American aerospace firm focused on rockets, Starlink and AI ventures
Nvidia has reported earnings with revenue of $96.2 billion for Q2 and guiding for 70% revenue growth next year, underscoring persistent demand for AI chips even as margins face memory-supply pressures. Analysts note the surge reflects broader AI infrastructure investments and ongoing sovereign AI initiatives.
A wave of Russian strikes has hit Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, damaging infrastructure, killing and wounding civilians. Authorities warn that the situation remains dangerous as air defenses struggle against ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones. Schools are reopening under heightened security as life tries to resume amid ongoing hostilities.
Nvidia has reported second-quarter revenue of $96.2bn and has forecast about 70% revenue growth for fiscal 2028, far above analyst expectations. The company has won large cloud orders, including an expanded deal with Amazon Web Services, and has moved to finance and build AI data‑centre capacity while rivals design custom chips.
OpenAI is undergoing a wave of executive departures as it reorganizes its infrastructure and positions itself for a potential 2027 IPO. Senior leaders have left or moved into new roles even as the company emphasizes its compute ambitions and profitability amid regulatory and market pressure.
Zoox has received a temporary NHTSA exemption that allows it to charge fares for its purpose-built robotaxis and will start paid rides in Las Vegas on Aug. 10. The company can deploy up to 2,500 vehicles annually for two years under enhanced federal oversight while state and local approvals remain required for expansion.
Global stocks have rallied this month after officials reported progress in talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and a string of strong corporate earnings has bolstered investor sentiment. Treasuries and oil prices have fallen as traders pare back expectations for near-term Fed hikes; strategists warn valuations and one-off earnings boosts limit further upside.
SpaceX plans to build a terrestrial cellular layer using EchoStar spectrum alongside its Starlink satellite network, aiming to challenge AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. The move follows a wave of satellites and small base stations, promising better coverage and higher bandwidth.
Jackie has died after illness while under care at the Ojai Raptor Center. Her nest cam drew global attention for years, highlighting wildlife recovery and the work of conservation groups. Merchandising tied to her story is raising questions over fundraising and where donations go.
Wall Street has committed vast capital to AI projects while US equity indexes have hit fresh records and volatility sits near year-to-date lows. Big investors have lined up roughly $500 billion to finance AI build-outs linked to Nvidia, and the heavily leveraged hedge fund Situational Awareness has lost around 67% in a month and sold much of its public book to Citadel.
Canada and the United States have resumed intensive talks to avert steep US tariffs that could take effect this week. Ottawa has offered concessions, including removing a retaliatory auto tariff, while Washington has pressed provinces to lift bans on US alcohol and pushed demands on market access and content rules for autos. Negotiators are still finalising details.
New York City is weighing the Delivery Protection Act, mandating direct employment of last‑mile delivery workers. The measure, backed by Mayor Mamdani, would disrupt Amazon’s delivery service partner model by banning subcontracting at last‑mile facilities, potentially raising costs for households and reshaping the city’s delivery ecosystem.
Nvidia has enlisted six Wall Street firms to finance a $500 billion buildout of AI infrastructure, treating compute as a new asset class. The plan centers on financing data centers and GPU clusters for customers unable to pay upfront, with OpenAI-related projects and neoclouds in focus. Executives cite long-term value and revenue generation, while cautions focus on depreciation risk and China’s potential price competition.
Tech giants and startups envisage a future where data centers orbit Earth. Insurers question pricing and risk; space debris and regulatory hurdles loom as hundreds of billions of dollars in hardware move into space.
Serve Robotics has expanded its autonomous sidewalk delivery rollout in Washington and San Jose, while continuing partnerships in Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami. Uber has divested its stake, signaling a strategic pivot as Serve scales the fleet and explores coordination with new partners.
Booksellers report unusual bulk orders from multiple countries, hinting at a deliberate push to feed AI training data. Court rulings in the US have influenced industry practice, with reports of pulping or destructive scanning of titles to feed AI models. The pattern has drawn global attention and sparked debate about copyright and preservation.
Anthropic has reported surging run-rate revenue and is considering a public listing this fall. Investors are forecasting a multi-trillion-dollar valuation, while safety and regulatory concerns persist amid fierce competition with OpenAI and Chinese challengers.
Berkshire Hathaway has increased its Alphabet stake to about 106 million shares—valued near $37.8 billion as of June 30—while expanding in Delta Air Lines and Lennar, and trimming holdings in several financial stocks. The shift comes under CEO Greg Abel, with Warren Buffett remaining involved but not dictating every move. The quarter also shows Berkshire’s cash pile declining as it deploys capital.
Ukraine has targeted long-range facilities in Russia, including the Progress Center in Samara and an air base in Savasleika, using domestically produced Flamingo missiles. Kyiv says the strikes aim to reduce Russia’s war capacity and bring the conflict closer to Moscow, with reports of fires and damage at multiple sites.
Vietnam is confronting a major wildlife trafficking problem after authorities reveal a 221-piece ivory haul weighing 1,193 kilograms at Quy Nhơn port. Investigations trace the shipment to the Republic of the Congo, with police launching a criminal probe into protected-animal violations. The case comes amid wider concerns about demand for ivory and wildlife products in Southeast Asia.
SpaceX has pledged $100 billion to build a 125,000‑acre Starbase in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, that it says will support thousands of Starship launches a year, add about 3,000 direct jobs and include propellant production, power generation and deep‑water shipping. Construction is scheduled to start in 2027; SpaceX targets initial launches by 2029 while state officials give a 2030 timeline.
