The $18B Instagram/Facebook "Wrist Slap"

Meta agreed to pay $18 billion this week to settle a lawsuit brought by dozens of state attorneys general. The lawsuit alleged that Facebook and Instagram harmed teenagers by encouraging excessive social media use and contributed to mental health issues.

In addition, Meta agreed to make significant changes to how teenagers use Facebook and Instagram, including a default two-hour daily time limit for users under 18.

Meta denied the allegations and said the settlement does not constitute an admission of liability. The company also won't be writing an $18 billion check anytime soon. The payments will be spread over the next 10 years, reducing the annual cost to $1.8 billion – a rounding error for a company with Meta's earnings power.

From an investing standpoint, this doesn't change the Meta story in any meaningful way. Advertisers pay for access to billions of users across every age group, and adults with disposable income are far more valuable than teenagers. The market seemed to agree. Meta shares moved higher following the announcement.

Meta remains one of the highest-quality businesses in the world. Nothing announced this week changes my long-term outlook on the company. The stock remains one of the largest positions in my personal portfolio. And I recommend you own it yourself.

⇒ Read More Here

Enrique Abeyta:

Fed's Warsh Signals Inflation Fight Isn't Over

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh warned Friday that the central bank may not be finished fighting inflation, saying recent price readings had not convinced him that underlying trends were improving and stopping short of any commitment on the path for interest rates.

"We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed," Warsh said in prepared remarks delivered at the Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "Otherwise, we have work to do."

Speaking on his 100th day as chairman, Warsh described an economy he said "appears to have strengthened," with business and consumer spending holding up and a slowdown in hiring he attributed to a flattening labor supply. But on inflation, he said financial conditions did not look restrictive to him.

Warsh also pointed to the breadth of price increases. About half the items in the Fed's preferred inflation basket are rising faster than 3%, compared with roughly a third in the two decades before the pandemic. The Fed's current benchmark rate stands at a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%.

As in prior appearances, Warsh declined to offer either forward guidance or a reaction function — the economic conditions that would prompt a policy response.

⇒ Read More Here

Greg Guenthner:

Bitcoin and Cathie Wood Are Partying Like It's 2021 Again

Bitcoin and the Ark Innovation Fund (ARKK) are both up more than 20% in August, something that has happened only four other times since Cathie Wood launched her flagship ETF in 2014.

The pairing brings back memories. Late 2020 and early 2021 were the age of zero interest rates, stimulus checks, SPACs, meme stocks, crypto millionaires, and seemingly every company finding a way to put "innovation" in its pitch deck. ARKK became one of the defining trades of the era. Bitcoin was right there with it.

Now that old duo is leading again. ARKK was already among Wall Street's riskiest trades outperforming earlier this month, while bitcoin accelerated after breaking out of a months-long range last week.

The only previous months in which both gained at least 20% were April 2020, November 2020, January 2023, and November 2024, according to Yahoo Finance analysis of AlphaSpace data.

What happened afterward was generally favorable, particularly for bitcoin.

Across those four episodes, bitcoin's median return was about 5% over the next month, 29% over three months, 43% over six months, and 137% over a year. Median returns for ARKK, the Nasdaq Composite, and the S&P 500 were also positive at every interval.

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Nvidia Reportedly Agrees To Acquire Hugging Face for $12.9 Billion

Nvidia has agreed to buy Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, The Information reported late Wednesday, after days of reports that a deal between the chip giant and the open-source AI developers' repository was imminent.

Neither company replied to requests for comment on Thursday. Business Insider reported Wednesday that discussions between the two companies were still ongoing and a final agreement had not yet been reached. Hugging Face, founded in 2016, was valued at $4.5 billion in 2023.

If completed, the deal would give Nvidia deeper entry into the open-source AI space, even as tech firms debate the safety of open-source models. A group of tech company leaders including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shared an open letter in July urging U.S. lawmakers not to impose "premature restrictions" on open-weight AI models that could "stifle competition or drive innovation overseas."

Hugging Face recently made headlines after an OpenAI model escaped a testing environment in July and hacked Hugging Face's systems as it attempted to complete a task.

