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

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

🍎 Apple bets cheaper AI infrastructure will woo small, independent app developers.
🛡️ WhatsApp says it has caught new NSO spyware attacks that violate a court order.
📈 OpenAI has confidentially filed for an IPO, setting up a major debut.
⚖️ Convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has applied for a Trump pardon.
🪖 The Pentagon labels Alibaba & BYD as firms aiding China's military.

TECHNOLOGY

• Apple bets cheaper AI infrastructure will woo small, independent app developers (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Tech in Asia, Yahoo!}}

  • Apple will let developers with fewer than 2M App Store downloads use its AI models for free.

  • The Foundation Models run in Private Cloud Compute with no cloud API cost, the company announced Monday.

  • The move targets indie developers, echoing Apple's Small Business Program, which offers lower commissions to smaller developers.

• WhatsApp says it caught new NSO spyware attacks violating a court order (NY Times)
  ^{_{More: Axios, TechCrunch, Tech Buzz}}

  • WhatsApp said it disrupted a new hacking campaign linked to spyware maker NSO Group on Monday.

  • It accused NSO of violating a court order barring the company from targeting WhatsApp users with spyware.

  • WhatsApp said the spear-phishing attempts resembled a 2024 campaign in Jordan that deployed NSO's Pegasus spyware.

• NotebookLM is getting Google's latest Gemini AI model & major chat upgrades (CNET)
  ^{_{More: The Verge, Yahoo!, TechCrunch}}

  • Google is upgrading NotebookLM with new agentic chat capabilities and more advanced reasoning for complex research tasks.

  • The chat tool now runs on Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity, improving accuracy and visibility into reasoning.

  • Each notebook gets a secure cloud computer and more than 100 software skills for deeper analysis.

BUSINESS

• OpenAI has confidentially filed for an IPO, setting up a major debut (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, The Guardian, TechCrunch}}

  • OpenAI has confidentially filed for an IPO with the SEC, setting up a potentially record-breaking public debut.

  • The filing comes days before SpaceX begins trading and a week after Anthropic filed confidentially with the SEC.

  • Together, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic could lead the three largest IPOs ever recorded.

• Convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has applied for a Trump pardon (BBC)
  ^{_{More: CNN, NY Times, CNBC}}

  • Sam Bankman-Fried has officially filed for a presidential pardon, according to the Justice Department's pardon website.

  • He is serving a 25-year prison sentence following his 2024 fraud and money laundering conviction.

  • Trump has pardoned hundreds during his second term, many convicted of financial fraud and money laundering.

• Italy's Bending Spoons, owner of AOL & Vimeo, files for Nasdaq IPO (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • Italian tech firm Bending Spoons filed Monday for a U.S. Nasdaq IPO, targeting an end-of-June launch.

  • The company, which buys and revamps digital businesses, is seeking a valuation of at least $20B.

  • It reported $27.5M net income on $601M revenue last quarter, reversing a year-earlier loss.

MARKETS

WORLD

• China's exports accelerated in May as manufacturers rode the global AI boom (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, Financial Post, Straits Times}}

  • China's export growth accelerated in May, driven by strong demand for chips, autos, and high-tech goods.

  • Surging global AI investment helped offset the export hit expected from Middle East energy price shocks.

  • Signs show stockpiling is fading as prices rise and overseas buyers run down inventories awaiting a ceasefire.

• Korean stocks plunge over 8% as chip shares tumble in selloff (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: Washington Post, Investing.com, Reuters}}

  • South Korea's KOSPI plunged 8.3% Monday to 7,484.41, its biggest daily fall since March 4.

  • Robust U.S. jobs data fueled Fed rate-hike bets, sparking a selloff in tech-heavy markets.

  • Samsung Electronics tumbled 10.2%, and SK Hynix dropped 7.7%, despite NVIDIA calling Hynix its biggest partner.

• The Pentagon labels Alibaba & BYD as firms aiding China's military (AP)
  ^{_{More: Washington Post, The Guardian, Reuters}}

  • The Pentagon added Alibaba, BYD, and Baidu to its list of Chinese military companies on Monday.

  • The designation blocks the listed firms from receiving U.S. defense contracts amid wariness of Beijing's strategy.

