Is it just me or is this summer so busy? The new AI models are always ongoing. M&A transactions are abnormally active. A funding round is being held. How about your summer? Please let me know (if I have time!).
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President Donald Trump and White House Apple CEO Tim Cook Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Who is on Apple's AI shopping list?
If you're a big tech CEO, what's the worst way to spend your summer day? As President Donald Trump, attending a White House event and getting mad about Jeffrey Epstein's reporting while you stand there. It has to be there.
I think Tim Cook has better things to do than going through this ordeal on Wednesday. He was there to stop Trump from crushing his iPhone in bulk with tariffs. Much higher on his to-do list: Get Apple back with AIGE games. SIRI's AI updates have been delayed, and the company has lost AI talent to its rivals.
What happens when a huge, cash-rich company is opposed to the wall? One common outcome is a flashy, strategic acquisition. These transactions make a statement and (if they work) they can attack companies on new sectors and technologies by quickly accumulating talent and intellectual property along with new users and customers.
In a recent call with an analyst, Cook dropped a big hint that Apple might do with AI. “We are very open to M&As that accelerate our roadmap. We are not staying with a company of a certain size,” he said.
Apple's biggest acquisition was $3 billion, so I took Cook's “size” comment as a particularly strong hint that the company could grow here.
So which AI startups can be on Apple's shopping list? Ben Bergman, Rebecca Torrence, and I asked bankers, venture capitalists and analysts this week if M&A targets might make sense. Check out the complete list below. However, a few times came out was Thinking Machines Lab, a startup run by former Openai CTO Mira Murati.
Zarago, a venture capitalist who has supported many startups in the field, including Murati's company, said: “They have a huge threat and opportunity throughout the Apple experience.”
Using memory and personalization to fundamentally improve Siri's experience with Apple's mobile data is a great opportunity, even if Siri has not kept up to the fierce pace of AI capabilities up until now.
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But you know what they say in Silicon Valley. Partnerships can be a prelude to a transaction.
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Other Bitech Stories that caught my eye:
Evaluation time
My views on who is up and down, including updates on high-tech jobs and rewards.
above: Do you know who really knows how to take the victory lap? Palantir CEO Alex Karp. Stocks in the defense tech company surged this week after breaking through Wall Street expectations. Over the past year, stock prices have risen by almost 600%.
under: Airbnb collapsed this week after publishing guidance that disappointed Wall Street. The stock has lost at least 15% since Brian Chesky went public in the second half of 2020.
Update your technical job:
In the BCG's 2025 “AI at Work” survey, employees and managers showed significant disparities in how the generated AI is integrated into their work. While 85% of leaders and 78% of managers use Genai regularly, only 51% of frontline employees who report similar use use frontline employees.
Concerns about AI-based work transfer remain high. However, this also depends on seniority. 43% of managers and leaders in the BCG survey hope that jobs will certainly disappear or likely disappear over the next decade. For frontline workers, the number was significantly lower at 36%, BCG found.
From group chat
Other big tech stories I found on the interweb:
- Openai gave a juicy bonus to dodge recruiters (information)
- Openai can probably afford it. Startups can be worth $500 billion in the secondary market (Bloomberg)
- AI Labs use all other data without permission, but when it happens to them, they get mad (wired)
- Uber Underreported Sexual Assault and Fraud Complaints (The New York Times)
- Elon's Big, New Pay Day (NYT)
AI play area
This is a space that features experimenting with AI tools and reader experiences. Next week, what should I do or should I use it? Please let me know.
This week I chatted with bi-reporter Katherine Lee. Katherine Lee is trying out Study Mode, a new version of ChatGpt for education.
Q: What was the main difference between Study Mode and the main ChatGPT tool?
The learning mode felt more positive and conversational. When I asked if I should buy a car and briefly explained my life, it introduced the concept of “cars becoming poor” without me asking. Regular ChatGpt doesn't do that. Study mode also gives concise bullet points instead of large paragraphs, making things clearer and there is less room for error. That also asked how I felt it Not only practical things like budgets and commutes, but also topics. For example, I asked if I felt anxious without a car or if I missed my family. When it mentioned Uber and grocery spending, it offered “budget exercises” like a thought experiment. Traditional ChatGpt crunches numbers when given a number.
Q: Which tasks are suitable for study mode for the main chatgpt?
Regular ChatGPT is fine for tasks like transcript summary or cover letter proofreading. But the learning mode shines when you want to clearly explain complex subjects with relevant new concepts, strengths and weaknesses, and exploratory thinking. No final product will be provided. It will help you create yourself.
Q: Is the learning mode good for students studying?
absolutely. It explains the concept in a deep, visual way. Some charts reminded me of my old IB Economics textbooks. It balances ideal advice (saving 20% of your income, for example) with realistic data (less than 8% for most Americans). It also has features such as quizzes that I have not tried yet. This is perfect for learning Spanish and exam preparation. However, it does not replace the emotional connections of human teachers.
Q: Are there any tips for technical memo readers using learning mode?
It will be open-ended. Don't simply seek the facts. Ask why something works, how there are alternatives, and how the design works. Like a good classroom, it's about curiosity.
User Feedback
I love hearing from readers. What do you want to see more?
Specifically, this week I would like to hear a reply about how work has interrupted your summer chilling plans. The most terrifying story = the best. Please let us know: abarr@businessinsider.com
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