Tech Brew Ride Home

The White House has rolled out its big AI Action Plan. Google reported earnings but really wanted you to know about consumer adoption of its AI. A new Kindle Colorsoft. TMobile’s Starlink service is available to anyone, and the Switch 2 is now the fastest selling console in history. Links: Trump Signs AI Orders, Vows US Will Win Race Over New Technology (Bloomberg) Donald Trump blocks AI groups with ‘ideological bias’ from government work (FT) Google’s AI Overviews have 2B monthly users, AI Mode 100M in the US and India (TechCrunch) Google Photos adding free photo-to-video, Remix, and Create tab (9to5Google) Amazon is launching a cheaper color Kindle (The Verge) Starlink-powered ‘T-Satellite’ service is now live on T-Mobile (The Verge) The Nintendo Switch 2 Is the Fastest-Selling Gaming Hardware in U.S. History (IGN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t sleep on that SharePoint exploit from earlier this week as it seems to have led to a ton of still active breaches. Apple has a new insurance plan for you. Elon wants even more money for xAI. The Chinese are still churning ahead with their AI models. And three different stories about AI and privacy. Links: Microsoft links Sharepoint ToolShell attacks to Chinese hackers (BleepingComputer) Apple Launches $20-a-Month AppleCare One Plan Covering Up to Three Devices (Bloomberg) Musk Allies to Raise Up to $12 Billion for xAI Chips as Startup Burns Through Cash (WSJ) Qwen3-Coder: Agentic Coding in the World (Simon Willison) Alibaba’s new open source Qwen3-235B-A22B-2507 beats Kimi-2 and offers low compute version (VentureBeat) Amazon buys Bee AI wearable that listens to everything you say (The Verge) Proton is launching a privacy-focused AI chatbot (The Verge) OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warns of an AI ‘fraud crisis’ (CNN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, just like that, AI’s winning the Math Olympiad is commonplace. Is Stargate struggling to get off the ground, or is Sam Altman just going to do Stargate on his own without Masa Son? The AI company who’s stated mission was to do AI ethically explains why it needs to get its hands dirty. And even if AI isn’t making scientific breakthroughs yet, there are early signs it is shaking things up nonetheless. Links: OpenAI and Google outdo the mathletes, but not each other (TechCrunch) SoftBank and OpenAI’s $500 Billion AI Project Struggles to Get Off Ground (WSJ) Oracle to Supply OpenAI With 2 Million AI Chips for Data Centers (Bloomberg) Leaked Memo: Anthropic CEO Says the Company Will Pursue Gulf State Investments After All (Wired) AI Comes Up with Bizarre Physics Experiments. But They Work. (Quanta Magazine) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Serious zero-day has been uncovered that is affecting everybody all around the world. There is a patch tho. Mark Gurman dishes on the foldable iPhone. TSMC joins the Trillion-Dollar-Club. If you’re an expert in a given field you too can join the AI goldrush. And did we just take a big step toward AGI, or is this just the latest in the hype-cycle? Sponsors: AGNTCY.ORG Links: Hackers Exploit Microsoft SharePoint as Firm Works to Patch (Bloomberg) The First Foldable iPhone Will Arrive Next Year in Un-Apple-Like Fashion (Bloomberg) Nvidia's CUDA platform now supports RISC-V — support brings open source instruction set to AI platforms, joining x86 and Arm (Tom's Hardware) TSMC’s Taiwan Stock Value Surpasses $1 Trillion Amid AI Frenzy (Bloomberg) AI groups spend to replace low-cost ‘data labellers’ with high-paid experts (FT) OpenAI's experimental model achieved gold at the International Math Olympiad (Engadget) OpenAI's gold medal performance on the International Math Olympiad. (Simon Willison's Weblog) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To find out more about Leap Labs go to Leap-Labs.com The white paper is here. Blog is here (with case studies). To get in touch with them: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OpenAI has a new agent that can control your entire computer. You might soon be able to put crypto in your 401k. Why is Apple suing a prominent YouTuber? And in the Weekend Longreads, the one article that has done the most to radicalize me, as an investor, in a long, long time. Links: OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Agent can control an entire computer and do tasks for you (The Verge) OpenAI ChatGPT Agent announcement LIVE — all the big news from today's livestream (Tom's Guide) Netflix says it’s streamed 95 billion hours in 2025, and a lot of ads too (The Verge) Donald Trump set to open US retirement market to crypto investments (Financial Times) AI start-up Perplexity’s valuation tops $18bn months after latest funding round (Financial Times) Apple Sues Jon Prosser Over iOS 26 Leaks (Macrumors) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: 4.6 Billion Years On, the Sun Is Having a Moment (The New Yorker) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TSMC earnings suggest the AI buildout is continuing apace. Stablecoin regulation clears a major hurdle. Is Anthropic doing well growing revenue? Maybe not OpenAI well, but well enough? More signs Microsoft is struggling to sell its own branded AI. And how AI might be about to change how we pay for everything… forever. Links: TSMC Raises 2025 Outlook