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

In today’s edition, we are tackling the following:

☁️ OpenAI models are available on AWS for the first time.
🎤 A hacker used a voice phishing attack to steal Cisco customers’ personal information.
💵 Clay confirms closing $100M funding round at $3.1B company valuation.
💻 AMD reports weaker-than-expected earnings even as revenue tops estimates.
💰 Uzbekistan's first unicorn, Uzum, has a $1.5 billion valuation after new funding.

TECHNOLOGY

• OpenAI models are available on AWS for the first time

  • OpenAI partners with Amazon Web Services, offering new open-weight reasoning models through Bedrock and SageMaker services.

  • This marks the first time OpenAI models have become available on AWS with full company knowledge and approval.

  • The partnership helps AWS compete against Microsoft Azure, which is OpenAI's primary cloud hosting partner.

• Democrats question how Trump's government will regulate the Trump Mobile service

  • Six Democratic lawmakers, led by Elizabeth Warren, ask federal agencies about regulating Trump Mobile operations.

  • The letter questions how agencies will avoid political influence when investigating potential Trump Mobile violations.

  • Multiple agencies, including the FCC, FTC, and FDA, could have regulatory oversight over the branded phone service.

• A hacker used a voice phishing attack to steal Cisco customers’ personal information

  • Cybercriminals used voice phishing to trick a Cisco representative into granting access to the user database.

  • Hackers stole basic profile information, including names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers, from the CRM system.

  • The breach potentially continues the pattern of attacks targeting companies' Salesforce data across multiple industries.

BUSINESS

• OpenAI in talks for share sale at massive $500B company valuation

  • OpenAI is in early talks for an employee stock sale at an approximate $500 billion valuation.

  • The company targets a secondary stock sale worth billions of dollars for current employees.

  • Existing investors, including Thrive Capita, have approached OpenAI about purchasing employee shares in a deal.

• Clay confirms closing $100M funding round at $3.1B company valuation

  • Clay raised $100 million Series C led by CapitalG, following the previous $1.25 billion Series B round.

  • The sales automation startup serves major clients including OpenAI, Anthropic, Canva, Intercom, and Rippling.

  • Clay expects to reach $100 million in revenue this year, tripling its performance from the previous year.

• AMD reports weaker-than-expected earnings even as revenue tops estimates

  • AMD reported quarterly earnings that missed expectations despite 32% sales growth to $5.84 billion annually.

  • Major AI customers like Meta and OpenAI increasingly seek AMD alternatives to Nvidia's expensive chips.

  • US export restrictions eliminated AMD's MI308 sales to China, impacting AI business revenue year-over-year.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Japanese liquor maker Yomeishu considers going private after acquisition proposals

  • Yomeishu Seizo has received acquisition proposals from several investment funds for potential buyout deals.

  • The Japanese medicinal liqueur manufacturer appointed Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley as financial advisor.

  • The company is exploring capital strategies, including delisting, and has conducted a first-round bidding process.

• Uzbekistan's first unicorn, Uzum, reaches $1.5 billion valuation after new funding

  • Uzum raised $65.5 million from Tencent and VR Capital, boosting the valuation to $1.5 billion.

  • The Tashkent startup serves 17 million users across e-commerce, fintech, and food delivery services.

  • Founded in 2022, Uzum achieved $250 million GMV and $150 million net income growth.

• India experiences an IPO surge before the important financial disclosure deadline approaches

  • More than a dozen Indian companies launched IPOs worth $2.1 billion before the August deadline.

  • Companies are making a last-minute dash to public markets to attract global investor interest.

  • The surge represents 187 billion rupees in offerings during the two weeks before disclosure requirements.

CONTENT

• Andrew Milgram shares surprising data on why middle-market companies are failing

  • Andrew Milgram discusses America’s K-shaped economy and how it’s hurting middle-market businesses deeply.

  • He warns that ongoing bankruptcies and tariff uncertainty could crush smaller firms while aiding big corporations.

