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

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

🧠 Two more senior Google AI researchers are defecting to rival Anthropic.
💾 The memory chip shortage is paying off handsomely for U.S. maker Micron.
📉 Elon Musk lost trillionaire status after a tech sell-off erased billions.
📊 Cerebras CEO says its margin forecast was 'misunderstood' as stock plummets.
🌎 Earthquakes in Venezuela kill at least 32 & injure 700 near Caracas.

TECHNOLOGY

• Two more senior Google AI researchers are defecting to rival Anthropic (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, LA Times, Yahoo!}}

  • Top researchers Jonas Adler and Alexander Pritzel are leaving Google for Anthropic, having helped develop Gemini.

  • Recent exits include Noam Shazeer, who left for OpenAI, and DeepMind's John Jumper, also joining Anthropic.

  • As OpenAI and Anthropic near IPOs, equity offers could continue to lure top AI talent away from Google.

• The memory chip shortage is paying off handsomely for U.S. maker Micron (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Business Insider, Business Times, Yahoo!}}

  • The AI boom has caused a severe memory chip shortage that some predict could persist through 2027.

  • Micron, the largest U.S. memory chip maker, now has a $1.2T market cap, up sharply from 2024.

  • Third-quarter revenue quadrupled to $41.45B, and profit jumped to $28.2B, sending shares soaring more than 13%.

• Facebook launches a stand-alone AI companion app to help creators (Firstpost)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Tech Buzz}}

  • Facebook is reimagining its Creator Studio tool as a stand-alone AI companion app to help creators grow audiences.

  • Meta wants to keep creators active on Facebook as it competes against rivals like TikTok and YouTube.

  • The app, tested with select creators, includes an assistant offering personalized recommendations based on style and performance.

BUSINESS

• Elon Musk lost trillionaire status after a tech sell-off erased billions (FOX)
  ^{_{More: Forbes, TechCrunch, The Guardian}}

  • When SpaceX went public this month, Musk briefly became the world's first trillionaire and celebrated triumphantly.

  • Stock prices fluctuated, so he now holds only several hundred billion dollars, per Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.

  • The piece mocks his predicament, joking about how he will support his large brood and pronatalist ambitions.

• Cerebras CEO says its margin forecast was 'misunderstood' as stock plummets (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, TechCrunch, Investing.com}}

  • Cerebras forecasts its core gross margin will narrow through 2026 in its first results as a public company.

  • CEO Andrew Feldman said the chipmaker is beating the plan set before its initial public offering.

  • A staggered lock-up expiration means some Cerebras shares become available for trading this week.

• Agility Robotics plans to go public via a SPAC in a $2.5B deal (WSJ)
  ^{_{More: AOL, TechCrunch, TNW}}

  • Agility Robotics plans to go public by merging with Churchill Capital Corp XI at a $2.5B valuation.

  • The deal should generate over $620M in proceeds, including about $200M from institutional investors.

  • Agility makes Digit, a bipedal robot used at nine customer sites, backed by Amazon, NVIDIA, and SoftBank.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Earthquakes in Venezuela kill at least 32 & injure 700 near Caracas (BBC)
  ^{_{More: The Guardian, CNN, Reuters}}

  • Back-to-back magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes killed at least 32 people and injured 700, says acting President Rodríguez.

  • Rescuers in Caracas are searching the rubble for survivors as buildings lose power and the metro closes.

  • The quakes struck west of the capital during a national holiday, felt as far as Bogota, Colombia.

• A powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off northern Japan, no tsunami warning (AP)
  ^{_{More: Washington Post, The Independent}}

  • A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off Iwate's eastern coast Thursday, but Japan's agency warned of no tsunami.

  • The quake hit an area of repeated strong tremors, including one triggering a December mega-quake advisory.

  • Striking during morning rush hour, it mildly shook Tokyo, with no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

• A dispute over nuclear inspections shows the U.S. & Iran negotiating publicly (PBS)
  ^{_{More: LA Times, AP}}

  • The U.N. nuclear chief said inspectors would visit Iran's enrichment sites under the interim U.S.-Iran deal.