⇒ Read More Here

Davis Wilson:

NVDA >>> "More Bullish Than Ever"

Nvidia did it again. Another quarter. Another blowout earnings report. Another reminder that the AI buildout is accelerating – not slowing down.

The company reported revenue of $96.2 billion, earnings per share of $2.22, and a next quarter revenue projection of $108 billion. All of these figures were well ahead of Wall Street expectations.

Every quarter, investors ask the same question: "How much longer can this last?" And every quarter, Nvidia gives the same answer. Demand is still accelerating. Customers are still spending. And management continues investing aggressively because it sees an even bigger opportunity ahead.

Meanwhile, the stock trades at a discount valuation – not one you'd expect for the company at the center of the biggest technology buildout in decades. At some point, Wall Street will have to reconcile those two facts.

Either Nvidia's growth slows dramatically or investors finally assign the stock a valuation that reflects its earnings power. After listening to Wednesday's earnings call, I'm betting on the latter.

Click the link below for my four biggest takeaways from the call.

⇒ Read More Here

James Altucher:

How You Get Rich Isn't How You Stay Rich: 300 Years of Proof | Joseph Moore

In 1790, one of the easiest ways to get rich in America was the old-fashioned way: marry someone rich. And back then, debt was not just annoying. It could land you in debtor's prison. Actual prison. And not just you – your wife and kids could go too.

The latest guest of The James Altucher Shows, Joseph Moore, has written a book on how the American pursuit of financial security has evolved since then: How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial Advice That Worked (& Didn't).

The book is full of strange, funny, surprising stories about money in America: debtor's prison, the Great Depression, crypto, and more.

But the bigger lesson is that the basic patterns have not changed as much as we think. People want security. People want freedom. People want a way out. And whenever there is hope, there is usually someone selling a formula.

Joseph has very little patience for the usual personal finance myths. Debt does not make you rich. Opportunity makes you rich. And optimism, marriage, mobility, risk, and solving other people's problems may matter more than almost anything else.

If you think the rules for getting rich have shifted completely, this conversation may convince you how little human nature has changed.

⇒ Listen Here

Tonight (8/26): The Next "Nvidia Moment"

Tonight, Nvidia reports earnings. Wall Street expects the company to report quarterly results of $92.2 billion in revenue and $2.09 in earnings per share. That's up from $46.7 billion and $1.05 last year, respectively.

But I'll be paying even closer attention to the guidance. Since the AI buildout began, Nvidia has consistently raised expectations, forcing analysts to increase earnings estimates quarter after quarter. If management raises guidance again tonight, the current $13.04 earnings estimate will move even higher. That means if the stock stays around $200, Nvidia gets even cheaper.

At some point, I believe investors will stop valuing Nvidia at 16x forward earnings and start assigning it a premium multiple that better reflects its growth. A move from 16x to 20x forward earnings would imply a stock price of $260 based on today's estimates. A move to 25x implies a stock price of $326.

These multiples don't strike me as aggressive for a company with Nvidia's growth and dominance. That's why I believe another "Nvidia Moment" is coming.

The first Nvidia Moment happened because Wall Street underestimated the AI buildout. The next Nvidia Moment will happen because Wall Street finally realizes it has been underestimating Nvidia itself. Maybe that realization begins tonight.

If not, it's only a matter of time.

⇒ Read More Here

Chris Campbell:

Humanoid Games: Where's Elon?

Beijing's Humanoid Games, aka the "robot Olympics", are back for their second go and everything is bigger. Events went from 26 to 51, teams from 280 to 666, and 2,056 robots registered.

Two thousand machines running, fighting, playing football, in front of a paying crowd. It was the best marketing a government ever bought, and 641 of 666 teams were Chinese. In one weekend a large chunk of the planet decided China leads the frontier. Maybe that's wrong. But perception moves capital. Unitree IPO'd in Shanghai this week and went vertical.

Sixteen countries sent machines to Beijing. But the most famous humanoid on Earth – Optimus – stayed home. It always does.

