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

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

🧠 Google's new AI compression algorithm reminds everyone of Pied Piper.
🪓 Meta cuts hundreds of jobs across multiple divisions and departments.
💰 Nvidia-backed Reflection AI seeks $25B valuation in new funding.
⚖️ Meta and YouTube lose landmark social media addiction lawsuit.
🕊️ U.S. says Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran's public rejection.

TECHNOLOGY

• Google's new AI compression algorithm reminds everyone of Pied Piper (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Google, Yahoo!, Seeking Alpha}}

  • Google Research unveiled TurboQuant, an AI memory compression algorithm that shrinks working memory without losing performance.

  • The tool uses vector quantization to clear cache bottlenecks, enabling AI to retain more information more efficiently.

  • Researchers will present TurboQuant at ICLR 2026, detailing two underlying methods: PolarQuant and QJL.

• Meta cuts hundreds of jobs across multiple divisions and departments (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Straits Times}}

  • Meta is laying off several hundred employees across Facebook, sales, recruiting, and Reality Labs divisions.

  • Fewer than 1,000 workers are affected, and some are being offered relocation or internal transfer opportunities.

  • The cuts come as Meta shifts its focus to AI, projecting capital expenditures of up to $135B this year.

• Sanders and AOC propose halting new large data center construction (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Fortune, The Guardian, Axios}}

  • Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez introduced legislation to ban new data centers over 20 megawatts until AI regulation is in place.

  • The bill calls for model reviews, job displacement protections, environmental limits, and union labor requirements.

  • A recent Pew poll found that most Americans are more concerned than excited about AI's growth.

BUSINESS

• Nvidia-backed Reflection AI seeks $25B valuation in new funding (WSJ)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, Investing.com}}

  • Reflection AI is in talks to raise $2.5B at a $25B pre-money valuation.

  • JPMorgan Chase is considering joining the funding round through its Security and Resiliency Initiative.

  • The $25B target is up from the $20B+ valuation that Reflection had previously pursued earlier this month.

• Meta and YouTube lose landmark social media addiction lawsuit (NY Times)
  ^{_{More: WSJ, NBC, TechCrunch}}

  • A jury found Meta and YouTube negligent for designing addictive apps that harmed children and teens.

  • Plaintiff Kaley G.M. testified that early social media use contributed to anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia.

  • The companies were ordered to pay a total of $6M, split between compensatory and punitive damages.

• SpaceX's looming IPO leaves some private share buyers uncertain (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Economic Times, MSN}}

  • Investors who bought SpaceX shares through secondary market brokers cannot fully verify their ownership.

  • SpaceX is preparing for a public debut at a valuation near $1.75T, up from $75B in 2021.

  • Despite fraud risks, many investors accept the uncertainty given SpaceX's massive potential IPO payoff.

MARKETS

WORLD

• U.S. says Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran's public rejection (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: NBC, Japan Times, Yahoo!}}

  • The White House insisted negotiations with Iran are progressing, even as Tehran publicly rejected U.S. overtures.

  • Iran issued its own conditions, including guarantees against attacks, war reparations, and recognition of the Strait of Hormuz.

  • The U.S. delivered a 15-point peace proposal via Pakistan, with Trump's five-day deadline halfway expired.

• Belarusian President arrives in Pyongyang for talks with Kim Jong Un (Washington Post)
  ^{_{More: AP, Korea Times, Al Jazeera}}

  • Belarusian President Lukashenko arrived in Pyongyang for an official visit and meetings with Kim Jong Un.

  • Kim and Lukashenko laid flowers at a memorial honoring Soviet soldiers killed during the Korean War.

  • Lukashenko also visited the mausoleum holding the embalmed remains of North Korea's first two leaders.

• Saudi oil shipments to Asia drop as Hormuz disruptions worsen (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: Financial Post, Business Times}}

  • Saudi Aramco will ship roughly 40M barrels to China in April, down from 48M in February.

  • Iran's attacks on energy infrastructure and near-total Hormuz closure are upending global oil markets.

  • Aramco is rerouting some crude via a pipeline to its Red Sea port, but it's only a partial fix.

FUTURISM

• AI is widening a skills gap between power users and everyone else (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, Axios}}

  • Anthropic's research finds no significant differences in job displacement or unemployment linked to AI yet.

