August 07, 2024 | Read Online

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0. Data and calendar

All values as of 6 AM ET / 3 AM PT, other than S&P500 and NASDAQ close (4 PM ET / 1 PM PT).

All times are ET.

1. X, Rumble sue advertising groups over "systematic illegal boycott"

X: Elon Musk.

X's antitrust lawsuit is against GARM and the World Federation of Advertisers.
GARM is accused of withholding X's ad revenue.
Coalition allegedly encouraged advertisers to avoid X after Musk's deal.
Rumble filed parallel antitrust suits against GARM, WFA, ad agency WPP and its subsidiary GroupM.
X saw -53% in U.S. Q2 revenue to $114M largely due to the advertisers' boycott.
$2B in ad revenue is expected for 2024, vs. $4.5B in 2021, before Elon acquired X.

2. OpenAI launches Structured Outputs, cut prices to bring them closer to Llama 3.1 405B's

OpenAI claims 100% reliability in generating exact JSON schemas provided by developers:

OpenAI.

Making more reliable "multi-step agentic workflows that allow LLMs to take actions."
Pricing now $2.50/1M input tokens (-50%) and $10/1M output tokens (-33%), vs. $2.70/1M for both input and output tokens at Deepinfra for Llama 3.1 405B, the open weights model from Meta with similar quality scores.

3. Rethinking Startup Models: The Compound Startup Approach*

Rippling.

Compound startups can offer deeper product integration, common UX patterns, and bundled pricing, leading to superior efficiency and customer value.
Unlike focused startups tackling single issues, compound startups address comprehensive business challenges, creating more substantial market opportunities.
Success in a compound startup requires strong parallel execution across multiple products, encouraging agile, cross-functional team structures.

Learn more.

*Sponsored.

4. Figure AI unveils new 02 humanoid robot, claiming best-in-class status

X: Figure AI.

Hands with "16 degrees of freedom" and "human-equivalent" strength.
3x computation and AI inference compared to previous generation.
"Speech-to-Speech Reasoning."
In testing at BMW's plant in South Carolina.
No launch timeline, though.
Disclaimer: we are indirect investors in Figure.

5. Google TV Streamer replaces Chromecast as AI-enabled set-top box

$100 device doubles as a smart home hub.
Sep. 24 availability.
Gemini-based features coming to Google Home smart home platform.

6. Interesting videos, posts, and memes

GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke on Building Copilot, and the the Future of Software Development

7. Other headlines

AI

Abnormal Security, AI cybersecurity startup, raises $250M at $5.1B.
Bytedance launches AI video app in China to challenge OpenAI's Sora.
Reddit to show AI-generated search results.
South Korea to introduce AI-enabled digital textbooks next year.
India's $250B outsourcing industry threatened by growing AI deployments.

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Tech

CrowdStrike shares July outage's root cause, outsources further review.
Microsoft attacks Delta after CEO says it would seek damages over outage.
CNET being sold to Ziff Davis for $100M.

Rippling: maximize HR impact and hire global teams in one unified system.*
Sidebar is a personal board of advisors for the next generation of leaders.*
Pipedrive helps you drive more deals from day one.*
Mercury saves your finance team valuable time.*

*Sponsored. Clicking on ad links may share your email with Mercury for remarketing purposes.

Tech earnings

Sony's revenue +2% to $20.5B, operating profit +10% to $1.92B.
Uber's revenue +16% YoY to $10.7B, ads unit surpass $1B ARR.
Airbnb's revenue +11% to $2.75B, net income -15% to $650M.
SoftBank's net loss shortens to -$1.2B, unveils $3.4B buyback.
Rivian's revenue +3% to $1.16B, as net result worsens to -$1.457B.
Instacart's revenue +15% to $823M, gross transaction value +10% to $8.19B.
Reddit's revenue +54% to $281M, DAUs +51% 91.2M.

Tech & law

EU may get Apple Intelligence on macOS, despite no clarity on iOS and iPadOS.

Biotech

Novo Nordisk's revenue +24% to $19.5B in H1, led by GLP-1 drugs.
Fecal microbiota transplant fails to improve Parkinson's in clinical trial.
C15:0 supplementation linked to improved liver, red blood cell health.

Business

Bank of Japan promises not to raise rates with unstable markets.

Crypto

Trump's pro-crypto messaging threatens non-U.S. global hubs.
Harris team being approached by crypto industry for talks.
Ex-Binance adviser, Obama senior aide David Plouffe joins Harris's team.

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U.S. politics

Gov. Tim Walz chosen as Harris's VP candidate.
Shapiro wasn't picked reportedly for lower rapport with Harris.
Speaker Johnson argues Shapiro overlooked because of Jewish heritage.
Cori Bush becomes 2nd Squad member to lose 2024 primary.
Trump to give Elon "major interview" on Monday.
Semiautomatic weapons ban upheld 10-5 by Maryland appeals court.

World

Hamas makes Oct. 7 mastermind Sinwar new political chief.
Nobel laureate Yunus to lead Bangladesh amid unrest.

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