But in the U.S., the press is starting to fixate on one story: Tesla marrying SpaceX. A merger. Dan Ives just put the odds at above 80%. And however big you're thinking this could be… it's bigger. Rockets, cars, batteries, chips, AI, and a humanoid. One roof. Nobody has ever owned that. And nobody else probably ever will.

So, China may've won the games… but Elon's buying the track, the shoes, and the runner. Those who pay attention now are positioned before the repricing.

Those who wait? They are the repricing.

⇒ Read More Here

Ray Blanco:

OpenAI Loses a Top Data Center Exec As Stream of High-Profile Departures Continues

OpenAI has lost yet another executive, and the timing of this one stands out in particular given this individual oversaw the execution of the company's data center strategy.

Chris Malone, OpenAI's former head of data centers, left the company last week, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Malone, who spent nearly five years at Meta and more than a decade at Google before that, joined OpenAI in March of last year, making his tenure relatively short.

Malone joined the company not long after the launch of the Stargate Project, a $500 million data center initiative championed by the Trump administration that has sought to develop data centers in the U.S. OpenAI, along with Oracle, Nvidia, SoftBank, and Microsoft, is considered a key partner in the effort.

Why is Malone leaving? It isn't entirely clear. With the AI infrastructure buildout frenzy in full swing across the industry, data center strategy has become one of the most closely watched roles at any AI lab, which makes turnover in that seat especially surprising.

⇒ Read More Here

SpaceX Is Building Its Largest-Ever Spaceport on Louisiana's Gulf Coast

SpaceX announced plans on Tuesday to invest $100 billion in a Starship launch facility in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, which the company said is designed to support thousands of launches annually.

The site, named Starbase, Louisiana, will be SpaceX's fourth and largest launch facility, the company said. At full buildout, it is expected to include five launch complexes, each with two launch pads and a propellant farm, along with a propellant production facility, power generation infrastructure, vehicle processing facilities, and residential housing for employees and their families. Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with the first launch targeted for as early as 2029.

"We're preparing to build a spaceport that, until now, has only existed in science fiction," SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said in a statement. "Starbase, Louisiana will unlock that future."

SpaceX stock rose about 2.5% on Tuesday following the announcement.

Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project will create 3,000 direct jobs over the next 10 years, paying an average annual salary of $92,600, and generate more than 8,100 indirect jobs. In a video posted to SpaceX's website, Musk put the number even higher, telling viewers the spaceport would deliver "probably 10,000 really exciting jobs" to the state.

⇒ Read More Here

Enrique Abeyta:

Countdown to the OpenAI-pocalypse

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is running into trouble. Its growth has slowed compared to Anthropic, huge losses are piling up, and over a dozen senior leaders have headed for the exits this year. This is all happening ahead of OpenAI's highly anticipated IPO, expected sometime before the end of next year.

Imagine OpenAI's troubles grow. OpenAI doesn't have to disappear. It could cut spending, delay data centers, or change future plans. But that would quickly affect partner companies that count on its spending, such as Oracle, CoreWeave, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Then come memory chips, networking gear, power companies, utilities, construction firms, and data centers.

Stocks are priced on what investors expect companies to earn tomorrow. If expected AI spending falls, stock prices across that chain could fall with it. Suddenly, investors aren't just questioning OpenAI. They're questioning the entire AI spending boom.

That's why the problems over at OpenAI are such a big deal. It sits at the center of the AI boom, and trouble there could quickly spread to companies you own. It only needs to stumble badly enough for Wall Street to start questioning the hundreds of billions being spent on the idea that this boom will continue.

If that happens, the problem won't belong to OpenAI anymore – it will belong to all of us.

⇒ Read More Here

Greg Guenthner:

Bitcoin ETFs Add $338M As Six-Day Inflow Streak Hits $2.26B

U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded $337.6 million in net inflows on Monday, marking their sixth consecutive trading day of inflows totaling $2.26 billion.

The new inflows have cut the Bitcoin ETFs' year-to-date net outflows to about $2.57 billion, according to SoSoValue data. Last week alone, the funds recorded $1.92 billion in net inflows, their strongest week since October 2025. Cumulative net inflows since launch rose to $54 billion, with total net assets reaching $98.56 billion.

