Funding and Valuation - Also Inc., a micromobility startup spun out of Rivian, has raised $200 million from Greenoaks Capital, bringing its post-money valuation to $1 billion [1] - Earlier in the year, Also raised $105 million from Eclipse Ventures when it was separated from Rivian [1] Company Background and Plans - Also originated as a skunkworks team within Rivian in 2022, known as Project Inder, focusing on developing an e-bike [2] - The team collaborated with Apple designer Jony Ive's firm, LoveFrom, for the project [2] - Now an independent company, Also aims to produce micro-EVs of various types and plans to unveil its first designs later this year [2]

Core Points - Jeff Williams, Apple's chief operating officer, is stepping down later this month to retire and spend more time with family [1] - Sabih Khan has been appointed as the new COO, currently serving as the senior vice president of operations [1] - Williams will continue to report to CEO Tim Cook and oversee the design team and Apple Watch until his retirement [2] - After Williams' retirement, the design team will report directly to Tim Cook [2] - Williams has been with Apple for nearly three decades, contributing significantly to the introduction of the iPod and iPhone, and leading the development of the Apple Watch [2]

Core Insights - Replit has announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft, which is expected to benefit both companies by integrating Replit's services into Microsoft's Azure Marketplace [1][2] - The partnership allows Replit to be available for purchase through Microsoft's enterprise cloud app store, enhancing its accessibility to Microsoft users [2] - Replit's technology will integrate with various Microsoft cloud services, including containers and Neon Serverless Postgres, potentially generating revenue for Azure from Replit applications [2] Company Overview - Replit is positioned as a user-friendly platform that caters to both experienced programmers and those with little coding experience, allowing users to create web applications through natural language prompts [4][6] - The company has experienced significant growth, increasing its annual recurring revenue from $10 million to $100 million within six months [6] - Replit claims to have over 500,000 business users on its platform, indicating a strong user base and market presence [8] Competitive Landscape - Replit does not directly compete with Microsoft's GitHub Copilot, as they target different user demographics and use cases [3][4] - The partnership with Microsoft may impact Google Cloud, as Replit applications are typically hosted on Google Cloud, although Replit will continue to support Google Cloud alongside Microsoft [9][10] - Other competitors in the market include startups like Lovable and Bolt, which are also experiencing rapid growth in annual recurring revenue [8]

Group 1 - Apple's head of AI models, Ruoming Pang, is leaving to join Meta, indicating a trend of high-ranking AI executives moving to Meta under CEO Mark Zuckerberg [1] - Pang previously led Apple's team that developed AI foundation models, which have not been as successful as those from competitors like OpenAI and Meta [2] - Pang's departure may signal further issues within Apple's AI unit, and he could contribute valuable expertise in on-device AI models to Meta [3] Group 2 - Apple's AI models are reportedly less capable than those offered by competitors, leading the company to consider using third-party AI models for future upgrades [2] - Meta has been actively recruiting talent from various leading AI organizations, enhancing its capabilities in the AI sector [3]

Group 1 - CoreWeave signed a $9 billion all-stock deal to acquire Core Scientific, a data center infrastructure provider [1] - The acquisition will provide CoreWeave with over 1 gigawatt of data center capacity, sufficient to power more than 850,000 homes, for AI training and inference workloads [1] - Core Scientific, previously focused on Bitcoin mining, will now utilize its GPUs for running and training generative AI models [1] Group 2 - Cloud infrastructure providers are expanding their data center capacity to meet the growing computational demands of AI companies [2] - OpenAI has entered into a deal to rent an additional 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity from Oracle, enhancing their existing Stargate infrastructure agreement [2]

Group 1 - Apple has filed an appeal against the EU's decision to impose a €500 million fine for non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act [1] - The European Commission issued the fine in April, stating that Apple did not allow developers to accept payments outside of the App Store [1] - In late June, Apple revised its fee structure for app distribution in the EU to include an initial acquisition fee, a store services fee, and a core technology commission [2] Group 2 - Apple argues that the European Commission's decision and fine exceed legal requirements and impose confusing business terms on developers [3] - The company believes that the mandated changes are detrimental to users [3]

Core Viewpoint - The Independent Publishers Alliance has filed an antitrust complaint against Google, alleging misuse of web content for AI Overviews in Google Search, which has led to significant harm for publishers, particularly in traffic, readership, and revenue loss [1] Group 1 - The complaint states that publishers do not have the option to opt out of their material being used in AI summaries unless they are willing to disappear from Google search results entirely [1] - Google has been adding AI-generated summaries to search results for over a year, and this feature is reportedly causing major traffic declines for news publishers [2] - Google argues that new AI experiences in Search create opportunities for content and businesses to be discovered, and claims about web traffic are often based on incomplete data [3]

Microsoft is closing its operations in Pakistan, marking the end of a 25-year presence in the South Asian nation. The Redmond-based company on Friday told TechCrunch that it is changing its operational model in Pakistan and will now serve its customers through resellers and "other closely located Microsoft offices." "Our customer agreements and service will not be affected by this change," a Microsoft spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "We follow this model successfully in a number of other countrie ...

Group 1: Sales and Production Performance - Lucid delivered 3,309 vehicles in the second quarter, marking a 6% increase in sales from the previous period and setting a new sales record for the company [1] - The company produced 3,863 vehicles in the second quarter, nearly 1,000 more than the previous period, with a total of 6,075 vehicles produced in the first six months of the year [1][2] Group 2: Production Goals and Challenges - Lucid aims to meet an annual production goal of 20,000 vehicles, but currently faces a gap of nearly 14,000 vehicles to fill [2] - To achieve this target, the company needs to ramp up production of its new all-electric Gravity SUV, which began production in December 2024 [3] Group 3: Management Insights and Market Conditions - CEO Marc Winterhoff indicated that production has been slower than desired due to tariff pressures and a focus on quality [3] - Winterhoff emphasized customer interest in the Gravity SUV to address concerns about demand, while also noting a modest supply chain bottleneck impacting timelines [4][6] Group 4: Sales Strategies - The company has initiated a new car program and sales to rental fleets, which may have contributed to the Q2 figures, although specific impacts remain unclear [7] - In the first quarter, Lucid sold approximately 300 cars to what it termed "rental companies," primarily leasing companies that leased the vehicles back to the automaker [8]

Core Insights - Amazon is shutting down its standalone Freevee app in August, directing users to access Freevee content on Prime Video instead [1][2] - The integration of Freevee content into Prime Video is part of Amazon's strategy to simplify its streaming services and consolidate offerings on a single platform [5] Group 1: Service Transition - The Freevee app will remain accessible until August 2025, allowing users to watch Free Originals and a library of movies and shows for free on Prime Video without a subscription [2][3] - Amazon previously announced in November 2024 its decision to phase out Freevee branding while ensuring no change to the content available for Prime members [3] Group 2: Historical Context - Freevee, launched in 2019 and initially named "IMDb TV," was rebranded in 2022 and is available in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Austria [6] - Popular original series on Freevee include "Jury Duty," "Bosch: Legacy," and "Neighbours," which will now be accessible under the "Watch for Free" section on Prime Video [6] Group 3: Industry Trends - A recent Nielsen report indicated that streaming services surpassed cable and network television in total viewership in the U.S. for the first time in May, with free streaming services significantly contributing to this growth [8] - PlutoTV, Roku Channel, and Tubi collectively accounted for 5.7% of total TV viewing in May, highlighting the rising popularity of free streaming options [8]