  • Milgram outlines his hands-on strategy for distressed investing and insights on private credit and equity markets.

• Chuck Yates rode the wildest wealth rollercoaster from $150M down to $82K back

  • Chuck Yates experienced extreme wealth swings from $150 million to $82,000 in oil and gas private equity.

  • He built fortunes in high-stakes energy PE, bought planes, and toured with celebrities during peak wealth.

  • After divorce and career setbacks, Chuck redefined success by separating self-worth from net worth completely.

• Marc Andreessen discusses US industrialization history and tariff lessons from leaders

  • Marc Andreessen and Joe Lonsdale explore how AI and robotics could catalyze American industrial revival.

  • Discussion covers US industrialization history, tariff lessons from McKinley, and America's shift to a services economy.

  • The conversation examines immigration, housing, education, and energy policies needed for AI-powered manufacturing growth.

FUTURISM

• Tesla co-founder JB Straubel uses old EV batteries to power AI data centers

  • JB Straubel's Redwood Materials repurposes used EV batteries for microgrid projects, powering data centers.

  • First project with Crusoe generates 12 megawatts through solar with 63 megawatt-hours battery capacity.

  • Goldman Sachs estimates AI will drive a 165% increase in data center power demand by 2030.

• DeepMind claims new Genie 3 world model advances toward artificial general intelligence

  • Genie 3 generates interactive 3D environments from text prompts lasting multiple minutes at 720p resolution.

  • The model creates physically consistent simulations by remembering previous generations without explicit programming for this.

  • DeepMind positions Genie 3 as a stepping stone toward AGI capable of training general-purpose AI agents.

• Nvidia denies AI chips have a kill switch after Chinese government accusations

  • Nvidia rejected Chinese accusations that its data center GPUs contain hardware kill switch functionality.

  • The company's chief security officer stated that GPUs do not and should not have backdoors.

  • China's Cyberspace Administration demanded that Nvidia provide documents about alleged security vulnerabilities in chips.

EXTRAS

• Jury finds Meta violated California privacy laws by collecting Flo users’ menstrual data

  • California jury ruled Meta illegally collected menstrual health data from Flo app users without consent.

  • Plaintiffs accused Meta of using private period tracking information for targeted advertising and profit purposes.

  • Meta denies wrongdoing and plans legal appeals while claiming it prohibits sensitive health data collection.

• Sweden, Norway, Denmark pledge $500 million for NATO Ukraine weapons project

  • Three Nordic countries contribute $500 million to the NATO initiative supplying US weapons to Ukraine.

  • The funding will provide Patriot missiles, air defense equipment, and anti-tank munitions immediately.

  • Denmark contributes $90 million, Norway $146 million, and Sweden $275 million to the package.

• Jeh Aerospace raises $11M to expand India's commercial aircraft supply chain

  • Former Tata Group executives founded Jeh Aerospace to manufacture metallic components for aircraft engines.

  • The startup raised $11 million in Series A funding to scale production for global suppliers.

  • Jeh aims to establish India as a major destination for aerospace component manufacturing and production.

AND MORE

• Spotify expands audiobooks access to US family plan members for the first time.

• Alaska Airlines launches London, Iceland flights with new livery for international expansion.

• SonicWall urges customers to disable SSLVPN after reports of ransomware attacks emerge.

• 150k+ readers from Google, TikTok, OpenAI, and Deel love Open Source CEO deep dive business content.*

• Roku launches Howdy ad-free streaming service priced at $2.99 monthly subscription.

•  Singaporeans avoid US travel more than other Asian travelers for specific reasons.

• WhatsApp adds new security features designed to protect users against scam attempts.

• Backed by America’s bourbon legacy, CaskX offers an alternative path for retirement growth with potential tax advantages.*

• Google's NotebookLM becomes available to younger users amid AI education competition.

•  Australia's Great Barrier Reef experiences record coral decline after mass bleaching event.