Bitcoin traded around $80,700 at the time of writing, up more than 20% over the past week, according to CoinGecko.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has remained in "Greed" territory since Thursday after spending months in "Fear." At the time of publication, the index stood at 74, its highest level since October 2025.

Spot Ether ETFs also posted a sixth consecutive trading day of inflows on Monday, adding $115.6 million and bringing their six-session total to about $812.8 million. The funds remain at about $1.30 billion in net outflows year to date.

⇒ Read More Here

Flock CEO Calls for 'Compromise' As Surveillance Company Faces Growing Backlash

The country needs to find a "compromise" between privacy and safety, according to Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley.

"When people talk about just one of these, privacy or safety, they're prioritizing the wrong thing, and what we have to prioritize as a country is compromise," Langley said during a recent interview with Fox News. "How do we have our safety, and how do we balance privacy?"

Langley's company faces a growing public outcry around concerns that Flock's surveillance cameras, drones, and license plate recognition technology could be misused.

These concerns aren't just hypothetical. The Washington Post recently identified 46 cases where police officers have been accused of using Flock technology for unauthorized purposes, including to stalk their wives, girlfriends, or exes.

Flock has already made some changes in response to the criticism, reducing the default data retention time from 30 days to seven days and requiring that a case code be entered before accessing data. But both of these changes can be overridden – for example, police can save data for a longer time period by using a setting called Evidence Mode.

For his part, Langley has said that state regulators should "pass bills that make [the illegal use of Flock data] a criminal offense."

⇒ Read More Here

Ray Blanco:

Chinese Robot Beats Usain Bolt's 100-Meter Sprint World Record in Humanoid Bot Games

A humanoid robot has beaten Usain Bolt's 100-meter sprint record at the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, China on Saturday.

The robot, made by Beijing-based X-Humanoid, was able to run the 109 yards in 9.39 seconds, beating the 2009 record of 9.58 seconds set by the Jamaican athlete.

At the end of the 100-meter dash, the robots slammed into a cushion and fell to the ground in order to stop, footage from the event showed, before being carried out in stretchers.

A separate robot made by the same company was able to beat the human record in the standing high jump. The humanoid reached 2.88 meters, surpassing the 2.45 meters set by Cuba's Javier Sotomayor in 1993.

Both records were set on the opening day of the Olympics-like event which sees more than 2,000 humanoid robots participating, according to the organizers. The event is in its second year and aims to demonstrate China's rapid progress in the development of advanced robotics, with competitions in sports such as running, table tennis, and soccer.

⇒ Read More Here

Davis Wilson:

Bitcoin $80,000... Should You Buy It?

Bitcoin is back near $80,000. Several factors are fueling its comeback.

First off, concerns about government debt, a weaker U.S. dollar, and easier monetary policy have pushed more investors toward scarce assets like gold and Bitcoin.

Second, money is flowing back into spot Bitcoin ETFs, institutions are adding exposure, and traders who bet against Bitcoin have been forced to buy it back as prices rise. That creates even more demand.

Finally, regulation is back on the table. President Trump is pushing Congress to pass the Clarity Act, and the SEC has proposed a new framework for regulating digital assets. For years, regulatory uncertainty kept many large institutions on the sidelines. Investors are now betting that clearer rules will unlock a new wave of capital flowing into Bitcoin and the broader crypto market.

None of this guarantees Bitcoin heads straight back to all-time highs. But for the first time in months, the pieces appear to be falling into place.

Here's my recommendation: Every balanced portfolio should include Bitcoin. Love it or hate it, Bitcoin has been one of the greatest investments of the modern era. And the data says there's a good chance that trend continues.

⇒ Read More Here

Bitcoin’s Best Week In 3 Years Amid Record Short Liquidations Puts $126K Overshoot Back In Play

Bitcoin rallied past $78,000 on Friday morning, and is on track for its strongest weekly performance in more than three years.

According to Standard Chartered analyst Geoffrey Kendrick, it could shoot past its record high of over $126,000 before the end of the year.

