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

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

💰 NVIDIA's $3.5B MediaTek bet reveals its plan for Big Tech's chip buildout.
⚖️ Apple files "shocking evidence" against ex-employee leaking data to OpenAI.
📈 Polymarket raises $300M from Trump Jr.'s investment fund, 1789 Capital.
🚪 Army Secretary Dan Driscoll steps down after 18 months, White House says.
🚨 Projectiles hit tanker in Hormuz as Trump threatens forceful response to Iran.

TECHNOLOGY

• NVIDIA's $3.5B MediaTek bet reveals its plan for Big Tech's chip buildout (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Investing.com}}

  • NVIDIA is investing $3.5B in MediaTek, which will adopt its tech for custom AI chips.

  • The deal counters hyperscalers like Amazon, Google, and OpenAI building their own silicon to reduce reliance on NVIDIA.

  • MediaTek gains access to NVLink Fusion, enabling non-NVIDIA chips to communicate quickly within NVIDIA-based data centers.

• Apple files "shocking evidence" against ex-employee accused of leaking data to OpenAI (Engadget)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Firstpost}}

  • Apple filed what it calls "shocking evidence" that former employees stole trade secrets benefiting OpenAI.

  • Evidence came from ex-employee Chang Liu's old Apple laptop, which his lawyers handed over this month.

  • Apple says Liu used a confidential circuit schematic at OpenAI and enlisted a colleague to destroy evidence.

• Andreessen, Horowitz & Brockman-backed group plans data center ads to sway midterms (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, NBC}}

  • A new group, Build American AI, will run pro-data center ads in battleground states.

  • It is affiliated with Leading the Future, a super PAC funded by Andreessen, Horowitz, and Brockman.

  • Ads worth millions will target Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin, where data centers dominate statewide election debates.

BUSINESS

• Polymarket reportedly raises $300M from Trump Jr.'s investment fund, 1789 Capital (WSJ)
  ^{_{More: NY Times, Business Times, TechCrunch}}

  • Polymarket raised $300M from 1789 Capital as part of a funding round totaling roughly $1B.

  • 1789 Capital, in which Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, previously invested $200M in the prediction site.

  • Prediction markets face growing scrutiny, with at least 20 states in litigation over sports wagers.

• Army Secretary Dan Driscoll steps down after 18 months, White House says (AP)
  ^{_{More: CNN, ABC, BBC}}

  • Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is resigning after 18 months, the White House announced on Monday.

  • No reason was given, though tensions with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have been widely reported.

  • An Army official said Driscoll spoke with Trump about the Army before submitting his resignation.

• Shein shares fall more than 10% in gray-market trading before Hong Kong debut (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: CNA, CNBC, The Guardian}}

  • Shein shares dropped over 10% in gray-market trading a day before its Hong Kong debut.

  • The retailer raised $1.7B at HK$48.56 per share, valuing it at roughly $26.5B.

  • That valuation sits just above a quarter of its nearly $100B private peak in 2022.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Projectiles hit tanker in Hormuz as Trump threatens forceful response to Iran (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: TOI, CBS, Al Jazeera}}

  • A tanker was hit by three unknown projectiles while transiting eastbound through the Strait of Hormuz.

  • Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it intercepted a U.S. MQ-9 drone over the eastern Strait on Monday.

  • Neither side appeared to seek full-scale war, but both signaled readiness to respond to further attacks.

• U.S. irks G20 ministers by welcoming Russia back, barring some journalists (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Japan Times, Yahoo!}}

  • The U.S. welcomed Russia back to a G20 finance meeting in Asheville, dismaying some leaders.

  • Treasury also denied some journalists access, deflecting from Washington's push to focus talks on growth.

  • Talks come amid an energy shock from the Iran war and tensions over China's trade surplus.

• China warns of "consequences" over Taiwan's presence at Pacific leaders meeting (ABC)
  ^{_{More: The Guardian, Reuters, Japan Times}}

  • China's Pacific envoy warned of "consequences" after Taiwan attended the Pacific Islands Forum opening in Palau.

  • Qian Bo called Taiwan's attendance inappropriate but declined to specify what those consequences would be.

  • Australia and New Zealand said the forum, not outside countries, decides who attends its summit.

FUTURISM

• Chinese companies unveil AI-powered robot chefs at Beijing robotics conference (Futurism)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!}}

  • Oak Deer Robotics revealed three kitchen automation products at the World Robotics Conference in Beijing.

