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

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

📱 OnePlus reportedly winding down operations in U.S., Europe & India.
🗺️ Apple bans home services, bail bonds, and crypto ATM ads in Maps.
🗣️ Microsoft reportedly trains sales team to criticize OpenAI & Anthropic products.
🚗 Tesla driver overrode assistance system before fatal Texas house crash.
🚀 U.S. expands Iran strikes northward and disables ship testing naval blockade.

TECHNOLOGY

• OnePlus reportedly winding down operations in U.S., Europe & India (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, MacRumors, India Today}}

  • OnePlus plans to shutter U.S. and European operations this week amid a corporate rejig at Oppo.

  • The phone maker will also wind down operations in India, one of its biggest markets.

  • Analysts predict smartphone shipments will decline over 13% in 2026 due to memory chip shortages.

• Apple bans home services, bail bonds & crypto ATM ads in Maps (MacRumors)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, TechCrunch, AppleInsider}}

  • Apple's new advertising policy prohibits home services, bail bond, and cryptocurrency ATM ads in Maps.

  • Medical service ads may be allowed but will face case-by-case evaluation from Apple.

  • Unlike Google, Apple appears to limit Maps ads to businesses with physical customer locations.

• Applied Computing raises $20M to build AI model for entire plants (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, Tech Buzz}}

  • London startup Applied Computing raised a $20M Series A led by KBR, with Databricks Ventures participating.

  • Oil and gas facilities use under 8% of available data because sensor readings remain fragmented.

  • Its Orbital model combines time series, physics, and language models to predict facility states and simulate changes.

BUSINESS

• Microsoft reportedly trains sales team to criticize OpenAI & Anthropic products (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: PYMNTS, TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • Microsoft executives outlined plans for salespeople to negatively compare rival AI products, per Bloomberg.

  • Leadership pitched Microsoft's in-house models as more efficient and cost-effective than competitors' offerings.

  • One executive claimed Claude was slower, less accurate, and lacked security integrations within Office apps.

• Tesla driver overrode assistance system before fatal Texas house crash, NTSB says (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: ABC, TechCrunch, Gizmodo}}

  • A Tesla Model 3 driver killed a 76-year-old woman after crashing into her Katy, Texas home.

  • NTSB data showed the driver overrode Full Self-Driving by fully depressing the accelerator pedal.

  • The vehicle exceeded 70 mph on a residential road with a 30 mph speed limit.

• Daniel Ek's body-scanning startup Neko Health raises $700M Series C (NY Times)
  ^{_{More: TNW, TechCrunch, Financial Times}}

  • Neko Health raised a $700M Series C led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and O.G. Venture Partners.

  • The startup pairs proprietary body-scanning technology with bloodwork and Apple Health data for assessments.

  • Over 100k people have been scanned, and a first U.S. location is planned for New York.

MARKETS

WORLD

• U.S. expands Iran strikes northward & disables ship testing naval blockade (AP)
  ^{_{More: NBC, Reuters}}

  • U.S. strikes reached areas around Tehran for the first time as American forces widened targets.

  • Iran retaliated with missile and drone fire targeting Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait before dawn.

  • Iranian officials say U.S. strikes have killed more than 35 people and wounded over 300.

• South Korea to announce new measures on single-stock leveraged ETFs (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, Business Times}}

  • The Financial Services Commission will inspect and review improvement measures on single-stock leveraged ETFs.

  • Chairman Lee Eog-weon called the ETFs high-risk and cited concerns over market stability.

  • Lee said suspending trading could cause bigger side-effects, while the finance minister planned separate talks.

• India commits billions to challenge China's dominance in smartphone manufacturing (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, GMAsia, Tech Buzz}}

  • India's new $6.5B scheme rewards smartphone makers with incentives ranging from 2.25% to 5%.

  • New Delhi committed another $13.3B to expand domestic semiconductor manufacturing, equipment, and research.

  • About 25% of Apple's iPhones are now made in India as production diversifies beyond China.

FUTURISM

• OpenAI enters hardware market with $230 light-up keyboard for Codex (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: PCMag, Yahoo!}}

  • OpenAI launched the Codex Micro, a $230 keyboard co-designed with specialty keyboard maker Work Louder.

