⚡️ OpenAI to mass-produce its own AI chips with Broadcom

OpenAI will begin large-scale production of custom AI chips next year, co-designed with Broadcom, as it looks to cut reliance on Nvidia and meet surging compute demand.

🖱 Broadcom CEO Hock Tan hinted at a $10B order from a “mystery customer” - confirmed to be OpenAI
🖱 News sent Broadcom shares up 9.4%, lifting its market cap to $1.6T
🖱 Chips are intended for OpenAI’s internal use, not external customers
🖱 Follows Google, Amazon, and Meta, which also design custom AI chips
🖱 HSBC forecasts Broadcom’s custom chip growth could outpace Nvidia’s by 2026

Altman has said compute is OpenAI’s top priority, with plans to double its capacity within five months as GPT-5 adoption surges.

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🛡 The global fight over age verification laws

Governments worldwide are moving to enforce stricter age and identity checks online — aiming to shield children, but raising huge privacy and censorship concerns.

🖱 US: 23 states now require porn sites and platforms to verify IDs; some sites like Pornhub simply block traffic instead. Critics warn these laws risk data breaches and could censor LGBTQ content and sex ed.

🖱 UK: The Online Safety Act (July 2025) forces identity checks across search, social media, messaging, and even cloud services. Users must upload IDs or biometrics, sparking fears over privacy and blocked access to news and education.

🖱 Global ripple: YouTube is testing age estimation tech in the US, while VPN downloads in the UK soared after the law took effect. In France, Pornhub bans triggered a 1000% spike in VPN sign-ups.

Supporters call this a win for child safety. Opponents see it as a dangerous step toward mass surveillance and censorship. The real tension: protecting kids without erasing online anonymity for everyone else.

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📈 Nasdaq pushes for tokenized stocks

Nasdaq has filed with the SEC to tokenize equities, offering investors the option to trade traditional shares or blockchain-based tokens with equal priority.

🖱 Customers would hold full shareholder rights, including voting and dividends
🖱 Trades would still clear through the Depository Trust Co., with tokens logged on-chain
🖱 Move follows Robinhood’s European stock tokens and mounting efforts by Bybit, Kraken, and Gemini
🖱 SEC Chair Paul Atkins has flagged asset tokenization as a key priority under Project Crypto
🖱 HSBC analysts expect Broadcom-style custom tokenization growth to rival Nvidia’s by 2026

If approved, Nasdaq would become the first major US exchange to bring stock tokenization into regulated markets — a seismic shift for TradFi meeting crypto rails.

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🚕 Uber and Momenta to launch robotaxi trials in Germany

Uber and Chinese AV startup Momenta will begin testing autonomous vehicles in Munich in 2026 - their first publicly announced city in continental Europe.

🖱 Cars will start with human safety operators onboard
🖱 Puts Uber in direct competition with Lyft–Baidu’s upcoming AV launches in Germany and the UK
🖱 Uber already partners with 20 AV firms globally, generating 1.5M trips annually
🖱 Momenta’s ADAS tech is installed in 400K+ vehicles, including models from Mercedes, BMW, and Audi

Munich’s automotive heritage made it Uber’s European launchpad. The next phase: convincing regulators that Level 4 robotaxis are safe for public roads.

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💵 Biggest Latin American rounds of 2025

This year’s largest funding rounds in LatAm were led by Klar and Ualá - both neobanks. Fintech once again proved to be the dominant sector across the region.

The takeaway: capital is still flowing most aggressively into financial services, confirming fintech’s position as the backbone of Latin America’s startup scene.

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🤖 ASML bets $1.5B on Mistral

ASML, Europe’s chipmaking giant, is set to invest €1.3B ($1.5B) into French AI startup Mistral, becoming its largest shareholder and securing a board seat.