  • Early signs suggest that younger and entry-level workers are most affected by the uneven impacts of AI adoption.

  • Anthropic's CEO warns AI could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years.

• Google launches Lyria 3 Pro for longer, more customizable music (Engadget)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Google}}

  • Lyria 3 Pro lets users create tracks up to three minutes long, versus 30 seconds on Lyria 3.

  • The model offers better creative control, including support for intros, verses, choruses, and bridges.

  • Lyria 3 Pro is rolling out to Gemini paid subscribers, Google Vids, ProducerAI, and Vertex AI.

• Melania Trump envisions humanoid robots as children's future educators (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: MSN, Yahoo!, MEXC}}

  • Melania Trump launched a global summit on empowering children through educational technology and AI.

  • A Figure AI humanoid robot appeared at the White House event, delivering brief remarks on the initiative.

  • Trump pitched a vision of "Plato," a humanoid AI educator offering personalized, always-available classical learning.

• Explore the essential startup reading database*

  • Learning from the best is how you become the best. We've curated a list of top-notch articles, blogs, and readings that are pivotal for startup founders.

  • And here's the kicker: we've organized it all in a user-friendly Notion database for easy access and tracking. Double win!

  • As aspiring leaders and innovators, this list serves as a bridge to absorbing the knowledge that has propelled others to success.

CONTENT

• An OpenAI researcher explains the framework guiding model behavior (OpenAI)

  • OpenAI's Jason Wolfe breaks down the Model Spec, which publicly defines the intended behavior of the AI model.

  • The discussion covers how the spec handles instruction conflicts through a defined chain of command.

  • OpenAI evolves the Model Spec using feedback, real-world usage data, and new model capabilities.

• Bryan Johnson describes taking the world's most powerful DMT dose (All-In Podcast)

  • Johnson discussed his 5-MeO-DMT experience alongside brain scan data from before and after.

  • The talk covered psychosis, bad trips, and life-altering decisions from psychedelic use.

  • Johnson also discussed longevity topics, including GLP-1s, gene therapy, and human optimization.

• Sam Harris explores honesty, truth, and the cost of lying (Finding Mastery)

  • Harris argues that a genuine commitment to not lying transforms relationships, teams, and inner life.

  • The conversation covers how social media and AI are eroding our collective grip on reality.

  • Harris and Gervais also explore consciousness, meditation, and separating yourself from your own thoughts.

EXTRAS

• Arbor Energy lands billion-dollar order for rocket-based power turbines (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, MSN}}

  • Arbor Energy sold up to 5 gigawatts of its rocket-based modular turbines to power project firm GridMarket.

  • The 3D-printed Halcyon turbines generate 25 megawatts each, with the first grid connection planned for 2028.

  • Arbor aims to produce over 100 turbines annually by 2030, targeting 10 gigawatts of yearly capacity.

• Hyundai plans to double China sales and expand in North America (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: MSN, Yahoo!}}

  • Hyundai aims to sell 500k vehicles annually in China, more than double its current volumes.

  • The automaker plans to launch 36 new models in North America, its most profitable region, by 2030.

  • Hyundai currently sells 25 models in North America, including 20 in the U.S. market alone.

• Houston airport wait times hit four hours amid TSA staffing crisis (BBC)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, Al Jazeera}}

  • Nearly 40% of Houston's Bush Intercontinental TSA staff called out, the highest absentee rate nationally.

  • The airport is running at less than 50% of its checkpoints during the peak spring break travel season.

  • Upcoming Houston sporting events this weekend could bring even more passengers, worsening delays.

AND MORE

• The U.S. is banning foreign routers, and here is why.

• Convicted spyware chief suggests Greece's government ordered dozens of phone hacks.

• Hire AI engineers who build, deploy, and maintain models that perform reliably in production.*

• Polymarket tried running a sports bar without any TV monitors.

• Police are sometimes the ones riding in Waymo's self-driving cars.

• Disney's $1B plans with OpenAI and Epic Games are falling apart.

• VITL raises $7.5M to modernize GLP-1 prescribing at cash-pay clinics.

• Even Fortnite is struggling as live-service games become a mess.