🤖 Amazon CEO says AI will reduce corporate jobs

💰 Meta offered OpenAI staff $100M bonuses

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly accused Meta of attempting to poach his developers by offering them compensation packages as high as $100 million.

• Altman claimed Meta's aggressive recruitment campaign started after it fell behind on AI initiatives, with Llama 4 language model and "Behemoth" version delays.

• Meta's alleged nine-figure signing bonuses are a facet of its significant spending aimed at overcoming internal AI struggles and securing top researchers.

💸 xAI is reportedly burning $1 billion per month

• Elon Musk's xAI reportedly spends $1 billion monthly on AI model development, a figure Musk disputes, as the company simultaneously seeks $9.3 billion in new funding.

• Looking ahead, xAI projects burning about $13 billion during 2025, with most of its previously raised $14 billion equity already spent or allocated very soon.

• The company's prolific fundraising barely keeps pace with expenses for server farms and specialized computer chips, though xAI projects profitability for itself by 2027.

🏛️ Senate passes GENIUS stablecoin bill in a win for the crypto industry

• The Senate overwhelmingly passed the GENIUS Act with bipartisan backing, creating the first federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, crypto tokens tied to US dollar value.

• This legislative passage is a significant win for the digital assets industry, which has poured substantial funds into political influence efforts in Washington.

• Crypto industry figures see the GENIUS Act's approval as a vital signpost, indicating potential for more favorable laws concerning digital assets.

🤖 Amazon CEO says AI will reduce corporate jobs

• Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated that deploying more Generative AI and agents will change work methods, expecting a reduction in the total corporate workforce soon.

• Jassy highlighted emerging AI "agents" capable of web scouring, writing code, and research, which will manage tasks that certain current roles previously involved.

• This workforce reduction forecast follows Amazon's layoffs of over 27,000 staff since late 2022 and a corporate hiring slowdown despite increased company revenue

🚀 Honda unexpectedly enters the space race

• Honda unexpectedly revealed its experimental reusable rocket completed a vertical takeoff and landing demonstration, flying to nearly 900 feet with precision.

• Its hopper became the first prototype rocket outside the US and China to successfully complete such a vertical takeoff and landing flight.

• The flight showcased key technologies like retractable landing gear and aerodynamic fins, marking progress after a long silence on its space project.

⏰ Trump grants TikTok third 90-day extension

• President Trump intends to give TikTok a third 90-day reprieve, delaying its required separation from Chinese owner ByteDance until mid-September.

• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump does not want TikTok to go dark, explaining the continued delays for its ownership structure change.

• These repeated extensions occur despite a federal law requiring TikTok to change its ownership structure, a law the Supreme Court upheld last year.