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

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

🧑‍⚖️ Court orders Meta to pay $375M for child safety deception.
🎬 OpenAI is shutting down its Sora social video app.
✈️ Delta cuts congressional perks, citing the DHS partial shutdown.
🥇 Gold surges by more than 2% as oil drops amid Iran peace talks.
📈 Bernstein predicts Bitcoin will hit $150k by the end of 2026.

TECHNOLOGY

• Court orders Meta to pay $375M for child safety deception (The Verge)
  ^{_{More: BBC, CNN, CNBC}}

  • A New Mexico jury found Meta liable for endangering children & exposing them to predators.

  • The verdict marks the first time a state has successfully sued Meta over child safety.

  • Meta, which disagrees with the ruling, plans to appeal the $375M judgment.

• Epic Games cuts over 1,000 jobs as Fortnite engagement declines (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: CNA, AP}}

  • Epic CEO Tim Sweeney cited overspending & declining Fortnite engagement as key reasons for the layoffs.

  • The company also expects to save $500M by cutting marketing spend & reducing contractor roles.

  • Sweeney called current market conditions the most extreme since Epic's founding in 1991.

• OpenAI is shutting down its Sora social video app (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: CNN, NBC, Yahoo!}}

  • OpenAI announced Tuesday it is closing Sora, its TikTok-style AI video app, after six months.

  • Despite impressive underlying tech, the app lacked staying power & struggled with moderation issues.

  • Sora's deepfake 'characters' feature drew controversy, including a lawsuit from the company Cameo.

BUSINESS

• Delta cuts congressional perks, citing the DHS partial shutdown (NY Times)
  ^{_{More: CNBC, Reuters, The Guardian}}

  • Delta suspended airport escort & red coat services for members of Congress and their staff.

  • The decision follows CEO Ed Bastian publicly blasting Congress for failing to pay TSA agents.

  • Airline executives have broadly urged lawmakers to ensure essential government workers are paid during shutdowns.

• Gold surges over 2% as oil drops on Iran peace talks (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, MSN, Economic Times}}

  • Gold climbed 2.56% to $4,588 per ounce after oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday.

  • Trump confirmed that the U.S. & Iran are actively negotiating, easing fears of further escalation in the Middle East.

  • Falling oil prices reduced inflation concerns, boosting gold as investors reassessed the global risk outlook.

• Bernstein predicts Bitcoin will hit $150k by the end of 2026 (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: Financial Post, AInvest, MEXC}}

  • Bernstein says Bitcoin has likely bottomed & could reach $150k by the end of 2026.

  • Institutional investors, ETFs & corporate balance sheets are increasingly reshaping how Bitcoin behaves & trades.

  • Bitcoin fell by more than 50% from its peak but avoided the cascade of liquidations seen in prior cycles.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Japan apologizes to China after soldier breaks into Tokyo embassy (AP)
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, SCMP}}

  • A 23-year-old Japanese army soldier was arrested for allegedly trespassing into China's Tokyo embassy.

  • China formally protested to Japan after the soldier reportedly scaled the embassy's compound wall.

  • Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary called the incident "extremely regrettable" & has since reinforced embassy security.

• Denmark's Frederiksen survives election loss, poised to retain power (Politico)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, CNN, France 24}}

  • Frederiksen's Social Democrats suffered their worst result in over a century in Denmark's election.

  • Despite heavy losses, the party still won the most votes & leads the 'red bloc.'

  • Frederiksen has signaled she intends to remain PM, though forming a new government won't be easy.

• Middle East war strands Lamborghinis & used cars in Sri Lanka (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Business Standard, Japan Times}}

  • U.S. & Israeli strikes on Iran caused major disruptions to global shipping routes in Asia.

  • Over 500 Japanese used cars were stranded at sea after Sri Lanka's port hit capacity.

  • Small Japanese & South Korean used-car exporters are bearing the brunt of the ongoing crisis.

FUTURISM

• Brinc's new Guardian drone aims to replace police helicopters (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Tech Buzz, Yahoo!}}

  • Brinc, a U.S. public safety startup, launched the Guardian drone on Tuesday.

  • Founder Blake Resnick describes Guardian as the closest existing replacement for a police helicopter.

