Welcome back to your daily dossier talking AI, robotics, crypto, and the future of tech. 👾

In today’s edition, we are tackling the following:

🧠 SoundCloud changes policies to allow AI training on user content.
🔄 Whoop backpedals on its paid upgrade whoops.
🤖 Amazon’s Vulcan robots now stow items faster than humans.
💰 Crypto market cap hits $3.34T as Ethereum and Altcoins rally.
🛡️ Bitcoin DeFi security improves as rootstock boosts the Hashrate Share.

AI

• SoundCloud changes policies to allow AI training on user content

  • SoundCloud appears to have quietly changed its terms of use to allow the company to train AI on audio that users upload to its platform.

  • The terms have a carve-out for content under ‘separate agreements’ with third-party rightsholders, such as record labels.

  • Last year, SoundCloud partnered with nearly a dozen vendors to bring AI-powered tools for remixing and creating custom samples.

• Whoop backpedals on its paid upgrade whoops

  • After debuting its Whoop 5.0 fitness tracker, users were angered to find it had reneged on a promise of free hardware upgrades. 

  • In a new Reddit post, the company now says users who have more than 12 months left on their subscription can get the Whoop 5.0 for free.

  • Those with ‘more than 12 months remaining’ are ‘eligible for a free upgrade to WHOOP 5.0 on Peak,’ one of its new subscription offerings.

• OpenAI and Microsoft are in talks to reset their high-stakes partnership 

  • OpenAI is currently in ‘a tough negotiation’ with one of its biggest investors and partners.

  • The AI startup recently announced a major change to its corporate restructuring plans.

  • While it still aims to convert its business arm into a for-profit public benefit corporation, its nonprofit board will remain in control.

ROBOTICS

• Amazon’s Vulcan robots now stow items faster than humans 

  • Amazon's new Vulcan robot can stow around 300 items per hour, outperforming average human workers.

  • Vulcan uses advanced planning to decide the best placement for each item in real time.

  • While top human stowers still pack faster and more densely, the gap is closing quickly.

• Walgreens doubles down on prescription-filling robots to cut costs, free up pharmacists amid turnaround

  • Walgreens is expanding its use of robotic prescription-filling centers, aiming to automate up to 50% of its prescription volume by 2025.

  • This allows pharmacists to focus more on patient care, such as vaccinations and health consultations, enhancing their role in healthcare delivery.

  • The automation initiative is part of Walgreens' strategy to modernize operations, reduce costs, and compete with online pharmacies.

• Robots and AI help humans exist in future cities at the Venice architecture biennale 2025

  • The 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale explores how humans, robots, and AI can shape the future of cities through creative collaboration.

  • One highlight is a smart BioSuit for space exploration, another features AI-driven robots working alongside artisans in traditional woodworking.

  • A performance pavilion brings the theme to life with robots dancing and playing music in sync with human interaction.

CRYPTO

• Crypto market cap gits $3.34T as Ethereum and Altcoins rally

  • The global cryptocurrency market capitalization has reached $3.34 trillion, driven by significant gains in Ethereum and various altcoins.

  • Ethereum's price surged to $2,522.86, marking a 4.71% increase in a single day and a 37.83% rise over the past week.

  • This upward trend reflects growing investor confidence and increased adoption of decentralized finance platforms.

• Bitcoin DeFi security improves as rootstock boosts Hashrate Share

  • DeFi on Bitcoin is being shaped into a safer and cheaper proposition, in part due to the efforts of layer-2 project Rootstock.

  • Rootstock is now secured by 81% of Bitcoin's total hashrate, meaning miners are also approving transactions on the layer 2.

  • The momentum behind Rootstock is helping set the stage for growing adoption of Bitcoin DeFi throughout the remainder of 2025.

• Lido 'secure' after oracle compromise sparks emergency DAO vote

  • A protocol reporting oracle for the Ethereum staking protocol Lido was compromised, sparking a Lido DAO vote to rotate the address.

  • Only about 1.5 ETH was lost in the attack, which oracle operator Chorus One called an ‘isolated incident.’

  • The Lido DAO vote to rotate the compromised address currently has unanimous support, though it has not yet reached quorum.

CONTENT

• How Palantir built the ultimate founder factory

  • Nabeel S. Qureshi, a former Palantir engineer, delves into the transformative power of AI in reshaping industries and daily life. 

  • He shares firsthand experiences from his tenure at Palantir, highlighting how data-driven decisions can revolutionize business strategies.

  • Furthermore, Qureshi explores the ethical considerations and future implications of AI integration, offering a balanced perspective.

• Meet the man who made $ 200 M+ by copying Warren Buffett

  • Shaan Puri sits down with value investor Mohnish Pabrai to break down the mindset and strategies behind turning $10K into $ 1 M. 

  • Pabrai shares timeless principles like keeping things simple and understanding the difference between risk and uncertainty.

  • He emphasizes focusing deeply on a narrow niche, learning from failure, and keeping a personal ‘owner’s manual’ to guide decisions.

• Does quantum theory violate the speed of light?

  • Claudia de Rham, João Magueijo, and Tim Maudlin debate whether the speed of light is an absolute limit.

  • Ever since Einstein's special theory of relativity in 1905, it has been a central pillar of science that the speed of light is an absolute fixed limit. 

  • Researchers argue that Einstein's general theory of relativity never prohibited faster-than-light travel in the first place.

AND MORE…

• Trump fires copyright office director after report raises questions about AI training

  • President Donald Trump has fired Shira Perlmutter, who leads the U.S. Copyright Office.

  • During the first Trump administration, Perlmutter took over the Copyright Office in 2020.

  • Trump alluded to the news on his social network Truth Social when he ‘ReTruthed’ a post from attorney Mike Davis.

• United’s Starlink-powered Wi-Fi is the end of airplane mode

  • The carrier announced that Starlink-powered Wi-Fi will debut with United Airlines next Thursday, May 15.

  • Elon Musk's system is being rolled out across United's regional United Express jets before being fitted to all the carrier's long-haul planes.

  • United claimed that Starlink will unlock ‘an incredible onboard experience for customers’.

• An IP breakthrough that rivals Apple and Disney*

  • Elf Labs took on Disney at the US Patent & Trademark Office, and now they’re bringing these legends to life with next-gen AI, AR, and VR.

  • Plus, their team just inked a game-changing partnership for their iconic IP with a telecom giant.

  • The round just launched, and with 1,800+ investors already in. Spots are limited. Lock in your shares while you still can.

• Giant Bomb goes independent

  • ‘Giant Bomb lives! Fandom has sold the site to us,’ the outlet wrote on Bluesky yesterday evening.

  • The site also announced a new subscription model, which it says will go directly towards maintaining and growing Giant Bomb.

  • Giant Bomb sums up its new monthly at $9.99 per month and annual at $99.99 per year subscriptions