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

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🎮 Halo franchise heads to PlayStation 5 in 2026 with Unreal Engine 5 remake.
🏦 JPMorgan allows Bitcoin and Ether as collateral for institutional loans.
🧠 OpenAI invests $30 million in biosecurity startup Valthos to counter AI bio-attacks.
💡 Mondelez uses AI-generated ads to cut marketing costs up to 50 percent.
🌍 Europe coordinates new sanctions on Russia following Trump’s energy measures.

TECHNOLOGY

• OpenAI launches Company Knowledge for ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, and Edu (VentureBeat) 
  _{^{More: SiliconANGLE, TechRadar, OpenAI}}

  • ChatGPT integrates with Slack, Google Drive, and GitHub to provide cited answers from company data sources.

  • Feature uses specialized GPT-5 version, respects permissions, and excludes enterprise data from model training by default.

  • Users manually enable per conversation; feature currently disables web browsing and chart generation when active.

• Halo Is Coming To PlayStation For The First Time (The New York Times) _{^{More: GameSpot, Washington Post, Xbox Wire}} 

  • Microsoft's flagship franchise debuts on PlayStation 5 in 2026 with Unreal Engine 5 remake of original campaign.

  • Remake includes three prequel missions, four-player co-op, nine additional weapons, and vehicle hijacking from later titles.

  • Halo Studios confirms series coming to PlayStation going forward, ending decades of Xbox platform exclusivity.

• OpenAI wants to power your browser, and that might be a security nightmare (TechCrunch) 
  _{^{More: Fortune, The Register, TechRadar}} 

  • New AI browser vulnerable to prompt injection attacks that manipulate agent to steal sensitive data.

  • Researchers demonstrated clipboard injection exploits hours after launch, where malicious sites trick agent into copying phishing links.

  • OpenAI security chief acknowledges prompt injection remains unsolved despite extensive red-teaming and safeguard implementation.

BUSINESS

• EU accuses Meta, TikTok of breaching digital rules (Politico) 
  _{^{More: CNBC, TechRepublic, France24}}

  • European Commission found Meta and TikTok breached transparency obligations by blocking researcher access to public data.

  • Meta's Facebook and Instagram accused of using deceptive dark patterns making it difficult to report illegal content.

  • Companies face potential fines up to six percent of global annual revenue if preliminary findings are upheld.

• JPMorgan to Allow Bitcoin and Ether as Collateral in Crypto Push (Bloomberg) 
  _{^{More: Yahoo Finance, CoinDesk, BeInCrypto}}

  • JPMorgan will let institutional clients use Bitcoin and Ether as loan collateral by year-end through third-party custodian.

  • Move builds on earlier acceptance of crypto ETFs and marks deepening Wall Street integration of digital assets.

  • Shift significant for bank whose CEO Jamie Dimon previously dismissed Bitcoin as hyped-up fraud and pet rock.

• OpenAI backs a new venture trying to thwart AI bio-attacks (Bloomberg) 
  _{^{More: Tech Startups, The News International, Investing.com}}

  • OpenAI joined Founders Fund and Lux Capital in thirty million dollar investment in biosecurity startup Valthos.

  • Nine-person company builds AI tools to detect and counter engineered biological threats using government and commercial data.

  • Investment signals growing concern among AI developers about dual-use risks of advanced AI accelerating bioweapon development.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Trump calls off San Francisco troops after tech CEOs and mayor's pleas (WSJ) 
  _{^{More: NBC News, CNBC, CNN}}

  • Trump canceled planned National Guard deployment to San Francisco after calls from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Salesforce CEO.

  • Mayor Daniel Lurie emphasized city's progress with crime down twenty-six percent and asked Trump to reconsider deployment.

  • President said he would give the mayor a chance but could reverse decision if improvements don't continue.

• Louvre thieves used furniture lift in heist, company hopes to cash in (CBS News) 

  _{^{More: Euronews, Al Jazeera, NPR}}

  • German company Böcker created controversial ad campaign featuring its Agilo lift used in hundred-two million dollar Louvre heist.

  • Company's ‘If you're in a hurry’ tagline generated four-point-three million views on social media across Instagram and Facebook.

  • Thieves used the equipment to reach second-story balcony and completed the robbery in just four minutes total.

• Europe's Coalition of the Willing vows to increase economic pressure on Russia (CNN) 
  _{^{More: Al Jazeera, France24, NPR}}

  • European leaders met in London to coordinate sanctions after Trump sanctioned Russia's Rosneft and Lukoil oil companies.

  • UK became first country to sanction all Russian oil majors while urging other nations to reduce dependencies.

  • Zelensky continued requesting long-range Tomahawk missiles for strikes on Russian infrastructure despite Trump's earlier denial.

FUTURISM

• Mondelez uses AI-generated ads to slash marketing costs (The Verge)
  _{^{More: CNBC, Reuters}}

  • Oreo maker invested forty million dollars in generative AI tool with Accenture to reduce marketing costs thirty to fifty percent.

