Is the UK government about to force Apple to put backdoors into all of our iPhones? Tallying up the Tech Earnings week of CAPEX announcements. We might get a new iPhone next week. The Weekend Longreads suggestions. And listen to the end of the show cause I’m running an experiment.

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Links:

• U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts (Washington Post)
• Amazon plans to spend $100 billion this year to capture ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ in AI (CNBC)
• Tech Giants Double Down on Their Massive AI Spending (WSJ)
• Apple’s Long-Awaited Overhaul of iPhone SE Nears Release (Bloomberg)
• Softbank set to invest $40 billion in OpenAI at $260 billion valuation, sources say (CNBC)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

• How is Fortnite's Attempt to Become the YouTube of Gaming Going? (Posting Nexus)
• The Sims Turned Players Into Gods. And Farmers. And Vampires. And Landlords. (NYTimes)

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Now researchers say they have trained a cutting edge AI model for… checks notes… $50. Not $50 million dollars. $50. Dollars. Get ready for the superbowl of AI ads. Amazon has scheduled an Alexa AI event. And also, why does Amazon fail so hard when it comes to physical retail?

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• Oracle.com/techmeme

Links:

• Researchers created an open rival to OpenAI’s o1 ‘reasoning’ model for under $50 (TechCrunch)
• Google Kills Diversity Hiring Targets (WSJ)
• Google Unwinds Employee Diversity Goals, Citing Trump’s D.E.I. Orders (NYTimes)
• OpenAI Set to Make Super Bowl Ad Debut (WSJ)
• OpenAI to Air Its First Super Bowl Ad (AdWeek)
• Amazon's AI revamp of Alexa assistant nears unveiling (Reuters)
• Bill banning social media for youngsters advances (Politico)
• Trump's de minimis cancellation is bad news for Temu, but worse for Shein (Reuters)
• Amazon, King of Online Retail, Can’t Seem to Make Its Physical Stores Work (WSJ)

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Temu And Shein got a reprieve from the USPS, but they are still in deep, deep trouble. I’ll explain why. Alphabet earnings disappoint their investors but cheer investors of Nvidia. Google and Meta going in different directions when it comes to AI. And why are people increasingly refusing to pay ransomware?

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Links:

• USPS Resumes Accepting Packages From China After Unexpected Suspension (Wired)
• Google expects to spend $75 billion this year on the AI race (The Verge)
• Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance (The Washington Post)
• Meta says it may stop development of AI systems it deems too risky (TechCrunch)
• After a bruising year, Sonos readies its next big thing: a streaming box (The Verge)
• 35% Year-over-Year Decrease in Ransomware Payments, Less than Half of Recorded Incidents Resulted in Victim Payments (Chainalysis)
• Apple Launches New 'Invites' App (MacRumors)

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Is the US government about to get into, or at least, heavily impact the VC investing business? Apparently, the trade war with China is still on. The resurrection of Twitterific. And how Spotify has quietly stopped investing, and started getting real about profitability.

Sponsors:

• LinkedIn.com/ride

Links:

• Trump Signs Executive Action to Create Sovereign Wealth Fund (Bloomberg)
• China Hits Back Against Trump’s Tariffs With Targeted Actions (Bloomberg)
• China targets Google, Nvidia and Intel as Trump tariffs bite (Financial Times)
• Twitterrific team launches new ‘Tapestry’ iPhone app for Bluesky, Mastodon, RSS, more (9to5Mac)
• Opera’s new browser might save you from doomscrolling (The Verge)
• Spotify Reports First Full-Year Profit (WSJ)

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OpenAI unveils Deep Research, an AI agent just for that. I’ll explain. Are Shein and Temu first up to feel the brunt of the new Trump tariffs? Apple canceled the AR project I assumed they would be pivoting toward. And the Beatles won a Grammy last night with the first AI augmented song to ever win a Grammy.

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Links:

• OpenAI unveils a new ChatGPT agent for ‘deep research’ (TechCrunch)
• Trump Targets Loophole Temu, Shein Used to Take On Amazon (Bloomberg)
• Shein to Face EU Consumer Law Probe Under E-Commerce Crackdown (Bloomberg)
• Apple Scraps Work on Mac-Connected Augmented Reality Glasses (Bloomberg)
• Stablecoins are finding product-market fit in emerging markets (TechCrunch)
• That AI-restored Beatles song won Grammy for Best Rock Performance (The Verge)

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If the entire world shifts after you launch your startup, what do you do? Terra Trust founder Mike DiPetrillo tells you how to do it. What was our original use-case? DOUBLE DOWN on what you do well.

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Apple’s earnings are decidedly mixed. Mark Zuckerberg’s complaints about everything he says leaking… leaked, and there are a lot of interesting details in those leaks. Looks like the SoftBank and OpenAI courtship is a serious one, and if the marriage happens, looks like Arm Holdings can be leveraged for the dowery. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.

Links:

• Apple shares rise 3% as boost in services revenue overshadows iPhone miss (CNBC)
• Mark Zuckerberg said that Meta missed TikTok's rise because it didn't seem 'social' enough, leaked recording reveals (Business Insider)
• OpenAI in Talks for Huge Investment Round Valuing It at Up to $300 Billion (WSJ)
• OpenAI’s Sam Altman and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Are AI’s New Power Couple (WSJ)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

• DeepSeek Chief’s Journey From Math Geek to Global Disruptor (WSJ)
• Chinese Quant Whiz Built DeepSeek In The Shadow Of a Hedge Fund Rout (Bloomberg)
• DeepSeek Debates: Chinese Leadership On Cost, True Training Cost, Closed Model Margin Impacts (SemiAnalysis)

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Meta and Microsoft reported earnings, but all Wall Street cared about was getting Capex updates. Meta settles with… the President. Waymo’s expansion continues apace. Why Masa Son is the perfect white knight for OpenAI. And AI IS copyrightable.

Sponsors:

• Shopify.com/ride

Links:

• Microsoft shares slide as cloud forecast, AI spending disappoint (Reuters)
• Meta’s Reality Labs posts $5 billion loss in fourth quarter (CNBC)
• Zuck shrugs off DeepSeek, vows to spend hundreds of billions on AI (TechCrunch)
• Meta to Pay $25 Million to Settle 2021 Trump Lawsuit (WSJ)
• Waymo to test in 10 new cities in 2025, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego (The Verge)
• SoftBank in talks to invest up to $25bn in OpenAI (FT)
• Copyright Office Offers Assurances on AI Filmmaking Tools (Variety)
• Authors Guild sets up ‘Human Author’ portal to certify books come from ‘human intellect’ (AP)

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