The Daily Crunch – Spoken Edition Podcast
1) Do EA buyout talks hint at bigger industry troubles? plus, beware coworkers who produce AI-generated ‘work slop’, and AI startup Friend spent more than $1M on all those subway ads
Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier noted that video game companies are moving towards consolidation and that the deal could reflect EA executives’ broader concerns over the future of the industry. Following a...Show More
2) The Trump administration is going after semiconductor imports; also, More executives depart Hyundai’s air taxi startup Supernal
In its latest bid to boost semiconductor production in the U.S., the Trump administration is reportedly considering a ratio-based approach that would penalize domestic manufacturers with tariffs if th...Show More
3) Trump signs executive order to facilitate TikTok deal
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that essentially approves the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to an American investor group in order to keep the social media app operational in t...Show More
4) Y Combinator launches “Early Decision” for students who want to graduate first, build later
For decades, Silicon Valley has valorized the college dropout. Founders like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg left school early to build companies and they became billionaires. That ethos...Show More
5) Trump admin wants 10% stake in American lithium miner that sells to GM; plus YouTube now lets you hide recommendation pop-ups at the end of videos
In exchange for renegotiating the repayment period of a two point two six billion dollars Department of Energy loan, the Trump administration is asking for as much as 10% equity in Lithium Americas, a...Show More
6) How Al Gore used AI to track 660M polluters; plus, UK police arrest man linked to ransomware attack
Former Vice President Al Gore’s latest project gives polluters nowhere to hide. Climate Trace, a non-profit that Gore co-founded, launched a tool Wednesday that uses AI to track fine particulate pollu...Show More
7) SpaceX boasts an impressive alumni list. Some have gone on to found the sector’s biggest startups; others become astronauts
NASA unveiled its 2025 astronaut class this week, and two familiar names popped out: Anna Menon and Yuri Kubo. Both spent more than a decade at SpaceX, where they played critical roles in the company’...Show More
8) Meta launches super PAC to fight AI regulation as state policies mount, also Alloy is bringing data management to the robotics industry
Meta has raised the stakes in Big Tech’s fight against AI regulation. The Facebook-maker is investing “tens of millions” of dollars into a new super PAC to fight state-level tech policy proposals that...Show More
9) The Oakland Ballers let an AI manage the team. What could go wrong?
The Oakland Ballers, an independent Pioneer League baseball team, took that concept of “playing the percentages” to the next level: they let an AI manage the team for a game. The Ballers were founded ...Show More
10) Trump says Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch might invest in TikTok deal, also, Google isn’t kidding around about cost cutting
The Trump administration has been talking up a potential TikTok deal this weekend, with President Donald Trump telling Fox News on Sunday that Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan are “probably” going t...Show More