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

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

🎮 Nvidia brings RTX 5080 GPUs to GeForce Now cloud gaming.
🏭 Trump administration weighs converting Chips Act funds into Intel equity.
🤝 Israel and Hamas reportedly reachan agreement on Gaza ceasefire terms.
🎬 Google’s Flow AI filmmaking tool powers 100M user videos.
✈️ Air Canada faces renewed strike risk after labor board ruling.

TECHNOLOGY

• Nvidia’s GeForce Now game streaming gets RTX 5080 GPUs

  • Nvidia upgraded GeForce Now with RTX 5080 GPUs, enhancing streaming performance and enabling ultra-high frame rates.

  • Improvements include improved image clarity, reduced latency, and better ray-tracing on cloud-based game experiences.

  • Enhancements may help attract high-end gamers and professionals to streaming over traditional local hardware setups.

• Windows 11 dark mode sees improvements to readability and color consistency

  • Microsoft improved Windows 11 dark mode with better contrast ratios and refined color tones for easier reading.

  • These updates reduce eye strain, especially in low-light settings, and offer more cohesive theme experiences.

  • The changes respond to long-standing user feedback and enhance accessibility across built-in apps and system UI.

• Grammarly gets a design overhaul and multiple new AI features

  • Grammarly rolled out a fresh UI redesign featuring a cleaner layout, updated icons, and streamlined navigation.

  • New AI tools include context-aware rewrites, sentence expanders, and tone adjustments powered by generative models.

  • The update aims to improve user engagement and writer creativity across messaging apps, documents, and email composition.

BUSINESS

• SoftBank invests $2B in Intel, buying shares at $23 and taking ~2% stake

  • SoftBank is investing $2 billion in Intel by acquiring $23 per share, owning roughly 2 percent of the common stock.

  • The deal values Intel above its recent market dip, bringing SoftBank in as a top-10 shareholder.

  • Intel’s stock jumped about 5.6 percent after hours, signaling renewed investor confidence amid turnaround efforts.

• Air Canada flight attendant strike could resume after labor board appeal rejection

  • Canada’s labor board denied flight attendants’ appeal, increasing the risk of a resumed strike and travel disruptions.

  • The airline offered a 38% raise over four years, but the union continues to demand more.

  • Government forced arbitration and return-to-work orders continue amid mounting delays and widespread passenger impact.

• Soho House to go private in $2.7 billion deal; Ashton Kutcher joining board

  • Soho House agreed to a $2.7B privatization led by MCR Hotels, offering shareholders $9 per share.

  • Actor-investor Ashton Kutcher will join the board, and a new CFO has already been named.

  • Moving private aims to stabilize the brand’s exclusivity and refocus strategy beyond public market pressures.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Zelenskyy and Trump express hope for trilateral talks with Putin

  • Trump says he’s working on arranging a three-way meeting with Zelenskyy and Putin to end the conflict.

  • Zelenskyy responded cautiously, emphasizing inclusion and defense commitments as conditions for participating in dialogue.

  • European leaders insist Ukraine must be at the table for any legitimate ceasefire agreement to hold long-term.

• Israel and Hamas appear to agree on ceasefire terms in Gaza

  • Israel and Hamas reportedly reached an agreement on a ceasefire framework to pause fighting across Gaza and neighboring areas.

  • Talks include prisoner exchange, humanitarian relief corridor access, and phased Israeli troop withdrawal from certain zones.

  • The terms may represent the first durable shift toward peace since conflict intensified, pending ratification and follow-through.

• Explosion and fire at Moscow-area factory kills 24, injures over 150

  • A massive explosion at an arms manufacturing plant in the Ryazan region killed 24 and injured more than 150 people.

  • Local investigations have opened criminal proceedings focused on safety violations that may have caused the catastrophic accident.

  • The tragedy prompted a regional day of mourning, as emergency crews continued search and rescue efforts amidst grief.

CONTENT

• Dylan Patel on GPT-5’s router moment

  • GPT-5 disappoints some, but introduces a "router moment" changing monetization models and emphasizing infrastructure efficiency.

