TWS #017: ChatGPT Agent, Solar Power now mainstream, Uber's next move, Microsoft & DoD's Irony, Oracle invoicing OpenAI $30B
and much more...
Every week, get the latest curated high signals on news, insights, and ideas around technology, science, and business to help you become a better builder and thinker. Thanks for reading!
Did you know
The world’s first e-commerce transcation was beleied to take place in the early 1970s which invovled the sale of marijuana between students at Stanford and MIT. The transaction happened over ARPANET, a precursor to the internet.
Basically, students used ARPANET to connect with each other. They then arranged a sale of a small amount of marijuana using the network to communcicate and coordinate the deal. The actual exchange of money and goods happened in person, but the negotiation and arrangement happened were done online. It was the first recorded instance of a business transaction over a computer network.
While no money was transacated online, you can think of this as a modern day Craigslist or Facebook Marketplac of sorts.
The visual below shows the APARNET network during its day.
Here’s this week’s scoop:
OpenAI releases ChatGPT Agent
Solar power is now becoming mainstream
Uber is ramping up on self-driving cars
Android and ChromeOS are merging!
Microsoft is using Chinese engineers for the US Military
OpenAI’s $30B Deal with Oracle
Tactical Field Guide: How Startups Can Build an Enduring Brand
📝 Tactical Field Guide: How Startups Can Build an Enduring Brand
We all know how hard building a great brand can be, especially in the early stages of a startup. In a world filled with plenty of noise (especially with the help of AI), building an enduring brand is more than just selling a fancy product/service. Instead, brand building now transcends the product — instead, you’re selling a vision, a mission, status, and even a feeling.
In this guide, I joined forces with
to help break down how to build a strong brand, the red flags to expect, and frameworks to do it properly.How to Build a Billion Dollar Brand | Stef Ivanov (Pony Studio)
Welcome to this edition of our Tactical Field Guide series. This is where we go down the rabbit hole on tactical advice to help you become a better builder, leader, and thinker. We also release a weekly newsletter (The Weekly Signal) showcasing the latest curated signals across technology and innovation. Thanks for reading.
🔥 Nuggets for the Road
Perplexity plans to pre-install its AI-powered Comet browser on Android phones, challenging Google Chrome’s dominance — the browser, currently in beta for paying users on Windows and Mac, may launch on iOS in 2–3 months, with broader Android rollout pending agreements [LINK]
The United States’ new AI Action Plan — the goal aims to secure U.S. leadership in AI through innovation, infrastructure, and global influence, and focuses on accelerating AI development, building infrastructure, and leading internationally in AI standards and security. [LINK]
Our venture fund makes an investment into Factor Energy — based out of New Zealand, the company is aiming to build an AI-powered, API-driven platform that enables energy retailers to grow their margins through intelligent and dynamic pricing. This is a huge problem that needs disruption. [METAGROVE]
OpenAI is quietly trying to get more $$$ as it burns through cash [LINK]
‘South Park’ creators reach $1.5-billion streaming deal with Paramount [LINK]
📡 The Signal
OpenAI releases ChatGPT Agent
The utopian world of AI agents hasn’t really lived up to the hype as of late. But this might change soon. Usually, tools like ChatGPT have been helpful in answering questions or helping with basic tasks, but when it comes to handling complicated workflows and projects, like researching competitors, building presentations, or buying groceries online, they fall a bit short. Most of the time, people have to switch between apps, do a lot of copy-pasting, and manage each step themselves. This can be slow and really frustrating, especially if you need info from websites that require logins or want to combine data from different sources. Now, ChatGPT has evolved into an actionable digital assistant. Instead of just giving out answers or advice, it can actually go online, interact with websites, run code, and work with files. This means it will be able to access third-party services, i.e., Calendar, email, hotels, flights, accommodation, etc., using your credentials. To enable access to your computer, it does this by creating its own virtual computer, which controls your browser, mouse, and keyboard, unlike MCP, which relies heavily on third-party APIs for access, which other companies like Google aren’t too interested in providing. [OPEN AI]
Solar power is now becoming mainstream
The idea of using Solar as an energy source was once seen as a side option, but it’s now shaping how the world gets its power. The main problem has always been our heavy reliance on fossil fuels, which have powered countries for centuries, but we all know that it comes with environmental costs. We’ve tried to fix this by adding solar and wind ad hoc, but it didn’t work out well because it was just too expensive or not reliable enough to replace fossil fuels on a large scale. But now things are changing. Solar is quietly becoming a real contender. This is largely due to breakthroughs in efficiency and manufacturing of solar panels, but also a global push pioneered by China in expanding its solar production capacity by 2030. This push is creating a positive arms race such that the US, China, and even the EU are now rushing to build out and solidify their energy infrastructure, especially on the back of AI’s huge energy needs. [LINK, NEW YORKER]
“renewables made up 96 percent of demand for new energy throughout the globe in 2024; In the United States, 93 percent of new energy capacity came from solar and wind. For example, it's now estimated that the world is now installing one gigawatt worth of solar energy infrastructure every 15 hours — or about the output of a new coal plant.”
