Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta are pushing Congress to ban states from regulating AI for 10 years. California just released a detailed framework for AI oversight. The clash could determine who controls AI rules nationwide.
Good Morning from San Francisco, Musk's xAI burns $1 billion monthly 🔥 while dodging pollution lawsuits in Memphis. The
ChatGPT's crawlers abandon slow websites before they can respond, generating HTTP 499 timeout errors that cost sites visibility in AI search results. The shift forces a return to server-side rendering as JavaScript becomes invisible to AI bots.
Good Morning from San Francisco,
Musk's xAI burns $1 billion monthly 🔥 while dodging pollution lawsuits in Memphis. The company raised $14 billion but expects to lose $13 billion this year 📉. Environmental groups sued over unpermitted gas turbines powering Musk's supercomputer in a neighborhood with cancer rates four times the national average 🏭.
Meanwhile, Meta offered OpenAI employees $100 million signing bonuses 💰. None took the deal. Altman dismissed Meta's recruiting blitz, saying they're "not great at innovation" 🤷♂️. When nine-figure cash offers fail, maybe the problem runs deeper than money 🤔.
Stay curious,
Marcus Schuler
Elon Musk's xAI burns through $1 billion every month while racing to stay ahead in the AI wars. The company behind the Grok chatbot expects to lose $13 billion this year, making it one of the most expensive startups in history.
The math is brutal. Since launching in 2023, xAI raised $14 billion. By March, only $4 billion remained. Now the company scrambles to raise another $4.3 billion in equity and $5 billion in debt just to keep the lights on.
Meanwhile, the NAACP filed a lawsuit notice targeting xAI's Memphis data center. The group claims 35 gas turbines operate without permits, spewing pollution into predominantly Black neighborhoods. The turbines power what Musk calls the world's largest supercomputer.
Cash vs Competition
xAI's spending dwarfs its revenue. The company expects $500 million this year while OpenAI targets $12.7 billion. Yet investors keep writing checks, pushing xAI's valuation from $51 billion to $80 billion in three months.
The AI arms race demands massive infrastructure investments. Companies fight for scarce computer chips and data centers. xAI merged with X to access training data and computing power, hoping to cut costs.
The Memphis facility sits in Boxtown, a neighborhood founded by freed slaves that already faces cancer risks four times the national average. Local officials claim an exemption allows temporary turbine operation, but environmental lawyers disagree.
Why this matters:
Read on, my dear:
Sam Altman dropped a casual bombshell this week. Meta offered his employees signing bonuses worth $100 million each. Not total compensation. Not equity over years. Cold, hard cash upfront.
"None of our best people have decided to take them up on that," Altman said on his brother's podcast. The OpenAI CEO sounded almost bored discussing what amounts to GDP-level money.
Mark Zuckerberg has gone full recruiting mode. He's personally hunting talent for his new "superintelligence" team. The Facebook founder even rearranged Meta's headquarters to put the new hires near his office. Last week, Meta dropped $14.3 billion on Scale AI and poached its 28-year-old CEO.
Altman had thoughts about Meta's spending spree. "I don't think they're a company that's great at innovation," he said. Translation: throwing cash at smart people doesn't automatically create breakthrough AI.
Meta's AI track record backs up Altman's dig. The company burned $42 billion on the metaverse before pivoting to AI. Their LLaMA models lag behind GPT and Google's offerings. Now Zuckerberg is trying to buy his way out of the problem.
The broader AI talent war has reached absurd levels. Fresh PhD graduates command million-dollar packages. Entire research teams switch companies together. Non-compete clauses get tested in court as companies fight to keep their best minds.
Meta tried to steal specific targets. They went after OpenAI's Noam Brown and Google's Koray Kavukcuoglu. Both said no. When $100 million isn't enough, you might have deeper problems than money can solve.
Why this matters:
Read on, my dear:
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Trump announced another 90-day delay on TikTok's ban enforcement, marking the third extension since taking office. The move keeps the app running for 170 million American users while the administration works on a sale deal that requires Chinese government approval.
YouTube will integrate Google's Veo 3 AI into Shorts this summer, letting creators generate videos from text prompts. The tool can create both video and sound, marking a major upgrade from YouTube's current AI features that only generate backgrounds.
Animaj raised $85 million led by HarbourView Equity Partners to expand its AI-powered children's media business. The company uses automated animation tools and data insights to revive old intellectual properties for YouTube, TikTok, and other digital platforms where kids already spend time.
Anduril will work with Germany's Rheinmetall to build European versions of its Barracuda and Fury drones, marking a shift toward local defense production as Trump signals less US support for European security. The partnership also targets Europe's shortage of rocket motors, which has slowed missile production needed to replace weapons sent to Ukraine.
UBS confirmed hackers stole company information including data on over 130,000 employees through an attack on external supplier Chain IQ. The breach exposed employee addresses and work details but no client data, highlighting how outsourcing creates security vulnerabilities for major banks.
Samsung's next Galaxy Watch will measure antioxidant levels through your thumb without drawing blood, part of four new health tools launching in July. The watch will also assess heart strain during sleep, create personalized running plans, and recommend optimal bedtime windows based on your sleep patterns.
California released a new AI regulation framework after Governor Newsom vetoed the strict SB 1047 bill last year. The report from Stanford and UC Berkeley researchers calls for more transparency and independent testing of AI models, as companies face a possible 10-year moratorium on state AI rules.
Pope Leo XIV chose his papal name to honor Leo XIII, who defended factory workers in the 1890s, and plans to use the same approach against AI companies today. The new American pope told cardinals he wants binding international rules for artificial intelligence, challenging tech executives who have spent years courting Vatican support for voluntary guidelines.
Wonderish.ai
Wonderish.ai turns website creation into a chat conversation. Founded in 2025, this San Francisco startup lets anyone build web pages by simply describing what they want to an AI assistant.
The Founders • Founded June 2025 by serial entrepreneur Trey Smith with engineers Karen Avdalyan and Artem Bondar • Smith previously built Buildbox (sold to AppOnBoard in 2019) which reached 1M+ users • Team of 3, bootstrapped from founder resources • Based in San Francisco Bay Area
The Product • AI-powered web builder using natural language prompts • Creates websites 7x faster than traditional tools - seconds vs. minutes • "Image-to-website" feature converts screenshots into working sites • Zero code visibility - users never see HTML/CSS/JavaScript • Built on Claude AI (Anthropic), Cloudflare hosting, Supabase backend • Freemium model: 5 daily creations free, premium subscriptions available
The Competition • Faces heavy hitters like Cursor ($9.9B valuation, $500M+ ARR) • Competes with Lovable (raising at $1.5B+ valuation), Bolt.new, Replit • Differentiates by targeting non-coders vs. developer-focused rivals • Traditional builders (Wix, Squarespace) lack AI conversation interface • Recent acquisitions show market heat: OpenAI bought Windsurf for $3B
Financing • No disclosed funding rounds or investors yet • Appears founder-funded from Smith's Buildbox exit proceeds • Operating lean with focus on user growth over fundraising • Industry sees massive valuations, but Wonderish keeping quiet on numbers
The Future ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Strong potential but execution critical. Early Product Hunt success (#3 spot, 400+ upvotes) validates demand for ultra-simple web building. Risk lies in AI reliability and scaling complexity - can chat-based creation handle real business needs? 🚀 Competition moves fast with deep pockets, but Wonderish's laser focus on non-technical users could carve out a defensible niche.
Good Morning from San Francisco, 🔥 OpenAI executives floated antitrust complaints against Microsoft as their partnership implodes. The "nuclear option&
Good Morning from San Francisco, 🌉 AI models memorize books. 📚 Stanford researchers caught Meta's Llama 3.1 reproducing 42%
Good Morning from San Francisco, Meta's AI app turned users into accidental exhibitionists. 😬 People shared medical questions, legal
Good Morning from San Francisco, Meta just dropped $14.8 billion for half of Scale AI 💸. That's Silicon
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