🖱 Part of a €1.7B Series C valuing Mistral at €10B ($11.7B) pre-money — Europe’s top AI valuation
🖱 Marks a strategic push for European tech sovereignty in AI and semiconductors
🖱 ASML already uses AI to optimize its €180M EUV machines — Mistral’s expertise could sharpen that edge
🖱 Mistral, founded in 2023, has backing from Nvidia and previously raised at a $6B valuation

This tie-up unites Europe’s chip crown jewel with its hottest AI model maker - a symbolic step toward reducing reliance on US and Chinese tech.

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🚀 Dan Loeb: turning chaos into profit

“The only thing I do know is that from chaos comes opportunity.”

— Dan Loeb

The founder of Third Point made his name as an activist investor by entering messy situations and forcing change.

His playbook: use market noise, leadership failures, and strategic confusion as leverage for growth.

🖱 Yahoo! — pushed for leadership change and a new strategy
🖱 Sony — argued for spinning off divisions to unlock value
🖱 Nestlé — pressed for faster innovation and higher efficiency

Opportunity often hides in turbulence — crises, pivots, and corporate dead ends. Those who stay calm and systematic can extract the upside.

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🐎 Volkswagen puts horsepower behind a paywall

VW is testing a subscription model in the UK that locks part of the ID.3’s power output unless drivers pay extra.

🖱 Base ID.3 Pro S shows 201 hp, with full 228 hp unlocked for £16.50/month, £165/year, or £649 lifetime
🖱 Comes with a one-month free trial for buyers
🖱 Move echoes Mercedes’ “Acceleration Increase” and BMW’s failed heated-seat subscription
🖱 Critics call it nickel-and-diming on a $50K car, while VW says it offers flexibility for lease customers

It’s another sign that when cars become software, ownership doesn’t mean what it used to.

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💰 Larry Ellison overtakes Musk as world’s richest man

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has claimed the top spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index for the first time, surpassing Elon Musk.

🖱 Ellison’s fortune jumped by $101B in a single day after Oracle reported better-than-expected earnings and strong cloud growth outlook
🖱 His net worth now stands at $393B, compared to Musk’s $385B
🖱 At 81, Ellison still holds most of his wealth in Oracle, the company he founded in 1977

From databases to the cloud, Oracle just made its founder richer than Tesla’s icon.

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📹 Vimeo sold in $1.38B deal

Vimeo will be acquired by European app giant Bending Spoons in an all-cash transaction worth $1.38B, with the deal set to close in Q4 2025. Once finalized, Vimeo will be delisted from public markets.

🖱 Bending Spoons says it will invest heavily in Vimeo’s U.S. and global offerings, focusing on enterprise, streaming, and creator tools
🖱 The company has a record of aggressive cost-cutting — after buying Evernote and WeTransfer, it slashed staff and restricted free features
🖱 Vimeo, spun out of IAC in 2021, has since lost nearly 90% of its market value

The acquisition could bring Vimeo fresh resources, but given Bending Spoons’ history, many creators will be watching closely to see if the platform thrives — or gets hollowed out.

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⛅OpenAI signs record $300B cloud deal with Oracle

OpenAI has agreed to a five-year, $300 billion contract with Oracle for cloud services, starting in 2027 - the largest such deal in history. The scale of the infrastructure will demand 4.5 GW of power, comparable to four million households.

🖱 OpenAI reported ~$10B annual revenue in June, far below the ~$60B it must pay each year under the contract
🖱 Oracle will likely need financing to buy AI chips for its data centers
🖱 The agreement ties a huge portion of Oracle’s future revenue to a single client
🖱 Analysts call the deal a risky gamble for both sides, with execution hinging on long-term AI demand

This partnership underscores the extreme capital intensity of the AI race and how even tech giants must take outsized risks to secure capacity.

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🚀 PsiQuantum raises $1B to build a million-qubit computer

Quantum startup PsiQuantum secured a $1B Series E led by BlackRock, Temasek, and Baillie Gifford, doubling its valuation to $7B.

🖱 Goal: deliver a fault-tolerant, 1M-qubit machine by 2028
🖱 New investors include Macquarie, Ribbit, Nvidia’s NVentures, and Adage Capital
🖱 Tech: photonic chipsets with Barium Titanate for ultra-fast optical switching
🖱 Partnership with Nvidia to integrate GPUs for hybrid quantum-AI workloads

Rivals aren’t standing still - Quantinuum just raised $600M at $10B, and Google unveiled its error-correcting Willow chip. IBM has its own roadmap.

The quantum arms race is now funded at billion-dollar scale.

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💰 Nebius lands $3B boost with Microsoft deal

Amsterdam-based Nebius has secured $3 billion in fresh funding, just days after signing a landmark partnership with Microsoft. The raise combines $2B in convertible notes and $1B in new shares, aimed at expanding land and computing capacity.

🖱 Microsoft will receive dedicated capacity from a new Vineland, New Jersey, data center later this year
🖱 Convertible notes mature in 2030 and 2032, with coupons between 1.25%–3.25% and conversion premiums of 45%–50%
🖱 Nebius projects at least $17.4B in revenue through 2031 from the deal, a huge leap from $117.5M in 2023 sales
🖱 Microsoft becomes Nebius’ largest customer, signaling its move into top-tier AI infrastructure supply
🖱 The company spun out from Yandex last year, previously focused on smaller businesses and startups

This puts Nebius on the map as a serious challenger in the AI cloud race, with Microsoft’s backing giving it both scale and credibility.

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🤝 OpenAI settles terms with Microsoft, paves way for restructuring

OpenAI has resolved its financial disputes with Microsoft and will transfer a $100B stake to the nonprofit that oversees it. The moves clear the path for transforming into a public benefit corporation, opening access to broader investment and a potential IPO.

🖱 Microsoft invested over $13B, initially securing rights to 49% of future profits
🖱 The new deal revises those terms, though details remain undisclosed
🖱 NYT reports the agreement also adjusts clauses around Microsoft’s access to top-tier tech if OpenAI reaches AGI
🖱 The nonprofit’s ownership strengthens its role in guiding OpenAI’s long-term mission

This shift signals OpenAI’s transition from research lab to market-facing giant, balancing investor power with governance safeguards.

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💻 Replit unveils Agent 3 and secures $250M at $3B valuation

Developer platform Replit has raised $250M at a $3B valuation, in a round led by Prysm Capital with participation from American Express Ventures, AI Futures Fund, and others. Alongside the funding, the company introduced its most advanced AI agent yet.

🖱 Agent 3 can autonomously test applications, build social media bots, and even create new AI agents
🖱 The launch signals Replit’s move from coding assistance to fully autonomous software creation
🖱 Funding will fuel product expansion and scaling of its AI-driven development environment
🖱 Investors see Replit as a key player at the intersection of dev tools and AI automation

By combining fresh capital with a powerful new product, Replit positions itself at the frontier of AI-native software development.

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📈 Via ends first trading day just above IPO price

Transit software company Via had a cautious market debut, with shares opening below the $46 IPO price before recovering to close slightly higher at just over $49, valuing the company at about $3.9B.

🖱 IPO raised nearly $493M, including ~$328M in new shares and ~$164M from existing holders
🖱 Via projects ~$429M revenue in 2025, with ~30% YoY growth, but remains unprofitable (H1 loss of $37.5M)
🖱 The company powers microtransit for 689 cities and transit agencies worldwide
🖱 Past acquisitions: Remix (2021) and Citymapper (2023); CEO hints at more deals ahead
🖱 Proceeds will go toward growth, sales, marketing and potentially strategic acquisitions

Via’s steady debut reflects tempered enthusiasm, but its government-focused transit tech model positions it as a unique public player in urban mobility.

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📊 Crypto Venture Weekly: September 8–12, 2025

$1.48B was raised across 24 projects this week, led by Figure’s $788M IPO and Rapyd’s $500M Series F.

Forward Industries and Eightco Holdings added $1.94B in SOL and WLD reserves.

Here’s what the top 7 are building 👇

🖱 Figure ($788M IPO, $5.29B valuation)
Blockchain-native capital marketplace connecting origination, funding, and secondary markets.

🖱 Rapyd ($500M, General Catalyst, Spark, BlackRock, Dragoneer, Altimeter, Target Global)
Global payments infrastructure platform bridging fintech and crypto rails.

🖱 Gemini ($50M, Nasdaq Ventures)
Centralized exchange raising strategically ahead of its IPO.

🖱 Inversion ($26.5M, Dragonfly, HashKey, ParaFi, Mirana, MoonRock, Balaji Srinivasan)
Private equity model applied to crypto, acquiring low-margin trad businesses and layering blockchain infra.

🖱 Tetra ($10M, Shopify, Purpose, Wealthsimple, National Bank Holdings)
Canadian digital asset custodian building a regulated CAD-backed stablecoin.

🖱 Multipli ($5M, Pantera, Spartan, Sequoia, Avalanche Foundation)
Yield platform for native, stable, and tokenized real-world assets.

🖱 Runesoul ($4M, Bitgo Capital, AccelByte, IGC Global)
3D card-based action RPG in Web3.

Investor focus this week was on stablecoin infra, regulated custody, tokenized yields, and gaming - while massive treasury moves and M&A reshaped the landscape.

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⚠️ xAI fires 500 annotators, then announces 10x hiring spree

Elon Musk’s xAI laid off 500 data annotators overnight — roughly one-third of its annotation division, the company’s largest unit. Hours later, xAI posted that it plans to grow its “AI trainer” team by 10x.

🖱 Laid off staff were “general-purpose” annotators handling basic labeling tasks
🖱 Departures were abrupt - same-day emails, revoked access, rising complaints
🖱 New hiring targets domain experts in STEM, finance, medicine, security, and more
🖱 Suggests routine annotation is being automated, with humans reserved for complex work
🖱 Messaging framed as building “AI that seeks the truth”

The move highlights a shift from broad, manual labeling toward specialized human input raising the question: is this AI taking jobs, or creating new ones?

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📊 Gemini pops 14% in $425M Nasdaq debut

Crypto exchange Gemini surged on its first day of trading, closing at $32 per share - a 14% jump from its IPO price of $28. The debut raised $425M, marking another win in crypto’s streak of successful listings.

🖱 Fully diluted market cap opened at $3.3B, well below its $7.1B peak valuation in 2021
🖱 IPO demand forced Gemini to raise its price range twice before pricing above it
🖱 Nasdaq invested $50M in a private placement at the IPO price, boosting confidence
🖱 Recent crypto IPOs like Circle, Bullish, and Figure also saw strong first-day gains
🖱 Despite mounting losses, investors piled in, underscoring appetite for crypto-native firms

Gemini’s public debut is a clear signal: traditional markets are warming up to crypto exposure, and the Winklevoss twins just scored their biggest validation yet.

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💼 Tesla board chair defends Elon Musk’s $1T pay package

Tesla shareholders will vote in November on a 10-year, $1 trillion compensation deal for Elon Musk - the largest in corporate history. Board Chair Robyn Denholm, who helped craft the plan, dismissed criticism.

🖱 Performance-based: Musk gets nothing unless he hits future goals
🖱 Power over pay: Denholm says the real issue is Musk’s voting control, not the dollar figure
🖱 Timing: Proposal arrives as Tesla’s vehicle sales and profits are slipping
🖱 Dismissive tone: Denholm called the debate “a little bit weird”

Tesla positions the package as a bet on Musk’s ability to drive long-term growth, but with financial headwinds, the shareholder vote may be anything but smooth.

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