  • Its lineup includes a cooking AI model, a robot cooking apparatus, and an automated food cart.

  • Oak Deer reportedly has cooking robots in over 300 cities and 4k stores across China.

• Instagram limits reach of accounts that hide AI-generated people in profiles (Engadget)
  ^{_{More: Economic Times, TechCrunch, Business Standard}}

  • Instagram is renaming its "AI creator" label to "AI-generated profile" to make disclosure clearer for users.

  • Creators who fail to label AI-generated profiles could see their reach reduced under the new policy.

  • The label doesn't apply to AI-edited photos, polished captions, graphics, or other minor creative tweaks.

• AI & robotics fuel China's IPO boom as Shein lists in Hong Kong (AP)
  ^{_{More: ABC, Yahoo!}}

  • Chinese markets are booming with new listings, driven by AI enthusiasm and a preference for Hong Kong and Shanghai.

  • Shein debuts in Hong Kong Tuesday, raising $1.7B in one of the city's biggest sales this year.

  • Memory chipmaker CXMT raised $8.6B in July, while robot maker Unitree's shares jumped 460% on debut.

• Hunting for AI roles eats hours across careers pages, internal referrals, group chats, and a dozen overlapping boards*

  • The Athyna AI Job Board does the watching for you and matches openings to your profile in the background.

  • When a role hits a 75% matching index or higher, we notify you with details and a direct apply link.

CONTENT

• Gavin Baker on the positive-sum future of AI & the buildout ahead (a16z)

  • a16z's David George and Gavin Baker discuss why demand for intelligence may still be dramatically underestimated.

  • They argue frontier labs, open-source models, clouds, and NVIDIA can all capture value as adoption expands.

  • The two debate bubble versus shortage risk, data center backlash, orbital compute, and reindustrializing America.

• Aaron Katz on why open models are overrated & enterprises fear frontier ones (20VC)

  • ClickHouse CEO Aaron Katz discusses AI investing risks and whether Anthropic's revenue is actually durable.

  • He argues AI is pulling product roadmaps forward by years and reshaping how companies budget token spend.

  • Katz also covers AI agents becoming customers, each needing its own identity and spending budget.

• Joe Liemandt shares accelerating learning & reimagining education with AI (Andrew Huberman)

  • Joe Liemandt runs Alpha School, a K-12 model using AI to compress academics into two hours daily.

  • Students spend remaining time building businesses, running experiments, and developing practical life skills in their communities.

  • The conversation covers mastery-based learning, working memory, standardized tests, and helping students catch up to grade level.

EXTRAS

• Apple's top App Store executive Phil Schiller exits as Tim Cook departs (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Engadget}}

  • Phil Schiller stepped down as head of Apple's App Store, a role he held since 2015.

  • He stays on as an Apple Fellow, which insiders reportedly see as a step toward retirement.

  • Schiller led the App Store through Epic Games' 2020 antitrust suit, which is still ongoing.

• Kalshi issues lifetime ban to George Santos over State of the Union wagers (WSJ)
  ^{_{More: The Hill, NPR, TechCrunch}}

  • Kalshi banned George Santos for life, the prediction market's first such action against a user.

  • Santos allegedly made $17,839 betting on whether he would attend Trump's State of the Union address.

  • Kalshi fined him $71,356 and also suspended several candidates accused of betting on their own races.

• Influencer pleads guilty to criminal impersonation over viral Arizona prank videos (AP)
  ^{_{More: FOX, Seattle Times}}

  • Heston James Cobb pleaded guilty to criminal impersonation for posing as an employee at Arizona businesses.

  • Police say he and others entered employee-only areas in Tempe and refused to leave when asked.

  • One video showed Cobb in a Chipotle shirt as men flooded the restaurant, ignoring staff.

AND MORE

• Spiritual gurus join chatbot trend as people turn to AI for answers.

• Nepal rescuers reach remote areas as power returns a week after floods.

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

• Lachy Groom backs Indian startup aiming to keep aircraft aloft for a year.

• Why China's first humanoid robot IPO has investors in a frenzy.

• The Pentagon now has its own in-house version of ChatGPT & Grok.

• Airbnb pilots new U.S. program designed to lower fees paid by hosts.

• FTC sues Amazon, accusing it of running a secret ad surcharge scheme.