in a Big Boost for AI Demand Hopes (Bloomberg) US House agrees to consider crypto legislation in big win for the digital asset industry (Reuters) Investors Float Deal Valuing Anthropic at More Than $100 Billion (The Information) Microsoft's Copilot Is Getting Lapped by 900 Million ChatGPT Downloads (Bloomberg) Delta moves toward eliminating set prices in favor of AI that determines how much you personally will pay for a ticket (Fortune) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jensen is feeling his oats after the reprieve on China, spilling lots of tea about where he see the AI industry. OpenAI is going after the office and also the storefront, with interesting new integrations. Why is it so hard to create LLM’s in other languages? And a first person account of what its like to work at OpenAI, the culture, the pressure, etc. Links: Nvidia Boss Expects US to Move Fast on First H20 China Licenses (Bloomberg) OpenAI Preps ChatGPT Agents in Challenge to Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint (The Information) OpenAI to take cut of ChatGPT shopping sales in hunt for revenues (Financial Times) Fed up with ChatGPT, Latin America is building its own (Rest Of World) Reflections on OpenAI (Calvin French-Owen) Raiders, Rulers, and Traders: The Horse and the Rise of Empires Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Has the US government suddenly allowed Nvidia back in business in China? A segment wherein I make the case the GW’s are the new metric that matters to the tech industry, over and above anything else. Windsurf finds a permanent home. And is China already producing the smartglasses Zuck wants to see next? Links: Nvidia, AMD to Resume AI Chip Sales to China in US Reversal (Bloomberg) Apple to Buy Rare Earths From Pentagon-Backed US Producer MP (Bloomberg) Zuckerberg Says Meta Will Build Gigawatt-Size Data Centers (Bloomberg) Meta’s New Superintelligence Lab Is Discussing Major A.I. Strategy Changes (NYTimes) Cognition AI Buys Windsurf as A.I. Frenzy Escalates (NYTimes) China’s AI glasses market takes shape as Xiaomi’s entry inspires early adopters (SCMP) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google snatched the Windsurf acquisition out from under OpenAI in a big new acquihire. SpaceX is investing in xAI. ChromeOS and Android to merge, but for real this time? Was there a new sort of DeepSeek moment over the weekend? And example number 74 of how YouTube is now the king of video entertainment. Links: Google to Pay $2.4 Billion for Windsurf Staff, IP After Startup Ends OpenAI Talks (The Information) Google Is Said to Pay $2.4 Billion for Windsurf Assets, Talent (Bloomberg) An OpenAI Acquisition Turns Into a Google 'Hackqusition'... (Spyglass) Elon Musk’s xAI seeks up to $200bn valuation in next fundraising (Financial Times) SpaceX to Invest $2 Billion Into Elon Musk’s xAI (WSJ) Google exec: ‘We’re going to be combining ChromeOS and Android’ (The Verge) 'I think you see the future first on Android' – Google's Android leader Sameer Samat (TechRadar) Moonshot AI’s Kimi K2 outperforms GPT-4 in key benchmarks — and it’s free (VentureBeat) Eight Things We’ve Learned About Hollywood This Year (Bloomberg) The Streaming Wars Come Down to 2: YouTube vs. Netflix (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mega Omnibus Episode Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, it sure looks like Grok tries to align some of its answers with the views of its maker, Elon Musk, but the question is why… Does AI have to align with political views more generally? New, tangible data suggests you actually might NOT be coding faster due to AI. It might just be in your head. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Grok: searching X for “from:elonmusk (Israel OR Palestine OR Hamas OR Gaza)” (Simon Willison's Blog) Grok 4 seems to consult Elon Musk to answer controversial questions (TechCrunch) A Republican state attorney general is formally investigating why AI chatbots don’t like Donald Trump (The Verge) Study: Apple’s newest AI model flags health conditions with up to 92% accuracy (9to5Mac) Not So Fast: AI Coding Tools Can Actually Reduce Productivity (Second Thoughts) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Grand Unified Theory of Rogue Waves (Quanta Magazine) This Breakthrough Sponge Could Change How the World Gets Clean Water (SciTechDaily) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grok 4 is out, plus Grok 4 Voice, Grok 4 Code, a bunch more. Ok we know Zuck wants to catch up on AI, but an insider explains why they think Meta fell behind in the first place. Are AI web browsers the next battlefield in the AI wars. And if your electricity bill goes up substantially, you’ll never guess what you can blame. Links: Grok 4 is live — here’s what makes it Elon Musk’s most advanced AI yet (Tom's Guide) Meta Poached Apple’s Pang With Pay Package Over $200 Million (Bloomberg) Zuckerberg’s $100 Million AI Job Offers Are Paying Off (Bloomberg) Exclusive: OpenAI to release web browser in challenge to Google Chrome (Reuters) Microsoft Touts $500 Million AI Savings While Slashing Jobs (Bloomberg) America's largest power grid is struggling to meet demand from AI (Reuters) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the of the headlines from the Galaxy Unpacked event that was mostly about really thin foldable phones. Big changing