OpenAI backtracks in a major way, saying its nonprofit entity will remain in control of business operations. Huge consolidation happening all at once in the food delivery space. New Surface hardware from Microsoft. Huge investment in European defense tech startups. And Shein and Temu turn to Europe to stay afloat.

Sponsors:

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Links:

• OpenAI reverses course, says its nonprofit will remain in control of its business operations (TechCrunch)
• OpenAI Reaches Agreement to Buy Startup Windsurf for $3 Billion (Bloomberg)
• DoorDash strikes £2.9bn deal for Deliveroo (FT)
• Microsoft shrinks its Surface Laptop down to 13 inches, priced at $899 (The Verge)
• Microsoft’s smaller Surface Pro has a 12-inch display and starts at $799 (The Verge)
• Capital flies into Europe’s defence drone start-ups (FT)
• Exclusive: Shein, Temu ramp up advertising in UK and France as US tariffs hit (Reuters)

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The whole Telegram use by government officials story gets weirder as a Telegram clone has been hacked. Apple is thinking about REALLY shaking up its iPhone release schedule. Who put AI in my crypto? Deepfakes are being chased from the Internet. And the maker of Cursor closes its big round.

Sponsors:

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Links:

• TeleMessage, a modified Signal clone used by US govt. officials, has been hacked (TechCrunch)
• Apple Plans iPhone Release Schedule Shakeup, New Styles (The Information)
• Tether CEO says the firm's AI product will enable peer-to-peer network of AI agents (The Block)
• Senate Democrats' reversal on US stablecoin bill throws future of legislation into doubt (The Block)
• Leading deepfake porn site is shut down for good (Engadget)
• Maker of AI ‘vibe coding’ app Cursor hits $9bn valuation (Financial Times)
• Reports: US losing edge in AI talent pool (Semafor)

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Omnibus Week Of 04/28

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The big cultural event of maybe the decade is going to take a little while longer to get here. Earnings from Apple and Amazon. More signs of the impending death of the password. More signs of self-driving rapidly becoming reality. And in the longreads, what happens when AI completely changes your field? The AI researchers were the first to experience it.

Links:

• Grand Theft Auto VI release delayed to May 2026 (The Verge)
• Amazon Says Operating Profits May Decline Amid Economic Uncertainty (NYTimes)
• Microsoft goes passwordless by default on new accounts (The Verge)
• Temu Blocks US Shoppers From Seeing Products Shipped From China (Wired)
• Aurora’s driverless trucks are making deliveries in Texas (The Verge)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

• When ChatGPT Broke an Entire Field: An Oral History (Quanta Magazine)
• The Life of the Most-Used Citi Bike in New York City (Bloomberg)

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Apple basically got held in contempt of court in the Epic case. Rumors about Elon staying at Tesla. Meta and Microsoft earnings. Xbox price increases. Would you wear a smart ring that proves you’re not cheating on your significant other?

Links:

• Apple Dealt Stinging Court Defeat on App Store Sales Commissions (Bloomberg)
• Tesla Board Opened Search for a CEO to Succeed Elon Musk (WSJ)
• Microsoft is raising prices on Xbox consoles, controllers, and games worldwide (The Verge)
• Meta tightens privacy policy around Ray-Ban glasses to boost AI training (The Verge)
• Would you wear a smart ring that proves you’re not a cheater? (The Verge)

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Meta has launched a standalone competitor to ChatGPT. But is ChatGPT bending too far backwards in an attempt to please you? Even OpenAI thinks so. Waymo and Toyota cut a deal. And concerns about sovereign tech stacks rear their head again.

Sponsors:

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Links:

• Meta’s ChatGPT competitor shows how your friends use AI (The Verge)
• Microsoft CEO says up to 30% of the company’s code was written by AI (TechCrunch)
• OpenAI rolls back update that made ChatGPT ‘too sycophant-y’ (TechCrunch)
• Waymo, Toyota strike partnership to bring self-driving tech to personal vehicles (CNBC)
• Google Play sees 47% decline in apps since start of last year (TechCrunch)
• EU views break from US as ‘unrealistic’ amid global tech race (Politico)
• Microsoft vows to protect European operations from Donald Trump (Financial Times)

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Is Amazon about to start showing tariff prices in listings? Armageddon has finally come for Temu and Shein. Is OpenAI getting into the shopping game because their web search usage is exploding? And Project Kuiper finally gets off the ground in a literal and meaningful way.

Links:

• 042925 (PunchBowl News AM)
• Kickstarter Introduces ‘Tariff Manager Tool’ to Add Charges to Already Fully Funded Projects (404 Media)
• Temu adds ‘import charges’ of about 145% after Trump tariffs, more than doubling price of many items (CNBC)
• Congress passes bill to fight deepfake nudes, revenge porn (Washington Post)
• Alibaba unveils Qwen3, a family of ‘hybrid’ AI reasoning models (TechCrunch)
• OpenAI Adds Shopping to ChatGPT in a Challenge to Google (Wired)
• Duolingo will replace contract workers with AI (The Verge)
• Amazon launches first Kuiper internet satellites, taking on Starlink (Reuters)

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Is Apple’s 20th Anniversary iPhone the reason they can’t quit China just yet? That Chinese AI Manus just raised a big round. Is Prompt Engineer the job title that never was? And what really goes on in those powerful, behind the scenes Silicon Valley group chats?

Sponsors:

• Freshbooks.com

Links:

• Apple Begins Breaking Up Its AI Team With Robotics, Siri Changes (Bloomberg)
• Why Trump can’t build iPhones in the US (FT)
• The Future of Gadgets: Fewer Updates, More Subscriptions, Bigger Price Tags (WSJ)
• Google is killing software support for early Nest Thermostats (The Verge)
• Chinese AI Startup Manus Scores Funding at $500 Million Value (Bloomberg)
• The Hottest AI Job of 2023 Is Already Obsolete (WSJ)
• The group chats that changed America (Semafor)

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