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

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

💾 AMD's data center surge powers a clean Q1 beat and raised guidance.
🤖 OpenAI rolls out GPT-5.5 Instant as ChatGPT's new default model.
🏛️ Romania's pro-EU government collapses after a sweeping no-confidence vote.
🗳️ Vivek Ramaswamy wins the GOP primary for Ohio governor.
🕊️ White House and Iran near a one-page memo to end the war.

TECHNOLOGY

• AMD Q1 2026 earnings report (CNBC) 

  _{^{More: Yahoo Finance, SEC, Shacknews}} 

  • AMD reported Q1 revenue of $10.25B and adjusted EPS of $1.37, both topping Wall Street estimates.

  • Lisa Su guided Q2 revenue near $11.2B, citing accelerating demand for inferencing and agentic AI workloads.

  • Shares jumped roughly 15% in extended trading as data center revenue grew 57% year over year.

• OpenAI releases GPT-5.5 Instant, a new default model for ChatGPT (TechCrunch) 

  ^{_{More: Axios, 9to5Mac, The New Stack}} 

  • OpenAI replaced GPT-5.3 Instant with GPT-5.5 Instant, citing 52.5% fewer hallucinations on high-stakes prompts.

  • The model can pull from past chats, files, and Gmail, with new controls that let users manage memory sources.

  • Rollout begins for all ChatGPT users, with paid tiers retaining access to GPT-5.3 Instant for three months.

• OpenAI opens ChatGPT ads to US as Google preps Meridian for GML 2026 (PPC Land) 

  ^{_{More: Adventureppc, Monks, Medical Marketing + Media}} 

  • OpenAI launched a beta self-serve Ads Manager for all US advertisers with cost-per-click bidding and pixel-based measurement.

  • Recommended starting bids range from $3 to $5 per click, with the original $50,000 minimum spend gate removed.

  • The move opens ChatGPT advertising to performance buyers, ending a closed pilot launched in February 2026.

BUSINESS

• AMD posts first-quarter results that beat estimates (Yahoo Finance)

  ^{_{More: INDmoney, Bitget, MarketBeat}} 

  • Free cash flow hit a record $2.6B in the quarter, up from $1.0B in the prior year as customers stockpiled accelerators.

  • Lisa Su highlighted a strengthening interest in the MI450 Series and Helios systems from large hyperscale customers.

  • The Q2 outlook of $11.2B implies roughly 46% year-over-year growth at a 56% non-GAAP gross margin.

• Disney to discuss fiscal Q2 2026 results before the bell on Wednesday (CNBC) 

  _{^{More: The Walt Disney Company, TradingView, Parameter}} 

  • Disney's report marks the first earnings call led by CEO Josh D'Amaro since taking over from Bob Iger in March.

  • Wall Street expects roughly $25B in revenue and $1.49 EPS, with streaming operating income near $500M.

  • Investors are focused on the direct-to-consumer margin trajectory toward Disney's full-year 10% target.

• Uber to release Q1 2026 results before the open on Wednesday (Uber)

  ^{_{More: Yahoo Finance, Alphastreet, TipRanks}} 

  • Analysts expect roughly $13.27B in revenue and $0.71 in adjusted EPS, with gross bookings near $52.9B.

  • The company guided Q1 adjusted EBITDA of $2.37B to $2.47B, with consumer spending under pressure amid fuel costs.

  • Investors will press for Waymo partnership economics and a third robotaxi city beyond Austin and Atlanta.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Romania PM Ilie Bolojan's government toppled in no-confidence vote (Al Jazeera) 

  ^{_{More: Euronews, Washington Times, KSAT}} 

  • Lawmakers backed the motion 281 to 4 after the Social Democrats and far-right AUR jointly submitted it.

  • The leu hit a record low against the euro, raising fresh concerns over Romania's already strained sovereign debt rating.

  • President Nicusor Dan must now rebuild a pro-EU coalition as Romania faces high deficits and a recession.

• US and Iran closing in on one-page memo to end war, Axios reports (Reuters via U.S. News) 

  ^{_{More: Axios, Al-Monitor, Iran International}}

  • The 14-point memorandum is being negotiated by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner with Iranian counterparts.

  • Iran would commit to a multi-year enrichment moratorium while the US gradually lifts sanctions and releases frozen funds.

  • Both sides would lift Strait of Hormuz restrictions over a 30-day window, with US officials awaiting an Iranian response.

• Vivek Ramaswamy wins GOP nomination for governor in Ohio (NBC News) 

  ^{_{More: NPR, Washington Post, WKYC}} 

  • Ramaswamy took roughly 82% of the GOP primary vote against political novice Casey Putsch.

  • He will face Democrat Amy Acton, the former state health director under Governor Mike DeWine, in November.

  • Cook Political Report has shifted the race from likely Republican to lean Republican, signaling a competitive contest.

FUTURISM

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

  ^{_{More: Basenor, Futurism, SpaceX}} 

  • Launch advisories show daily windows from May 12 through May 18, opening at 22:30 UTC each afternoon.