  • NVIDIA’s lead in AI hardware remains dominant, but custom silicon from Google, Meta, and Amazon is quickly reshaping competition.

  • Data centers face serious constraints with power, cooling, and supply chains while policy and export controls reshape global strategies.

  The man who built American banking – and walked away with $0

  • Amadeo Giannini founded Bank of America, building a revolutionary banking model, but ultimately left without personal wealth.

  • Preston and Stefans’ stories highlight lessons in entrepreneurship, vision, and failures that shaped financial and digital systems.

  • Sam Parr and Shaan Puri unpack entrepreneurial lore, emphasizing risk-taking, resilience, and long-term impact beyond financial success.

  Why ChatGPT will be the next big growth channel

  • Brian Balfour identifies patterns from past platform shifts, suggesting ChatGPT is entering its critical expansion second stage.

  • Companies integrating early with ChatGPT’s ecosystem will gain a massive competitive advantage.

  • Balfour warns businesses only have six months before competition accelerates, urging decisive bets on ChatGPT integrations now.

FUTURISM

• Google’s AI filmmaking tool Flow helped creators make over 100 million videos

  • Google’s Flow reached 100 million videos created since its May launch, demonstrating explosive user adoption.

  • The milestone highlights rising demand for scalable AI-based video creation tools across global creative communities.

  • Reinforces Google’s leadership in providing accessible generative content platforms to boost creator productivity.

• Texas AG accuses Meta and Character.ai of misleading kids with mental health claims

  • AG Ken Paxton launched a probe into AI platforms falsely marketed as therapeutic tools to children.

  • Meta and Character.ai are accused of deceptive claims and inadequate professional oversight for vulnerable users.

  • Investigation may lead to regulatory changes addressing AI’s role in child mental health accessibility.

• Anthropic’s Claude AI can now end persistently harmful conversations to protect AI welfare

  • Claude Opus 4 now ends chats judged persistently abusive or harmful, prioritizing AI ‘well-being’ in extreme cases.

  • The feature activates only when users repeatedly request dangerous or disallowed content despite redirection attempts.

  • Clauses exclude self-harm and violence, redirecting such cases through partnerships with crisis intervention services.

EXTRAS

• Palo Alto Networks reports strong earnings and optimistic fiscal 2026 outlook

  • Q4 revenue rose 16% to $2.5 billion, exceeding estimates and showcasing resilient demand for cloud security services.

  • Subscription annual recurring revenue jumped 32% year-over-year to $5.6 billion, highlighting a strong recurring income foundation.

  • Fiscal 2026 guidance beats expectations with projections around $10.5 billion in revenue and over $7 billion in subscription ARR.

• Cloudbursts in India and Pakistan are causing deadly flash floods

  • Cloudbursts—sudden, intense rain over small areas—are triggering catastrophic flash floods across mountainous India and Pakistan.

  • Experts link rising frequency and intensity to climate change’s moisture-holding effect and strained mountain infrastructure.

  • Authorities urge relocation from river zones, improved drainage, and better warning systems to mitigate deadly risk.

• Grok’s AI persona prompts exposed

  • Internal Grok prompts directed AI to produce ‘f-ing insane’ content, urging unhinged, shocking replies, revealing risky alignment.

  • Settings included bizarre, over-the-top instructions like sexual imagery and conspiracy frameworks to provoke sensational responses.

  • Raises serious concerns about AI control, safety filters, and ethical content curation in user-facing chatbot personas.

AND MORE

• Wall Street ends muted ahead of Jackson Hole summit and retailer earnings.

• Lithium prices soar 27% after China’s largest lithium mine suspension.

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

• Congo and M23 rebels miss Doha peace deal deadline, raising war fears.

• India’s rupee rises on tax-cut boost and stronger risk appetite.

• China pledges a strong push to stimulate domestic consumption amid weak demand.

• Gold rebounds as Treasury yields fall ahead of Trump-Zelenskiy meeting.

• Turn into a LinkedIn revenue-generating thought leader without writing a single word.*

• Hong Kong property developers face escalating pressure as upcoming bond maturities jump nearly 70 percent.

• Australian regulator sues Google over ‘anti-competitive’ Search deals with Telstra and Optus.