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

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

🤖 Google launches Gemini 4 Argon, billed as its most powerful model yet.
🔒 Meta denies its Muse AI read a user's private messages without consent.
🪖 Pentagon taps Elon Musk & Palmer Luckey to shape the military's future.
🏗️ Trump touts $54B Alaska gas project alongside a vulnerable GOP senator.
🚨 Passengers & crew thwart co-pilot's apparent bid to crash Israel-bound flight.

TECHNOLOGY

• Google launches Gemini 4 Argon, billed as its most powerful model yet (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: CNBC, NY Times}}

  • Built for defensive cyber work, Argon is rolling out only to select partners via Google's Fairwind Program.

  • Google says it can "autonomously find, validate, and patch critical software vulnerabilities," while employees use it for debugging.

  • The launch follows OpenAI's Astra and Anthropic's Fable, as top AI labs race to release more capable models.

• Meta denies its Muse AI read a user's private messages without consent (Firstpost)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, TNW, Mashable}}

  • Inc. columnist Jason Aten reported the issue, prompting Meta communications VP Andy Stone to push back on X.

  • Stone said the Messages integration is "entirely opt-in," requiring users to enable Full Disk Access and a connector.

  • Skepticism persists given Meta's data-privacy history, including a recent New Mexico jury verdict tied to Cambridge Analytica.

• Months-long breach exposes millions of U.S. military personnel records to hackers (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: FOX, ABC}}

  • Attackers exploited a flaw in an unspecified file-sharing system between October 2025 and mid-July 2026.

  • Stolen data included Social Security numbers and birth dates for about 2.8M living people and nearly 300k deceased.

  • The Defense Manpower Data Center holds over 60M records and manages credentials for accessing Pentagon systems and bases.

BUSINESS

• Pentagon taps Elon Musk & Palmer Luckey to shape the military's future (NY Post)
  ^{_{More: CNBC, FOX, Engadget}}

  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled Project Meridian during Wednesday's 'State of the Force' address to study future warfare.

  • Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich joins as a co-lead, with the team reporting to Pentagon CTO Emil Michael.

  • The team has 120 days to propose "actionable solutions," while Hegseth also launched a new Autonomous Warfare Command.

• Trump touts $54B Alaska gas project alongside a vulnerable GOP senator (AP)
  ^{_{More: CNBC, Reuters}}

  • Trump says South Korea will invest, but its ruling party says participation "has not been finalized."

  • The 807-mile pipeline would link Alaska's North Slope to a liquefied natural gas export terminal in the south.

  • On Monday, Trump announced a massive Iowa steel plant, as Republicans face tight Senate races in both states.

• Factory CEO accuses his VC board adviser of spying for rival Cognition (Business Insider)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Yahoo!, Crypto Briefing}}

  • Hours after the accusation, Chris Degnan announced he'd joined Cognition as chief revenue officer and denied being fired.

  • Matan Grinberg says Degnan had assured him he'd "made too much money" to work for Cognition.

  • Factory recently raised $200M at a $5B valuation, while Cognition raised $2B at a $48B valuation.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Passengers & crew thwart co-pilot's apparent bid to crash Israel-bound FlyDubai flight (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, CNN, BBC}}

  • Netanyahu says pilot Smit Machchhar was stabbed but opened the cockpit door, letting others subdue the attacker.

  • Flight FZ1073 was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where Machchhar is hospitalized and reportedly in stable condition.

  • FlyDubai described an "altercation" on the flight deck but didn't mention a stabbing, saying motives remain unknown.

• U.S. sees Chinese invasion of Taiwan as unlikely before 2028, sources say (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Japan Times, Straits Times}}

  • Xi Jinping has told China's military to be ready by 2027 to seize Taiwan by force if needed.

  • U.S. officials cite military readiness delays tied to the Communist Party's anti-corruption campaign as a major factor.

  • Beijing is also awaiting Taiwan's 2028 election, with some Chinese officials hoping for a friendlier government.

• France & Britain discuss scrapping their 'one in, one out' migrant deal (CNA)
  ^{_{More: Euronews, Reuters, France 24}}

  • Paris won't extend the pilot scheme, set to expire Thursday, and declined to explain its reasoning.

  • Britain returned small-boat migrants to France while accepting an equal number of asylum seekers with British family ties.

  • French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 951 people were returned to France, while 935 entered Britain legally.

