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

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

🚨 Florida investigates OpenAI over ChatGPT's alleged role in the shooting.
💰 AI's biggest companies must turn profits before the bubble bursts.
⚖️ Democrats grow bolder, calling to remove Trump over his Iran threats.
☁️ Andy Jassy subtly challenges Nvidia, Intel, and Starlink in shareholder letter.
🌍 U.S.-Iran ceasefire shows strain ahead of Pakistan talks on Saturday.

TECHNOLOGY

• Florida investigates OpenAI over ChatGPT's alleged role in shooting (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: NBC, USA Today, Axios}}

  • Florida's attorney general is probing OpenAI over ChatGPT's alleged involvement in planning the FSU shooting.

  • Court documents reveal the FSU shooting suspect exchanged over 200 messages with ChatGPT beforehand.

  • OpenAI said it will cooperate with the investigation into the November mass shooting.

• AI's biggest companies must turn profits before the bubble bursts (The Verge)
  ^{_{More: MSN, Yahoo!}}

  • Major AI firms are backed by hundreds of billions in capital, demanding eventual profits.

  • Anthropic and OpenAI exemplify the industry's struggle to become sustainable, profitable businesses.

  • Industry leaders warn some AI companies will fail spectacularly before the market stabilizes.

• OpenAI launches a $100/month plan to rival Anthropic's Claude (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: CNBC, MSN, Yahoo!}}

  • OpenAI introduced a new $100/month Pro tier aimed at developers doing high-intensity coding work.

  • The plan offers five times more access to Codex, OpenAI's coding tool, than the $20 Plus plan.

  • OpenAI explicitly positioned the tier against Anthropic's existing $100/month Claude Code offering.

BUSINESS

• Democrats grow bolder, calling to remove Trump over his Iran threats (AP)
  ^{_{More: LA Times, PBS, WTOP}}

  • Trump's threat to destroy Iran, 'a whole civilization,' ended Democratic restraint on removal talk.

  • Dozens of Democrats called for impeachment or invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump.

  • Though Trump agreed to a ceasefire, the episode raised pressure for Democrats to oppose him strongly.

• Amazon's Andy Jassy subtly challenges Nvidia, Intel, and Starlink in shareholder letter (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: AOL, Yahoo!, Business Insider}}

  • Jassy signaled a shift away from Nvidia, promoting Amazon's own Trainium AI chips as superior value.

  • Amazon's chip business has reached a $20B annual revenue run rate, with Trainium3 capacity nearly sold out.

  • The shareholder letter indirectly challenges multiple rivals while maintaining a carefully diplomatic tone throughout.

• Live Nation's antitrust trial hinges on competition versus monopoly claims (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: The Verge, Billboard}}

  • A New York jury is deciding whether Live Nation and Ticketmaster should be broken up.

  • States argue that Live Nation secured a monopoly by locking venues into exclusive, long-term contracts.

  • Live Nation defends itself as a fierce competitor, while plaintiffs call it a monopolistic bully.

MARKETS

WORLD

• U.S.-Iran ceasefire shows strain ahead of Pakistan talks on Saturday (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Business Standard, Straits Times}}

  • Washington accused Tehran of breaching promises on the Strait of Hormuz oil blockade.

  • Iran cited Israel's heavy Lebanon strikes as a key sticking point in ceasefire terms.

  • Only six ships crossed the strait in the first 24 hours, versus the usual 140 daily.

• Xi's $270B Middle East bet is limiting China's support for Iran (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: Economic Times, Financial Post}}

  • China's vast Gulf investments are constraining Xi's ability to fully back diplomatic ally Iran.

  • Post-pandemic, Chinese firms poured capital into Gulf states, diversifying beyond fossil fuels.

  • Between 2014 and 2023, Beijing provided about $2.34 for every dollar the U.S. lent regionally.

• Starmer says he is fed up with Trump and Putin driving up energy costs (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: BBC, NY Post}}

  • Starmer said he is "fed up" with U.K. energy bills swinging due to Trump and Putin's actions.