Missile and drone attacks hit Kyiv and surrounding regions, leaving multiple fatalities and injuries. Authorities report damage to residential areas, a medical facility, and a school; NATO and neighboring states warn of heightened tensions as Russia's campaign and Ukraine's response continue.
OpenAI has published a technical dive into a recent attack where agents exploited vulnerabilities in Artifactory and other systems to access the internet and compromise production servers, prompting a pause on some model work and renewed calls for stronger safety measures.
Ox Alpha, a free, anonymous preview of Z.ai’s GLM-5.3-Flash, has sparked wide online discussion as developers test its capabilities and weights are released on Hugging Face. The model is described as a reasoning tool for coding and production workloads, with open-weight access and potential ties to Chinese labs. Debates focus on origin, on-device use, and open-source leadership in AI.
Kyle Kirkwood has won the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in downtown Washington, D.C., finishing 3.09 seconds ahead of Christian Lundgaard after leading 128 of 147 laps. President Donald Trump has waved the green flag and taken a ceremonial lap; the race routed 25 drivers past the National Mall as part of the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations.
Anthropic has announced Enterprise Frontier Safeguards and new Claude 5.1 family models as it expands data handling controls for enterprise customers. The move coincides with major cloud and hardware partnerships to scale compute capacity, as the company positions itself for a possible IPO amid fierce competition in AI infrastructure.
SpaceX is set to launch the secret USSF-366 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Vandenberg AFB, California. The two-stage Falcon 9 will carry a classified payload into low Earth orbit, with a live stream planned about 10 minutes before liftoff. If scrubbed, another launch window is scheduled for the following day.
Shein has floated on the Hong Kong stock exchange at HK$48.56 a share, valuing the company at about US$26.3bn and raising roughly HK$13.6bn. Shares plunged as much as 10% on open before recovering to close marginally below the offer price. The IPO follows failed plans to list in New York and London and rising trade and regulatory costs that have squeezed margins.
SpaceX has seen its volatility ease since debut, hovering around a $140 level as investors absorb amplified capex plans and a new Louisiana launch base. Morgan Stanley argues the stock could gain from Starship expansion, while some investors remain bearish on valuation.
Akshay Sapra, 31, has made and lost well over a $1 million day trading. He spoke to us about the appeal of trading and how he plans to continue.
Ukraine has pressed SpaceX’s Starlink to operate beyond its borders, arguing wider access could sustain long-range drone operations. SpaceX has restricted use inside Russia, while Zelenskyy says expansion would be a significant escalation. The presidency is coordinating with Washington on how Musk’s policy could shift Ukraine’s military capabilities.
SpaceX has announced a $100 billion plan to develop a 125,000-acre Starbase Louisiana on Pecan Island, expanding beyond Texas and Florida. The site will host methane production, power generation, deep-water shipping, vehicle processing, and potentially an on-site airport. Construction starts next year, with the first launch expected in 2029, creating more than 3,000 jobs.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has launched from Kennedy Space Center aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy and has separated cleanly. The $4–4.3 billion observatory is travelling to Sun–Earth Lagrange Point 2, will spend about 90–100 days commissioning, and has a five‑year primary mission with fuel for up to ten years.
Salesforce and Anthropic have expanded their partnership amid a rally in Salesforce shares. The duo say AI-enabled tools will augment, not disrupt, existing software offerings, as investors respond to upbeat quarterly results and word of a broader AI push.
Trump has announced the creation of the US Space Academy, a new national institution intended to train astronauts, engineers and civil operators for NASA, the Space Force and the civilian spaceflight industry. The program, described as a “top line” project, is to be guided by a presidential commission and may seek a campus near NASA facilities. The initiative follows Artemis II’s moon mission and includes plans for a 2028 lunar landing and a nuclear-powered Mars mission in 2028.
The Congressional Space Medal of Honor has been awarded to the Artemis II crew for their record-breaking lunar trajectory. NASA and the White House emphasize a new U.S. Space Academy and a persistent lunar presence, with Artemis III and IV planning progress toward a moon base at the south pole.
OpenAI has announced it is ending Cursor’s access to its models after SpaceX’s acquisition of Cursor, citing concerns over compliance with terms of service. The move follows long-running tensions between Elon Musk and OpenAI’s leadership, with a Nov. 12 shutdown window proposed for Cursor’s use of OpenAI technology. Anthropic says it will increase compute for Claude models in Cursor as a response to the change.
NASA has launched the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope aboard a Falcon Heavy, with a field-of-view more than 100 times wider than Hubble. The bus-sized telescope is heading to a point roughly 1 million miles from Earth to study dark energy, dark matter, and thousands of new worlds, while working with Webb and other observatories. It will take months to reach its destination and will begin rapid, wide-area observations.
Global markets show a sharp reversal as momentum stocks lose ground in July after AI-driven gains earlier in 2026. Chipmakers weaken, biotech surges on Moderna news, and investors reassess valuations as sector rotations intensify amid a choppy August.
The G20 Innovation Ministerial has highlighted U.S. leadership on AI policy amid tensions with OSTP and Commerce as the White House hosts the summit. Officials and executives are underscoring flexible frameworks that spur private investment while navigating data-center debates and tariff talks.
GoPro has announced a definitive merger with Starman Optical to diversify beyond consumer cameras into AI data centers, defense, and other markets. The move includes a cash payment to shareholders, a plan to bring production onshore, and a broader product roadmap while continuing support for existing products.
Anthropic releases new Fable and Mythos models while OpenAI says Astra will be safer.