Memorandum
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Tech Giants To Invest $400B

Tech Giants To Invest $400B

Bluesky reaches 40 million users, Samsung and Nvidia unveil an AI megafactory, and Rio protests deadly police raids.

Memorandum
November 01, 2025

Welcome back to your daily memorandum talking tech, business, AI, markets, and more. 🗞️

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🏠 Google launches Gemini for Home, replacing Assistant on speakers and displays.
🏭 Samsung and Nvidia announce AI megafactory to automate manufacturing.
💊 Pfizer sues Novo Nordisk over $9B Metsera bid amid obesity drug rivalry.
🌍 Pakistan and Afghanistan extend ceasefire following deadly border clashes.
📸 Perplexity strikes licensing deal with Getty Images to use stock photos in AI search.

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TECHNOLOGY

Bluesky hits 40 million users, introduces 'dislikes' beta (TechCrunch) _^More:_^Bloomberg
- Bluesky reached 40 million users and launched dislikes beta to personalize feeds and rankings.
- Platform introduces social neighborhoods mapping to prioritize replies from familiar connections and reduce toxic content.
- New system downranks toxic replies and improves thread detection while making reply controls more visible.
Google launches Gemini for Home for smart home products (Google) _^More:_^Bloomberg_^,_^Engadget_^,_^TechRadar
- Gemini replaces Google Assistant on speakers and displays with conversational AI understanding complex multi-step requests.
- Early access began October 28 in U.S. for existing devices from past decade at no cost.
- Advanced features like Gemini Live and camera history search require Google Home Premium subscription starting at ten dollars monthly.
OpenAI lets Sora users pay for more AI videos (Digital Trends)
_^More:_{^{CBS News}}
- OpenAI launched paid credits for Sora allowing users to purchase ten additional videos for four dollars.
- Free tier reduced to 30 daily generations across all plans while Pro subscribers receive 100 generations.
- Company cites unsustainable economics and plans to further reduce free quota as demand increases significantly.

BUSINESS

Samsung and Nvidia to build an AI Megafactory (SiliconANGLE)
_^More:_^CNBC_^,_^TechCrunch_^,_^Engadget
- Samsung deploys over 50,000 Nvidia GPUs in AI Megafactory to automate entire semiconductor manufacturing flow.
- Partnership achieved 20-times improvement in computational lithography performance using Nvidia's cuLitho technology.
- Factory extends beyond chips to mobile devices and robotics with global expansion planned for Texas.
Big Tech AI Spending Surges: $200B+ Capex Blitz Continues (TechBuzz)
_^More:_^CNBC_^,_^CNN_^,_{^{Yahoo Finance}}
- Big Tech raised 2025 AI capital expenditure forecasts to 364 billion dollars from prior 325 billion estimate.
- Google increased spending guidance to 91 to 93 billion dollars while Meta lifted floor to 70 billion.
- Microsoft quarterly capex hit 34.9 billion dollars with fiscal 2026 growth expected to accelerate beyond 2025.
Pfizer sues Metsera, Novo Nordisk over rival obesity drug bid (CNBC) _^More:_{^{STAT News}}
- Pfizer filed lawsuit seeking restraining order after Novo Nordisk bid up to 9 billion for Metsera.
- Pfizer received early FTC antitrust clearance and claims Novo's offer faces significant regulatory risk and antitrust concerns.
- Obesity drug market projected to reach 150 billion dollars with Metsera given four days to respond.