  • An Iranian diplomat countered that any such visit would only follow a final deal, contradicting the claim.

  • Both sides agreed to a 60-day period for private talks but keep negotiating publicly, risking the ceasefire.

FUTURISM

• Deezer's new feature lets fans remix songs with the artist's consent (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, TNW}}

  • Deezer's new "Remix Lab" lets fans remix songs with artist consent, paying artists for every remix stream.

  • Unlike rivals using AI, Deezer offers in-app tools to adjust tempo, add reverb, or change genre.

  • Deezer opposes AI music, having built tools that detect AI tracks and exclude them from editorial playlists.

• Figma's new update adds code layers, animation support, & more AI features (The Verge)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, TNW}}

  • Figma's update adds a code layer, support for motion and shaders, and AI-built custom plug-ins.

  • The platform has long pursued code integration, launching Figma Make and integrations with Claude Code and Codex.

  • New code layers on the canvas help teams clone repositories and extract flows into design layers.

• Zoox upgrades its robotaxi as it nears commercial service launch (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: WSJ, TechCrunch, Business Insider}}

  • Amazon-owned Zoox revealed upgrades to its robotaxi's comfort and function, based on rider feedback, ahead of launch.

  • Core features remain: no steering wheel, a moonroof, 40 sensors, bidirectional driving, and seating for four.

  • The tweaks prepare the autonomous vehicle to shuttle thousands of riders when commercial service begins later this year.

• 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

• Brynn Putnam explains why video gaming's future returns to the dinner table (This Week in Startups)

  • Board CEO Brynn Putnam discusses her tabletop gaming console, raising hardware capital, and the screen-time debate with Jason.

  • She explains why Board manufactures in Mexico, not China, and how it approaches building family-friendly game IP.

  • Next, Heremus's AJ Piplica discusses hypersonic autonomous jets bridging rockets and airplanes for warfare and fast freight.

• Andrew Stanton reveals the secret behind wonderful, lasting Pixar storytelling (David Perell)

  • Andrew Stanton, Pixar's second animator, has directed Finding Nemo and WALL-E across 30 years at the studio.

  • He explains keeping Pixar's quality bar high, never writing down to kids, and gathering useful feedback.

  • Stanton also discusses making failure feel safe, writing good dialogue, and lessons drawn from silent films.

• 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.

EXTRAS

• The U.S. NTSB will investigate a fatal Tesla crash in Texas (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, The Guardian, TechCrunch}}

  • The NTSB will investigate last week's crash of a Tesla Model 3 that struck a Texas home.

  • The high-speed crash in Katy, Texas, fatally injured a 76-year-old grandmother pinned inside her home.

  • A lawsuit says the driver used Autopilot; the NHTSA is separately probing the same crash.

• AI was supposed to kill engineering jobs, but data shows surprising resilience (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: MEXC, Bitcoin World}}

  • Tech layoffs peaked in May with AI cited most often, yet hiring data tells a different story.

  • SignalFire found engineering was 2025's most resilient function, with hiring down only 11% versus 25% overall.

  • Engineers made up 55% of new hires across 12 tech majors in 2025, up from 46% in 2019.

• Trump-endorsed de la Espriella is declared winner of Colombia's presidential runoff (AP)
  ^{_{More: Washington Post, The Guardian}}

  • Conservative outsider Abelardo de la Espriella won Colombia's presidential runoff, electoral authorities declared on Wednesday.

  • The millionaire businessman, endorsed by Trump despite never holding office, beat progressive Iván Cepeda by one point.

  • The result rebuked outgoing President Petro, whose policies Cepeda had pledged to continue, including failed armed-group talks.

AND MORE

• Companies are scrambling to stop employees from maxing out AI budgets with small tasks.

• Sea drones are emerging as a crucial weapon to counter China.

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

• The former Infosys chief's new startup wants to challenge IT services.

• Pakistan, Iran's neighbor & U.S. ally, gains from acting as peacemaker.

• A new website names & shames companies still lacking passkey support.

• Trump pledges a rapid U.S. response after deadly earthquakes strike Venezuela.