FUTURISM

• Destro AI's secret sauce is keeping robots & humans in sync (Source)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, Business Wire}}

  • Destro emerged from stealth Tuesday with an $8M seed round, offering an AI layer for logistics robots.

  • Founder Manthan Pawar says Destro beats rivals because "we are not a robotics company."

  • Yusen Logistics' Richard Brunelle, who oversees automation at about 30 U.S. facilities, helped shape the startup's direction.

• DoorDash reveals when its delivery drones will launch in Northern California (NY Post)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • DoorDash unveiled its new six-propeller autonomous aircraft at its annual Dash Forward 2026 event on Wednesday.

  • The company tackled ground infrastructure first, including loading systems, packaging, and restaurant handoffs, before designing the drone.

  • DoorDash Air runs on software that weighs weather, flight range, and ground traffic to pick which orders fly.

• Instagram brings an AI video assistant to creators through its Edits app (The Verge)
  ^{_{More: PCMag, TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • The chatbot provides personalized feedback using metrics such as views, retention, and shares, along with comments and trends.

  • App lead Brett Westervelt says it can spot performance patterns over time that raw metrics might miss.

  • Built with input from creators, the tool handles analysis while leaving "the creative calls" to users.

• Business & tech, decoded in three minutes a day*

  • A free daily newsletter on AI, startups, business, and the innovation economy, sent Monday to Friday.

  • Every story pairs concise analysis with one clear visual, so the point lands in seconds, not paragraphs.

  • More than 250,000 founders, operators, and investors start their day with it, at no cost.

CONTENT

• a16z unpacks how AI & infrastructure are shaping the next investment cycle (a16z)

  • Four a16z investors walk through 25 charts from the firm's latest State of Markets presentation.

  • Rising markets have been driven by earnings over multiple expansion, while hyperscaler CapEx nears $1T annually.

  • They also cover enterprise AI adoption, falling inference costs, and emerging bets like robotics and defense.

• Legendary investor Kevin Ryan maps out tech's future in six minutes (Tim Ferriss)

  • Often called the 'Godfather of NYC tech,' Ryan founded and leads AlleyCorp, a New York venture firm.

  • He co-founded several notable companies, including MongoDB, Business Insider, Zola, Gilt Groupe, and Transcend Therapeutics.

  • As DoubleClick's CEO, he helped turn a 20-person startup into a public company with over 1.5k employees.

• Andy Weir shares his best writing advice, from plotting to science (David Perell)

  • The author of 'Project Hail Mary' and 'The Martian' discusses how he turns ideas into books.

  • Weir advises avoiding flashbacks, planting clues for readers, and giving characters a single fear.

  • He also covers how 'The Martian' became a bestseller and whether writers need a publisher.

EXTRAS

• BMW's electric 3 Series is $4.4k cheaper than its gas-powered twin (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, TNW}}

  • Analysts long predicted EVs would undercut gas cars in the late 2020s, with BloombergNEF eyeing 2026.

  • The electric i3 50 xDrive costs $61.5k before destination charges, versus $65.9k for the gas-powered M350 xDrive.

  • A cheaper gas-powered BMW 330 starts at $49.9k, though it has no electric equivalent yet.

• Reddit is ending RSS feeds & public API access, blaming AI bots (Mashable)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch}}

  • RSS support ends November 13, 2026, while Reddit's public API will shut down in March 2027.

  • Reddit called RSS a "common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse" in its Wednesday announcement.

  • The move comes as AI licensing deals boost Reddit's 'other revenue,' which grew 24% to $43M in Q2.

• Instinct's new product recommendations are rubbing some users the wrong way (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, Business Insider}}

  • The AI startup rolled out Instinct Selections overnight, pushing curated picks for dining, travel, and shopping.

  • Founder Noah Shinn says Instinct is partnering with local chefs, designers, and guides to add "human taste."

  • The feature signals a potential revenue stream, though Instinct hasn't disclosed who its human partners are.

AND MORE

• Google's Fitbit Air hits India, but its steep price may deter buyers.

• France's public debt under scrutiny as the economy dominates the election.

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

• FedEx strikes $300M deal with Harbinger for 2k electric trucks.

• Jet-powered drones outrun Ukraine's defenses as makers rush to build interceptors.

• AI startup Flow Engineering lands $750M valuation from Valor, Atreides & Sequoia.

• U.S. can deport leader of Wisconsin's largest mosque, immigration judge rules.