Tech Brew Ride Home

Alphabet earnings. Claude goes to the Superbowl. Why AI brand loyalty isn’t even remotely a thing yet. And is the whole Marc Andreessen theory of software eating the world in the process of being eaten by AI? Wall Street is worried about that very scenario.


Google set to double AI spending to $185bn after strong earnings (FT)


OpenAI Frontier is a single platform to control your AI agents (The Verge)


Anthropic says ‘Claude will remain ad-free,’ unlike ChatGPT (The Verge)


Microsoft’s Pivotal AI Product Is Running Into Big Problems (WSJ)


New Data: OpenAI’s Lead Is Contracting as AI Competition Intensifies (Big Technology)


Threat of New AI Tools Wipes $300 Billion Off Software and Data Stocks (WSJ)


AI Won’t Kill the Software Business, Just Its Growth Story (WSJ)

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Check out Jaime's book: Ding Dong: How Ring Went From Shark Tank Reject To Everyone's Front Door
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As SpaceX acquires xAI, all of Elon’s companies under one umbrella is pretty much an inevitability isn’t it? What is with this weird game of chicken that Nvidia and OpenAI and now Oracle are all engaging in all of the sudden. And self-driving cars are about to be ubiquitous, indication number 37.


Musk’s SpaceX Combines With xAI at $1.25 Trillion Valuation (Bloomberg)


SpaceX acquires xAI, plans to launch a massive satellite constellation to power it (ArsTechnica)


OpenAI's Codex just got its own Mac app - and anyone can try it for free now (ZDNet)


Exclusive: OpenAI is unsatisfied with some Nvidia chips and looking for alternatives, sources say (Reuters)


Waymo Raises $16 Billion From Alphabet and Others to Expand (Bloomberg)

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Is Nvidia going through with their massive OpenAI investment or not? Does Apple have what it takes to win in the AI era or not? Is Elon the only one who can make datacenters in space happen or not? And a roundup of the continued fascination with Moltbook.


The $100 Billion Megadeal Between OpenAI and Nvidia Is on Ice (WSJ)


Nvidia CEO Says New OpenAI Investment May Be Largest Yet (Bloomberg)


Apple’s Historic Quarter Doesn’t Change the Need for AI Reckoning (Bloomberg)


SpaceX seeks FCC nod for solar-powered satellite data centers for AI (Reuters)


How often do AI chatbots lead users down a harmful path? (ArsTechnica)


Moltbook is the most interesting place on the internet right now (Simon Willison)

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Apple does a big acquisition. OpenAI is racing to IPO. Elon
might just merge all his companies into one. Google’s Project Genie is the
latest thing that will make you say, gee, AI can do that?! And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.


Apple buys Israeli start-up Q.AI for close to $2bn in race to build AI devices (FT)


OpenAI Plans Fourth-Quarter IPO in Race to Beat Anthropic to Market (WSJ)


SpaceX in merger talks with other Musk companies ahead of IPO (Reuters)


Elon Musk’s SpaceX Said to Consider Merger With Tesla or xAI (Bloomberg)


Google’s AI helped me make bad Nintendo knockoffs (The Verge)


Moltbot Gets Another New Name, OpenClaw, And Triggers Security Fears And Scams (Forbes)

Weekend Longread:


To avoid accusations of AI cheating, college students are turning to AI (NBCNews)

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