  • Created in 2021, the list targets non-state firms that the Pentagon links to China's defense industrial base.

FUTURISM

• Uber, Wayve, & Waymo are heading toward a robotaxi showdown in London (CNET)
  ^{_{More: CNN, TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • Uber U.K. customers can now join an interest list to be matched with Wayve autonomous vehicles.

  • The London launch will pit Uber against Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving company, and the U.S. robotaxi leader.

  • Riders matched with an autonomous vehicle can decline it; early robotaxis will carry a human safety operator.

• Amazon now lets anyone design custom merchandise using AI in its app (The Verge)
  ^{_{More: Amazon, PYMNTS, TechCrunch}}

  • Amazon introduced a feature on Monday that lets anyone design merchandise using AI prompts via Alexa in its Shopping app.

  • Designs can appear on apparel, tumblers, and more through Amazon's print-on-demand service, Merch on Demand.

  • The tool challenges merch platforms like Redbubble and Spring; Amazon handles production and Prime delivery.

• An Airbnb host is suing a robotics startup that trashed his home (Futurism)
  ^{_{More: MSN, Yahoo!}}

  • Airbnb host Sean Donovan is suing San Francisco startup The Bot Company for trashing his rental home.

  • He says workers booked the home under false pretenses and secretly used it to test prototype robots.

  • Donovan's Ring camera captured footage of more than 30 people over two weeks; he seeks more than $12k in damages.

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CONTENT

• Sue Khim explains how her AI tutor Koji uses the Socratic method (This Week in Startups)

  • Brilliant founder Sue Khim joins TWiST to discuss Koji, her new AI tutor for students.

  • Koji uses the Socratic method to help students solve complex problems on their own, not skip thinking.

  • Khim argues people aren't anti-AI but oppose being replaced; Jason shares VC stories and a John Doerr anecdote.

• Benedict Evans discusses the economics of AI & the future of SaaS (a16z)

  • Erik Torenberg interviews analyst Benedict Evans about AI's current state and what has changed over the past year.

  • They cover coding agents, foundation models, AI infrastructure spending, and software economics in the conversation.

  • Evans explains why coding became AI's first breakout use case and why key questions remain unresolved.

• Nebius co-founder argues AI infrastructure isn't a bubble despite huge compute demand (20VC)

  • Roman Chernin, co-founder of fast-growing AI infrastructure firm Nebius, discusses why he says it isn't a bubble.

  • Nebius runs some of the world's largest AI compute clusters and has a $57B market cap.

  • He cites Jevons Paradox, arguing that cheaper AI drives more demand, and says Nebius could sell 10x more compute.

EXTRAS

• Massachusetts votes to pass a privacy bill banning precise location data sales (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: MSN, Yahoo!}}

  • The Massachusetts House unanimously passed the Consumer Data Privacy Act in a 146-0 vote on Thursday.

  • The law grants residents the right to access and delete their data and bans the sale of precise location information.

  • It applies to companies that handle the personal data of more than 100k consumers, from startups to tech titans.

• Apple is tweaking its controversial Liquid Glass design to improve readability (Engadget)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, TechCrunch}}

  • At WWDC 2026 on Monday, Apple announced changes to its polarizing Liquid Glass design for better readability.

  • Apple will diffuse complex content behind the interface to add depth and separation between content panels.

  • A new slider lets users adjust the look from ultra clear to fully tinted, avoiding forced changes.

• Trump's approval stays near record lows as Americans expect higher gas prices (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: MSN, AOL}}

  • A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump's approval at 35%, near the lowest levels of his career.

  • Most Americans expect gas prices to keep rising, and 70% disapprove of his handling of the cost of living.

  • The 35% reading is unchanged from mid-May and near his first-term low of 33% in December 2017.

AND MORE

• Apple's WWDC 2026 keynote revealed an AI-upgraded Siri & seven major announcements.

• Wembanyama's Spurs won 115-111, cutting the Knicks' NBA Finals lead to 2-1.

• Explore all the tools and more here to outperform the competition.*

• SpaceX unveiled its first AI data center, a draft satellite, on Monday.

• Sweden plans to ban mobile phones in schools, joining a global trend.

• Instagram is finally letting everyone reorganize their profile grid.

• Italian coffee giant Lavazza launches single-serve espresso tablets in the U.S.