of the guard at Apple. What happens when you make a bet on a betting market, think you’ve won, but are then told you’re not. And a useful new feature of Gmail. Links: Galaxy Z Fold 7 goes official with drastically thinner design, but a $2,000 price tag (9to5Google) Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 7 has a bigger battery and is still thinner than last year's model (Engadget) Samsung launches the more affordable Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE for $899 (9to5Google) Galaxy Z Fold 7 hands-on: Samsung finally made the foldables we’ve been asking for (The Verge) Apple COO Jeff Williams to Retire in Major Changing of Guard (Bloomberg) Elon Musk's AI chatbot churns out antisemitic posts days after update (NBCNews) Polymarket Rules 'No' on $237M Controversial Bet Over Zelenskyy's Suit (Decrypt) Gmail’s new tab is made for unsubscribing from emails (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much further behind can Apple get in AI now that Zuck is poaching from them as well? OpenAI has been forced to batten down the hatches, quite literally. A fully licensed AI video model. And back to Apple. They heard your complaints. They’re pumping the brakes on Liquid Glass a bit. Sponsors: AGNTCY.ORG Links: Apple Loses Top AI Models Executive to Meta’s Hiring Spree (Bloomberg) OpenAI’s Stock Compensation Reflect Steep Costs of Talent Wars (The Information) OpenAI clamps down on security after foreign spying threats (Financial Times) Bluesky can really keep up with the news now that it has activity notifications (The Verge) This New AI Tool Wants to Work With Filmmakers—Not Replace Them (Time) iOS 26 beta 3 dials back Liquid Glass (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Catching you up on the great Zuckerberg AI recruitment drive. Clueing you in to the great datacenter buildout goldrush that is, again, all about AI. TikTok is about to force everybody to use a new version of their app. And are the unicorns coming back? Links: Meta’s new hires offer a peek into superintelligence plans (Semafor) Zuck's Eleven (Spyglass) CoreWeave to Buy Core Scientific in $9 Billion Stock Deal (Bloomberg) US industrial groups pivot to data centres amid AI boom (FT) TikTok Building New Version of App Ahead of Expected U.S. Sale (The Information) As Trump pushes Apple to make iPhones in the U.S., Google’s brief effort building smartphones in Texas 12 years ago offers critical lessons (Fortune) At least 36 new tech unicorns were minted in 2025 so far (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More layoffs make me more concerned the AI jobpocalypse is coming to tech this summer. In the big Meta v. OpenAI talent battle, who is desperate and who is scared? We reframe the situation a bit. Figma files for an IPO. Chinese AI seems to be gain ground worldwide. And do universities need to fundamentally rethink teaching computer science? Links: Microsoft laying off about 9,000 employees in latest round of cuts (CNBC) Here’s What Mark Zuckerberg Is Offering Top AI Talent (Wired) Sam Altman Slams Meta’s AI Talent-Poaching Spree: ‘Missionaries Will Beat Mercenaries’ (Wired) Figma files for IPO on NYSE, plans to ‘take big swings’ with acquisitions (CNBC) China Is Quickly Eroding America’s Lead in the Global AI Race (WSJ) How Do You Teach Computer Science in the A.I. Era? (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meta Superintelligence Labs is official. Cloudflare’s tool to help websites fend off AI bots is official. Will Apple throw in the towel and just buy some AI off the shelf? Does Amazon now have more robots than human workers in its warehouses? And my hands-down can’t live without you app finds a home. Sponsors: CornbreadHemp.com/ride and code RIDE Links: Zuckerberg Debuts Meta ‘Superintelligence’ Group, More Hires (Bloomberg) Cloudflare launches a marketplace that lets websites charge AI bots for scraping (TechCrunch) Apple Weighs Using Anthropic or OpenAI to Power Siri in Major Reversal (Bloomberg) Amazon Is on the Cusp of Using More Robots Than Humans in Its Warehouses (WSJ) Musk’s X Hires Entrepreneur Nikita Bier as Head of Product (Bloomberg) Grammarly to acquire email startup Superhuman in AI platform push (Reuters) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Weird beef between Nintendo and Amazon. Is Apple going to make a cheap Macbook with an iPhone chip inside? OpenAI claps back at Meta. The AI avatar startup. And for the first time in a decade, Spotify has changed up the Discover Weekly playlist. Links: Amazon Misses Out on Switch 2 Sales After Nintendo Pulled Products From US Site (Bloomberg) Kuo: Apple to release cheaper MacBook powered by iPhone processor (9to5Mac) ‘F1’ Revs To $144M Opening Weekend Around The World, Brad Pitt & Apple Original Films Records (Deadline) OpenAI Leadership Responds to Meta Offers: ‘Someone Has Broken Into Our Home’ (Wired) AI avatars are here in full force—and they’re serving some of the world’s biggest companies (Fortune) Spotify revamps its Discover Weekly playlist after 10 years (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Zuckerberg’s big AI plan seems still to be such a work in progress, he’s even considering abandoning Llama. Apple attempts to comply with the EU’s DMA. Instagram and TikTok want to follow YouTube to your TV. The infamous Blue Screen of Death is dying. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: In Pursuit of Godlike Technology, Mark Zuckerberg Amps Up the A.I. Race (NYTimes) Meta says it’s winning the talent war with OpenAI (The Verge) Apple announces sweeping App Store changes in the EU (9to5Mac) Google launches Doppl, a new app that lets you visualize how an outfit might look on you (TechCrunch) TikTok, Instagram Plot TV Apps Following YouTube’s Success (The Information) Windows is getting rid of the Blue Screen of Death after 40 years (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: My Couples Retreat With 3 AI Chatbots and the Humans Who Love Them (Wired) AI is ruining houseplant communities online (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The legal rulings on AI are finally coming in. The problem is, they’re contradictory, so we’re not getting any legal clarity yet. Creative Commons but for AI training data. Is DeepSeek’s R2 model being stymied by lack of access to Nvidia chips? And another deep look at the question of: is AI taking jobs at tech companies, right now? Links: Microsoft sued by authors over use of books in AI training (Reuters) Trump Mobile reiterates claims that new phones are 'made in America' (USAToday) Creative Commons debuts CC signals, a framework for an open AI ecosystem (TechCrunch) OpenAI, Microsoft Rift Hinges on How Smart AI Can Get (WSJ) DeepSeek’s Progress Stalled by U.S. Export Controls (The Information) Salesforce CEO Says 30% of Internal Work Is Being Handled by AI (Bloomberg) AI Killed My Job: Tech workers (Blood In The Machine) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI is transforming job search on both sides of the equation. A first court ruling on using copyrighted books to train AI. New AI releases from Google devs will want to know about. How your kids 3rd grade teacher is using AI. And why did Apple push an ad to everybody? Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: Employers Are Buried in A.I.-Generated Résumés (NYTimes) CareerBuilder + Monster to Sell Businesses in Bankruptcy (WSJ) Exclusive: Uber and Palantir alums raise $35M to disrupt corporate recruitment with AI (Fortune) Anthropic wins a major fair use victory for AI — but it’s still in trouble for stealing books (The Verge) Google unveils Gemini CLI, an open-source AI tool for terminals (TechCrunch) How ChatGPT and other AI tools are changing the teaching profession (AP) iPhone customers upset by Apple Wallet ad pushing ‘F1’ movie (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new Xbox branded Meta Quest. Amazon is expanding same day delivery even more. What does it mean for the AI race if ChatGPT seems to be outcompeting Microsoft’s Copilot offerings in the enterprise space? Why is Wall Street leading the way on AI adoption? And what exactly is Mira Murati’s big new AI startup going to do, exactly? Sponsors: Venice.ai/techmeme and code: techmeme Links: After a year of waiting, Microsoft's Meta Quest 3S "Xbox Edition" is here — our hands-on review of this (very) limited edition partnership (Windows Central) Amazon bringing same-day delivery to ‘millions’ of rural customers (The Verge) Tesla Robotaxi Incidents Draw Scrutiny From US Safety Agency (Bloomberg) Waymo’s robotaxis are now available on the Uber app in Atlanta (The Verge) ChatGPT's Enterprise Success Against Copilot Fuels OpenAI and Microsoft's Rivalry (Bloomberg) Goldman Sachs launches AI assistant firmwide, memo shows (Reuters) Thinking Machines Lab’s $2B Seed Round Is Biggest By A Long Shot (Crunchbase News) How Ex-OpenAI CTO Murati’s Startup Plans to Compete With OpenAI and Others (The Information) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tesla launches its robotaxi service in Austin. Apple is negotiating desperately to avoid an EU fine coming as soon as this week. Also, why doesn’t Apple do some acquihires to get back in the AI game? Maybe Perplexity would be attractive? The Music industry gathers tools to detect AI. And is there a global divide growing when it comes to AI access? Sponsors: 1Password.com/ride Links: Tesla launches robotaxi service in Austin (Financial Times) Jony Ive Deal Removed From OpenAI Site Over Trademark Suit (Bloomberg) Apple locked in last-minute App Store negotiations to avoid Brussels fines (Financial Times) Apple Will Need to Leave Its M&A Comfort Zone to Succeed in AI (Bloomberg) Apple Executives Have Held Internal Talks About Buying AI Startup Perplexity (Bloomberg) The music industry is building the tech to hunt down AI songs (The Verge) The Global A.I. Divide (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meta has some new smartglasses. How long can the TikTok groundhog day go on? Masa Son wants to create a Shenzhen-like production city here in the US. Are your smart cameras a national security threat to the home front in a war? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Factor75.com/ride Links: Meta announces Oakley smart glasses (The Verge) Meta tried to buy Ilya Sutskever’s $32 billion AI startup, but is now planning to hire its CEO (CNBC) Trump extends TikTok ban deadline for a third time, without clear legal basis (AP) Publishers facing existential threat from AI, Cloudflare CEO says (Axios) Masa Son Pitches $1 Trillion US AI Hub to TSMC, Trump Team (Bloomberg) Israeli Officials Warn Iran Is Hijacking Security Cameras to Spy (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Scientists once hoarded pre-nuclear steel; now we’re hoarding pre-AI content (ArsTechnica) Why Everything in the Universe Turns More Complex (QuantaMagazine) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we about to see a summer of layoffs in Silicon Valley? Midjourney’s new video model. Meta continues its acqu-hire spree with some folks we know. Microsoft has its own nuclear option with OpenAI, while OpenAI is starting to get worried about its models being nuclear dangerous? And what even IS AGI? Sponsors: CornbreadHemp.com/ride and code RIDE Links: Microsoft Planning Thousands More Job Cuts Aimed at Salespeople (Bloomberg) ‘Surpassing all my expectations’: Midjourney releases first AI video model amid Disney, Universal lawsuit (VentureBeat) Meta in Talks to Hire AI Investors Friedman and Gross, Partially Buy Out Their Venture Fund (The Information) Microsoft prepared to walk away from high-stakes OpenAI talks (FT) OpenAI warns models with higher bioweapons risk are imminent (Axios) Why Big Tech cannot agree on artificial general intelligence (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember how that TikTok ban or sale thing has never been resolved? Yeah. Sam Altman describes the money he says Meta is throwing at AI researchers. Is xAI the one with the real money crunch in the AI race? And a review of the first of this new wave of smartglasses. Sponsors: Quince.com/ridehome Links: Trump will grant TikTok another 90-day extension in enforcement of sale-or-ban law (CNNBusiness) Sam Altman says Meta tried and failed to poach OpenAI’s talent with $100M offers (TechCrunch) Musk’s xAI Burns Through $1 Billion a Month as Costs Pile Up (Bloomberg) YouTube to Add Google’s Veo 3 to Shorts in Move That Could Turbocharge AI on the Video Platform (The Hollywood Reporter) Amazon expects to cut corporate jobs as it relies more on AI (NBCNews) Xreal’s One Pro Are a Stopgap Ahead of True AR Smart Glasses (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Among the many snags to OpenAI shifting to for-profit, the Microsoft snag is still the biggest issue. More Intel job cuts coming. Would you believe a Roblox game involving gardening is maybe bigger than Fortnite? And two big firsts: most people get their news from social media, and streaming is now the king of all TV watching. Sponsors: MackWeldon.com promocode BRIAN Links: OpenAI Seeks New Financial Concessions From Microsoft, a Top Shareholder (The Information) OpenAI and Microsoft Tensions Are Reaching a Boiling Point (WSJ) OpenAI wins $200 million U.S. defense contract (CNBC) Intel will lay off 15% to 20% of its factory workers, memo says (The Oregonian) Amazon Prime Day stretches to four days of deals this year (The Verge) Generation Alpha’s FarmVille Is Growing Like Crazy in Roblox (NYTimes) For the first time, social media overtakes TV as Americans’ top news source (NiemanLab) It’s Official: Streaming Is Now the King of TV (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ads finally come to WhatsApp. Are we about to get a literal Trump phone? More ads on your TV. All ads are about to become AI. And at the end of the show, a bit of an essay from me about Google, AI, and what I think is about to happen to the larger web, literally right now. Sponsors: AGNTCY.ORG QualiaLife.com/ride and code ride Links: WhatsApp Introduces Ads in Its App (NYTimes) Trump Mobile: President’s Company Unveils Wireless Service Delivered via AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, Plans to Launch a U.S.-Made ‘Sleek, Gold’ Android Smartphone (Variety) Amazon Ads & Roku Set Landmark Pact Giving Brands Access To 80% Of Connected-TV Households (Deadline) TikTok Pushes Deeper Into AI-Generated Video Ads With New Tools (Bloomberg) Google Search Is Fading. The Whole Internet Is At Risk. (Barron's) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Omnibus Week Of 06/09 Sign up for the ad-free feed at tech.supercast.tech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do people know when they’re using the MetaAI app, it’s public? Chime had a successful IPO so let me tell you about my IPO-meter. The financials behind that fully-AI commercial running during the NBA playoffs. More signs stablecoins are taking over, but in the Longreads, do stablecoins represent a unique danger to the global financial system? Sponsors: FactorMeals.com/ride50off and code ride50off For a limited time only, get 35% off plus an additional 50% off your first order when you head to Smalls.com and use code RIDE Links: The Meta AI app is a privacy disaster (TechCrunch) Meta Risks Regulatory Scrutiny in Pursuit of Scale AI (Bloomberg) Apple Targets Spring 2026 for Release of Delayed Siri AI Upgrade (Bloomberg) Chime pops 37% in Nasdaq debut after pricing IPO above expected range (CNBC) Walmart and Amazon Are Exploring Issuing Their Own Stablecoins (WSJ) Here’s the $2,000 fully AI-generated ad that aired during the NBA Finals (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Why we should worry about the rise of stablecoins (FT) Nintendo Switch 2 review: bigger, faster, and the best handheld since Game Boy (The Shortcut) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I explain how and why exactly this big Meta investment in Scale AI came about. Hollywood sues AI in a big way for the first time. A look at how stablecoins have mainstreamed crypto