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

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🏛️ DeepMind CEO urges independent standards body to regulate frontier AI models.
🕶️ Lorde slams AI glasses on stage, telling fans they're 'not sexy'.
🚗 Lucid denies report it's weighing bankruptcy or going private after plunge.
⚖️ Major publishers & authors sue Google over Gemini AI training.
🚔 UK police say Ann Widdecombe was killed in a 'targeted attack'.

TECHNOLOGY

• DeepMind CEO urges independent standards body to regulate frontier AI models (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Axios, Crypto Briefing, TechCrunch}}

  • Demis Hassabis proposed a FINRA-style regulator to test frontier models and develop release best practices.

  • Labs would initially share models voluntarily 30 days before release, with mandatory approval potentially following.

  • The body would replace criticized U.S. government reviews of Anthropic's Mythos and OpenAI's Sol.

• Lorde slams AI glasses on stage, telling fans they're 'not sexy' (The Verge)
  ^{_{More: CBC, TechCrunch, BuzzFeed}}

  • Lorde criticized Meta's AI glasses during her Mad Cool Festival set in Madrid last week.

  • She warned it's getting harder to know what's real and urged fans not to buy them.

  • Ray-Ban, a Meta partner and festival sponsor, backs the glasses, which experts call a privacy nightmare.

• Users warn OpenAI's new flagship model deletes files without asking first (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Crypto Briefing, Gizmodo, Tech Buzz}}

  • GPT-5.6 Sol users report the model deleting files, data, and entire databases without permission.

  • OthersideAI CEO Matt Shumer claimed it wiped nearly all his Mac's files in a viral post.

  • Despite mounting complaints, scattered anecdotes aren't statistically reliable proof the model alone is at fault.

BUSINESS

• Lucid denies report it's weighing bankruptcy or going private after plunge (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, Axios, InsideEVs}}

  • Lucid shares plunged Tuesday, with trading halted multiple times for volatility following the report.

  • An EV news site claimed Lucid was considering going private or filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

  • Lucid called the rumors 'completely false' amid slow EV adoption and shifting Trump administration regulations.

• Major publishers & authors sue Google over Gemini AI training (The Guardian)
  ^{_{More: Engadget, France 24, TechCrunch}}

  • Hachette, Cengage, Elsevier, and others filed a class action accusing Google of training Gemini on copyrighted works.

  • The lawsuit alleges Google removed copyright information to conceal that models were trained on 'stolen materials.'

  • Anthropic previously paid $1.5B for pirating training works, the largest payout in U.S. copyright history.

• OpenAI researcher Miles Wang plans AI drug discovery startup at $2B (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Techmeme, Eastern Herald, Yahoo!}}

  • Miles Wang is leaving OpenAI to launch a startup building AI models for drug discovery.

  • He is in talks to raise $200M at a $2B valuation, though Wang disputed the figures.

  • Investor interest is surging, with Chai Discovery raising $400M and Isomorphic Labs securing $2.1B.

MARKETS

WORLD

• UK police say Ann Widdecombe was killed in a 'targeted attack' (AP)
  ^{_{More: NY Times, ABC, NBC}}

  • Counterterror police confirmed the former MP's killing was targeted, though the motivation remains under investigation.

  • A 28-year-old suspect remains in custody under a Terrorism Act warrant allowing extended questioning.

  • Devon and Cornwall Police faced criticism for initially dismissing terror or political motives before new evidence emerged.

• China posts slowest quarterly growth since 2022, fueling calls for stimulus (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: CNBC, WSJ, Economic Times}}

  • China's GDP grew 4.3% in Q2, missing forecasts of 4.5% and slowing from 5%.

  • Urban fixed-asset investment fell 5.7% in the first half, a bigger-than-expected decline straining growth.

  • Growth fell below Beijing's 4.5% to 5% annual target amid trade tensions and sluggish domestic demand.

• Oil rises after fresh U.S. strikes on Iran & port blockade (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: BBC, Reuters, Yahoo!}}

  • U.S. forces struck dozens of Iranian military assets near the Strait of Hormuz in a seven-hour operation.

  • WTI crude rose 0.45% to $79.70 per barrel, while Brent gained 0.68% to $85.31.

