Well we gotta talk about this tariff thing because the early indications are this could impact almost every nook and cranny of the tech industry. Could we get an announcement about TikTok within days? I think I figured out why CoreWeave’s stock popped back up. And how Nintendo plans to fight the scalpers.

Links:

• Trump’s New Tariffs Test Apple’s Global Supply Chain (NYTimes)
• Trump to Outline TikTok Deal Proposal, With ByteDance Retaining Stake (The Information)
• Google in Advanced Talks to Rent Nvidia AI Servers From CoreWeave (The Information)
• AI Video Startup Runway Valued at $3 Billion in Funding Round (Bloomberg)
• Amazon targets April 9 launch of first Kuiper internet satellites (Reuters)
• Nintendo’s Switch 2 preorder process has strict requirements to thwart scalpers (The Verge)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

All the details from the big Nintendo Switch 2 reveal this morning. Wikimedia says AI bots are increasing its costs by 50%. North Korean IT workers allegedy continue to go after remote IT jobs worldwide. Meta is reading its more ambitious, more expensive smartglasses for maybe later this year. And maybe the CoreWeave IPO wasn’t a bust?

Sponsors:

• Udacity.com/ride and promocode RIDE

Links:

• Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the U.S. (NYTimes)
• Everything announced at Nintendo’s Switch 2 Direct (Polygon)
• AI crawlers cause Wikimedia Commons bandwidth demands to surge 50% (TechCrunch)
• North Korean IT worker army expands operations in Europe (BleepingComputer)
• How Meta’s Upcoming $1,000+ Smart Glasses With a Screen Will Work (Bloomberg)
• Stablecoin issuer Circle files for IPO as public markets open to crypto (CNBC)
• CoreWeave shares rip nearly 42% higher, rising above IPO price (CNBC)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Masa Son came through for OpenAI, to the tune of a $40 billion dollar round at a $300 billion-dollar post-money valuation. Sam Altman says OpenAI is going back to open weights. A new encryption model for Gmail. A new movie strategy for Amazon. And why the Switch 2 represents a new revenue strategy for Nintendo.

Sponsors:

• FreshBooks.com

Links:

• OpenAI closes $40 billion funding round, largest private tech deal on record (CNBC)
• OpenAI Finalizes $40 Billion Funding at $300 Billion Value (Bloomberg)
• OpenAI plans to release a new ‘open’ AI language model in the coming months (TechCrunch)
• Gmail is making it easier for businesses to send encrypted emails to anyone (The Verge)
• Amazon’s New Movie Strategy Starts With Theaters (NYTimes)
• Nintendo Departs From Its Founding Philosophy With Switch 2 (Bloomberg)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Over the weekend Elon said that xAI has acquired X. Elon does love to blend his companies together. Tensions between SpaceX and Apple. Apple is working on a major Health app overhaul. And in this era of crypto ascendency, is Ethereum being left behind?

Links:

• Elon Musk says xAI has acquired X in deal that values social media site at $33 billion (CNBC)
• Musk’s xAI Startup Swallows Up X Social Network in Surprise Deal (Bloomberg)
• Amazon unveils Nova Act, an AI agent that can control a web browser (TechCrunch)
• Apple and Musk Clash Over Satellite Expansion Plans (WSJ)
• Apple Readies Its Biggest Push Into Health Yet With New AI Doctor (Bloomberg)
• Crypto’s Trumpian Embrace Is Leaving Bitcoin’s Big Rival Behind (Bloomberg)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Me On The Big Technology Podcast Talking This Week In Tech

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Silicon Valley is in more trouble than I think people are talking about...

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Move big moves in the gaming space. But we need to talk about that CoreWeave IPO. It. Didn’t. Go. Well. Facebook has a shocking idea: what if you could see what your friends were up to? Anthropic says it’s getting close to understanding how LLM’s actually work. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.

Sponsors:

• LinkedIn.com/ride

Links:

• ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Maker Ubisoft Jumps After Games Carve Out (Bloomberg)
• CoreWeave prices IPO at $40 a share, below expected range (CNBC)
• CoreWeave’s Shaky IPO Signal (The Information)
• Facebook Returns to Its Roots: Showing Posts From Friends and Family (NYTimes)
• Thoughts on setting policy for new AI capabilities (Joanne Jang)
• Anthropic makes a breakthrough in opening AI’s ‘black box’ (Fortune)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

• Yahoo Is Still Here—and It Has Big Plans for AI (Wired)
• Inside arXiv—the Most Transformative Platform in All of Science (Wired)

YouTube Video Of My Essay

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Everyone is using that new ChatGPT image generator to make Miyazaki memes. Google is taking Android development private. Are we seeing signs of an AI datacenter pullback? Now even you can do extra gig work for Instacart. And quantum computers seem to have cracked truly random random number generators.

Sponsors:

• Get the right life insurance for YOU, for LESS, at SELECTQUOTE.COM/RIDE
• Shopify.com/ride

Links:

• OpenAI’s viral Studio Ghibli moment highlights AI copyright concerns (TechCrunch)
• OpenAI CEO Responds to ChatGPT Users Creating Studio Ghibli-Style AI Images (Variety)
• Exclusive: Google will develop the Android OS fully in private, and here's why (AndroidAuthority)
• Microsoft Abandons Data Center Projects, TD Cowen Says (Bloomberg)
• China built hundreds of AI data centers to catch the AI boom. Now many stand unused. (MIT Technology Review)
• Apple chips will be made in US at faster pace, says TSMC (9to5Mac)
• Instacart will pay shoppers to take videos of store shelves (The Verge)
• JPMorgan Says Quantum Experiment Generated Truly Random Numbers (Bloomberg)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It’s all AI today basically. New Gemini “thinking” models. New “deep reasoning” agents for Copilot. But the really big news is the new image generator from OpenAI. Fidelity wants to get in the stablecoin business. And if Europe wants to create its own Starlink, it’s got some serious hurdles to overcome.

Links:

• OpenAI rolls out image generation powered by GPT-4o to ChatGPT (The Verge)
• Gemini 2.5 Pro is Google’s ‘most intelligent AI model’ with thinking built-in (9to5Google)
• Microsoft adds ‘deep reasoning’ Copilot AI for research and data analysis (The Verge)
• Fidelity plans to launch stablecoin in digital assets push (FT)
• ‘No substitute’: Europe’s battle to break Elon Musk’s stranglehold on the skies (FT)

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.