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

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🏠 Apple’s Smart Home Hub reportedly delayed by Siri challenges.
🛢️ CERAWeek top oil executives reckon with downturn as Trump cheers them on.
🌐 Building an open web for the AI era with Matt Biilmann.
🇮🇷 Iran’s leader rebuffs Trump’s outreach over its nuclear program.
💻 Some Chromecasts are giving ‘Untrusted Device’ errors today.

TECH

• Apple’s smart home hub reportedly delayed by Siri challenges

  • Apple announced this week that the ‘more personalized’ version of Siri that it promised last year has been delayed.

  • Also, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, that’s also postponed the launch of the company’s planned smart home hub.

  • It would reportedly include a six-inch touchscreen that’s mounted on the wall, could be used for video calls and managing smart devices.

• How Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses fit into Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of a smartphone successor

  • Meta, in collaboration with Ray-Ban, has developed smart glasses that align with CEO Mark Zuckerberg's vision of a smartphone alternative. 

  • These glasses enable users to capture photos and videos hands-free, listen to music, and receive information through voice commands.

  • Meta's partnership with Ray-Ban has resulted in a product that appeals to consumers with over 700k pairs shipped, doubling initial shipments.

• Robot waiters plug labor gaps in Japan

  • Service-sector businesses in Japan are increasingly investing in robots and can work alongside people, instead of simply replacing them.

  • So-called service robots are also making it easier for firms to employ older or foreign workers who are crucial to plugging the shortfall.

  • These service robots also help them overcome language barriers or cope with the physical demands of a role.

BUSINESS

• CERAWeek top oil executives reckon with downturn even as Trump cheers them on

  • The world's energy industry leaders meet in Houston next week as plummeting oil prices push Big Oil to slash thousands of jobs.

  • Trump's policies on trade and foreign policy have threatened to drive up the cost of millions of barrels of oil that U.S. refiners need.

  • "It's a revolution in energy policy that is unfolding. The industry is trying to catch its breath," said Dan Yergin, vice chairman of S&P Global.

• Goodyear Tire’s transformation plan is underway in the sky and on the ground

  • Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is facing a rapidly changing business with new technologies and increased competition such as China.

  • The question now is if the 127-year-old company can transform itself to be more efficient, profitable, and competitive.

  • Hype is building on Wall Street for Goodyear, but many investors remain on the sidelines waiting to see if the company’s efforts will pay off.

• Virgin Group aims to raise $900 million for rail service bid, company says

  • British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group aims to raise $900M to fund its plan to launch cross-channel rail services.

  • Virgin, which used to operate intercity train services in Britain, plans to launch services that would connect London with Paris and Brussels.

  • Virgin's plans are for a high-frequency service, which would be the first direct rival to Eurostar's 30-year-old network and to launch by 2029.

CONTENT

• Building an open web for the AI era with Matt Biilmann

  • Netlify CEO and co-founder Matt Biilmann joins a16z general partner Martin Casado to explore how AI is reshaping web development.

  • At the center of this shift is Agent Experience, a new paradigm where AI agents aren’t just tools, but active participants in development.

  • Matt shares how Netlify is evolving to meet this future, why the next 100 million web developers will collaborate with AI and what’s at stake.

• Julian Traxeira’s take on hiring and training your first sales hires

  • Julian Teixeira is the CRO at 1Password, where he has grown B2B revenue over 8x and scaled a team of more than 450 in go-to-market.

  • 1Password set the record for the largest raise in Canadian history at the start of 2022 and has raised nearly $1B in capital since then.

  • The discussion covers key sales lessons, setting targets, managing sales reps, compensation structures, and pipeline.

• The 6 greatest marketing ads of all time featuring Craig Clemens

  • In Episode 683, Shaan Puri and Craig Clemens break down some of the greatest marketing lines in history, on what makes them memorable.

  • They discuss iconic phrases like ‘A diamond is forever,’ the psychology behind compelling advertising, and lessons from Joseph Duveen.

  • The conversation also covers unconventional ad tactics, and the value of persistence in sales.

WORLD

• Iran’s leader rebuffs Trump’s outreach over its Nuclear program

  • Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei firmly rejected any negotiations under perceived U.S. ‘bullying’ tactics.

  • Khamenei emphasized that Iran will not succumb to external pressures aiming to impose new demands beyond the nuclear issue.

  • Iran's U.N. mission indicated a potential willingness to engage in discussions over the possible militarization of its nuclear program.

• North Korea calls US-South Korea drills a dangerous provocative act

  • The North Korea Foreign Ministry said U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises are ‘a dangerous provocative act.’

  • Annual South Korean and U.S. military exercises called Freedom Shield are due to begin today, Monday, and run until March 20.

  • North Korea has traditionally called for these joint exercises to be called off, branding them as a prelude to invasion.

• China to impose retaliatory tariffs on some Canadian products as trade war heats up

  • China on Saturday announced plans to impose a 100% tariff on Canadian rapeseed oil, oil cakes and peas, adding that a 25% levy.

  • The measures are scheduled to come into force from March 20, according to a statement from China’s Customs Tariff Commission.

  • It is the latest in a series of tariff announcements by the U.S., China, Canada and Mexico in recent months.

AND MORE…

• Invest in this revolutionary leap in AI technology*

  • ChatGPT is far from intelligent. It makes massive mistakes and doesn’t truly know anything. Computers can’t learn or think the way humans do.

  • This is about to change thanks to New Sapience, a company led by rocket scientists and entrepreneurs responsible for $350M+ in exits.

  • New Sapience has developed the necessary breakthrough for machines to think and learn.

• Some Chromecasts are giving ‘Untrusted device’ errors today

  • Reports are cropping up today that second-generation Chromecasts and music-streaming Chromecast Audio devices are failing.

  • Text from screenshots of the error posted to Reddit reads, ‘Untrusted device’ and continues, saying the device ‘couldn’t be verified.’

  • Google discontinued the Chromecast line in August last year, but said that it was still offering the latest devices.

• 'Edit Wars' on Middle East page raise tensions on Wikipedia

  • Ongoing war and other conflicts in the Middle East have spilled onto the pages of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

  • The platform has become a battleground for differing narratives, leading to intense edit wars and debates over content representation.

  • For about six months last year, Wikipedia published two, radically different accounts of a deadly battle at the Nuseirat refugee camp.

• Forza Horizon 5 will require a Microsoft account on PS5

  • The PS5 version of Forza Horizon 5 will require you to link a Microsoft account to your PlayStation Network account to play the game.

  • The FAQ says that players will be prompted to link the two the first time they load the game.

  • The requirement stings given that there’s no cross-platform saving, so the progress you make in the PS5 version isn’t reflected in the Xbox version.