  • Booster 19 and Ship 39 will fly the first integrated test of the redesigned Version 3 stack with Raptor 3 engines.

  • The 408-foot vehicle is designed to carry over 100 tons to low Earth orbit, nearly triple V2's capacity.

• Panthalassa raises $140M to build floating data centers powered by wave energy (Tech Startups) 

  ^{_{More: The Tech Capital, StartupHub.ai, Eastern Herald}} 

  • Peter Thiel led the round, valuing the Pacific Northwest climate tech startup at nearly $1B.

  • Panthalassa pairs giant ocean buoys with onboard AI computing, sending data via low-Earth-orbit satellites.

  • Funds will finish a pilot manufacturing facility near Portland, with Ocean-3 commercial deployments planned by 2027.

• Fleet Data Centers closes $4.6B notes for Nevada AI facility (Tech Startups)
  ^{_{More: The Tech Capital, Yahoo Finance, Reuters via TheStreet}} 

  • Tract Capital backed the senior-secured notes issuance for a large-scale facility in Story County, Nevada.

  • The financing illustrates how capital markets are scaling to support AI infrastructure as a strategic asset class.

  • Data centers are increasingly tied to chips, power contracts, and model deployment rather than pure real estate.

• Launch your company's website lightning fast with Framer*

  • Speed without chaos: ship pages and updates faster without turning the site into a fragile set of one-off hacks

  • Reduce dependency: shift routine brand and marketing work out of product engineering queues.

  • Production-grade foundation: Run real marketing systems (CMS, SEO, performance optimization) with governance and collaboration.

CONTENT

• Why cultivating agency matters more than cultivating skills in the AI era (Lenny's Podcast) 

  • Notion head of product Max Schoening discusses how AI is reshaping how designers and PMs prototype, ship, and lead.

  • He explains why agency, not skills, separates people who thrive in the AI era from those who fall behind.

  • Schoening also unpacks his "tiny core" theory of great products, from iPhone multitouch to Notion blocks.

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

  • Chamath, Jason, Sacks, and Friedberg cover OpenAI's reported revenue miss and Codex's growing pressure on Claude.

  • The hosts dig into AI cybersecurity opportunities, the Musk versus Altman trial, and a vibecoding nightmare incident.

  • Friedberg recaps his Supreme Court appearance, while the group debates capex and the Retatrutide peptide craze.

• The Twenty Minute VC weekly with Harry, Jason, and Rory (20VC) 

  • Harry Stebbings, Jason Lemkin, and Rory O'Driscoll dissect the week's biggest deals and AI infrastructure shifts.

  • They debate Anthropic versus OpenAI revenue dynamics and what compute scarcity means for startup pricing power.

  • The trio also weighs in on SaaS exits, agent-led growth, and the disappearance of entry-level engineering roles.

EXTRAS

• The Met Gala raised a record $42 million as Silicon Valley picked up the tab (Fortune) 

  ^{_{More: CNN, What's Trending, Business of Fashion}} 

  • Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos served as honorary co-chairs and lead sponsors, contributing roughly $10M.

  • Amazon, Meta, OpenAI, Snapchat, and Shopify all bought tables at $350,000 each as tickets hit $100,000.

  • Protesters staged a Ball Without Billionaires event in the Meatpacking District as Mayor Mamdani skipped the gala.

• Republicans propose $1 billion to secure Trump ballroom (NBC News)

  ^{_{More: Fox News, CBS News, Washington Post}} 

  • Republican lawmakers proposed earmarking $1B in taxpayer funds to secure the new White House ballroom Trump is building.

  • Trump previously promised the project would be entirely funded through private corporate donations.

  • The proposal pivots to a security justification as construction proceeds and legal challenges mount.

• OpenAI rolls out self-serve ChatGPT ads to the US (PPC Land) 

  _{^{More: Adventureppc, Deftsoft, ALM Corp}} 

  • OpenAI's updated US privacy policy, dated April 30, formalized the sharing of advertiser purchase data and partner targeting.

  • Similarweb data, summarized by Search Engine Roundtable, shows that ChatGPT's overall click-through rate is 0.68%.

  • The launch keeps the existing $60 cost-per-mille model live alongside the new performance-oriented option.

AND MORE

• The White House is reportedly mulling a pre-release AI review order for frontier model developers.

• Israeli forces in southern Lebanon are entrenching deeper inside a self-declared security zone.

• A Pulitzer Prize was awarded to a Palestinian photographer for documenting the devastation and starvation in Gaza.

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

• Macron held a phone call with Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, regarding the reopening of Hormuz.

• DeepSeek's V4 launch is fueling demand for domestic Chinese AI chipmakers like Cambricon.

• Sandisk announced a $6B buyback after AI storage demand drove revenue to $5.95B.

• Ukraine countered Russia's truce by offering an earlier ceasefire window starting May 6.

• Reserv closed a $125M Series C led by KKR for AI claims automation in insurance.