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

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

🎮 GameStop launches a $56B cash-and-stock takeover bid for eBay.
✈️ Spirit Airlines abruptly ceases operations, stranding passengers and 17,000 workers.
🍏 Apple discontinues the $599 Mac mini amid AI memory shortages.
🤖 Meta acquires Assured Robot Intelligence to accelerate humanoid AI plans.
🛢️ Trump launches Project Freedom to escort ships through Hormuz.

TECHNOLOGY

• Apple Raises Mac Mini's Starting Price to $799 After AI Frenzy Drains Supply (Bloomberg) 

  _{^{More: MacRumors, Fortune, 9to5Mac}} 

  • Apple has discontinued the 256GB base Mac mini, lifting the entry price to $799 with 512GB storage.

  • CEO Tim Cook tied the move to AI-driven memory shortages and warned of significantly higher component costs.

  • Cook said it may take several months to bring Mac mini and Mac Studio supply back into balance.

• Pentagon tech chief says Anthropic is still blacklisted, but Mythos is a separate issue (CNBC) 

  _{^{More: CNN, The Washington Post, TechCrunch}} 

  • The Defense Department signed classified network deals with seven AI vendors, deliberately leaving Anthropic off the list.

  • OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, AWS, Nvidia, SpaceX, and Reflection AI all agreed to the lawful use clause.

  • Pentagon CTO Emil Michael called Anthropic's Mythos cyber model a separate national security issue.

• Roblox shares plummet 18% as child safety measures weigh on bookings (CNBC) 

  ^{_{More: The Motley Fool, TechBuzz, Outlook Respawn}} 

  • Roblox cut full-year 2026 bookings guidance to between $7.33B and $7.6B, nearly $1B lower.

  • Mandatory age verification slowed new user growth and curbed communication features tied to viral engagement.

  • The company faces over 140 federal lawsuits alleging it failed to prevent child exploitation on its platform.

BUSINESS

• GameStop makes $56 billion takeover bid for eBay (Reuters via Investing.com) 

  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, CNBC, Fortune}}

  • GameStop offered $125 per eBay share, split evenly between cash and stock, valuing the deal near $55.5B.

  • CEO Ryan Cohen said he would take the bid directly to shareholders if eBay's board refuses to engage.

  • The company has built a 5% stake in eBay and secured a $20B debt commitment letter from TD Bank.

• Spirit Airlines is closing down. Thousands of employees and travelers are impacted. (NBC News) 

  _{^{More: CNN, NPR, CNBC}} 

  • Spirit ceased global operations at 3 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday after a $500M bailout deal collapsed.

  • The shutdown stranded thousands of passengers and put 17,000 employees and contractors out of work.

  • Spirit is the first major U.S. airline to fail in 25 years, citing fuel costs and competition.

• Trump says he's raising EU auto tariffs to 25% (CNBC) 

  _{^{More: Al Jazeera, Euronews, France 24}} 

  • President Trump said he will raise tariffs on European cars and trucks to 25% next week.

  • Trump accused the EU of failing to comply with last summer's Turnberry auto trade agreement.

  • Mercedes, BMW, and Volkswagen are most exposed, with European stocks selling off in response.

MARKETS

WORLD

• 'Project Freedom': Trump's plan to 'guide' ships through Hormuz leaves many questions unanswered (CNN) 

  _{^{More: Axios, CNBC, Gulf News}} 

  • U.S. Central Command launched Project Freedom on Monday with destroyers, 100-plus aircraft, and 15,000 personnel.

  • Iran's parliament security chief warned that the operation violates the April ceasefire and could trigger a response.

  • A tanker was struck by projectiles 78 nautical miles north of Fujairah hours before the mission began.

• Iran submits a 14-point response to a U.S. proposal to end the war (NPR) 

  _{^{More: Al Jazeera, CNBC, The Jerusalem Post}} 

  • Iran's plan demands ending the war within 30 days, lifting sanctions, and U.S. troop withdrawal from the region.

  • Tehran also seeks the release of frozen assets, war reparations, and a new mechanism governing the Strait of Hormuz.

  • Trump told Israeli outlet Kan News that the Iranian proposal was studied and is not acceptable.

• WHO Says Risk to Public Is Low After Suspected Hantavirus Outbreak Hits Ship (Reuters via U.S. News) 

  ^{_{More: CNN, NBC News, RTÉ}} 

  • Three passengers died and three fell ill aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship anchored off Cape Verde.

  • Lab work confirmed one hantavirus case among six suspected, with one patient in South African intensive care.

  • The Dutch-flagged ship sailed from Argentina via Antarctica, with Cape Verde refusing to allow disembarkation.

FUTURISM

• Meta Acquires Robotics AI Company to Help Build Humanoid Technology (Bloomberg) 

  _{^{More: TechCrunch, Engadget, PYMNTS}} 

  • Meta closed its purchase of Assured Robot Intelligence, a startup building foundation models for humanoids.

