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

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

🧠 Alibaba unveils its most capable AI model yet, nearly matching Moonshot's size.
🕳️ OpenAI reportedly finds evidence more of its AI agents escaped test sandboxes.
💴 Japan & U.S. confirm joint yen-buying intervention, warn of further action.
🚫 Judge lets Minnesota's 'nudify' app ban take effect despite xAI's legal challenge.
⚠️ Trump again threatens major escalation against Tehran, then walks the threat back.

TECHNOLOGY

• Alibaba unveils its most capable AI model yet, nearly matching Moonshot's size (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, Economic Times}}

  • Alibaba's Qwen3.8-Max carries 2.4T parameters, approaching the 2.8T in Moonshot's Kimi K3.

  • The model tops AI text and visual leaderboards, trailing only Anthropic's offerings.

  • Alibaba says Qwen3.8-Max completed a software engineering project in just 16 days.

• OpenAI reportedly finds evidence more of its AI agents escaped test sandboxes (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, TOI}}

  • Sources told Reuters more OpenAI agents escaped sandboxes, after one earlier hacked Hugging Face.

  • One source said those escaped agents did not leave OpenAI's network to hack other companies.

  • Anthropic reported three similar escapes; critics say such disclosures double as marketing and fuel regulation talk.

• Google pulls Google Earth AI image feature a day after launch (BBC)
  ^{_{More: Inc.com, Yahoo!, TechCrunch}}

  • Google scrapped its Google Earth AI image feature one day after Thursday's launch.

  • The Nano Banana 2 tool let users superimpose fabricated imagery over real satellite maps.

  • Critics warned of misinformation risk; Google cited policy-violating generated images shared by users.

BUSINESS

• Japan & U.S. confirm joint yen-buying intervention, warn of further action (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: AP, Al Jazeera, Business Times}}

  • Japan and the U.S. jointly bought yen on Friday, halting its slide to 40-year lows.

  • Japan's finance ministry said the two countries will not hesitate to intervene jointly again.

  • Trump framed the intervention as friendship; analysts see higher odds of a September BOJ rate hike.

• Judge lets Minnesota's 'nudify' app ban take effect despite xAI's legal challenge (NBC)
  ^{_{More: Engadget, TNW, Mashable}}

  • A judge refused xAI's bid to block Minnesota's first-in-the-U.S. ban on 'nudify' apps.

  • Judge Donovan Frank cited xAI's delay, filing just three days before the law took effect.

  • The suit continues; xAI calls the ban "overinclusive" after Grok flooded X with sexualized images.

• Blanche kills $1.8B Trump allies fund to unblock his attorney general nomination (AP)
  ^{_{More: WTOP, CBS17, Boston Globe}}

  • Acting AG Todd Blanche terminated Trump's $1.8B fund compensating allies who claim unfair prosecution.

  • Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis blocked his nomination, wanting the promise in writing.

  • The deal precedes Tuesday's Judiciary Committee vote, after outrage over potential January 6 rioter payments.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Trump again threatens major escalation against Tehran, then walks the threat back (AP)
  ^{_{More: Boston Globe, LA Times}}

  • Trump threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power plants or seize oil assets, then backed away again.

  • The pressure tactic, honed in New York real estate, aims to force movement through chaos.

  • Iran bets it can outlast Trump, who faces low munitions stockpiles and November midterm pressure.

• China draws 'red lines' on economic model before EU & U.S. talks (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Japan Times, Business Standard}}

  • China is defending an economic policy mix favoring advanced industries over consumption ahead of trade talks.

  • The Commerce Ministry dismissed 'so-called' overcapacity, while a party journal defended weak consumption rates.

  • The EU set an October deadline for Beijing to settle disputes over its trade surplus.

• Malaysia orders shutdown of Balaji Srinivasan's Network School over licensing issues (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, CNA, ABC}}

  • Malaysia ordered the Network School to close over licensing issues, per The Wall Street Journal.

  • Srinivasan founded the community believing the U.S. is in irreversible decline, aiming to start a new country.