at long last. And episode number 205 of the long running series: we blew up traditional TV just to rebuild it. Links: Meta to Pay Nearly $15 Billion for Scale AI Stake and Startup’s 28-Year-Old CEO (The Information) Disney, NBCU sue Midjourney over copyright infringement (Axios) Wikipedia Pauses AI-Generated Summaries After Editor Backlash (404Media) How stablecoins are entering the financial mainstream (Financial Times) EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Doubles Prime Video Ads to 6 Minutes Per Hour (AdWeek) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OpenAI rolls out an o3-pro model. Android one-ups iOS with a quick release. So far so good for the launch of the Switch 2. What is Google doing with its headcount? And is essentially a giant hologram the future of video calling? Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: OpenAI releases o3-pro, a souped-up version of its o3 AI reasoning model (TechCrunch) God is hungry for Context: First thoughts on o3 pro (Latent Space) Google Releases the Android 16 OS Months Earlier Than Expected (CNET) Nintendo Switch 2 Sets Sales Record in Boon for Games Sector (Bloomberg) Elon Musk says Tesla robotaxi rides in Austin ‘tentatively’ set to begin June 22 (CNBC) Google Offers Buyouts to Employees in Search and Ads, Other Units (The Information) HP reveals $24,999 hardware created just for Google Beam (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zuckerberg’s big ambitions for AI seem to be coming into focus. OpenAI is actively starting to play the field when it comes to compute. More signs AI is kneecapping web traffic. And what do we think? Is liquid glass a good design choice, or a cul-de-sac for Apple? Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Links: Meta Is Creating a New A.I. Lab to Pursue ‘Superintelligence’ (NYTimes) Zuckerberg Is Personally Recruiting New ‘Superintelligence’ AI Team at Meta (Bloomberg) Exclusive: OpenAI taps Google in unprecedented cloud deal despite AI rivalry, sources say (Reuters) Waymo halts service in downtown Los Angeles amid ICE protests (LA Times) News Sites Are Getting Crushed by Google’s New AI Tools (WSJ) Apple will end support for Intel Macs next year, macOS 27 will require Apple Silicon (9to5Mac) ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Hard to Read’: Designers React to Apple’s Liquid Glass Update (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the headlines from WWDC. Microsoft unveils the first iteration of that handheld gaming strategy. Meta is considering its largest external AI investment yet. And did Apple researchers reveal that Large Language Model have a structural ceiling, and are we basically there? Sponsors: Acorns.com/ride Links: Hands-On With the Xbox Ally X, the New Gaming Handheld from Asus and Microsoft (IGN) Meta in Talks for Scale AI Investment That Could Top $10 Billion (Bloomberg) A knockout blow for LLMs? (Gary Marcus On AI) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Circle had such a successful IPO, I’m wondering if IPO’s might finally be back on the menu. Turns out Anthropic cut off Windsurf for the most obvious reason. Maybe Manus really is stoking a new gold rush, at least in China. And in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, the most consequential weather forecast of all time. Sponsors: Tonal.com Links: Stablecoin issuer Circle soars 168% in NYSE debut after pricing IPO above expected range (CNBC) Anthropic co-founder on cutting access to Windsurf: ‘It would be odd for us to sell Claude to OpenAI’ (TechCrunch) Anysphere, Hailed as Fastest Growing Startup Ever, Raises $900 Million (Bloomberg) Manus has kick-started an AI agent boom in China (MIT Technology Review) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Runway CEO Cris Valenzuela wants Hollywood to embrace AI video (The Verge) The Man Whose Weather Forecast Saved the World (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reddit goes after Anthropic. Meta seems to be reading a much cheaper Vision Pro killer, while still moving forward with their ambitious smartglasses product. What if your Amazon delivery person was not a person at all, but a humanoid robot. And how, quietly, Hollywood studios are already deep into AI adoption. Sponsors: CornBreadHemp.com/ride and code ride Links: Reddit Sues Anthropic, Alleges Unauthorized Use of Site’s Data (WSJ) Meta Talks to Disney, A24 About Content for New VR Headset (WSJ) Here’s what’s inside Meta’s experimental new smart glasses (The Verge) OpenAI slams court order to save all ChatGPT logs, including deleted chats (ArsTechica) Amazon Prepares to Test Humanoid Robots for Delivering Packages (The Information) Everyone Is Already Using AI (And Hiding It) (Vulture) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Windsurf accuses Anthropic of blocking it from AI models in a sign that competition in the AI coding space is fierce. But will the real battle happen when the likes of Microsoft and Google really go after the startups? NotebookLM is now sharable. Pump.fun is raising big money. And Nintendo didn’t send out any Switch 2 review units. What are they afraid of? Sponsors: 1Password.com/ride Links: Windsurf says Anthropic is limiting its direct access to Claude AI models (TechCrunch) AI startups revolutionize coding industry, leading to sky-high valuations (Reuters) Google’s NotebookLM