China's renewable energy pivot isn't about climate — it's about national security. Plus: Middle East tensions, US-China trade escalation, and Latin America's emerging cyber battleground.

Today's stories connect energy, geopolitics, and the new global power map.

Part of Neel's Daily Season 2: Daily Brief.Voiced by Brian | Powered by Tavily + Claude AI.

Southeast Asian startups are learning a hard lesson in 2026's tighter funding climate — acquiring customers isn't enough. You have to prepare them for success first.

Part of Neel's Daily Season 2: Daily Brief.

Knowledge is being redefined — from boardrooms to classrooms, AI is forcing a rethink of what skills actually matter and who gets to shape the future of learning and work.

Part of Neel's Daily Season 2: Daily Brief.

You've covered AI technology, geopolitics, consulting, venture capital, and regulation. Now it all connects.

Today: The one thread tying every episode together — AI as a general purpose technology like electricity · The five things you should now know cold · How technology, money, geopolitics, regulation, and business impact all connect · What to watch as we move into live daily news.

You started this season as a beginner. You're not anymore. Season 2 — Daily Brief — starts tomorrow. Part of Neel's Daily Season 1: Foundation.

Governments are waking up to AI — and the regulatory battles being fought right now will shape the industry for decades.

Today: The EU AI Act — what it actually says and why Silicon Valley is furious · The US approach — voluntary commitments, wisdom or naivety? · China's tight control model · The copyright war — why every major AI company is being sued · India's regulatory opportunity and how to get it right.

Part of Neel's Daily Season 1: Foundation.

Not everything has to be about AI. Sometimes the most useful business knowledge comes from stories nobody bothers to explain properly.

Today: Why Costco's model is a masterclass every MBA gets wrong · The creator economy's dirty secret — 96% earn below minimum wage · The luxury paradox — why Hermès raises prices during recessions · The private equity playbook — what PE firms actually do to the companies they buy.

The stuff you'll use in conversations for years. Part of Neel's Daily Season 1: Foundation.

Anthropic raised $7.3 billion. OpenAI is valued at $157 billion. xAI closed $24 billion. Are these numbers justified — or is this 1999 all over again?

Today: The scale of AI investment in context · How VC logic works in an arms race · Why Nvidia, Azure, and AWS are the real winners regardless of which AI model wins · Where the next billion-dollar companies will be built · The honest bubble question — both sides, then a real view.

Part of Neel's Daily Season 1: Foundation.

Interest rates, inflation, the US debt situation, China's slowdown, India's moment — it's all connected. Here's the mental model.

Today: Why the last two years in global markets have been historically unusual · The US economy under the hood · China's property crisis and deflation risk · Why India is being called the next growth engine — what's real and what's hype · How macro shapes client decisions and deal flow for consultants.

Part of Neel's Daily Season 1: Foundation.

Chatbots were just the beginning. The real shift is AI that takes actions — and it's already here.

Today: What an AI agent actually is, walked through step by step · AutoGPT, LangChain, CrewAI — what worked and what didn't · Anthropic's Model Context Protocol and why it matters · What a knowledge worker's day looks like when agents can use computers.

This is the episode that changes how you think about your job. Part of Neel's Daily Season 1: Foundation.

McKinsey, BCG, and Bain have survived every technological shift for 50 years. This one might be different.

Today: What consultants do that AI can now do · What the big firms are really doing with AI internally (not the PR version) · What AI genuinely cannot replace · What market research looks like in 2 years — the skills that survive and the ones that don't.

Your moat is the question. This episode helps you answer it. Part of Neel's Daily Season 1: Foundation.