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

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

🏗️ Mark Zuckerberg has directed Meta to build a prediction markets app.
💬 Anthropic's Claude Tag learns your company through every Slack message.
🏛️ The U.S. Senate joined the House in voting to halt the Iran war.
🛢️ Oil extended its decline as Trump accused oil firms of 'gouging' consumers.
📜 Russia says the U.S. has not delivered on Trump-Putin summit understandings.

TECHNOLOGY

• Mark Zuckerberg has directed Meta to build a prediction markets app (NY Times)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • Zuckerberg dispatched a small team to build an app similar to Polymarket and Kalshi.

  • The app, internally called "Arena," will likely use a points system rather than real money.

  • Meta aims to grow Arena by directing its 3.56B daily active users toward it.

• Anthropic's Claude Tag learns your company gradually through every Slack message (CNET)
  ^{_{More: CNA, TechCrunch, Fortune}}

  • Claude Tag is an always-on AI teammate living in Slack, available in beta for Enterprise and Team customers.

  • It adds persistent context and memory, learning more about the work as it follows along in channels.

  • An ambient mode lets Claude proactively join chats, flag organizational updates, and follow up on forgotten tasks.

• LastPass says hackers stole customer support data through its Klue partner breach (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: TNW, The Verge}}

  • LastPass is notifying customers that personal information and support case records were stolen during a partner hack.

  • The breach occurred at market research firm Klue, not LastPass's own systems, the company said.

  • Stolen data includes customers' names, phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, and support case records.

BUSINESS

• The U.S. Senate joined the House in voting to halt the Iran war (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: PBS, Economic Times, Straits Times}}

  • The Senate voted 50-48 for the war powers resolution, which the House passed earlier this month.

  • Four Republicans joined Democrats, reflecting growing congressional concern over the unpopular conflict with Iran.

  • The White House says the vote is insignificant, and courts will likely decide whether it matters.

• Oil extended its decline as Trump accused oil firms of 'gouging' consumers (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Firstpost, Investing.com}}

  • Oil prices fell as concerns over potential supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz eased.

  • Brent crude dropped 0.91% to $76.38 a barrel, while WTI fell 0.94% to $72.52.

  • Trump urged a DOJ probe, saying customers were being "gouged" by oil companies not cutting prices.

• Superhuman has acquired GPTZero, the AI detection startup built as a thesis (Business Insider)
  ^{_{More: Tech in Asia, TechCrunch, Engadget}}

  • GPTZero amassed more than 19M registered users and $30M in annual recurring revenue before the acquisition.

  • Edward Tian built GPTZero as a Princeton senior thesis; it raised just $13.5M total.

  • Superhuman already had an AI detector, but says that "two AI detectors are better than one."

MARKETS

WORLD

• Russia says the U.S. has not delivered on Trump-Putin summit understandings (SCMP)
  ^{_{More: The Independent, Reuters, Business Standard}}

  • Over three days, three senior Russian officials accused Washington of failing to follow through, without specifics.

  • Lavrov suggested the Anchorage summit may have been a U.S. ploy to buy time for Kyiv.

  • The comments follow intensified Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russia, including two attacks on a Moscow refinery.

• MSCI has kept South Korea as an emerging market while delaying Indonesia's review (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, Financial Times}}

  • MSCI kept South Korea classified as an emerging market, dashing hopes of inclusion in a developed-market watchlist.

  • Indonesia's review was extended to November, after MSCI froze its stocks from its indexes in January.

  • MSCI warned that insufficient reforms could lead to a potential downgrade of Indonesia to frontier-market status.

• Walmart's Flipkart is accelerating quick commerce expansion across India before its IPO (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • Flipkart plans to add 500 neighborhood warehouses, bringing the total to 1.5k within months across India.

  • The company targets smaller towns and cities, where it sees 42x growth potential.

  • Flipkart Minutes leads peers in average order value as it competes in India's $11B sector.

FUTURISM

• MoEngage is betting that millions of AI agents will define marketing's future (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Tech Buzz}}

  • MoEngage acquired San Francisco-based Aampe in an all-cash deal worth tens of millions of dollars.

  • Aampe assigns a dedicated AI agent to each customer, personalizing messaging based on individual behavior rather than segments.

  • The deal helps MoEngage win enterprise customers migrating from Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud.

