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

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

🤖 Sam Altman addresses ‘bumpy’ GPT-5 rollout and potential GPT-4o return options.
💰 Nvidia and AMD pay the US government 15% of China's AI chip revenues.
💹 SoftBank founder Son bets the company on artificial intelligence investments.
🪙 Ether leads weekend cryptocurrency rally as treasury buyers boost token values.
📱 Singapore's Keppel sells an M1 telecom stake for a loss of 1.4 billion dollars.

TECHNOLOGY

• Sam Altman addresses ‘bumpy’ GPT-5 rollout and potential GPT-4o return options

  • OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed GPT-5's ‘bumpy’ launch during a Reddit AMA session on Friday.

  • GPT-5's router system malfunctioned, causing the model to appear less intelligent than GPT-4o initially.

  • Altman promised to consider bringing back GPT-4o access and doubling rate limits for subscribers.

• Nvidia and AMD pay the US government 15% of China's AI chip revenues

  • Nvidia and AMD agreed to pay 15% of Chinese AI chip sales revenues to the US government.

  • This unusual arrangement allows both companies to secure necessary export licenses for the China business.

  • Nvidia shares H20 accelerator revenues while AMD contributes from MI308 chip sales to the government.

• Former Googlers’ AI startup OpenArt creates viral brain-rotting videos instantly

  • OpenArt, launched by ex-Google employees, generates viral 'brain rot' videos with wild animated characters.

  • The startup's new one-click feature transforms single sentences into complete one-minute story videos.

  • The platform offers three templates and uses over 50 AI models for creating customizable content.

BUSINESS

• SoftBank founder Son bets the company's future on artificial intelligence investments completely

  • SoftBank positions itself as an AI revolution leader through strategic acquisitions and major technology investments.

  • The Japanese giant majority-owns chip designer Arm and invested billions in OpenAI recently.

  • Founder Masayoshi Son has contemplated artificial intelligence opportunities for over ten years consistently.

• Ether leads weekend cryptocurrency rally as treasury buyers boost token values

  • Ether outpaced rivals in the weekend crypto rally driven by institutional investors and treasury demand.

  • Second-largest cryptocurrency rose 2.9% Monday, reaching its highest level since December 2021 at $4,300.

  • Bitcoin also surged above $121,000, approaching record-high levels during the broad market rally.

• Artificial intelligence boom creates new billionaires at unprecedented record-breaking speeds

  • The AI boom represents the largest wealth creation event in modern financial history.

  • Major funding rounds for Anthropic, OpenAI, and other AI startups created new billionaires.

  • Future IPOs will make private AI fortunes liquid, creating opportunities for wealth managers.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Vietnamese farmers receive minimal compensation for Trump-backed golf resort displacement

  • Vietnamese farmer Nguyen Thi Huong offered only $3,200 and rice to vacate farmland permanently.

  • Trump family-backed golf resort construction begins next month, requiring thousands of villagers to relocate.

  • Some farmers are dissatisfied with low compensation, while others expect economic benefits from golf development.

• Singapore's Keppel sells M1 telecom stake for 1.4 billion dollar loss

  • Keppel Ltd divests M1 telecommunications interest for an estimated S$222 million accounting loss.

  • The divestment ends Keppel's long-term backing while generating nearly S$1 billion in cash proceeds.

  • The move represents Keppel's strategy to offload legacy assets as it transforms into an asset manager.

• South Korea's military shrinks 20% over six years due to a declining male population

  • South Korea's military dropped 20% to 450,000 troops due to declining male birthrate issues.

  • Twenty-year-old male population decreased 30% between 2019-2025, affecting mandatory military service availability.

  • North Korea maintains 1.2 million active troops, while South Korea now has significantly fewer soldiers.

CONTENT

• Dylan discusses Figma's early browser-building challenges and pivotal growth decisions

  • Dylan Field co-founded Figma to create multiplayer online design tools reaching millions of users.

  • Early challenges included building browser-based tools using WebGL technology and securing initial user feedback.

  • Figma's growth involved strategic product decisions culture of constraints, and recognizing product-market fit signals.

• Nick Turley discusses a 10-day ChatGPT development sprint to Altman's tweet

  • Nick Turley leads ChatGPT with 700 million weekly users, representing 10% of the global population.

  • The original team shipped ChatGPT in just 10 days from the initial decision to Sam Altman's announcement.

  • OpenAI used Discord surveys to determine $20 monthly pricing and embraces "maximally accelerated" shipping philosophy.

• Aswath Damodaran discusses America's country risk and reactive market trends today

  • Finance Professor Aswath Damodaran analyzes America's country risk factors and shifting market dynamics.

  • Markets have transformed from predictive machines to reactive systems responding to immediate events.

  • Discussion covers AI hype cycles, Google's valuation of Bitcoin companies, and the broken IPO pipeline.

FUTURISM

• Inside the automated warehouse where robots are packing your groceries

  • Ocado's automated warehouse uses hundreds of robots on tracks called "the Grid" to move groceries efficiently.

  • New robotic arms with suction cups can now pack 40% of groceries, and are expected to reach 80% soon.

  • The company plans to automate most warehouse jobs except for delivery drivers due to customer interaction requirements.

• NASA and Google develop an AI medical assistant for Mars astronaut healthcare

  • NASA and Google created CMO-DA to help astronauts diagnose and treat medical issues independently.

  • The AI assistant runs on Google's Vertex AI platform using speech, text, and image inputs.

  • Medical testing showed 74-88% diagnostic accuracy across ankle injury, flank pain, and ear conditions.

• How big trucks and SUVs gobbled up the entire auto industry

  • American car preferences shifted dramatically from small sedans to SUVs and trucks over recent decades.

  • Ford and GM discontinued sedan production, reflecting that 80% of US sales are now SUVs/trucks.

  • Consumers prefer larger vehicles for perceived safety and road dominance over smaller car options.

EXTRAS

• Generative AI transforms online checkout systems, creating major internet shopping shifts

  • Generative AI like ChatGPT will fundamentally transform online checkout, creating seismic internet shopping changes.

  • Perplexity AI search engine partnered with PayPal to handle transactions directly within its platform.

  • OpenAI reportedly collaborates with Shopify on checkout technology, though plans remain officially unconfirmed.

• California Governor Newsom calls Trump's UCLA settlement offer political extortion tactics

  • California Governor Newsom rejected the Trump administration's $1 billion UCLA settlement offer as political extortion.

  • University of California reviews settlement after government froze hundreds of millions in federal funding.

  • The Trump administration previously settled with Columbia and Brown universities over pro-Palestinian protest issues.

• Trump warns homeless people to leave the Washington, DC area immediately

  • President Trump demands that homeless people leave Washington, DC, immediately via a social media announcement.

  • Trump promises alternative housing locations but specifies they must be far from the Capitol.

  • The President plans a White House speech on Monday about DC crime despite falling crime statistics.

AND MORE

• ‘Loud luxury’ is back as high-end brands look to rebound.

• Billionaire sells AI nudes while the internet scrubs actual sex content away.

• Learn Instagram Map usage while maintaining your personal privacy protection effectively.

• Need to scale an AI team quickly? Athyna delivers vetted talent globally in under a week.*

• Trump's current environmental data purge proves much worse than previous attempts.

• Microsoft Lens’ simple app dies as AI replacement takes over functionality.

• Five essential gadgets completely saved my camping vacation during the heat dome.

• Tired of repeating the same instructions to your team? Guidde revolutionizes how you share processes*

• New SMS scam operation emerges after researchers exposed a previous prolific scammer.

• Using an LTE smartwatch instead of a phone provided a very humbling learning experience.