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

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🤓 Ben Affleck turns out to be an AI nerd, impressing the internet.
🛡️ Anthropic’s new usage policy bans abusing Claude & interfering in elections.
🏅 President Trump honors Big Tech donors with the nation’s top science medals.
📉 OpenAI’s annualized revenue reportedly falls $20B short of earlier figures.
🚁 Taiwan defies Beijing with a giant helicopter-borne flag on national day.

TECHNOLOGY

• Ben Affleck turns out to be an AI nerd, impressing the internet (Firstpost)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Business Insider}}

  • Affleck, who sold his AI filmmaking startup to Netflix for a reported $587M, says he can write Python.

  • On GQ’s ‘One More Question,’ he discussed AI in filmmaking using terms like neural networks, transformers, and tensors.

  • He told interviewer Zach Baron his interest began when the film industry shifted from analog to digital.

• Anthropic’s new usage policy bans abusing Claude & interfering in elections (The Verge)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, TOI, Firstpost}}

  • Thursday’s update also prohibits weapons software and surveillance, plus deceptive campaigns using fake accounts or fabricated news outlets.

  • The new rule targets only repeated, purposeless cruelty toward Claude, not ordinary frustration, pushback, or dark creative themes.

  • Anthropic has courted religious scholars, at times arguing that Claude could be conscious or even have a soul.

• Fired OpenAI safety researchers deny misconduct, warn their dismissal could silence staff (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Business Insider, WSJ, Yahoo!}}

  • Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni allegedly shared confidential OpenAI information with an outside AI safety group.

  • OpenAI says the trio violated policy by “accessing and handling sensitive company information” outside established procedures.

  • The researchers argue that working freely with outside experts is “itself an essential safety mechanism.”

BUSINESS

• President Trump honors Big Tech donors with the nation’s top science medals (NBC)
  ^{_{More: FOX, CNBC, TechCrunch}}

  • Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Sergey Brin, and Lisa Su received the National Medal of Science on Thursday.

  • The awardees have donated nearly $6B to Trump-linked causes, including his inauguration fund and White House ballroom.

  • Satya Nadella’s technology medal came right after the administration indefinitely suspended Microsoft from the H-1B visa program.

• OpenAI’s annualized revenue reportedly falls $20B short of earlier figures (CNN)
  ^{_{More: Axios, TechCrunch, CNBC}}

  • According to the Financial Times, OpenAI told investors its annualized revenue is nearing $50B.

  • The $70B figure came from investors trying to compare OpenAI directly with Anthropic, which counts cloud partner sales.

  • OpenAI raised $122B in March, made about $13B in 2025, and has pushed its IPO to early 2027.

• U.S. suspends Microsoft & Adobe from green card program over alleged fraud (AP)
  ^{_{More: BBC, SCMP, TechCrunch}}

  • Capgemini, Cognizant, HCL, Infosys, Tata, and Wipro are also barred, with new and pending applications rejected.

  • Vice President JD Vance told Microsoft, “You’ve got to hire great American workers,” at a Thursday news conference.

  • Microsoft says 80% of its roughly 6k H-1B filings last fiscal year involved existing employees, not new hires.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Taiwan defies Beijing with a giant helicopter-borne flag on national day (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, Straits Times}}

  • To boost unity amid Chinese pressure, Taiwan’s army has flown the flag beneath a U.S.-made Chinook since 2019.

  • Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its territory, blocks the island’s flag at global events like the Olympics.

  • The Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the civil war.

• Chinese bonds emerge as a cheap source of cash for global borrowers (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: Business Times, SCMP}}

  • Up to $19B has gone offshore via panda bonds, yuan debt sold in China by overseas issuers.

  • Regulators approved over 40% of 2026 issuance proceeds for offshore use, a record share, Bloomberg data shows.

  • Weak inflation and a sluggish economy have pushed Chinese rates lower, while Beijing loosens cross-border capital controls.

• Elon Musk targets Mukesh Ambani as Starlink struggles to launch in India (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, NDTV, Forbes}}

  • Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi responded to Musk’s remarks, having long accused the government of favoring select businessmen.

  • Ambani’s Jio is reportedly planning its own network of around 1.6k low Earth orbit satellites.

  • The proposed system would also include 23 ground stations to expand connectivity across India.