• Meta has debuted new, cheaper smart glasses under its own brand name (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: CNN, Reuters, TechCrunch}}

  • Meta launched a new line called Meta Glasses, starting at $299, made with EssilorLuxottica.

  • Unlike Meta's other smart glasses, these carry neither Ray-Ban nor Oakley branding.

  • Meta and EssilorLuxottica lead the space, holding an estimated market share of more than 80%.

• Fika Jobs raised $4M to build a video-first hiring platform using AI interviewers (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, CryptoRank}}

  • Stockholm-based Fika Jobs combines AI interview agents with short-form video profiles, making it feel like LinkedIn crossed with TikTok.

  • Candidates connect to LinkedIn, then complete a roughly 10-minute video interview with an AI agent powered by Gemini.

  • Fika turns responses into short clips, creating a live profile that employers can discover and revisit.

• Cut through the hype. Roko’s Basilisk distills the day’s AI breakthroughs, market moves, and workable workflows into a five-minute brief*

  • Get one sharp deep dive, fast Quick Hits, and a witty pro tip, plus links that actually matter.

  • Built for builders, operators, and curious leaders who need context fast. Join 100k+ readers who start decisions here each morning.

CONTENT

• GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has unveiled a $56B plan to acquire eBay (All-In Podcast)

  • Cohen, who built and sold Chewy for $3.35B, became GameStop CEO and expanded into collectibles.

  • He wants to buy eBay for $56B, citing massive potential undermined by poor execution and slow growth.

  • His three-part vision: cut costs, expand live commerce, and create a digital in-game collectible marketplace.

• Vlad Barbalat explains how insurance float creates permanent capital at Liberty Mutual (Invest Like The Best)

  • Barbalat oversees Liberty Mutual's $120B balance sheet, a unique investment platform with no third-party capital.

  • Insurance float creates permanent capital, letting Liberty Mutual invest differently across private markets, credit, and risk.

  • He shares his journey immigrating from Moldova and why he believes America gives people unparalleled agency.

• David Royce sold four companies for $1.5B, but one $13M exit changed everything (Moneywise)

  • David Royce made four exits across four companies, using an asset-sale strategy and a 4-year cash buffer framework.

  • His first company, Moxie, nearly went bankrupt, teaching him that cash was king during a crisis.

  • He flew his dying father by private jet to Cedars-Sinai, enabled by one CEO WhatsApp call.

EXTRAS

• Lebanese living on the edge of Israel's occupation face fear & tension (AP)
  ^{_{More: WTOP, The Independent}}

  • Milia el-Cheikh's village of Dibbine is among several Shiite-majority Lebanese communities destroyed by Israeli forces battling Hezbollah.

  • The latest truce, part of the interim U.S.-Iran peace deal, appears to be holding for now.

  • Israel's military has pushed out the mostly Shiite population, believing they harbor Hezbollah, demolishing many towns.

• Keiko Fujimori has secured an unbeatable lead in Peru's presidential election (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Straits Times, AOL}}

  • Fujimori holds 50.11% of the votes, leading leftist rival Roberto Sanchez by 43,386 votes with a few remaining.

  • Her expected win deepens Latin America's rightward shift, following Colombia's election of Abelardo De La Espriella.

  • Sanchez alleged "fraud was underway" without evidence and said he would refuse to recognize the results.

• Mamdani's progressive slate has swept New York's Democratic primaries, ousting two incumbents (PBS)
  ^{_{More: AP, NBC, Reuters}}

  • Mamdani's slate of progressives ousted two sitting congressmen in a show of force for the democratic socialist.

  • Reps. Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman were defeated by Mamdani-backed challengers Darializa Avila Chevalier and Brad Lander.

  • The wins give Mamdani three new congressional allies and rebuke establishment figures like Hakeem Jeffries.

AND MORE

• Ribbie converts live baseball statistics into arcade-like broadcasts rendered in pixel art.

• FedEx has posted strong quarterly earnings results driven by its freight business.

• Hire vetted LATAM engineers in as little as five days, and save up to 70% on salary costs.*

• Menlo Ventures has raised a victorious $3B fund after betting on Anthropic.

• Cerebras fell 10% after the chipmaker forecast shrinking margins in first earnings.

• How to invest your money wisely when everything is moving too fast.

• Beijing is summoning executives again, but this causes less worry than 2021.