Google hires Windsurf CEO V=
arun Mohan, others in $2.4 billion AI talent deal (3 minute read)
Google has signed an agreement to hire =
Varum Mohan, the co-founder of AI coding startup, Windsurf, and other senio=
r Windsurf research and development employees. Google will not invest in Wi=
ndsurf, but it will receive a nonexclusive license to certain Windsurf tech=
nology. Windsurf is free to license its technology to others. Google is pay=
ing $2.4 billion for the deal. Windsurf had been in talks with OpenAI for a=
$3 billion acquisition deal, but the finalization period expired.
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SpaceX to Invest $2 Billion=
Into Elon Musk's xAI (3 minute read)
SpaceX agreed to invest $2 billion into=
xAI as part of xAI's $5 billion equity fundraise announced by Morgan Stanl=
ey last month. This is not the first time Elon Musk has mobilized his busin=
ess empire to boost the AI startup. More business partnerships between Spac=
eX and xAI are likely in the future. SpaceX recently had more than $3 billi=
on in cash on hand - the company rarely makes investments in outside ventur=
es.
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Science & Futuristic Technology
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Lucid absolutely smashes Gu=
inness World Record for the longest EV drive on a single charge (4 minute r=
ead)
Lucid Motors just set a Guinness World =
Record for the longest journey by an electric car on a single charge using =
its Air Grand Touring car, covering a distance of around 768 miles. The pre=
vious record of 649 miles was achieved by the Mercedes-Benz ETS450+ in June=
2025. Lucid Motors' EV traveled between St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Munic=
h, Germany through highways, secondary roads, and alpine roads. The Air Gra=
nd Touring, starting at $112,650, has two all-wheel drive electric motors w=
ith a combined system output of 611 kW (819 horsepower) and 1,200 Nm (885 l=
b-ft) of torque.
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A Never-Ending Supply of Dr=
ones Has Frozen the Front Lines in Ukraine (7 minute read)
Drones are dominating the battlefield i=
n the fight for Ukraine. Both sides have hundreds of them constantly in the=
air across the 750-mile front line. Drones can lay mines, deliver ammuniti=
on and medication, and even evacuate wounded or dead soldiers. They are bei=
ng used to spot movement along the front line and dispatched to strike enem=
y troops and vehicles. Drones are so cheap to make that both sides can expe=
nd them on any target, including individual soldiers. Due to their size and=
speed, they are difficult to shoot down, so the main defense against them =
has been electronic jamming systems - but these can be overcome with fiber-=
optic drones.
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Programming, Design & Data Science
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Announcing GenAI Processors=
: Build powerful and flexible Gemini applications (6 minute read)
Google DeepMind has released an open-so=
urce Python library designed to bring structure and simplicity to the chang=
es of building AI applications with large language models. GenAI Processors=
provides an abstraction layer that defines a consistent interface for ever=
ything from input handling and pre-processing to model calls and output pro=
cessing. The stream-based API allows for seamless chaining and composition =
of different operations. GenAI Processors helps developers write responsive=
applications without making code more complex.
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I messed up my Google PM Vi=
be Coding Interview (2 minute read)
A Reddit user attended the second round=
of their Google Product Management interview and was surprised when it tur=
ned out to be a vibe coding interview. This caused them to become flustered=
and underperform - they had the knowledge, but the stress caused them to b=
lank on the exact implementation. Those interviewing for similar roles shou=
ld take this post as a warning - be prepared for the possibility of a vibe =
coding interview format. The Reddit user was interviewing for an L5 PM role=
that had a strong focus on AI/ML.
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Tim Cook Isn't Going Anywhe=
re Soon, But an Apple Shake-Up Looms (16 minute read)
Apple's Chief Executive Officer Tim Coo=
k is probably not going to leave anytime soon despite being mired in Apple'=
s biggest crisis in years. Cook's longtime No. 2, Jeff Williams, just annou=
nced plans to retire, so there's no immediate successor ready to take the h=
elm, and there haven't been signs that Cook has begun the process of groomi=
ng a replacement. The board also doesn't feel the need to make a change - w=
hile shares are down 16% this year, they've surged about 1,500% since he be=
came CEO in 2011. While Cook is staying, the company has started a broad ma=
nagement shake-up - roughly half of Cook's direct reports could depart with=
in the next few years.
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Hypercapitalism and the AI =
talent wars (18 minute read)
The hypercapitalist AI talent wars will=
rewrite employment contracts and investment norms, concentrate returns, an=
d raise the bar for mission and capital required to create great new compan=
ies. The social contracts between employees, startups, and investors must b=
e rewritten. Founders must prepare themselves for the step-function increas=
e in mercenary firepower. The M&A talent war is just beginning - as the=
numbers get bigger for talent and companies, all sides need to reimagine t=
he social contract.
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Thanks for reading,
Dan Ni &a=
mp; Stephen =
Flanders
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