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

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

🛢️ Oil climbs above $98 after Trump rejects Iran counteroffer.
🏭 Aramco Q1 profit jumps 25% on East-West pipeline capacity.
✈️ Boeing and Citigroup CEOs set to join Trump Beijing trip.
🎮 Nintendo hikes Switch 2 prices globally amid a memory crunch.
🚀 SpaceX targets Starship Flight 12 launch window May 12.

TECHNOLOGY

• Nintendo hikes Switch 2 prices and expects console sales to decline as memory crunch bites (CNBC) 

  ^{_{More: Nintendo Life, Nippon.com, Nintendo Everything}} 

  • The US price rises to $499.99 from $50 on September 1, while Japan jumps 10,000 yen on May 25.

  • Nintendo forecast 16.5 million Switch 2 units for fiscal 2027, a decline from 19.86 million in the prior year.

  • Memory chips used in Switch 2 consoles have spiked amid the global AI data center buildout, putting pressure on component costs.

• We're feeling cynical about xAI's big deal with Anthropic (TechCrunch) _{^{More: Al Jazeera, Axios, Simon Willison}} 

  • Anthropic is taking over all computing at xAI's Colossus 1 facility in Memphis, gaining over 220,000 Nvidia GPUs.

  • Elon Musk indicated plans to dissolve xAI as a separate entity and rebrand the operation as SpaceXAI.

  • The arrangement reframes xAI as a neocloud rental business heading into SpaceX's expected $1.75T IPO.

• Google's Android show returns May 12 ahead of I/O 2026 (CNET via MSN) 

  ^{_{More: 9to5Google, Android Authority, Google I/O}} 

  • The Android Show streams Tuesday at 10 a.m. PT, one week before Google I/O opens May 19 at Shoreline Amphitheater.

  • Expected updates include Android 17, Wear OS, expanded Gemini integration, and new on-device agentic features.

  • Google is also expected to preview Aluminum OS, the unified Android and ChromeOS platform, Sameer Samat confirmed for 2026.

BUSINESS

• Saudi Aramco Q1 profit jumps 26% as key pipeline reaches capacity (CNBC) 

  ^{_{More: Rigzone, Washington Times, Zawya}} 

  • Adjusted net income of $33.6B beat the $31.2B analyst consensus, driven by higher oil prices and stable production.

  • The East-West pipeline hit maximum capacity of 7 million barrels per day, helping bypass the choked Strait of Hormuz.

  • Aramco declared a $21.9B dividend, up 3.5% year over year, and reported free cash flow of $18.6B for the quarter.

• Boeing, Citigroup CEOs set to join Trump on China visit next week (CNBC) 

  _{^{More: South China Morning Post, Semafor, Bloomberg}} 

  • Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser will join Trump's May 14-15 Beijing visit, sources told CNBC.

  • Reports point to a possible 500-jet 737 MAX order plus 100 widebodies, breaking a near-decade Chinese order drought.

  • The agenda spans trade, rare earths, Taiwan, the Iran war, and a potential AI risk framework between Washington and Beijing.

• Constellation Reports First Quarter 2026 Results (Business Wire) 

  _{^{More: Stocktitan, TIKR, TradingView}} 

  • Q1 GAAP net income hit $1.59B versus $118M a year earlier, with adjusted operating earnings of $2.74 per share.

  • Constellation affirmed its full-year 2026 adjusted operating earnings guidance range of $11.00 to $12.00 per share.

  • The Calpine integration drove much of the step-up as nuclear and gas assets benefit from rising AI data center demand.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Trump calls Iran's response to US proposal 'totally unacceptable' (CNN)

  _{^{More: CBS News, Yahoo Finance, Al Jazeera}} 

  • Tehran's counter-proposal demanded sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, war compensation, and full sanctions relief.

  • Brent climbed as much as 3.5% to $104.80 a barrel as Trump declared the response "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE" on Truth Social.

  • Iran's foreign ministry called its own terms "reasonable" and "generous," signaling the diplomatic gap remains wide.

• China Confirms Xi-Trump Summit After Delay Linked to Iran War (Bloomberg) 

  ^{_{More: South China Morning Post, Washington Post, CSIS}} 

  • Beijing officially set the state visit for May 13-15, the first US presidential trip to China in nearly nine years.

  • Topics include rare earth exports, fentanyl precursors, Taiwan, AI safety, and Chinese cooperation on the Hormuz blockade.

  • Trump will reportedly attend a state banquet and visit the Temple of Heaven during the two-day diplomatic program.

• Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of violating the U.S.-brokered three-day ceasefire (PBS News) 

  ^{_{More: NPR, Pravda Trump, Albert Mohler}} 

  • Zelenskyy said Russia was "not even particularly trying" to observe the May 9-11 Victory Day truce brokered by Trump.

  • Russia's defense ministry accused Ukraine of more than 1,000 ceasefire violations, citing front-line drone and artillery activity.

  • One civilian was killed, and 19 were injured across multiple Ukrainian regions during the supposed 72-hour pause in hostilities.