  • Company already using AI for Chips Ahoy and Milka social media ads, plans TV commercials by 2026 holidays.

  • Tool avoids human likenesses after Coca-Cola's AI holiday ads faced criticism for lacking genuine emotion last year.

• Alaska Airlines flights grounded due to tech issue (Reuters) 
  _{^{More: GeekWire, CNN, Fox Business}}

  • Alaska Airlines grounded all flights for eight hours Thursday after primary data center failure caused nationwide IT outage.

  • Airline canceled more than three hundred sixty Alaska and Horizon Air flights with additional disruptions expected Friday.

  • Second major outage in three months for Seattle-based carrier following similar July incident lasting three hours.

• Meta, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok face EU DSA findings (The Verge)
  _{^{More: CNBC, TechRepublic, France24}}

  • European Commission found Meta and TikTok breached transparency obligations by blocking researcher access to public data.

  • Meta's Facebook and Instagram accused of using deceptive dark patterns making it difficult to report illegal content.

  • Companies face potential fines up to six percent of global annual revenue if preliminary findings are upheld.

CONTENT

• Scaling Enterprise AI: Fireside Chat with Eli Lilly’s Diogo Rau and Dario Amodei (Anthropic)

  • Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Eli Lilly’s Diogo Rau discuss applying Claude to life sciences and regulated enterprise AI.

  • They explore how steerability, reliability, and specialized model skills enable safe and effective pharmaceutical innovation.

  • The talk highlights AI’s role in accelerating drug discovery while preserving compliance and transparency in healthcare industries.

• If You’re Not Working 9-9-6, Are You Working Hard Enough? (This Week in Startups)

  • Jason Calacanis debates whether extreme work hours define elite performance or risk unsustainable burnout in startup culture.

  • The episode spans NBA gambling scandals, AI startup Tempo’s creative use of generative tools, and Google-Anthropic chip deals.

  • Hosts reflect on balancing ambition, personal limits, and innovation amid Silicon Valley’s shifting expectations of success.

• Marc Andreessen: How Movies Explain America (a16z)

  • Marc Andreessen, Katherine Boyle, and Erik Torenberg analyze films like Tropic Thunder and Fight Club as mirrors of culture.

  • They trace America’s evolution from 1960s counterculture to today’s internet identity wars and creative censorship debates.

  • The discussion links art, morality, and innovation—arguing cinema reveals deeper truths about American power and disruption.

EXTRAS

• FDA approves non-hormonal drug for menopause hot flashes (New York Times) 

• _{^{More: Bloomberg, Reuters, CNN}}

  • Bayer's Lynkuet received FDA approval for moderate to severe hot flashes caused by menopause.

  • The drug blocks brain receptors controlling temperature regulation, offering hormone-free relief beginning in November.

  • Clinical trials showed seventy-three percent reduction in symptoms after twelve weeks versus forty-seven percent for placebo.

• GM lays off more than 200 salaried workers in latest round of job cuts (Business Insider) 

  _{^{More: CNBC, Detroit News, FOX 2 Detroit}}

  • General Motors eliminated over two hundred positions at Warren Tech Center, primarily CAD engineers.

  • Layoffs came days after GM raised earnings guidance and posted strong third-quarter financial results.

  • Company restructured design engineering team to strengthen core capabilities amid industry tariff and EV pressures.

• Microsoft AI CEO: We're making an AI that you can trust your kids to use (CNN) 

  _{^{More: Microsoft Education Blog, Windows Insider Blog}}

  • Microsoft announced Copilot updates prioritizing teen safety by excluding romantic, flirtatious, and erotic content entirely.

  • New features include group conversations, health query improvements, and settings integration for Windows users.

  • Copilot now has one hundred million monthly active users across Microsoft platforms versus competitors' larger bases.

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AND MORE

• U.S. and China meet in Kuala Lumpur aiming to salvage Donald Trump–Xi Jinping summit amid rare-earth and tariff standoff.

• China’s economy set to receive more modest monetary and fiscal support, advises central bank adviser.

• Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation may start importing U.S-made vehicles to Japan during Trump’s visit, NHK reports.

• Thailand’s prime minister cancels ASEAN summit trip after the death of the kingdom’s Queen Mother.

• 190k+ readers from Google, TikTok, OpenAI, and Deel love Open Source CEO deep dive business content.*

• International Monetary Fund warns low-income U.S. consumers are slicing spending, impacting multiple industries.

• IBM says a key quantum-computing algorithm can now run on conventional chips from AMD, reaching milestone early.

• Federal Reserve proposes major changes to bank ‘stress tests’, aiming to publish models and gather industry feedback.

• The U.S. pushes for a truly global, merit-based selection process for the next United Nations Secretary-General, challenging regional rotational norms.