  • Washington reinstated its naval blockade on vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports earlier Tuesday.

FUTURISM

• Anthropic's newest ad unsettles viewers with weird imagery, doomer tone (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Futurism, Yahoo!}}

  • Anthropic's ad 'There's hope in hard questions' features a burning house, tombstones, and surveillance imagery.

  • Voiceovers ask questions like 'Can AI be trusted?' reinforcing the company's ethical positioning against rivals.

  • OpenAI CEO Sam Altman mocked the ad on X, saying he initially thought it was satire.

• OpenAI's first hardware device reportedly a moving, screenless AI smart speaker (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: TOI, TechCrunch, 9to5Mac}}

  • OpenAI is developing a screen-free smart speaker with ChatGPT integration, pitched as a humanlike home companion.

  • Sources say it has a 'personality,' learns about owners over time, and accesses users' digital lives.

  • The device reportedly features mechanical elements that move independently, physically embodying OpenAI's ChatGPT.

• Meta's Adam Mosseri says AI token budgets could face per-engineer caps (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, Tech Buzz}}

  • Mosseri predicts engineers' AI token burn rates could match their salaries within a year or two.

  • Meta shut down an internal token spend leaderboard after costs tracked toward billions in 2026.

  • Uber blew through its 2026 AI coding budget by April, while Microsoft canceled Claude Code licenses.

• 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

• John Kim explains the psychology & strategy behind raising capital successfully (Invest Like The Best)

  • The former General Catalyst chief development officer argues money moves at the speed of trust.

  • Kim says great fundraisers increase desire, reduce fear, simplify their story, and build genuine conviction.

  • He shares three laws of fundraising and explains why logic alone rarely persuades investors.

• Siddhartha Mukherjee discusses updated Emperor of All Maladies & cancer science (Sam Harris)

  • Mukherjee and Sam Harris explore whether cancer is one disease or many, and why prevention proves hard.

  • Topics include inflammation and air pollution as carcinogens, plus debunking the cell phone cancer myth.

  • They discuss immunotherapy, CAR T cells, liquid biopsies, drug pricing, and AI's promise in drug discovery.

• Noam Segal reveals how tech workers actually feel about AI today (Lenny's Podcast)

  • The second annual Tech Worker Sentiment Survey captured thousands of responses across product, engineering, design, and more.

  • AI has split the workforce nearly in half, with four emotional archetypes from Energized to Resentful.

  • Burnout jumped 11 points in one year, and workers wouldn't recommend tech jobs to newcomers.

EXTRAS

• Why Europe is suddenly making big bets on drone technology (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Euronews}}

  • A wave of announcements over two weeks shows governments rapidly embracing drone technology across Europe.

  • Battlefield lessons from Ukraine are reshaping procurement decisions among European defense ministries.

  • The shift creates opportunities for drone makers plus AI, software, electronic warfare, and secure communications firms.

• House passes bill to 'ditch the switch,' make daylight saving permanent (CNN)
  ^{_{More: NBC, AP}}

  • The House voted 308-117 to make daylight saving time permanent, with White House backing.

  • States could opt out if their legislatures act before enactment; Senate passage remains unclear.

  • Rep. Gus Bilirakis said the change gives families more evening daylight and supports local businesses.

• Singapore's DBS targets $775B in wealth & retail assets by 2030 (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: AOL, Reuters}}

  • DBS aims to grow wealth AUM past S$1T ($774B) by 2030, up S$400B from 2025.

  • The bank plans to hire more than 600 advisers and engineers to support the expansion.

  • AI tools will help speed client onboarding and advice as DBS bets on rising Asian wealth.

AND MORE

• Hinge founder raises $18M for new AI dating service Overtone.

• KFC Japan may cut menu as logistics outage disrupts deliveries nationwide.

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

• New York State halts construction of all new data centers statewide.

• Stripe and Advent reportedly offer to buy PayPal for $53B.

• Why you shouldn't buy the RingConn 3, even though it's pretty.

• T. rex fossil sells for $50M, most expensive ever auctioned.

• Telegram's shortlink domain returns online following a day-long suspension outage.