FUTURISM

• Natura’s $99 smart ring brings AI agents right to your fingertip (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: PYMNTS, Digital Trends, Yahoo!}}

  • Called Interface, the ring lets users assign tasks and capture thoughts without reaching for their phones.

  • The ring works with agents like Claude, ChatGPT, and Meta’s Muse, and also tracks heart rate and sleep.

  • Founded by Rolling Square’s Carlo Edoardo Ferraris, Natura opens preorders next month, with shipping in December or January.

• Uber teams up with China’s Pony.ai to launch robotaxis in London (Tech in Asia)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, TNW}}

  • Testing of Pony.ai’s Gen-7 robotaxis will begin in the coming weeks, though the fleet operator is unconfirmed.

  • The partners plan to deploy 2k robotaxis across Europe, having launched in Zagreb with Rimac-founded startup Verne.

  • Uber has deals with over 30 AV companies and plans a London robotaxi service with British startup Wayve.

• Amazon’s new Alexa tablets come with Alexa+ & Google Play Store access (Engadget)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, TechCrunch}}

  • The lineup includes the Alexa Tablet 12 Pro, Tablet 11, and Tablet 8, all with aluminum unibody designs.

  • The tablets run Android instead of Fire OS, and Amazon says they’re an entirely new product line.

  • The 12 Pro is 6.5mm thick, with a 12-inch, 120Hz display and an optional anti-glare Nanomatte version.

• 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

• AWS CEO Matt Garman explains how AI is reshaping the cloud (a16z)

  • Speaking with a16z’s Raghu Raghuram, Garman describes how AWS is adapting as agents write code and manage infrastructure.

  • He covers why AWS reserves scarce GPU capacity for startups and where Trainium and Graviton chips fit.

  • They also discuss Amazon’s $220B capital investment, shifting infrastructure bottlenecks, and what enterprises need to trust agents.

• Who really ends up homeless? Anand Giridharadas has a surprising answer (The Prof G Pod)

  • Speaking with Scott Galloway, the ‘Man in the Mirror’ author ties Jordan Neely’s death to America’s belonging crisis.

  • He explores why cities struggle to help vulnerable residents and the tough questions around involuntary mental health treatment.

  • Reactions to Daniel Penny and Luigi Mangione, he argues, reveal Americans’ growing sense of abandonment.

• Inside Jeetu Patel’s plan to run Cisco like the world’s largest startup (Y Combinator)

  • Cisco’s hyperscaler AI business hit $9.3B in orders within two years as it builds AI infrastructure.

  • Patel tells Y Combinator’s Jared Friedman that AI should spark new ideas, and Cisco will need more engineers.

  • He also discusses getting Cisco’s 32k engineers to embrace AI and argues data centers aren’t being overbuilt.

EXTRAS

• New York alleges TikTok tested a placebo safety feature on young users (The Verge)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, TechCrunch, TNW}}

  • Thousands of users, including minors, believed they had activated ‘Algo Refresh,’ which resets recommendations.

    Their feeds stayed the same, while users outside the experiment had access to a fully working version.

    The case is among more than two dozen state lawsuits accusing TikTok of fueling addictive use among children

• Asos confirms customer data breach after hackers hijack its app notifications (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, BBC}}

  • Asos told the London Stock Exchange that hackers breached a third-party platform hosting its customer communications data.

  • Stolen details include names, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and profile notes such as website search queries.

  • The message, widely shared on social media, warned Asos: “Engage with us, or we will leak it.”

• Manus lands over $500M in its first funding round since Meta split (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: CNBC, TechCrunch, TNW}}

  • Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round, joined by existing backers Tencent, HSG, and ZhenFund.

  • Chinese authorities ordered Manus to unwind Meta’s $2B acquisition over fears of losing talent to the West.

  • Manus didn’t disclose its valuation, though talks last month reportedly pegged it at $4B.

AND MORE

• Pentagon says the U.S. will livestream Fort Hood shooter's firing squad execution.

• ICE agents shot NYC man in car with child inside, mayor says.

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

• OpenAI’s math solutions have yet to meet the standards of the field.

• IPO of NVIDIA-backed Firmus collapses amid growing worries over AI valuations.

• Google rolls out agentic AI in Gemini, beginning with business customers

• Nasdaq CEO says tokenization could free tens of billions in trapped capital.