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

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

💰 Nvidia hits $5T valuation as AI chip demand surges.
🏦 Fed cuts rates to 3.75–4% amid labor concerns.
🧠 Grammarly rebrands to Superhuman with new AI assistant.
⚡ Microsoft Azure outage disrupts Xbox, 365, and partners.
📱 Google launches Gemini for Home smart devices.

TECHNOLOGY

• Grammarly rebrands to 'Superhuman,' launches a new AI assistant (TechCrunch) 
  ^{_{More: Engadget, The Verge, BetaKit}}

  • Grammarly adopts the Superhuman name after acquiring the email client in July, keeping Grammarly as a product.

  • New Superhuman Go assistant integrates with Gmail, Drive, Calendar, and Jira to provide contextual suggestions.

  • The company aims to compete with Notion and Google Workspace through a unified productivity suite approach.

• Oppo Find X9 Pro's massive 7,500mAh battery arrives in Europe (The Verge) 
  ^{_{More: 9to5Google, Android Central, TechAdvisor}}

  • Oppo Find X9 Pro launches in Europe with industry-leading 7,500mAh battery and 200MP Hasselblad telephoto camera.

  • Phone starts at €1,299 with MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chip, offering two-day battery life claims.

  • European release maintains the same battery capacity as the Chinese version, with 80W wired charging support included.

• YouTube automatic AI upscaling, shopping updates (The Verge) 
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Engadget, Bloomberg}}

  • YouTube introduces the Super Resolution feature to automatically upscale videos below 1080p to HD quality.

  • The platform adds QR codes in shopping-tagged videos, enabling viewers to scan products with their phones instantly.

  • Creators can opt out of AI enhancements while thumbnail file limits increase from 2MB to 50MB.

BUSINESS

• Federal Reserve cuts interest rates for second time amid labor market concerns (AP News) 
  ^{_{More: CNBC, NBC News, CBS News}}

  • Fed approves quarter-point rate cut to 3.75-4% range by 10-2 vote, second reduction this year.

  • Chair Powell signals December cut not guaranteed, citing data blackout from government shutdown affecting decisions.

  • The central bank ended its quantitative tightening program in December after reducing its balance sheet by $2.3 trillion in total.

• Nvidia becomes the first public company worth $5 trillion (TechCrunch)

  ^{_{More: NBC News, CBS News, Yahoo Finance}}

  • Nvidia shares surge 5.6% to reach historic $5 trillion valuation milestone, three months after hitting $4 trillion.

  • The company projects $500B in AI chip sales and announces seven new US supercomputers requiring thousands of GPUs.

  • Stock climbs 50% year-to-date, driven by insatiable demand for scarce GPUs powering AI data centers.

• Microsoft Azure, Xbox, and 365 are down outage (The Verge) 
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Windows Central, TechRadar}}

  • Microsoft Azure outage disrupts Office 365, Xbox, Minecraft, and third-party services, including Starbucks and airlines.

  • Outage caused by Azure Front Door configuration change, with Microsoft deploying a fix, expecting recovery by midnight.

  • Disruption occurs hours before the quarterly earnings report and the week after a major Amazon AWS outage hit the internet.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Israeli army says ceasefire in Gaza has resumed after strikes (Bloomberg)

  ^{_{More: NBC News, CNN, NPR}}

  • Israel resumes Gaza ceasefire after strikes kill 104 people, including 46 children, following alleged Hamas violations.

  • Netanyahu ordered attacks after disputed hostage remains were returned and an Israeli soldier was killed in Rafah firefight on Tuesday.

  • Trump defends strikes as justified while Hamas denies involvement, threatens to delay returning the remaining hostage bodies.

• Favela reeling Rio deadliest police raid Brazil (The Guardian) 
  ^{_{More: Washington Post, CNN, Al Jazeera}}

  • Rio police raid targeting Red Command gang leaves at least 132 dead, including four officers, on Wednesday.

  • The operation involved 2,500 personnel with helicopters and armored vehicles across the Alemão and Penha favela complexes.

  • Brazil's deadliest police operation draws criticism from human rights groups ahead of major international events.

• Louvre heist suspects investigation (CNN) 
  ^{_{More: NBC News, ABC News, NPR}} 

  • Two suspects admit involvement in Louvre crown jewels heist worth €88 million, remanded in custody on Wednesday.

  • Stolen items include Napoleon's emerald necklace with 1,000 diamonds; thieves used a truck ladder for access.

  • DNA evidence from scooters and broken glass leads to arrests, but stolen jewels remain missing with accomplices.