  • Brinc is valued at nearly $500M & counts Sam Altman among its early investors.

• Amazon acquires Fauna Robotics, maker of kid-sized humanoid robots (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, FindArticles, FOX}}

  • Fauna Robotics, founded by ex-Meta & Google engineers, was acquired by Amazon for an undisclosed sum.

  • Fauna's staff & founders will join Amazon in New York, bringing their expertise in humanoid robots.

  • This marks Amazon's second robotics acquisition this month, following its purchase of Rivr.

• Google DeepMind partners with Agile Robots to advance AI robotics (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: SeekingAlpha, CryptoRank, RoboticsTomorrow}}

  • Google DeepMind will integrate its Gemini Robotics models with Agile Robots' humanoid & robotic arm hardware.

  • The partnership gives Google real-world deployment data as it competes with Amazon & Tesla in robotics.

  • The deal is one of several robotics partnerships Google has struck recently to expand its AI footprint.

• LLM Feature Integration with Real APIs*

  • Building LLM-powered features means handling real APIs, real users, and real edge cases. You need engineers who can do the glue work that makes AI actually usable—Python, JavaScript, and everything in between.

    • Full-stack LLM integration

    • Production-ready implementation

    • 40–60% cost savings

CONTENT

• Nicholas Christakis on AI, society, & the future of human nature (Sam Harris)

  • Christakis & Sam Harris discuss how AI agents & humanoid robots could reshape human cooperation & society.

  • They explore polarization, institutional distrust, & the Trump administration's impact on U.S. universities & science.

  • Christakis is a Yale professor whose work spans network science, biosocial science, & human nature research.

• Lead Edge Capital's Mitchell Green on lessons from 10k cold calls (Invest Like The Best)

  • Green built Lead Edge Capital around consistency & capital efficiency rather than chasing high-risk moonshot bets.

  • The firm leverages 800+ executive limited partners to source & validate its investment deals.

  • Green also shares skepticism around current AI valuations & the risk of inflated exit multiples.

• Northwood CEO Bridgit Mendler on solving space's ground infrastructure problem (a16z)

  • Mendler's Northwood builds ground systems that connect satellites back to Earth faster & more efficiently.

  • She argues ground infrastructure is the most critical & overlooked bottleneck in today's space economy.

  • Northwood's work spans national security contracts & commercial applications, with vertical integration central to its approach.

EXTRAS

• Roblox adds new child controls in Indonesia to meet regulations (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Business Times, Straits Times}}

  • Indonesia will deactivate 'high-risk' social media accounts for under-16s starting March 28.

  • Roblox will introduce additional content & communication controls for Indonesian players under 16 years old.

  • Roblox, Instagram, YouTube, & TikTok were flagged as 'high risk' platforms by Indonesia's communications ministry.

• Arm stock jumps 6% on CEO's $15B new chip forecast (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, Yahoo!}}

  • Arm CEO Rene Haas projects total annual revenue of $25B by 2031, up from $4B in 2025.

  • Arm's first in-house chip, the AGI CPU, is expected to generate $15B in revenue by 2031.

  • Meta is the AGI CPU's launch customer, with Haas predicting a 4x increase in CPU demand from agentic AI.

• Judge questions Pentagon's motives for labeling Anthropic a security threat (AP)
  ^{_{More: ABC, BBC}}

  • A federal judge challenged why the Trump administration designated Anthropic as a supply chain security risk.

  • The dispute stems from Anthropic's attempt to block its AI from use in autonomous weapons.

  • Anthropic is suing the Trump administration, alleging the designation was unlawful retaliation against the company.

AND MORE

• ICE was meant to help TSA at airports, but JFK tells a different story.

• A Kentucky woman turns down $26M to keep her farm from becoming a data center.

• Roko’s Basilisk skips the buzz words and cuts straight to what moves markets, products, and careers.

• Accel & Prosus select six under-the-radar startups for their first India cohort.

• Google's Android Automotive is evolving from dashboard display to the car's core system.

• Lululemon invests in Epoch Biodesign to develop fully biodegradable athletic wear.

• Spotify is testing a tool to block AI tracks from impersonating real artists.