“This explosive growth has been fueled by huge efficiency gains in solar energy output, breakthroughs in manufacturing, and streamlined installation processes. There've also been huge developments in panel recycling, meaning the darker side of solar energy — mineral extraction and panel fabrication — might one day be a thing of the past.”
Uber is ramping up on self-driving cars
A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Uber is thinking about revisiting their self-driving efforts. Now they’re finally acting on it and looking to partner with some heavy hitters. But backing up a bit here: ridesharing is great for getting around, but finding enough drivers, keeping costs down, and making the experience safe and reliable are big challenges. Ultimately, ridesharing demand is outstripping supply — there just aren’t enough drivers and cars, especially as cities grow. Uber is now looking to partner with Lucid cars, powered by Nuro (a company they invested in) to launch their self-driving fleet of 20,000 cars over the next six years. Outside the US, Uber is partnering with Baidu and Apollo Go to target China and Asian countries. It’s clear that the self-driving model is working, and Uber is now jumping back on the bandwagon after witnessing success from Waymo and Tesla Robotaxi. [UBER, BAIDU]
Android and ChromeOS are merging!
The idea here is that combining the two would solve big problems around inconsistent experiences across devices and make Google’s ecosystems more unified. Instead of a full-on merger, it looks like Google is quietly making Android and ChromeOS work more closely together, sharing features and tech behind the scenes, while keeping each system’s unique look and feel. Android is more widely used with much richer features than ChromeOS, so they’re bringing more of Android’s core tech into ChromeOS. The merge will most likely be under the hood rather than a single OS for everything, but I’m sure they’re not ruling this out. [LINK, VERGE]
Microsoft is using Chinese engineers for the US Military
There’s been a growing concern about who gets access to sensitive US military tech/data. In case you missed it: the Department of Defense (DoD) actually relies on companies like Microsoft to rely on engineers based in foreign countries. To keep things secure, the US gov requires these contractors to have strict checks in place by using “digital escorts” to supervise the workers. The problem is that sometimes, these escorts don’t have the technical knowledge to spot real cybersecurity threats. It appears that Microsoft was using engineers in China to help support US military cloud systems. Yes, the irony is very real here. For two nations that are at odds with each other on technological and military dominance, it’s quite amusing to see how much reliance the US has on China even at the highest levels of government. Microsoft has now stopped using China-based engineers for these projects. [LINK]
OpenAI’s $30B Deal with Oracle
Oracle is investing nearly $50B over two years to build and expand its data centers, not just for OpenAI but for all its customers, which may be their competitors. This means OpenAI is agreeing to pay $30B to Oracle for their infrastructure, which is already 3x higher than OpenAI’s current annual revenue, showing just how big their bet is on future growth. If you think about it, it’s actually a decent move because while OpenAI is currently relying on Azure’s infrastructure, being able to partner with Oracle will provide them with dedicated services and data centers. [LINK]
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