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

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

👨‍💼 Amazon CEO Jassy says AI will reduce the company workforce in the coming years.
💰 AI startup Anysphere fields VC offers at over $18B valuation.
🌉 California is making new efforts to regulate its major AI companies again.
✅ Senate passes GENIUS bill marking crypto industry’s first major legislative win.
💸 Ark Invest sells $44.8M in Circle shares after recent $51.7M divestment.

AI

• Amazon CEO Jassy says AI will reduce the company workforce in the coming years

  • Amazon CEO Andy Jassy expects the corporate workforce to shrink as AI tools become widely adopted.

  • Jassy encourages employees to learn AI and improve productivity with smaller, more efficient teams.

  • Amazon is heavily investing in AI products and expanding data centers to meet growing demand.

• AI startup Anysphere fields VC offers at over $18B valuation

  • Anysphere is in talks for funding that could double its valuation to $18-$20 billion.

  • The startup surpassed $500 million annualized revenue and recently raised $900 million at a $9.9 billion valuation.

  • Cursor, Anysphere’s AI code editor, is used daily by over 1 million people and half of the Fortune 500.

• California is making new efforts to regulate its major AI companies again

  • California Governor Newsom vetoed SB 1047 but commissioned experts to propose balanced AI governance.

  • The 52-page California Report on Frontier AI recommends transparency, independent scrutiny, and risk management frameworks.

  • The report highlights AI’s impact on sectors like agriculture, biotech, clean tech, education, finance, medicine, and transportation.

ROBOTICS

• Honda explores cargo delivery using micromobility solutions in urban environments

  • Honda introduces the Fastport eQuad, a small battery-assisted cargo vehicle for urban delivery.

  • The eQuad carries 320 to 650 pounds, fits bike lanes, and has a top speed of 12 mph.

  • It uses swappable Mobile Power Pack batteries and emphasizes software-defined features for ongoing improvements.

• Europe’s auto industry adds 23,000 new robots to boost production efficiency

  • Europe installed 23,000 industrial robots in automotive manufacturing, its second-best result in five years.

  • European carmakers account for about one-third of annual robot installations, surpassing North America’s 19,200 units.

  • Six European countries rank among the top ten globally for automotive robot density in 2023.

• Waymo robotaxis expands service to more cities across California this year

  • Waymo expands robotaxi service by 80 square miles in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley.

  • Service now covers over 250 square miles despite recent vandalism and protests in Los Angeles.

  • Waymo adjusts operations based on local conditions but continues pushing into new California markets.

CRYPTO

• Senate passes GENIUS stablecoin bill, marking crypto industry’s first major legislative win

  • The GENIUS Act creates the first federal regulatory framework for dollar-pegged stablecoins.

  • Democrats failed to add a provision preventing the president from profiting from stablecoin investments.

  • Major companies like Amazon and Walmart are exploring stablecoin payment options amid industry disruption.

• Ark Invest sells $44.8M in Circle shares after recent $51.7M divestment

  • Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest sold $44.76 million in Circle shares across three ETFs on Tuesday.

  • This follows a $51.7 million Circle stock sell-off by Ark Invest on Monday.

  • Despite sales, Circle’s stock remains strong, trading well above its $31 IPO price.

• Justin Sun’s father gains control of public firm through $100M token deal

  • Justin Sun’s father gains board control of SRM Entertainment through a $100 million TRX token deal.

  • Tron DAO is not involved in investment or governance related to the SRM Entertainment transaction.

  • The deal was facilitated by Dominari Securities, a firm connected to the Trump family.

CONTENT

• David Mytton discusses how AI is transforming and revolutionizing web security today

  • Arcjet CEO David Mytton and a16z’s Joel de la Garza discuss challenges in web access management.

  • They highlight the difficulty of distinguishing bad bots from AI agents without adding latency.

  • Faster edge inference enables cost-effective security checks, fraud prevention, and improved content filtering.

• Larry Aschebrook explains losing money on Uber but profiting from Lyft investments

  • Larry Aschebrook shares his journey from bootstrapping to leading a $5B venture capital firm.

  • He discusses major wins like Spotify and Lyft alongside significant losses such as 23andMe and Getir.

  • The conversation covers strategic insights on venture investing, startup challenges, and future industry trends.

• Bob McGrew believes the key breakthroughs for AGI have already happened

  • Bob McGrew highlights transformer-scaled pre-training and reasoning as core pillars for AGI development.

  • He predicts that 2025 will focus on reasoning while pre-training faces diminishing returns in AI progress.

  • The agent economy will disrupt industries by pricing services at compute costs, enabling new opportunities.

AND MORE…

• OpenAI secures Pentagon deal while Musk’s xAI watches from the sidelines

  • OpenAI secured a $200 million Department of Defense contract to develop AI prototypes for non-combat tasks.

  • The OpenAI for Government initiative focuses on improving healthcare, data analysis, and cyber defense for the military.

  • This follows OpenAI’s policy shift allowing military applications, marking expanded AI use in national security.

• JPMorgan launches USD deposit token on Coinbase’s Base blockchain platform today

  • JPMorgan pilots JPMD USD deposit token on Coinbase’s Base blockchain using Kinexys technology.

  • The JPMD pilot is JPMorgan’s first use of its distributed ledger tech on a public blockchain.

  • JPMorgan filed a trademark for the JPMD platform offering trading, transfer, payment, and asset issuance services.

• Tumblr’s content filters wrongly label posts, as mature users blame AI errors

  • Tumblr users report false mature content flags lowering the visibility of non-offensive posts like cat GIFs.

  • The issue follows an Android app update testing new content filtering, with Tumblr promising improvements.

  • Similar AI moderation problems affect other platforms, and Tumblr is updating its appeal process for users.