"For the first time this year there is now a risk my end year forecast (of $100k) is too low," Kendrick wrote in an email to clients, adding that "an overshoot towards the all-time high before year-end may be possible" after October 6.

Koyfin data showed Bitcoin was on track for its biggest weekly gain in more than three years.

According to Kendrick, the rally highlights "the other side of digital asset volatility." Earlier in 2026, investors had grown accustomed to steep declines.

The latest rally, he said, is beginning to show how quickly prices can move in the opposite direction.

⇒ Read More Here

Chris Campbell:

RVII: A Fee in Hood's Clothing

Last week, something strange listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Ticker: RVII.

It's a fund that owns pieces of 80 startups — most of them so young they barely have revenue.

Companies fresh out of Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley accelerator that hatched Airbnb, Stripe, Coinbase, and DoorDash.

Until now, owning startups like these required accreditation, connections, and a seven-figure check.

Now it requires $25 and a brokerage account. And yet… the market yawned.

RVII opened below its $25 IPO price. When Robinhood's first venture fund listed in March, the crowd bid it up 90% above the value of what it actually owned.

This time? Crickets. And that yawn tells you everything.

⇒ Read More Here

Davis Wilson:

My Best Stock Tip Ever

“What’s the best stock tip you ever got?” Our VP of Research, Aaron Gentzler, asked me this question yesterday.

I knew my answer immediately. It was Rocket Lab (RKLB) two years ago.

The tip came from a good friend of mine. He works in an industry that gives him visibility into many of the large corporations in his territory.

And you know what? He recently told me about another stock that’s setting up in a similar fashion.

The best part… It’s 50% off its highs.

⇒ Read More Here

Moderna and Merck’s mRNA Melanoma Vaccine Looks Like a Game Changer

The future of cancer treatment is looking brighter thanks to trial results jointly announced this week by the pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck.

On Wednesday, the companies disclosed the primary findings of a Phase 3 trial that tested their mRNA-based vaccine, which is designed to prevent people’s melanoma from returning. People who received the vaccine in combination with immunotherapy lived significantly longer without cancer reoccurrence than those who only received immunotherapy, the trial reportedly showed. If approved, this vaccine could herald an important new approach to keeping cancers at bay.

“These Phase 3 findings represent a pivotal moment for the field of cancer research. For many years, the idea of creating an mRNA treatment designed specifically for an individual patient’s cancer was aspirational. We are now helping turn that vision into a reality,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, in a statement released by the companies.

The companies’ experimental vaccine is named intismeran autogene (previously dubbed V940 or mRNA-4157). It’s one of many next-generation cancer vaccines currently in development.

While vaccines are generally preventative — helping the body recognize threats like viruses before they arrive — cancer vaccines are typically therapeutic, used to help treat people’s existing cancer or prevent a recurrence.

These vaccines, like intismeran, are often personalized to someone’s specific cancer.

⇒ Read More Here

Chris Campbell:

The Lie Factory: AI’s Scam Complex

The phone rings. It's your grandson. Same voice that thanked you for the birthday check last spring.

He's in jail. Car wreck. No wallet, no phone — he's borrowing one. He needs bail money and he needs it in the next hour.

An American couple got this exact call. Grandma rushed to the bank and pulled out every dollar the teller would hand her and sent it through Western Union.

The voice was AI. The grandson was fine. The money? Gone. Poof.

I've spent all week writing about the dangers of using AI for crucial work. Today, I want to talk about the dangers of someone else using it.... on you.

⇒ Read More Here

Davis Wilson:

Elon’s $30,000 Car That Pays YOU

It’s happening. After years of promises, delays, and skepticism, Tesla is finally launching the Cybercab.

The company just hinted via X/Twitter that a Cybercab event is coming to Austin, TX in the next few weeks.

Employees have already begun testing the vehicle, first responders have been trained on how to handle it during emergencies, and Tesla is even giving away invitations to the launch event.

For what it's worth, I'm trying to get an invitation myself.

Unfortunately, my long history of criticizing Tesla's stock valuation probably isn't helping my chances…

Still, whether I'm there in person or watching from home, I think this could become one of the most important product launches of the decade.