  • Light-up Agent Keys show agent status, while a dial adjusts how much reasoning agents use.

  • OpenAI pitches the device as a command center for managing fleets of AI coding agents.

• Apple Intelligence approved for China launch with Alibaba's Qwen AI model (WSJ)
  ^{_{More: SCMP, Reuters, Straits Times}}

  • China's cyberspace regulator approved Apple Intelligence following a deal to integrate Alibaba's Qwen model.

  • Apple previously explored partnerships with Baidu, DeepSeek, and ByteDance before settling on Alibaba.

  • Apple's Greater China sales rose 28% to $20.5B in the second quarter.

• Fujitsu & Japanese robotics giants adopt NVIDIA technology for physical AI (AP)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, Bloomberg}}

  • Fujitsu is leading a physical AI push with NVIDIA, Fanuc, Yaskawa Electric, and Kawasaki Heavy.

  • Physical AI refers to robots that think independently and work safely alongside people.

  • Executives hope smart robots can address Japan's labor shortage and care for elderly residents.

• Hunting for AI roles eats hours across careers pages, internal referrals, group chats, and a dozen overlapping boards*

  • The Athyna AI Job Board does the watching for you and matches openings to your profile in the background.

  • When a role hits a 75% matching index or higher, we notify you with details and a direct apply link.

CONTENT

• Howard Marks on AI, fear, & what he'd change at 21 (My First Million)

  • Sam Parr and Shaan Puri interview Howard Marks on AI and decision-making under uncertainty.

  • Marks recalls raising $11B during a crisis and explains second-level thinking in investing.

  • The conversation covers his lunch with Warren Buffett, partnerships, fatherhood, and living life your way.

• Former pastor tips strangers $10k after nine-figure Tithe.ly exit (Moneywise)

  • Dean Sweetman pastored for 30 years before founding church giving platform Tithe.ly at 51.

  • Excel KKR acquired the company for hundreds of millions, and he immediately moved $1.5M into a donor-advised fund.

  • Now worth $30M to $50M, he gives away 10% to 15% annually and tips strangers $10k.

• Best-selling author David Baldacci shares his approach to writing novels (David Perell)

  • David Baldacci has written 53 novels, seven children's books, and sold over 200M copies worldwide.

  • The prolific author publishes two novels every year and draws on his background as a lawyer.

  • He discusses crafting stories, developing characters with baggage, building tension, and making stakes personal.

EXTRAS

• TSMC to invest $100B more in Arizona as profit jumps 77% (Business Times)
  ^{_{More: CNBC, Bloomberg}}

  • TSMC's second-quarter profit soared 77.4% year on year, beating estimates with NT$706.56B net income.

  • The chipmaker forecast third-quarter revenue between $44.6B and $45.8B with robust AI demand.

  • Quarterly revenue reached $39.45B, topping analyst expectations as record-breaking milestones continue.

• U.S. imposes 25% tariff on most Brazilian imports over trade practices (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: CBS, Financial Times}}

  • The 25% tariffs take effect next week, concluding a yearlong Section 301 investigation into Brazil.

  • A separate forced-labor probe could add 12.5% duties, with a decision due next week.

  • Washington cited content removal orders targeting U.S. tech firms, weak IP enforcement, and ethanol barriers.

• Argentina's late comeback sinks England & sets up final against Spain (CNA)
  ^{_{More: Reuters}}

  • Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez struck late goals to snatch a 2-1 semi-final win.

  • Lionel Messi provided the pass for the equalizer and the cross for the 92nd-minute winner.

  • Reigning champions Argentina face Spain in Sunday's World Cup final in the weekend showpiece.

AND MORE

• Hack suggests AI music generator Suno scraped YouTube for training.

• AI slop movies are the new direct-to-video cash grabs.

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

• Why Greylock capped its new fund at $1.5B despite stronger demand.

• Microsoft patches bug in classic strategy game Age of Empires II.

• Now that Sony’s ditching discs, its last PlayStation business meeting hits different.

• Lululemon backs nylon-recycling startup Syntetica in $30M Series A round.