FUTURISM

• SpaceX aims for mid-May Starship Flight 12 launch with revised trajectory (NASASpaceFlight) 

  _{^{More: NextBigFuture, RocketLaunch.Live, New Space Tracker}} 

  • The launch window opens Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. CT from Orbital Launch Pad 2 at Starbase, Texas.

  • Flight 12 debuts the Version 3 Starship and Super Heavy stack, with a payload capacity exceeding 100 metric tons to LEO.

  • SpaceX is targeting a suborbital splashdown profile rather than a booster catch to validate the new V3 architecture.

• Anthropic and SpaceX explore orbital AI compute capacity (Axios)

  ^{_{More: Al Jazeera, Simon Willison, TechCrunch}} 

  • The two companies expressed interest in jointly developing "multiple gigawatts of orbital AI compute capacity" in space.

  • Anthropic is gaining 300 megawatts and 220,000 Nvidia GPUs within a month through the Colossus 1 partnership.

  • Anthropic also rolled out Claude "dreaming," a research preview letting agents review work and update memory between sessions.

• NEO humanoid robot production scales for 2026 home deliveries (WCNC) 

  _{^{More: Humanoids Daily, Humanoid Press, Standard Bots}} 

  • 1X Technologies opened its 58,000 sq ft factory in Hayward, California, targeting 100,000 NEO units annually by 2027.

  • About 10,000 units were reserved within five days at $20,000 each, or $499 per month on the subscription plan.

  • NEO stands 5'6", weighs 66 pounds, and uses tendon-drive actuation plus teleoperation handoff for safe household tasks.

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CONTENT

• Elon's Anthropic Deal, The Next AI Monopoly?, FDA for AI Panic, Trading AI Markets (All-In Podcast) 

  • Chamath, Jason, Sacks, and Friedberg unpack the SpaceX-Anthropic compute partnership and what it means for the looming SpaceX IPO.

  • The besties debate whether Anthropic is the next great AI monopoly or whether early signals are a major investor overreaction.

  • The conversation closes with AI safety regulation, the rumored "FDA for AI" framework, and the White House's view of compute oversight.

• Notes on the xAI/Anthropic data center deal (Simon Willison) 

  • Willison reviews the Code w/ Claude keynote announcement that Anthropic is taking over all Colossus 1 compute capacity in Memphis.

  • The post details environmental concerns around Colossus, including gas turbines operating without Clean Air Act permits during buildout.

  • It also unpacks Musk's promise to reclaim compute if Anthropic engages in conduct he judges harmful to humanity.

• We're feeling cynical about xAI's big deal with Anthropic (TechCrunch Equity) 

  • Kirsten Korosec, Sean O'Kane, and Anthony Ha argue the deal turns xAI into a neocloud heading into the SpaceX IPO roadshow.

  • They dig into reports that SpaceX paid $250B for xAI and is now dissolving it as a separate entity called SpaceXAI.

  • The hosts question whether renting GPUs to a rival is a "major heat check" or a believable near-term revenue story for investors.

EXTRAS

• Hantavirus cruise ship passengers arrive in Omaha for quarantine evaluation (CNN) 

  ^{_{More: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Vindy, NPR}} 

  • At least 17 Americans landed at a Nebraska quarantine unit after evacuation from the hantavirus-stricken ship in Tenerife.

  • One passenger has tested positive for the virus, with another showing mild symptoms, according to US health officials.

  • The World Health Organization is tracing eight cases after three cruise passengers died and others fell ill on board.

• Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi transferred to Tehran hospital after collapsing (Vindy) 

  ^{_{More: NPR, CNN, Hawaii Tribune-Herald}} 

  • Mohammadi was granted a suspended sentence on bail after collapsing twice inside Zanjan prison earlier this month.

  • Her foundation called for her unconditional release and full dismissal of all charges, citing the need for specialized care.

  • Mohammadi has been imprisoned since December and remains an outspoken critic of Iran's clerical leadership amid the war.

• Trump administration may consider suspending federal gas tax for relief (CNN) 

  _{^{More: Yahoo Finance, PBS News, Charles Schwab}} 

  • Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday the administration is weighing a gas tax pause to ease consumer pressure.

  • AAA's national average gas price has climbed to $4.52 per gallon amid ongoing oil supply disruptions from the war.

  • The discussion follows new factory order data and concerns that energy shocks could weigh on US consumer sentiment.

AND MORE

• Aviation Week previewed the hybrid-electric Shepard development and Leonardo's advanced tiltrotor for the week.

• Gartner forecasts Australian public cloud spending will exceed A$33.6 billion in 2026, up 17.9%.

• Britain dispatched the HMS Dragon warship to the Middle East to support a multinational mine-clearance mission near Hormuz.

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

• India's Sensex tanked 1,313 points as Brent crude pushed past $105, pressuring importers.

• Australia's CSL plunged 16% to a decade low after slashing guidance and flagging a $5B impairment writedown.

• Modi urged Indian citizens to reduce their consumption of imported gold, petrol, and edible oil amid the energy crunch.

• The remains of Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr. were recovered off Morocco during African Lion military exercises.

• Vermont's legislature passed HB 814, which covers neurological rights and AI in health and human services delivery.