MARKETS

S&P	6,693.74	+0.49%
NASDAQ	20,273.46	+0.52%
Dow	47,632.00	−0.16%
10-Year	4.29%	↑ ~0.02 pp
Bitcoin	$112,193.18	−3.67%
Gold	$4,111.89	−0.34%

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WORLD

Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to maintain a ceasefire (NPR)
_^More:_{^{Al Jazeera}}_^,_^Reuters
- Pakistan and Afghanistan extended ceasefire after Istanbul talks mediated by Turkey and Qatar following deadly cross-border clashes.
- Fighting began after Pakistani Taliban killed 11 soldiers prompting Pakistani strikes inside Afghanistan including Kabul on October 9.
- Next round scheduled November 6 with monitoring mechanism as border crossings remain closed and trade halted.
Opposition says 'hundreds' killed in Tanzania post-election protests (Al Jazeera)
_^More:_^CNN_^,_^Bloomberg_^,_{^{Washington Post}}
- Opposition claims 700 deaths during protests after President Hassan's two main challengers barred from Wednesday's election.
- Military deployed with internet shutdown as demonstrators demand electoral reforms and halt to result announcements.
- Ruling party maintains power since 1961 independence amid accusations of authoritarian crackdown and opposition leader jailed.
Rio Authorities Identify Bodies as Protests Denounce Deadly Police Raids (U.S. News)
_^More:_{^{Al Jazeera}}_^,_{^{CBS News}}_^,_{^{Washington Post}}
- Rio police raid killed 121 people including four officers targeting Comando Vermelho gang in favelas Tuesday.
- Authorities identified 99 bodies with 42 having outstanding warrants while protesters denounce excessive force and alleged executions.
- Operation involved 2,500 officers using helicopters and armored vehicles seizing 118 weapons and one ton drugs.
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FUTURISM

Google's first AI-generated ad is all about using AI to escape danger (PhoneArena)
_^More:_^MediaPost_^,_{^{Sherwood News}}
- Google released first fully AI-generated TV ad using Veo 3 featuring cartoon turkey escaping Thanksgiving.
- Tom the turkey uses AI Mode in Google Search to find flights to safety avoiding uncanny valley.
- Creative Lab chose not to prominently label as AI claiming consumers don't care how ads are made.
Adobe MAX 2025 Sneaks: Where AI, creativity, and play collide (Adobe Blog)
_^More:_^TechRadar_^,_{^{Digital Camera World}}
- Adobe showcased ten experimental AI projects including Project Clean Take for regenerating speech and audio editing.
- Project Light Touch enables reshaping light sources after capture while Project Turn Style edits 2D objects as 3D.
- Sneaks hosted by Jessica Williams demonstrated features that may eventually launch in Creative Cloud products.
Perplexity strikes multi-year licensing deal with Getty Images (TechCrunch)
_^More:_{^{Getty Images}}
- Perplexity signed multi-year deal with Getty Images to display stock photos across AI search tools with attribution.
- Agreement follows plagiarism accusations and Reddit lawsuit alleging industrial-scale scraping of user content in October.
- Deal legitimizes previous Getty photo use and emphasizes attribution as defense against copyright infringement claims.

CONTENT

Elon Musk: 3 Years of X, OpenAI Lawsuit, Bill Gates, Grokipedia & The Future of Everything (All-In Podcast)
- Elon Musk discusses X’s new algorithm, free speech on the platform, and his plan for the Grokipedia knowledge network.
- The hosts cover Tesla’s shareholder vote, the OpenAI lawsuit, and Elon’s evolving relationship with AI and regulation.
- The episode closes with reflections on energy, autonomy, and Bill Gates’s shifting stance on climate and innovation.
Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz on the State of AI (a16z)
- Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz explore how large language models redefine creativity, leadership, and human–AI collaboration.
- They reject the “AI bubble” narrative, emphasizing infrastructure fundamentals, global competition, and paradigm shifts in UX.
- Discussion spans embodied intelligence, chip cycles, and reindustrialization as the next economic frontier in the AI era.
Adobe AI: From Photoshop to Photo Slop (The Vergecast)
- The Vergecast team dissects Adobe’s new AI features and how they may flood creative platforms with low-quality, automated content.
- They debate OpenAI’s corporate restructuring, Microsoft’s AGI ambitions, and the broader economics driving the AI hype cycle.
- The lightning round touches on regulation, tech culture oddities, and the uneasy future of algorithmic creativity and control.

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