We Just Turned Down Millions of Dollars. Here Is Why.

I got to speak out about something. I have  to, because many people have no idea what is   going on. In fact, I don’t even know what the  video part of the content of this one will be,   perhaps some highlights from previous episodes, my  apologies for that. I am not a talking head person   and I have never done this kind of video. But I  need to talk to you about something today. One,   many people say are surprised. They  are surprised because they suddenly   see their favorite channels dipping more  into lower quality, higher click volume   content. Virality over depth. Then, sell them  to the highest bidder sponsors, and trust me,   that’s not going to be the best product for  you, the viewers. Thus, they started working   with very questionable sponsors, and this is  happening on a mass scale, on many channels. Okay, so why is that? Well, because many  of your favorite youtube channels have been   sold to private equity companies. That's  right. Some of them tell you about it,   some of them won’t say a word. I’ll tell you  whether Two Minute Papers has been sold or not   in a moment. Yup, many channels are being sold  and are now being run by private equity firms. They approached us too and let’s be honest, many  of these deals come with millions and millions of   dollars. So, what did I do? Well, hold on  to your papers Fellow Scholars, because I   have a big announcement to make today. And the big  announcement is that from now on, the content here   on this channel is going to be elevated because…  because we don’t take any money from these people.    Never! I declined every offer. I kept the  ownership of the channel so I can keep talking   about brilliant research works, ones that often  nobody else is talking about. Like the one you see   here. Very few people know about these works. It’s  a bit like saving endangered species. Like Indiana   Jones, for research papers! And this is why. This  is why no one is talking about amazing works like   this. Who’s going to stand up for that broke PhD  student who invented something amazing? Who is   going to stand up for works that no one else is  talking about? This is what is valuable in the   world. This is what pushes humanity forward.   This is what makes the world better for us. But there is a problem. It doesn’t make  crazy money. So, I do the Papers thing,   because no one else is going to do it. Just  think about it: from a business point of view,   taking a bit longer to give you a better, more  detailed video about a paper is not a virtue.    It is an operational defect that needs to be  solved immediately. But not around here it isn’t. We are lucky to get early access to research  papers on a regular basis, and we often make   a decision to publish the video later. Take  some time to learn more about the paper. Make   it better. Get food poisoning in Italy and take  a week longer. Oh wait, that’s a different story.    Others, not so much. Many other channels are in  a race to put out a video on the new ChatGPT,   the hot new thing, any video whatsoever, doesn’t  matter, just be first and get the views. These   days, I am often last. Because this is what it  takes to get you quality content. Imagine being   one of the first in the world to hear about a  new Nobel-prize winning research, and ending   up last to report on it. Fewer views, harder  to make a living. But that’s what I do here. And despite many sponsorship offers, I don’t  sell you junk. Never have. I only sell you   things that I use on a regular basis and things  I love. Currently that’s mainly Lambda and a   bit of Weights & Biases, but I note that this  video has no sponsorship spot or links. Also,   whenever a sponsor reaches out to us, the  first thing they ask for is a dedicated   video. Everyone wants a dedicated video. What is  that? A dedicated video means a full video about   a product. Not a paper video. A product video.   That’s not what we do here. Never never. Also, other channels, you often see  sponsorship spots at the middle of the video,   or even at the start. Even more so today. But,   not here. We have it at the end, so if you  do not wish to watch it, you don’t have to. Many also want review rights. See and  approve everything in advance. A look   into our episodes and even veto rights over  it. Elsewhere? Perhaps. Here? Not happening. Also, most sponsors tell the channels the exact  words what they have to say. We don’t do that   here. I choose what I am going to say about the  product. You see channels 10 or 50 times bigger

than us that do these reads. Just listen to  them, their sponsorship spots sound like a   student reading their homework. Not here. We don’t  allow anyone to specify what I say here. Never. Now something I’ve never talked about before.   We had a big tech company as a sponsor,   and they wanted to ask for things that we don’t  allow. They said they want it anyway, and I fired   them immediately on the spot. Who fires a big tech  company as a sponsor? Nobody. I just did that and   if that is what it takes to give you high quality  research paper content, then I’ll do it 10 more   times. Because I do not work for them. I work for  you. And if you see a sponsorship on this channel,   you can be sure that it’s good. I can make  mistakes, but I am trying my best here. And I’m not going to peace out  for a few dollars. I am going   to die with a paper in my hands,  probably while talking about it. Now, I had a friend of mine telling me that  I should tell our editor to do this and that   because an episode was not that good. I  would be happy to do that, but I can’t,   because we don’t have an editor. We  never had an editor. We don't have a   team of writers. We don’t have anyone. Not a  single employee, it is just me and my wife,   from episode one to episode 1,000. Writing,  recording, sound engineering, mixing, cutting,   video editing, talking to sponsors. I make  every video alone by hand, start to finish,   and my wife is running this business and she is  beyond amazing. She works so hard I look like a   lazy dog next to her. So I am really happy when  you are enjoying the videos, and if an episode   sucks, I am sorry, it’s all on me. 100% on me. And  I am trying my best to learn and improve the show. And since we have also published our 1,000th  paper video, as a gift to you for being with   us for so long, more than 10 years now,  I also made an interview with Nobel Prize   winning Chemist John Jumper. I would  like to send a big thank you for all   of you who watched it and sent encouraging  words, because I am almost never on camera.    I just snuck out of the lab for this one.   Perhaps some more in the future, we will see. I will also note that this is my own voice.   No AI voiceovers. Not here. Every single   episode of the 1,000 and the ones going  forward are myself behind the microphone,   reading the papers, and  flipping out. No AI voices. Alternatively, instead of running sponsorships,  some people sell their own products. You know   how that goes. Often an overpriced course on  something, that’s frankly not great quality.    Well, I have a Master-level course too on writing  light simulation programs that I taught at the   Technical University of Vienna, in Austria. I gave  it away to all of you for free, forever. You can’t   even pay for it, even if you wanted. Another  silly decision, who does that? But this is a   decision that feels right to me. Knowledge, for  free, for everyone! That is The Way Of The Papers. So this is not the kind of video  that you ever see on this channel,   but I think this needed to be said. And  there is a bit more here. Once again,   thank you so much for being with us for so  long, I love my job here, and I run up the   stairs every day to show you a newer paper and  learn with you Fellow Scholars. Really, really   grateful for your support. This is only possible  because of you Fellow Scholars. Thank you so much! If you wish to support a truly independent content  creator, find someone who is really independent.    Please watch their videos, subscribe to them,  and leave them a really kind comment. It will   make their day. In a world of soulless  content farms, true independent content   creators are a dying breed, and they all  need your support. They really need it. And with all that said, I completely understand  that people want to make money. It is next to   impossible to earn anything on Youtube,  I mean, look at how much AdSense pays for   this otherwise successful video. That is not a  typo. Disclaimer, I am sure it increased a bit   in the following days, but I’ll be honest,  I won’t even check, after costs and taxes,   this is basically zero. All that for a huge  stadium of people watching your video. So it’s   tough out there. Really tough. Now I’ll note  that we have the amazing partners I mentioned,   and we are completely fine. Don’t worry about us.   We saved and invested every single penny possible. And I mean it when I say I truly wish every  creator nothing but the best. I know some of

the channel owners personally and I respect  them a great deal, I really hope it will work   out well for them. Sending respect and love to  everyone. But I work for you Fellow Scholars,   and you got to know what is going on. And  you know that I never make videos like this.    I think you can scroll back 1,000 videos on  this channel. It’s all research papers and   one interview. So now, onwards to thousands of  more amazing papers. What a time to be alive!