  • The ARI team, including co-founders Lerrel Pinto and Xiaolong Wang, joins Meta's Superintelligence Labs.

  • Meta wants to license open humanoid software, mirroring how Google built Android for smartphones.

• Japan Airlines begins humanoid robot trials at Tokyo's Haneda airport as labor shortages bite (CNBC) 

  _{^{More: eWEEK, New Atlas, Future Travel Experience}} 

  • JAL Ground Service and GMO AI partnered to test humanoid robots for baggage handling and cabin cleaning.

  • The trial uses Unitree machines at Haneda Airport, running through 2028 in phased verification stages.

  • Japan's aging workforce and surging tourist arrivals are pushing aviation toward the use of physical AI labor.

• SoftBank reportedly weighs $100 billion valuation for new AI and robotics spinout in potential U.S. IPO (CNBC) 

  _{^{More: TechCrunch, The Daily Upside, Capacity}}

  • SoftBank is bundling ABB Robotics, Ampere Computing, and DigitalBridge into a new entity called Roze.

  • The company would deploy autonomous robots to build AI data centers, targeting a $100B U.S. IPO.

  • Masayoshi Son aims for a second-half 2026 listing, with KPMG handling preparations.

• 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.

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CONTENT

• OpenAI Misses Targets, Codex vs Claude, Elon vs Sam Trial, Big Hyperscaler Beats, Peptide Craze (All-In Podcast) 

  • Chamath, Sacks, Calacanis, and Friedberg dissect OpenAI's revenue miss, Codex's gains, and Anthropic's Claude.

  • The hosts unpack week one of the Musk versus Altman trial and the expansion of the AI cybersecurity market.

  • They also cover hyperscaler capex, vibe coding mishaps, retatrutide peptides, and Friedberg's Supreme Court visit.

• Head of Growth (Anthropic): "Claude is growing itself at this point" | Amol Avasare (Lenny's Podcast) 

  • Amol Avasare details how Anthropic scaled from $1B in annual recurring revenue to over $19B in 14 months.

  • He explains CASH, an internal Claude system that automates growth experiments and onboarding decisions for the team.

  • The conversation covers cold emailing at Anthropic, big bet allocation, and why activation matters most in AI.

• How Anthropic's product team moves faster than anyone else | Cat Wu (Lenny's Podcast) 

  • Cat Wu, Head of Product for Claude Code and Cowork, explains how shipping cycles compressed from months to days.

  • She shares the launch room process, why personality matters for Claude, and emerging skills product managers need now.

  • Wu argues teams should build for the next model, not the current one, and prioritize speed over polished strategy.

EXTRAS

• Rudy Giuliani in 'critical' condition in hospital, spokesman says (NBC News) 

  ^{_{More: CNN, CBS News, ABC News}} 

  • Spokesperson Ted Goodman said the 81-year-old former New York mayor is in critical but stable condition.

  • The statement did not specify a cause, though Giuliani sounded raspy and coughed during Friday's livestream.

  • President Trump confirmed the hospitalization and praised Giuliani as a true warrior on Truth Social.

• Crowd shrinks as Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO leads the annual meeting for the first time Saturday (AP via ClickOrlando) 

  ^{_{More: WOWT, CNBC, News4Jax}} 

  • CEO Greg Abel led the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, his first as chief executive officer.

  • Attendance fell roughly a third, with shareholders saying many came mostly to see Warren Buffett.

  • Abel brought in BNSF Railway and NetJets executives, while Buffett took questions in a separate session.

• Musk's testimony dominated the first week of the Musk v. Altman trial in Oakland (CNBC) 

  _{^{More: The Washington Post, MIT Technology Review, NPR}} 

  • Musk testified for three days, telling jurors that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman stole from a charity.

  • He admitted that xAI is trained on OpenAI models, drawing audible reactions in the Oakland federal courtroom.

  • Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers split the trial into liability and remedies phases, with the liability phase ending on May 21.

AND MORE

• The U.S. Navy denied Iranian state media reports that two missiles hit a U.S. frigate near Hormuz on Monday.

• The average U.S. gas price jumped to $4.45 a gallon, a 49% rise since the start of the war.

• Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's plane made an emergency landing in Ankara en route to a European Political Community meeting.

• Two U.S. service members went missing in Morocco during the African Lion multinational military exercise this weekend.

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• A bulk carrier and a UAE-flagged tanker were attacked near Hormuz in two strikes within eight hours.

• Al Jazeera profiled El Salvador's Nayib Bukele, the world's coolest dictator, after term limits were scrapped last year.

• A Chinese court ruled that firms cannot lay off workers on the grounds of artificial intelligence, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.

• SpaceX is targeting Starship Flight 12 for mid-May, the first launch of the V3 vehicle from Starbase.