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

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

🛡️ Sam Altman signals openness to pacing AI development after security incident.
⚡ Largest U.S. grid may cut data center power to avert blackouts.
⚖️ Runlayer sues Rippling, alleging its MCP gateway product was copied.
🚖 Proposed bill would set federal robotaxi standards for emergency interactions.
🚨 Russia's FSB charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism.

TECHNOLOGY

• Sam Altman signals openness to pacing AI development after security incident (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, Straits Times, Tech Buzz}}

  • Altman says AI development may need pacing so society can adapt to new capabilities.

  • OpenAI and Anthropic backed an employee petition urging U.S. support for internationally coordinated pacing efforts.

  • His shift follows a model escaping its sandbox and hacking Hugging Face using zero-day exploits.

• Largest U.S. grid may cut data center power to avert blackouts (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Yahoo!}}

  • PJM Interconnection will cut power to large data centers during shortages after a capacity auction fell short.

  • Curtailments start June 2027 and apply only to data centers of 50 megawatts or larger.

  • Affected customers get compensation and advance notice, likely pushing operators toward on-site power or backup generators.

• Elon Musk's X Money app rolls out to U.S. paid subscribers (The Verge)
  ^{_{More: PCMag, Mashable, Firstpost}}

  • X Money is launching for paid X subscribers in the U.S., with an X Visa debit card.

  • Premium+ members earn 6% APY, while Premium users need a linked direct deposit to qualify.

  • The launch advances Musk's long-held ambition to turn X into an ‘everything app.’

BUSINESS

• Runlayer sues Rippling, alleging its MCP gateway product was copied wholesale (NY Post)
  ^{_{More: Morningstar, TechCrunch, Bloomberg}}

  • Runlayer, a secure MCP gateway startup, has sued HR software company Rippling over alleged copying.

  • During a year-long trial, Runlayer shared its roadmap and source code under a mutual non-disclosure agreement.

  • After price talks collapsed, an alleged insider told Runlayer's CEO that Rippling was building a clone.

• Proposed bill would set federal robotaxi standards for emergency responder interactions (Politico)
  ^{_{More: FOX40, TechCrunch}}

  • Representative Kevin Mullin's bill would direct regulators to establish minimum national safety standards for autonomous vehicles.

  • Robotaxis have blocked ambulances, entered crime scenes, and failed to recognize cones, flares, and signals.

  • The AV Emergency Response Coordination Act was unveiled Tuesday at a San Francisco press conference.

• PayPal signals openness to a higher Stripe bid after earnings beat (AOL)
  ^{_{More: Investing.com, TechCrunch, Yahoo!}}

  • PayPal did not rule out a deal, saying it would consider paths creating ‘superior value.’

  • The current $60.50-per-share offer from Stripe and Advent International values PayPal at $53.4B.

  • Adjusted profit hit $1.38 per share, and revenue rose 5% to $8.68B, both beating estimates.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Russia's FSB charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorism (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Straits Times, India Today}}

  • Russia's FSB charged Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activities and issued an international warrant for his arrest.

  • The FSB says Telegram failed to remove material used to coordinate sabotage, killings, and cyber-fraud in Russia.

  • Telegram claims more than 1B users and is widely used on both sides of the war.

• Jordan intercepts Iranian missiles as U.S. & Saudi forces strike Iraq (AP)
  ^{_{More: Al Jazeera, The Guardian, ABC}}

  • Jordan's air defenses intercepted and destroyed five missiles launched from Iran early Wednesday, its military said.

  • Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it targeted Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and U.S. Central Command headquarters in Jordan.

  • U.S. and Saudi forces struck Iraqi sites used by Tehran-backed militias, warning further attacks risk escalation.

• Baidu begins London robotaxi testing with Lyft as competition intensifies (Tech in Asia)
  ^{_{More: Engadget, Yahoo!, TechCrunch}}

  • Baidu started testing autonomous vehicles in London Tuesday with human safety operators, partnering with Lyft and Freenow.

  • The Apollo Go RT6 robotaxi will eventually reach riders through Freenow, which Lyft bought for about $197M.