now lets you share your notebook — and AI podcasts — publicly (The Verge) Pump.fun plans $1B token sale at $4B valuation: Sources (Blockworks) How Morgan Stanley Tackled One of Coding’s Toughest Problems (WSJ) It’s official: There are no Nintendo Switch 2 reviews. Here’s what that means for us, and you (VGC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon Musk is suddenly fundraising everywhere. An attempt to solve the nomenclature problem around hacking groups. Is the solution to more energy for data centers already hidden inside the grid? And the final two pieces today are two different takes on the great AI debate, our entire civilization is having right now. Sponsors: Oracle.com/techmeme Links: Musk Taps Investors for Billions Days After Washington Exit (Bloomberg) 'Forest Blizzard' vs 'Fancy Bear' - cyber companies hope to untangle weird hacker nicknames (Reuters) Gridcare thinks more than 100 GW of data center capacity is hiding in the grid (TechCrunch) Walmart is supercharging revenue — but with fewer workers (Financial Times) My AI Skeptic Friends Are All Nuts (Thomas Ptacek) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We know WWDC might be underwhelming this year, but to what degree? Is Samsung about to pick Perplexity as its horse in the AI race? AI based acquisition and wrapups continue to be the new hotness in VC investing. And how DoorDash has quietly been killing it in the delivery space. Sponsors: AGNTCY.ORG QualiaLife.com/ride and code RIDE Links: Apple Developer Event Will Show It’s Still Far From Being an AI Leader (Bloomberg) Samsung Nears Wide-Ranging Deal With Perplexity for AI Features (Bloomberg) Google quietly released an app that lets you download and run AI models locally (TechCrunch) Early AI investor Elad Gil finds his next big bet: AI-powered rollups (TechCrunch) Meta Aims to Fully Automate Ad Creation Using AI (WSJ) DoorDash CEO Tony Xu is taking on the role of industry consolidator in food delivery (CNBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Meta’s big deal with Anduril is a big deal for the entire tech industry. Microsoft is kinda not joining, but also kind of all in on the handheld gaming race. Count Hugging Face as someone else serious about AI robots. And in the longreads, more signs that the AI job apocalypse might already be upon us. Links: Meta Fired Palmer Luckey. Now, They’re Teaming Up on a Defense Contract. (WSJ) Mark Zuckerberg Finally Found a Use for His Metaverse — War (Bloomberg) EXCLUSIVE: Xbox's first-party handheld has been sidelined (for now), as Microsoft doubles down on 'Kennan' and Windows 11 PC gaming optimization (Windows Central) Black Forest Labs’ Kontext AI models can edit pics as well as generate them (TechCrunch) Hugging Face unveils two new humanoid robots (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: For Some Recent Graduates, the A.I. Job Apocalypse May Already Be Here (NYTimes) How Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd & Jethro Tull Financed the Making Monty Python and the Holy Grail (OpenCulture) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nvidia had solid earnings, though they’re quite concerned about being boxed out of China. The apparent hack of Victoria’s Secret gave me a dad-joke-title for today’s episode. Why DeepSeek’s recent R1 update is a bigger deal than even they are letting on. And why the CEO of Anthropic says we should be more worried about the AI he’s unleashing than people are aware. Links: Nvidia beats on earnings and revenue as data center sales jump 73% (CNBC) Nvidia CEO Warns That Chinese AI Rivals Are Now ‘Formidable’ (Bloomberg) NVIDIA GeForce NOW launches a native Steam Deck app, unlocking 4K cloud gaming & extended battery life for Valve's handheld (Windows Central) Victoria’s Secret takes down website after security incident (BleepingComputer) Apple to Launch iOS 26, macOS 26 in Major Rebrand Tied to Software Redesigns (Bloomberg) DeepSeek Quietly Drops AI Update That Outperforms Google's Best (Implicator.ai) Behind the Curtain: A white-collar bloodbath (Axios) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple is making noises in the gaming space once again, but I feel like we’ve heard this all before. Getty is still deadly serious about suing AI companies. Self driving trucks seem to be juuuust about to hit the roads. And a big piece about the enmity between Apple and Elon Musk. Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: Apple acquires RAC7, its first-ever video game studio (Digital Trends) Apple to Debut Dedicated Gaming App Within Days of Switch 2’s Arrival (Bloomberg) Texas Adopts Online Child-Safety Bill Opposed by Apple’s CEO (Bloomberg) Getty Images spending millions to battle a ‘world of rhetoric’ in AI suit, CEO says (CNBC) Driverless Semi Trucks Are Here, With Little Regulation and Big Promises (NYTimes) Apple’s Satellite Ambitions Threatened by Elon Musk, Internal Resistance (The Information) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Salesforce is back in the acquisition swing. Circle is going for an IPO. Is Netflix about to lose the streaming service crown? The Holy Grail of AI Models. And is your boss more demanding of your output now that you use AI? Links: Salesforce Agrees to Buy Informatica in Deal Worth $8 Billion (Bloomberg) Stablecoin Giant Circle File for IPO on NYSE (CoinDesk) The