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

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🗣️ OpenAI debuts full-duplex voice models that speak and listen simultaneously.
🚓 U.S. regulator orders self-driving car firms to stop obstructing emergency responders.
🤝 Apple signs $30B Broadcom deal for U.S.-made wireless connectivity chips.
🚁 Irish drone startup Manna targets U.S. southwest as delivery 'battleground'.
🚀 Iran strikes U.S. bases in Gulf after second night of strikes.

TECHNOLOGY

• OpenAI debuts full-duplex voice models that speak & listen simultaneously (MacRumors)
  ^{_{More: Firstpost, TechCrunch, OpenAI}}

  • GPT-Live-1 and its mini version handle natural interruptions, turn-taking, and features like live translation.

  • The mini model replaces ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode, with paid users accessing the larger version.

  • Queries route to newer GPT models for reasoning, while startups like Monogram push visual responses.

• U.S. regulator orders self-driving car firms to stop obstructing emergency responders (The Verge)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, TechCrunch, TNW}}

  • NHTSA chief Jonathan Morrison identified a 'clear pattern' of driverless vehicles interfering with first responders.

  • Incidents include AVs entering active emergency scenes, blocking ambulances, and ignoring flares and cones.

  • Developers must present solutions by month's end, with Morrison calling failures a 'functional insufficiency'.

• Google's SynthID watermark exposes fake image of hospitalized Senator Mitch McConnell (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: TNW, MEXC, Crypto Briefing}}

  • A viral image showing McConnell distressed in a hospital bed spread widely across Reddit and X.

  • Snopes debunked the picture after detecting Google's SynthID watermark, confirming it was AI-generated.

  • The invisible signature survives screenshots across platforms, marking a rare public win for anti-deepfake technology.

BUSINESS

• Apple signs $30B Broadcom deal for U.S.-made wireless connectivity chips (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Apple, TechCrunch, CNN}}

  • The multiyear agreement covers more than 15B custom wireless chips produced on American soil.

  • Apple will invest $1.5B to expand Broadcom's manufacturing facility in Fort Collins, Colorado.

  • The deal supports Apple's $600B U.S. investment pledge made under Trump administration pressure.

• Senate committee sets July 15 vote on tightening Chinese vehicle ban (AOL)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, Yahoo!, Investing.com}}

  • Senators Bernie Moreno and Elissa Slotkin proposed codifying Biden-era rules blocking Chinese automakers from America.

  • Polestar was forced to halt U.S. sales from the 2027 model year amid the crackdown.

  • The bill bans Chinese-designed vehicles with advanced connectivity, citing national security and data collection concerns.

• Irish drone startup Manna targets U.S. southwest as delivery 'battleground' (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, TNW, Tech Buzz}}

  • Manna says 90% of Tulsa residents will access autonomous drone deliveries within the next year.

  • Flights with DoorDash, McDonald's, and Uber Eats begin within two months, scaling to 40 bases by mid-2027.

  • Executive chairman Kenny Jacobs called Oklahoma and Texas the 'battleground' for proving global drone delivery scalability.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Iran strikes U.S. bases in Gulf after second night of strikes (CBS)
  ^{_{More: NBC, Reuters, Al Jazeera}}

  • U.S. Central Command hit roughly 90 Iranian targets, including missile storage sites and air defenses.

  • Tehran retaliated by targeting American bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar as exchanges escalated.

  • Trump declared the ceasefire 'over', calling Iran's leaders "sick" and deals with them "a waste of time".

• EU allies distance themselves from Trump's Iran war after NATO summit (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, AP, FOX}}

  • Trump left the Turkey summit without securing new commitments from allies on the Iran conflict.

  • A geopolitics expert said international help targeting Iran's economy would greatly benefit the U.S.

  • European leaders told CNBC they consider Trump's threat to withdraw troops an empty one.

• Truecaller takes public fight to India's telecom regulator over spam rules (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Tech Buzz, The Hindu}}

  • CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala publicly accused TRAI of blocking community-reported spam labels on business calls.