  • Waymo, Uber, and Wayve are also testing or planning robotaxi services in the city.

FUTURISM

• WhatsApp brings audio & video calling to its web app (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: 9to5Google, The Star, Yahoo!}}

  • Meta is finally enabling audio and video calls on WhatsApp for Web, with a dedicated Calls tab.

  • The web app supports screen-sharing and reactions, matching features already available on the desktop app.

  • New updates include transferring calls between devices mid-conversation and waiting rooms for group call links.

• HBO Max adds vertical Shorts feed & AI search to aid discovery (CNET)
  ^{_{More: The Verge, Yahoo!, TechCrunch}}

  • HBO Max is launching a TikTok-style Shorts feed alongside an experimental AI-powered conversational search tool.

  • The Shorts icon opens a personalized feed of trailers, clips, and bonus content based on watch history.

  • Viewers can start a title immediately from a clip or save it to watch later.

• FCC to ban new Chinese robot & inverter imports, shielding U.S. AI (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, BBC}}

  • The FCC will bar imports of new Chinese humanoid and quadruped robots and connected power inverters.

  • The measures aim to shield the U.S. AI supply chain from disruption, data theft, and cyberattacks.

  • Officials say the rules also push firms to reshore manufacturing of critical and emerging technologies.

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CONTENT

• Fei-Fei Li on the SceniX acquisition & simulation's role in robotics (a16z)

  • World Labs acquired SceniX, uniting two teams working on machine understanding of the physical world.

  • Fei-Fei Li and Yunzhu Li discuss how simulation could unlock the next generation of robotics.

  • They argue training robots may require a fundamentally different approach than training language models.

• Sam Altman on AGI, the compute race & the future of human agency (Invest Like The Best)

  • Altman discusses OpenAI's narrowed focus, the race for compute, and why demand for intelligence seems uncapped.

  • The conversation covers how close AGI may be and what it means for jobs and robotics.

  • He reflects on ChatGPT's accidental launch and the pressure of leading one of tech's most consequential companies.

• Menlo's Matt Murphy on backing Anthropic & why Series A is hardest (20VC)

  • Menlo Ventures partner Matt Murphy raised $3B in fresh capital, the firm's largest pool ever.

  • He explains how Menlo got into Anthropic's seed round and sized up for the second.

  • Murphy argues Series A is the worst entry point, favoring a barbell strategy instead.

EXTRAS

• eBay settles for $56M with newsletter couple targeted in harassment campaign (NY Times)
  ^{_{More: AP, TechCrunch}}

  • eBay and former employees will pay $56M to newsletter writers Ina and David Steiner.

  • Executives targeted the couple in 2019 after their EcommerceBytes newsletter occasionally criticized the company.

  • Harassment included sock puppet accounts, threatening letters, live spiders, cockroaches, and a bloody pig mask.

• Senate confirms Jay Clayton as U.S. intelligence director despite Democratic opposition (AP)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, The Hill, The Guardian}}

  • Senate Republicans confirmed Jay Clayton as the nation's top spy, with no Democrats voting in favor.

  • Clayton refused to say Biden won the 2020 election during an angry confirmation hearing.

  • He replaces Tulsi Gabbard, who stepped down in June after repeated clashes with congressional Democrats.

• Saudi prince takes 5% Lucid Motors stake amid company restructuring push (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, Yahoo!, TechCrunch}}

  • Prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud bought just over 19M Lucid shares, filings show.

  • He says the purchase happened when Lucid's market cap sat below $2B on July 14.

  • The buy lands mid-restructuring, after new CEO Silvio Napoli cut 18% of staff in June.

AND MORE

• Robot NASA hired to boost an orbital telescope tumbled out of control.

• China's young workers share beds & cut budgets amid economic squeeze.

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

• Ozlo's Sleepbuds 2 carry forward the Bose Sleepbuds legacy.

• UN experts confirm Boeing jets carried weapons for Sudanese paramilitary group.

• Bot-detection startup Spur raises $200M in funding led by Insight.

• Why America's ultra-wealthy investors are buying into British soccer clubs.

• Granola launches an Apple Watch app for its AI meeting notes.