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

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🌐 White House to overhaul the $42.5B Biden-era internet plan.
🏪 7-Eleven to split U.S. stores and buy back shares to prevent takeover.
🤖 Significance of Deepseek, reasoning models, and the future of LLMs.
🛡️ Europe races to craft a Trump-era plan for Ukraine and defense.
📺 Amazon Prime Video is getting into the wrestling business with new AEW deal.

TECH

• White House to overhaul the $42.5B Biden-era internet plan

  • The U.S. Commerce Department's plans to revise the $42.5 billion BEAD program, initially established during the Biden administration.

  • The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program was established to expand high-speed internet access in rural areas.

  • The proposed changes aim to make the program "technology-neutral," potentially allowing satellite internet providers to compete for funding.

• NASA is making sacrifices to keep the Voyager mission alive

  • NASA is shutting down some scientific instruments on Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 to conserve power as the spacecraft continue their journey.

  • Voyager 1's cosmic ray subsystem was turned off, and Voyager 2's low-energy charged particle instrument will be shut down soon.

  • These actions help extend the probes' lifespan, potentially keeping them operational into the 2030s despite their power sources weakening.

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• Apple's first foldable iPhone to sell for over $2,000

  • Apple's first foldable iPhone should arrive around the end of 2026 or early 2027 with a book-style design.

  • According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the device has a premium price tag of over $2,000.

  • Kuo says that the phone will forgo Face ID authentication, instead using a Touch ID side button as a means to save precious internal space.

BUSINESS

• 7-Eleven to split U.S. stores and buy back shares to prevent takeover

  • The company plans to list its North American operations, comprising 13,145 stores, on a U.S. stock exchange by 2026.

  • 7-Eleven agreed to sell its superstore unit to Bain Capital for approximately $5.5B.

  • The company announced a share buyback plan worth up to ¥2 trillion to be executed by fiscal 2030, aiming to enhance shareholder value.

• Trump grants automakers one-month exemption from tariffs

  • President Donald Trump has granted U.S. automakers a one-month exemption from the newly imposed 25% tariffs on imports.

  • This temporary reprieve aims to provide companies associated with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) additional time.

  • The announcement led to significant stock market gains for these companies, with GM shares rising 7.2%, Ford 5.8%, and Stellantis 9.3%.

• US announced job cuts surge 245% in February on federal government layoffs

  • U.S. employers announced 172,017 job cuts, marking a 245% increase from previous months.

  • The federal government accounted for the majority of these layoffs, with 62,242 job cuts across 17 agencies.

  • This surge is primarily attributed to policies implemented by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk.

CONTENT

• Significance of DeepSeek, reasoning models, and the future of LLMs

  • a16z partners Guido Appenzeller and Marco Mascorro explored the significance of DeepSeek, and the evolution of LLMs.

  • DeepSeek has garnered attention for its advanced capabilities and cost-effective design, positioning it as a notable competitor.

  • This discussion underscores the transformative potential of reasoning models in artificial intelligence.

• Lovable achieves 85% day-30 retention better than ChatGPT

  • Anton Osika, Co-Founder and CEO of Lovable, leads one of Europe's fastest-growing startups, offering AI-powered app creation.

  • In just three months, Lovable has scaled to $17.5M ARR, adding $2M in net new revenue per week.

  • Osika shares insights into the AI-driven startup boom, Lovable’s rapid success, and the challenges of scaling an AI company.

• Notion's lost years, and staying small to move fast with Ivan Zhao

  • Ivan Zhao emphasizes the importance of hiding a long-term vision behind features that users immediately want, making adoption easier.

  • Notion went through several iterations and full code rewrites before achieving product-market fit, demonstrating resilience and adaptability.

  • Ivan believes in designing products with both functionality and aesthetic sensibility, maintaining a high standard for craft while scaling.

WORLD

• South Korea air force jets accidentally drop bombs on homes injuring 15

  • During a joint live-fire exercise in Pocheon, South Korea, two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets accidentally dropped eight MK-82 bombs.

  • 500-pound bombs were dropped on a civilian area, resulting in injuries to 15 people, including two with serious injuries.

  • The mishap caused significant damage to residential buildings and a church.

• Europe races to craft a Trump-era plan for Ukraine and defense

  • European leaders are urgently reassessing their defense strategies in response to President Donald Trump's recent suspension of military aid.

  • This policy shift has prompted the European Union to convene emergency summits and propose significant measures.

  • EU leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to Ukraine, pledging increased military assistance.

• Nigeria to expand major power grid by 1,500MW by 2026

  • Nigeria plans to enhance its electricity transmission capacity by an additional 1,500 megawatts by the end of 2026.

  • This initiative aligns with the government's broader objective to achieve a power generation capacity of 20,000 megawatts by 2026.

  • Infrastructure projects include the upgrade of the 330kV Kaduna-Jos transmission line, which will increase its capacity to 1,500MW.

AND MORE…

• Amazon Prime Video is getting into the wrestling business with new AEW deal

  • ​All Elite Wrestling has entered into a multi-year agreement with Amazon's Prime Video to distribute its pay-per-view (PPV) events.

  • This collaboration will commence with AEW Revolution, scheduled for Sunday night.

  • Unlike some sports content included with a Prime subscription, viewers will need to purchase each AEW event individually, starting at $49.99. ​

• Renaissance Fusion raises €32M to radically simplify complex fusion reactors

  • ​Renaissance Fusion, a Grenoble-based startup specializing in nuclear fusion technology, has recently secured €15M in a seed funding round.

  • Renaissance Fusion is developing a stellarator reactor, a type of magnetic confinement fusion device.

  • The raised capital will be used to expand the team and acquire equipment necessary for research and development.

• Robinhood draws nearly 400K players in first $1M Bitcoin trivia game

  • Robinhood's inaugural Trivia Live event attracted nearly 400,000 participants, offering a $1 million Bitcoin prize pool.

  • The trivia consisted of 12 multiple-choice questions on finance and cryptocurrencies.

  • Out of approximately 392,600 initial players, only 615 successfully answered all questions to claim a share of the Bitcoin rewards.