  • The restriction covers India's dedicated 1400 and 1600 number series for telemarketing and transactional business calls.

  • Jhunjhunwala says the 2024 framework has enabled number abuse and eroded trust in legitimate calls.

FUTURISM

• SpaceXAI launches Grok 4.5, its first model since going public (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Mashable, Yahoo!}}

  • SpaceXAI describes Grok 4.5 as a workhorse for coding, research, writing, and routine knowledge work.

  • The company claims 'twice greater token efficiency' than rivals, targeting growing concerns over AI costs.

  • Benchmarks released Wednesday show Grok competing with top models but falling just short of best-in-class.

• X to alert users via DM when engaged posts receive corrections (Engadget)
  ^{_{More: Firstpost, TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • Elon Musk announced Community Notes will send direct messages when interacted posts are corrected.

  • The update targets criticism that corrections arrive after misleading posts have already spread widely.

  • The system predates Musk's acquisition, and Meta adopted a similar crowdsourced approach last year.

• General Intuition bets robotics will follow the foundation model playbook soon (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!}}

  • CEO Pim de Witte argues embodied AI will shift from specialized robot models to general-purpose ones.

  • The startup trained its foundation model on millions of hours of video game and controller data.

  • De Witte claims spatial-temporal reasoning makes massive real-world data collection redundant, needing 'a few minutes'.

• 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

• Gusto's Eddie Kim explains building an AI co-founder for small businesses (Y Combinator)

  • Gusto Cofounder automates recurring business processes via SMS or Slack without owners logging in.

  • Eddie Kim's prototype became a shippable product built by five people in 10 weeks.

  • Gusto serves 500k+ small businesses, recently crossing $1B in annual revenue.

• a16z panel unpacks enterprise software's future when AI agents become users (a16z)

  • Seema Amble, Steven Sinofsky, and Elena Burger explore 'headless' software and agentic workflow shifts.

  • Discussion covers Salesforce's Headless 360, MCP, and SaaS becoming systems of record over engagement.

  • The panel examines software stickiness, why replacing SAP is hard, and where startups win.

• Sam Harris & Paul Bloom explore AI companionship & human connection (Sam Harris)

  • Topics span AI progress, companions as loneliness remedies, machine consciousness, and digitally resurrecting the dead.

  • The pair also discuss mattering to others, parenting science, apology ethics, and artists' moral failings.

  • Bloom is a University of Toronto psychology professor and author of seven books, including 'Psych'.

EXTRAS

• Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing posts 45.7% profit jump, lifts forecast (CNA)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, AOL}}

  • Operating profit hit ¥213.79B ($1.32B) through May, beating analyst estimates of ¥177.73B.

  • Fast Retailing raised its full-year operating profit forecast from ¥700B to ¥730B.

  • The company weathered Iran war supply chain disruption toward a fifth straight record year.

• SK Hynix's $28B U.S. share sale oversubscribed more than sevenfold

  (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: CNA, Reuters, Business Times}}

  • The offering ranks as the world's second-biggest share sale after SpaceX's record $85.7B IPO.

  • Proceeds will fund new factories and equipment to meet surging AI chip demand.

  • Shares jumped 6% Thursday morning and remain up 680% over 12 months despite recent losses.

• China's consumer inflation slows as producer prices hit near four-year high (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: CNBC, Business Times}}

  • Consumer prices rose 1% in June, missing forecasts and slowing from May's 1.2% growth.

  • Producer prices jumped 4.1% year on year, the strongest increase since July 2022.

  • An economist attributed PPI strength to low-base effects, with easing oil prices limiting further gains.

AND MORE

• Meta wants AI glasses to seem less creepy, its strategy disagrees.

• Australia agrees to sell uranium to India during Modi's state visit.

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

• Judge approves Elon Musk's $1.5M SEC settlement despite voicing his 'misgivings'.

• Levi Strauss lifts forecast on premium denim strength, but shares slide.

• Deloitte forecasts 6% drop in back-to-school spending amid economic worries.

• 'Slow-cial' app Roost limits users to the speed of carrier pigeons.