are missing the point entirely. Cuban delivered a stark warning about the current AI gold rush: while everyone's using ChatGPT, almost no one (including Fortune 500 CEOs) knows how to integrate AI into their actual businesses. His take? Forget the hype. The real money is in helping small- and medium-sized businesses figure out how to use the AI tools that already exist. Listen to the full episode to hear: How Cuban identified disruptive opportunities in LANs, streaming, and HD television before they became obvious. Why he thinks current AI "isn't smart," and why that limitation could be its strength as a business tool. The upcoming regulatory battles that will determine AI's future around IP protection, training data access, and the U.S.-China competition. Inside Cuban's latest venture, Cost Plus Drugs, expanding from transparent pricing to manufacturing. Cuban's prediction that AI-savvy graduates will become the most in-demand employees across every industry. As always, Equity will be back Friday. Don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is a paid ad by Fidelity Private Shares.
0:03.2	A messy or missing cap table might not just slow you down.
0:05.8	It could cost you your next fundraising round.
0:19.8	Hello and welcome back to Equity TechCrunch's flagship podcast about the business of startups.
0:24.4	I'm Rebecca Boulon, and this is the episode where we bring on industry experts to help us explore a trend in the tech world and dive deep.
0:31.3	Today, we're talking to business legend Mark Cuban, former Shark Tank hero, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, entrepreneur and investor, and he's got a new company called Cost Plus Drugs to take on the pharma industry. Mark, welcome to the show. Thanks for having me on. So you've had such a storied career. We mentioned Shark Tank, we mentioned the Mavericks. You've got Cost Plus Drugs.. You did broadcast.com. Was that what it was called?
0:55.2	Yeah. I feel like you've invested in so many different companies. Is there anything that ties your
0:59.8	bets together? Is there like a guiding philosophy for you? Yeah, I try to be disruptive. I try to work or
1:05.6	create companies that haven't been done before. With microsolutions, my very first company, we were one of the first,
1:12.6	you want to remember these names, Novell Local Area Network integrators, literally one of the first
1:18.1	companies to do local area networks. Then we started AudioNet, which was the very first streaming
1:22.7	company. I started HDNet, which was the very first all high-definition TV network.
1:27.8	We had a vertically integrated entertainment company where we owned landmark theaters,
1:33.4	Magnolia Distribution, and the HD Network.
1:36.4	And so we were the first people to release movies and shows day and date.
1:40.3	And we even allowed, if you went to the movie theater, you could show us your ticket and we'd
1:45.3	allow you to download the soundtrack. Wow. And now cost plus drugs, you know, just trying to redo
1:50.2	the whole healthcare industry, just little things like that. That soundtrack thing's good. I wish they
1:54.2	would do that now. Yeah, right. No, it was actually a great idea. And here's a little fun fact for you.
1:59.4	The first movie that I green lip was from an
2:02.6	email by a director by the name of Alex Gibney. He sent me an email saying, hey, look, I've got all this
2:09.5	digital footage of Enron. And we're working with the author of Enron, the smartest guys in the room.
	...

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