Browser Company mulls selling or open-sourcing Arc Browser amid AI-focused pivot (TechCrunch) Cricket gives Disney-Ambani unit in India almost as many users as Netflix (Financial Times) One of Europe’s top AI researchers raised a $13M seed to crack the ‘holy grail’ of models (TechCrunch) At Amazon, Some Coders Say Their Jobs Have Begun to Resemble Warehouse Work (NYTimes) Khosla Ventures among VCs experimenting with AI-infused roll-ups of mature companies (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Find out more about Calmwave at Calmwave.ai. The case study we mention is here: https://catalyst.wellstar.org/casestudies/calmwave/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tariff fun is back and this time there’s only one tech company in the crosshairs: Apple. Anthropic releases flagship new Claude models, and they seem to be impressive, but half the story here is how weird they behave. Like, ratting on users to authorities, blackmailing engineers and maybe creating biological weapons. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Trump says a 25% tariff ‘must be paid by Apple’ on iPhones not made in the U.S. (CNBC) Anthropic’s new Claude 4 AI models can reason over many steps (TechCrunch) Exclusive: New Claude Model Triggers Stricter Safeguards at Anthropic (Time) Anthropic’s new AI model turns to blackmail when engineers try to take it offline (TechCrunch) Anthropic faces backlash to Claude 4 Opus behavior that contacts authorities, press if it thinks you’re doing something ‘egregiously immoral’ (VentureBeat) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Exclusive look at the creation of High NA, ASML’s new $400 million chipmaking colossus (CNBC) Is Mubi Really Worth $1 Billion? Inside Efe Cakarel’s Plan to Make the Global Streamer Cooler Than A24 (Variety) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is this is biggest acquihire of all time? Jony Ive is joining OpenAI to the tune of $6.5 billion dollars. And what is he going to do there? Create hardware devices that Sam Altman expects to ship 100 million of. Why Google has a unique advantage in the AI race. Why Signal is blocking Recall. And why is weather forecasting AI’s next big trick? Sponsors: CornbreadHemp.com/ride and code RIDE Links: Former Apple Design Guru Jony Ive to Take Expansive Role at OpenAI (WSJ) What Sam Altman Told OpenAI About the Secret Device He’s Making With Jony Ive (WSJ) Google has a big AI advantage: it already knows everything about you (The Verge) “Microsoft has simply given us no other option,” Signal says as it blocks Windows Recall (Ars Technica) A.I. Is Poised to Revolutionize Weather Forecasting. A New Tool Shows Promise. (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Google day. Everything Google, everywhere, all at once. All the headlines from IO and there were a ton. What even is Google search in the age of AI? Google’s big push into smartglasses, a wild new video model and a ton, ton more. Here’s what you missed, yesterday, mostly, I guess, in the world of tech. Sponsors: Venice.ai/techmeme and code techmeme Links: Google is rolling out AI Mode to everyone in the US (Engadget) Android XR is getting stylish partners in Warby Parker and Gentle Monster (The Verge) My demo with Google's AR glasses went better than the one on stage (AndroidCentral) Google launches Veo 3, an AI video generator that incorporates audio (CNBC) Watch Me Try Google’s Live Language Translator. It’s Wild. (WSJ) Google moves to reassure EU cloud users amid concern over Trump threat (Financial Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He noted the firm has the OVX computer that is meant to do simulation and graphic simulation physics engine, and it is used to synthesize and generate data. And this data is consumed by the DGX computer, which are used to train foundation models. And then it is deployed to the HX computer, which is the runtime on the edge for platforms like humanoid robots. Sponsors: 1password.com/ride Links: GitHub’s new AI coding agent can fix bugs for you (The Verge) The new Microsoft Discovery agentic platform targets scientists and researchers (Neowin) Trump signs the Take It Down Act into law (The Verge) Stablecoin Bill Advances in US Senate in Big Win for Crypto (Bloomberg) EU to impose €2 tax on low-cost items in blow to Temu and Shein (FT) Nvidia charges ahead with humanoid robotics aided by the cloud (GamesBeat) Autonomous cars with ‘social sensitivity’ cut threat to road users, study finds (FT) Mountainhead Trailer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The big, long saga of how Apple lost the AI race. Nvidia wants you to bring your own gear. 23andMe’s assets are acquired. Why are Apple and Epic still bickering? And why has kidnapping suddenly become a major issue for big crypto players? Sponsors: AGNTCY.org Qualialife.com/ride and code ride Links: Why Apple Still Hasn’t Cracked AI (Bloomberg) Nvidia Opens AI Ecosystem to Rival Chipmakers in Global Push (Bloomberg) Regeneron to Buy 23andMe Out of Bankruptcy for $256 Million (WSJ) Epic Asks Court to Force Apple to Approve Fortnite on US Store (Bloomberg) Epic asks court to compel Apple to reinstate Fortnite on the App Store (9to5Mac) Venture capital's series progression (Axios) Crypto High-Rollers Go Big on Bodyguards to Deter Kidnappers (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices