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

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

🎵 YouTube’s new AI tool generates free background music for videos.
🤖 A new AI humanoid robot learns to mimic human emotions and behavior.
📈 SOL-to-ETH price ratio hits all-time high while Vitalik hints at faster future upgrades.
💡 Lessons from Jensen Huang & how to fix the UK tech ecosystem.
💻 Apple reportedly working on a Vision Pro that plugs into your Mac.

AI

• YouTube’s new AI tool generates free background music for videos

  • YouTube is giving creators a new AI tool that can generate instrumental tracks to use in videos for free without worrying about copyright claims.

  • The new feature was demonstrated in a video posted on the company’s Creator Insider channel this week.

  • YouTube built a music remixer that lets you ‘restyle’ popular songs to add to your Shorts. 

• Access to future AI models in OpenAI’s API may require a verified ID

  • OpenAI may soon require organizations to complete an ID verification process to access specific future AI models.

  • Verification requires a government-issued ID from one of the countries supported by OpenAI’s API. 

  • OpenAI says an ID can only verify one organization every 90 days, and not all organizations will be eligible for verification.

• Simulated Musk and Zuckerberg voices are speaking from hacked crosswalk buttons

  • Crosswalk buttons in at least three California cities appear to have been hacked this weekend.

  • The hack was to give them the seemingly AI-generated voices of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

  • In videos posted online, the apparent voice of Musk begs listeners to be his friend, or Zuckerberg brags about ‘undermining democracy’.

ROBOTICS

• New AI humanoid robot learns to mimic human emotions and behavior in real-time

  • Disney Research’s latest creation is an autonomous humanoid robot that can mimic human emotions and behaviors in real-time.

  • This groundbreaking robot uses advanced artificial intelligence to replicate natural gestures and deliberate actions with striking accuracy.

  • What makes it truly special is how it learns by observing and mimicking human operators who guide its emotional responses to interactions.

• Scientists build molecular robots inside living cells

  • A recent review published in Intelligent Computing outlines major advances in the effort to bring DNA computing circuits into living cells.

  • The authors describe how dynamic nanodevices powered by DNA strand displacement reactions could perform real-time computing.

  • This opens the door to a new generation of ‘molecular robots’ that interact directly with cellular environments.

• Dexterity Robotics plans to reach 99% reliability with physical AI

  • Dexterity Robotics is aiming to make their AI robots 99% reliable for warehouse jobs like grabbing, packing, and stacking stuff.

  • They use a full-stack robotics system that combines computer vision, touch sensors, and machine learning to give robots a human-like feel.

  • This smart AI system helps their robots deal with all kinds of items, from soft tortillas to heavy boxes with great accuracy.

CRYPTO

• SOL-to-ETH price ratio hits an all-time high while Vitalik hints at faster future upgrades

  • Solana’s price has grown by more than 10% over the past week while ether’s has fallen by a similar proportion.

  • The ratio of ETH to BTC has also fallen to its lowest value since early 2020.

  • Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin hinted on X that future hard fork upgrades to the blockchain network could come faster.

• Gold ETF inflows hit a 3-year high as PAXG and XAUT outperform

  • PAXG and XAUT are up more than 23% year-to-date, matching gold’s rally and outperforming the wider crypto market.

  • Tokenized gold offers crypto investors exposure to real-world assets with blockchain-based liquidity.

  • Demand for gold ETFs hit a three-year high in Q1, signaling a broader flight to safety.

• Layer 1 MANTRA's token falls 90% in sudden crash blames 'reckless liquidations'

  • The token of real-world asset-focused Layer 1 blockchain MANTRA crashed 90% over a matter of hours on Sunday.

  • “Today’s activity was triggered by reckless liquidations, not anything to do with the project,” MANTRA’s X account wrote.

  • John Patrick Mullin, previously rebuffed accusations that the MANTRA team controlled most of the $OM token’s circulating supply.

CONTENT

• Lessons from Jensen Huang & how to fix the UK tech ecosystem

  • This episode discussed the UK’s primary hurdle lies in its talent pipeline, with immigration and retention bottlenecks limiting growth.

  • They also talked about how a surge in venture capital is essential to unlock innovation and scale; current investment levels lag.

  • They shared final insights emphasizing urgency, scale, and founder-first ecosystems as core to future economic wins.

• Inside v0’s mission to create 100M builders with Guillermo Rauch

  • Guillermo Rauch is the founder and CEO of Vercel, creator of v0 and foundational JavaScript frameworks like Next.js and Socket.io.

  • This episode discusses how AI will radically speed up product development and the three critical skills PMs should master.

  • Discussion highlighted Guillermo’s actionable advice on increasing your product quality through rapid iteration, and real-world user feedback.

• Are tariffs good or bad for founders?

  • Hosts delve into the multifaceted impact of tariffs on entrepreneurs, particularly those in hardware and product-based sectors.

  • They discussed that while challenging for many, tariffs can present opportunities for startups that have preemptively diversified.

  • The episode underscores that while tariffs aim to protect domestic industries, they often pose significant challenges for founders.

AND MORE…

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• Apple reportedly working on a Vision Pro that plugs into your Mac

  • The company has been debating the best direction forward for the product after low sales but is now moving forward with 2 new models. 

  • One would address probably the two biggest complaints about the initial product. its weight and its $3,500 price tag.

  • Apple is reportedly building another model that would connect to a user’s Macs allowing them to stream the content on their display.

• ChatGPT is transforming LinkedIn users into really dull dolls

  • ChatGPT’s latest image generator had an explosive debut and LinkedIn users have now jumped on a new gimmick: turning yourself into a toy.

  • The ‘AI Action Figure’ variant appears to have gained the most traction, in which a person generates a plastic version of themselves.

  • While the trend started on LinkedIn, it’s since started to leak over to other social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

• Tech tariff exemptions are only temporary according to Trump’s commerce secretary

  • The tech industry may not be safe from new tariffs, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

  • The Trump administration announced Friday evening that consumer electronics would be exempt from the tariffs.

  • Reports about the exemptions noted that tech products might still be affected by targeted tariffs to come.