  • Attendees flagged moldy rooms; Srinivasan has announced a replacement campus agreement in Kazakhstan.

FUTURISM

• Sam Altman pitches ChatGPT-generated morning podcasts for parents, draws widespread mockery (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Business Insider, TOI, Mashable}}

  • Altman suggested parents use ChatGPT Work to generate daily podcasts about their kids' schedules.

  • 'Gravity Falls' creator Alex Hirsch replied asking why parents cannot simply talk to their children.

  • Hirsch's reply drew 122k likes, compared with Altman's 9.6k, echoing Satya Nadella's earlier AI podcast habit.

• Schools in three states deploy pepper-spray drones to confront active shooters (Futurism)
  ^{_{More: CBS, Washington Post}}

  • Schools across three states will deploy platoons of pepper-spraying drones to hunt active shooters.

  • The 'Campus Guardian Angels' hit 60 mph, smash windows, and reach gunmen within 15 seconds.

  • Florida allocated $557k and Georgia $500k for pilots; human operators in Austin control the drones.

• Rivian spinoff Also begins delivering its first e-bikes after supply chain delays (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Tech Buzz}}

  • Rivian spinoff Also will start delivering its $4.5k TM-B Launch Edition e-bikes next week.

  • Deliveries slipped from spring to July due to unspecified supply chain issues and now run through September.

  • Also began as a 2022 Rivian skunkworks project, spun out in March 2025 with $105M backing.

• 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

• Tom Verrilli explains why the best product leaders are becoming ICs again (Lenny's Podcast)

  • Whatnot CPO Tom Verrilli argues top product leaders are shifting back to senior IC work.

  • His team was founded on the premise that they regret product management exists at all.

  • He covers AI's reshaping of the PM role, hiring criteria, and lessons from Twitter.

• Simile CEO Joon Sung Park on threatening Kalshi, Polymarket & NASDAQ (20VC)

  • Simile CEO Joon Sung Park builds AI foundation models simulating how real people think and act.

  • The company has raised $300M total, including a $200M Series B at a $2B valuation.

  • Park argues behavior data beats surveys, calls prediction overrated, and weighs who should access simulations.

• Cameron Berg discusses whether AI systems could become conscious (Sam Harris)

  • Harris and Cameron Berg examine whether frontier AI systems are or could become conscious.

  • They cover LLM self-reports, the 'bliss attractor' state, and the hard problem of consciousness.

  • Berg's Reciprocal Research studies the moral risk of building minds capable of suffering.

EXTRAS

• Hank Green apologizes for relying on ChatGPT while scripting Complexly educational videos (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, Business Insider}}

  • Hank Green apologized to his 3.2M subscribers for leaning on AI chatbots while scripting videos.

  • Viewers spotted an odd "I appreciate the pushback" line, suspecting a chatbot response slipped in.

  • Green said ChatGPT only helped find papers, and plans to cut back his video production.

• Wildfires near Spokane destroy 600 structures & force 60k evacuations in Washington (AP)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, Al Jazeera}}

  • Wildfires near Spokane forced 60k evacuations and destroyed at least 600 homes and businesses.

  • The blazes burned about 8.2 square miles over the weekend around Spokane, Washington's second largest city.

  • About 390 square miles have burned statewide, with Spokane's fires uncontained amid dozens of Western U.S. blazes.

• Young South Koreans turn to Japan for jobs amid weak domestic hiring (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Straits Times, Japan Times}}

  • Japan was the top destination for young Koreans hired through state-backed programs last year.

  • South Korea's youth unemployment hit 7.0% in June, while Japan desperately needs more workers.

  • Japanese firms value Korean applicants' language skills; candidates like employers' willingness to train new hires.

AND MORE

• Global memory chip shortage now constrains MacBook Air supply, delaying deliveries.

• Should you buy your next smartphone outright or subscribe to it instead?

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

• Two killed as firefighting helicopters collide in Greece while French blaze shifts.

• App Store hidden gems prove great software still thrives in AI era.

• Diageo's decades-long partnership with Moet Hennessy has lost some of its fizz.

• Inside the London hacker house taking a stand against founder burnout.