Not because it's another autonomous vehicle.

Because it has the potential to create an entirely new asset class.

⇒ Read More Here

The Billionaires Just Filed. Time to Pay Attention.

Want to trade alongside Wall Street’s biggest players? Thanks to Form 13F filings, you can.

Here’s the deal: any hedge fund or investment manager with more than $100 million under management is required by the SEC to file a “13F” once a quarter.

These filings reveal their stock holdings – essentially giving you a peek into the portfolios of the world’s best investors.

James Altucher once called 13Fs a “cheat code” for individual investors because they let you see exactly what billionaires like Bill Ackman and Brad Gerstner are buying and selling.

Now, it’s not exactly a crystal ball. There’s a 45-day delay, so you’re still looking slightly in the rearview mirror.

But the insights are still incredibly valuable. And as of just a few days ago, we’ve officially hit that 45-day mark since Q2 ended.

Translation: Fresh 13Fs just dropped.

Let’s dive into the latest filings and see where the smartest money on Wall Street is placing its bets.

⇒ Read More Here

Enrique Abeyta:

Leaked Camera-Equipped AirPods Can Seemingly Identify Objects With Visual Intelligence

Apple may have inadvertently confirmed the rumors that it's working on camera-equipped AirPods with a video included in the macOS Tahoe 26.7 release candidate.

That's the final test version of Apple software sent to testers and developers to review for bugs before its public launch.

The video that appears to show the AirPods' new visual capabilities was first spotted by MacRumors and posted to social media by Aaron Perris.

In the video, a man who looks to be wearing AirPods Pro holds up a book and looks at the cover, while Siri says in a voice-over "with Visual Intelligence your world becomes saveable. See something you like? Just ask me to save it for later."

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman was the first to report in June that Apple was working on camera-equipped AirPods that would be used not to take photos and videos but to "feed visual context into Siri."

According to Gurman, these new AirPods are scheduled for a late 2027 launch. But if we're seeing a preview in Tahoe 26.7, it seems likely Apple could preview the video AirPods at its iPhone 18 launch event next month.

⇒ Read More Here

Chris Campbell:

Buying AI's Honeypot Problem

I recently wrote about Grok Bots, AI agents rummaging through your digital life like raccoons in a dumpster.

The next morning, I received the question a smarter version of me would've landed in the first place:

"What's the solution? How does someone use these AI agents while maintaining security online? Are there companies specifically working on solving the uncertainty about who holds the keys? Grok Bot is one example, but ChatGPT also recently launched the ability to connect bank accounts and medical records."

There is. And it’s also investable. 

Consider what just happened. Frontier AI companies are asking hundreds of millions of weekly users to hand over their medical records. Then their bank logins. Chase. Fidelity. Schwab.

If you’re not creeped out by this — and even if you are — there's a way to play this. Several, actually.

But first, you need to understand the biggest risk hiding underneath the whole thing.

⇒ Read More Here

OpenAI launches a safer ChatGPT for teens — years after teens started using it

After numerous lawsuits over AI chatbots’ lack of safety measures, leading to teens’ suicides and other mental health concerns, OpenAI on Monday announced the launch of ChatGPT for Teens.

The new product promises to include additional safety measures, as well as the educational crisis of ChatGPT-assisted cheating in schools.

On the educational side, ChatGPT for Teens introduces a new Study Mode feature and other tools designed to encourage teen users to engage their curiosity and work through problems, not just get quick answers.

As OpenAI explains in a blog post, the Study Mode option will give teens guiding questions and step-by-step support to help them understand the material.

Meanwhile, the teen experience will also include homework reminders that appear when a teen appears to be trying to cheat, instead of understanding the material. The AI chatbot will then push the teen to use Study Mode instead.

The app will also support quizzes and learning visualizations, and controls that allow parents or guardians to decide when Study Mode is enabled by default, the company says.

Still, it’s not clear how difficult it will be for teens to escape these new systems if they decide not to cooperate.

⇒ Read More Here

Davis Wilson:

The Right Time to Buy SpaceX

“When should I buy SpaceX???”

“Should I buy SpaceX now? It’s down to $108.”