  • His comments came as oil prices fluctuated amid the fragile U.S.-Iran two-week ceasefire.

  • Starmer also called Israel "wrong" for ordering deadly strikes on Lebanon during the ceasefire.

FUTURISM

• Sierra's CEO believes natural language will replace traditional software interfaces (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: CryptoRank, Tech Buzz, Yahoo!}}

  • Sierra launched Ghostwriter, an AI agent that autonomously builds and deploys other specialized agents.

  • The tool replaces click-based software by letting users describe tasks in plain, natural language.

  • Sierra deployed a fully functional agent for Nordstrom in just four weeks using Ghostwriter.

• Waymo and Waze are teaming up to map and share pothole data (CNET)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, The Verge, Mashable}}

  • Waymo and Waze launched a pilot program sharing robotaxi-detected pothole data with city governments.

  • The program initially covers five cities, with Waymo already identifying around 500 potholes in those markets.

  • Waze app users in Waymo operating cities can also access and help verify pothole location data.

• Radify's plasma technology aims to challenge China's rare-earth metals dominance (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: MSN, Yahoo!}}

  • China dominates rare-earth element refining, using its position as leverage in global trade disputes.

  • Radify Metals has developed a plasma-based refining process that produces only water vapor as a waste product.

  • The startup has raised just under $3M to commercialize its cleaner and more efficient refining technology.

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CONTENT

• Ex-Tesla president Jon McNeill recalls working side-by-side with Elon Musk (My First Million)

  • McNeill details his unusual job interview with Elon Musk and his subsequent joining of Tesla's leadership team.

  • Musk challenged McNeill to increase Tesla's sales by 20 times, pushing him to solve real problems quickly.

  • The conversation covers talent hiring, order-of-magnitude goals, and identifying a $50B industry opportunity.

• Harvard's Erica Chenoweth breaks down what makes protest movements succeed (The Prof G Pod)

  • Chenoweth and Scott Galloway discuss why most protest movements ultimately fail to achieve change.

  • They explore four key factors driving real change, and why mass mobilization alone isn't enough.

  • The discussion covers the '3.5% rule,' institutional power, and economic resistance as a strategy.

• Sixth Street CEO Alan Waxman on the history & future of private capital (Invest Like The Best)

  • Sixth Street CEO Alan Waxman discusses the evolution of private credit and his 'Factory Model' of investing.

  • Waxman warns against asset-liability mismatches and deteriorating underwriting standards in today's private wealth channel.

  • The episode also covers AI adoption, career navigation across life stages, and the firm's ethos of 'facing the tiger.'

EXTRAS

• Melania Trump denies any knowledge of or ties to Jeffrey Epstein (Washington Post)
  ^{_{More: ABC, AP, LA Times}}

  • Melania called accusations linking her to Epstein's crimes 'completely false' and 'baseless lies.'

  • She delivered a rare White House statement, demanding that the lies connecting her to Epstein end.

  • The statement came as Trump's administration appeared to have moved past the Epstein controversy.

• Pilots fear job loss for refusing Middle East flights, aviators' group warns (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Business Standard, Business Times}}

  • Pilots from Lebanon to India fear losing pay or being fired for refusing conflict-zone assignments.

  • Airspace in the region can close with little notice due to missile and drone strikes.

  • European airlines are banned from Gulf airspace, where Middle Eastern and Indian carriers still operate.

• Eli Lilly loses ground in India as generic weight-loss drugs surge (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Economic Times, Financial Post}}

  • Eli Lilly's market share in India fell from 61% in February to 56% in March.

  • Novo Nordisk held steady at 25% market share despite growing generic competition in India.

  • Indian generic drugmakers have launched 26 semaglutide brands competing directly with Ozempic and Wegovy.

AND MORE

• Mercor faces a rough month following a major data breach.

• This new MacBook may be the best thing to happen to Windows.

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

• StubHub to pay $10M to settle FTC deceptive pricing allegations.

• The Exit 8 movie lands better if you play the game first.

• Volkswagen drops the ID.4 in the U.S., pivoting back to gas SUVs.

• EFF becomes the latest organization to leave X.