FUTURISM

• ElevenLabs CEO says AI audio models will be 'commoditized' over time (TechCrunch) 
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, CNBC}}

  • ElevenLabs CEO predicts AI audio models will become commodities within a few years, narrowing quality differences.

  • The company continues building models in the short term but plans partnerships and open source integration for long-term value.

  • The future involves multimodal approaches combining audio with video and LLMs, similar to Google's Veo 3 model.

• Everyone thinks AI is replacing factory workers, but Amazon's layoffs show it's coming for middle management first (Fortune) 
  ^{_{More: CNN, CNBC, NBC News}}

  • Amazon cut 14,000 middle management roles as generative AI handles coordination, reporting, and decision-making functions.

  • CEO Andy Jassy stated that companies will need fewer people for existing jobs as AI advances planning and analytics.

  • Gartner estimates that 20% of organizations will eliminate half their management layers by 2026 using AI.

• Meta shares drop 9% despite earnings beat as company takes one-time tax charge (CNBC) 
  ^{_{More: Business Insider, CNBC}}

  • Meta reported $51B in revenue, beating estimates, but shares fell on $15.9B tax charge concerns.

  • The company raised capital expenditure guidance to $72B for 2025, with notably larger spending planned.

  • Zuckerberg said AI-powered recommendations increased Facebook time by 5% and Instagram video viewing by 30%.

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CONTENT

• Vercel’s CEO Shares 5 AI Startup Ideas So Good You’ll Quit Your Job (Greg Isenberg)

  • Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch reveals his personal workflow using V0 to rapidly build and validate AI-driven product ideas.

  • He showcases projects like AI camera apps, conversational forms, and opinion-tracking tools built in under a day.

  • Rauch explains how taste, visualization, and execution separate great founders from dreamers in the AI startup wave.

• Selling 600+ Million Books, Success Principles, and More
  (The Tim Ferriss Show)

  • Jack Canfield recounts his journey from poverty to co-authoring Chicken Soup for the Soul and The Success Principles.

  • He shares lessons from 144 rejections, mentorship from W. Clement Stone, and mastering responsibility through mindset.

  • The conversation spans creative resilience, ayahuasca awakenings, and longevity rooted in love, laughter, and purpose.

• From Idea to $650M Exit: Lessons in Building AI Startups
  (Y Combinator)

  • Casetext CEO Jake Heller explains how disciplined iteration and trust built an AI company acquired by Thomson Reuters.

  • He outlines frameworks for pricing, reliability, and defensibility that turn demos into indispensable enterprise tools.

  • Founders are urged to focus on testing, customer success, and substance over hype to achieve sustainable AI growth.

EXTRAS

• After a wave of lawsuits, Character.AI will no longer let teens chat with its chatbots (CNN) 
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, CNBC, Fortune}}

  • Character.AI bans open-ended chatbot conversations for users under 18 by November 25th, following suicide lawsuits.

  • The company implements 2-hour daily chat limits initially while developing age verification tools and establishing the AI Safety Lab.

  • Teens retain access to video creation and storytelling features; 10% of monthly users are minors.

• OpenAI Gives Microsoft 27% Stake, Completes For-Profit Shift (Bloomberg) 
  ^{_{More: Fortune, CNBC, Rappler}}

  • OpenAI completes restructuring with Microsoft receiving a 27% stake worth $135B.

  • Microsoft retains access to OpenAI technology through 2032, including AGI models verified by an independent panel.

  • Deal removes capital restrictions and ends cloud exclusivity while OpenAI commits to purchasing $250B Azure services.

• Google launches Gemini for Home for smart home products (Google Blog) 
  ^{_{More: TechRadar, Android Central, 9to5Google}}

  • Google begins early access rollout in the US on October twenty-eight, replacing Assistant with Gemini across speakers and displays.

  • Gemini Live offers conversational context maintenance and natural voice interactions, requiring a Google Home Premium subscription.

  • Upgrade reaches decade-old devices with AI-powered camera descriptions and search available to Premium Advanced subscribers.

AND MORE

• Asian shares rise as investor optimism around AI and hopes for a Fed rate cut grow.

• U.S. military kills four men in a strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel.

• President Donald Trump granted South Korea approval to build a nuclear-powered submarine.

• Senate Democrats urge Trump not to lift national-security trade restrictions on China.

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• Leaders of the U.S. and China meet in South Korea to seek a trade-war truce.

• Markets face test as Fed cuts rates, big tech earnings loom, and trade tensions hang.

• Major tech firms face scrutiny as AI chip bookings surge and market breadth widens.