“Should I buy SpaceX now? It’s up to $140.”

“How about now???”

I receive some version of this question almost every day. Surprisingly, my answer really isn’t about SpaceX.

It's about you. More specifically, it's about what game you're playing.

⇒ Read More Here

Enrique Abetya:

Beyond Marathons and Backflips, China's Robots Face a Commercial Test

China's humanoid robot makers have spent the past two years dazzling investors with machines that can breakdance, throw punches and even set marathon records.

This week in Beijing, they face a tougher test in proving their inventions can work reliably ‌to generate economic value.

More than 300 companies are expected at the World Robot Conference from Wednesday through Sunday, showcasing over 2,000 exhibits and launching more than ‌150 products, according to Beijing authorities.

The event comes as investor enthusiasm around Chinese humanoids reaches new heights, but the conversation is shifting from viral demonstrations to commercial reality.

Investors and customers are increasingly judging robots not by how spectacularly they move, but by how productively they work, how much human supervision they require and whether they can earn a return on their cost.

⇒ Read More Here

Uber Adds Zipline Drones to Its Eats Delivery Network

Uber is investing in, and partnering with, drone delivery company Zipline with the goal of making one million deliveries per day using the startup’s drones by the end of 2029.

Zipline drones will make the first deliveries on the Uber Eats platform by the end of this year, the companies said on Monday. These deliveries will start in Zipline’s existing markets, and the companies want to expand into “dozens of U.S. cities.”

Uber has been taking on multiple drone delivery partners as it looks for ways to keep growing Uber Eats.

The ride-hail giant is replicating the early business model it’s adopted for robotaxis and other services built around autonomous vehicles, which is to essentially bring as many companies on to its platform as possible.

This approach has helped Uber stay at the forefront of these new technologies despite selling off its own programs like the aerial ridesharing service, Uber Elevate, and Uber Autonomous Technologies Group, which was working on autonomous vehicles.

Investments have been a huge part of the strategy, with Uber committing more than $10 billion to dozens of autonomous vehicle providers.

⇒ Read More Here

Chris Campbell:

Just Listed: SpaceX Is Interested

I’ve written a lot about the Spectrum Wars over the past year.

It's been one of my running themes: the world is waking up to the fact that airwaves are finite, and everyone with a rocket or a tower is grabbing frequency while they still can.

Meanwhile, the receipts keep piling up. Just to recap:

• SpaceX paid $17 billion for EchoStar's spectrum. AT&T grabbed $23 billion more the same week. $40 billion of airwaves, gone before lunch.
• The DOJ actually told EchoStar to sell. The government is now directing traffic.
• UScellular got parted out three ways — T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon.
• RKLB scraped away Iridium's low bands for $8 billion.
• AST SpaceMobile just got cleared to beam through carrier low-band from 248 satellites.
• The big carriers formed an alliance to keep Elon's hands off theirs.
• And in 14 months, the world's spectrum negotiators meet in Shanghai to redraw the global map. (WRC-27)

Now here’s the latest…

Just last week, the wars reached the cheap part of town. SpaceX called it out by name. And for the patient, it’s presenting an unusual opportunity.

⇒ Read More Here

Ray Blanco:

Data Centers Will Eat 12% of US Electricity by 2030. This Platinum Fuel Cell Fix May Help

The AI boom is putting unprecedented strain on the U.S. power grid.

By 2030, data centers could account for nearly 12% of the nation’s energy usage, and experts warn that their surging demand is outpacing energy supply growth, threatening grid reliability, and driving up costs for ratepayers.

To address this problem, tech companies are investigating ways to supply their own power to data centers instead of relying entirely on the grid.

One option is to use on-site hydrogen fuel cells. These clean energy generators combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, using a catalyst to speed the reaction, reduce energy loss, improve overall performance, and extend the fuel cell’s operational lifespan.

The problem is, existing catalysts lack the necessary activity and durability to meet data center performance targets.

In a study published August 6, researchers present a new approach designed to overcome these limitations. It could expand hydrogen fuel cell use not only for data centers but for other energy-intensive technologies as well.

⇒ Read More Here