🔊 Sam Altman aims to read minds using sound

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Greetings! Your latest quick tech update is here:

☀️ On this day: On October 28, 1955, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, was born in Seattle, Washington. Gates would go on to revolutionize the personal computing industry with the creation of MS-DOS and Windows, leading Microsoft to become one of the world’s most influential technology companies.

What’s happening:

• 🔊 Sam Altman aims to read minds with sound

• 🧠 Musk launches Grokipedia to rival Wikipedia

• ⚙️ Qualcomm unveils AI chips to rival Nvidia, AMD

• 💼 Anthropic debuts Claude for finance pros

• 🚕 Nvidia plans $3B robotaxi fleet to rival Tesla

• + 📊 Daily poll and results

• + 📈 Trending tools and resources

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Hand-picked news:

🔊 Sam Altman aims to read minds with sound ↗️LINK

• What: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is co-founding Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface startup using sound waves instead of surgery to connect the human brain with machines. Caltech bioengineer Mikhail Shapiro joins as a founding member, known for his breakthroughs in noninvasive neural imaging and ultrasound-based control.

• Why: Unlike Elon Musk’s invasive Neuralink, Merge plans to use gene therapy and ultrasound to interact with neurons safely—potentially allowing people to “think something and have ChatGPT respond.”

• Impact: Merge could pioneer a noninvasive mind–AI link, drawing heavy investor interest and pushing brain–tech innovation into mainstream territory.

🧠 Musk launches Grokipedia to rival Wikipedia ↗️LINK

• What: Elon Musk’s xAI launched Grokipedia, an AI-generated encyclopedia built using his Grok assistant, claiming to offer a truth-focused alternative to Wikipedia. The site’s version 0.1 already hosts over 885,000 articles, with Musk promising a “10X better” version soon.

• Why: Musk accuses Wikipedia of being “controlled by far-left activists” and says Grokipedia was delayed to “purge out the propaganda.” He positions it as a neutral, AI-driven platform dedicated to accuracy and transparency.

• Impact: The launch adds fuel to ongoing debates over bias in online information, challenging Wikipedia’s dominance and testing whether AI can deliver truly balanced knowledge.

⚙️ Qualcomm unveils AI chips to rival Nvidia, AMD ↗️LINK

• What: Qualcomm announced its first AI accelerator chips — the AI200 (2026) and AI250 (2027) — marking its entry into data center hardware dominated by Nvidia and AMD. The chips, based on Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPUs, can power full liquid-cooled server racks and focus on AI inference rather than model training.

• Why: With AI data center spending expected to hit $6.7T by 2030, Qualcomm aims to offer lower-cost, energy-efficient alternatives for cloud providers seeking more choice beyond Nvidia.

• Impact: Shares rose 11% after the reveal, signaling investor confidence as Qualcomm joins the high-stakes AI chip race reshaping global computing infrastructure.

💼 Anthropic debuts Claude for finance pros ↗️LINK

• What: Anthropic launched Claude for Financial Services, a specialized AI solution that helps banks, asset managers, and fintechs analyze markets, automate workflows, and make investment decisions. It integrates securely with platforms like Databricks, Snowflake, and FactSet while protecting user data.

• Why: By partnering with data and consulting giants such as Deloitte, PwC, and S&P Global, Anthropic aims to make advanced AI tools accessible without large in-house data teams.

• Impact: Early adopters like NBIM report 20% productivity gains, showing Claude’s potential to transform financial research, compliance, and decision-making across the industry.

🚕 Nvidia plans $3B robotaxi fleet to rival Tesla ↗️LINK

• What: Nvidia is reportedly investing $3 billion to develop its own robotaxi fleet in the U.S., separate from automaker partnerships. The project will use an end-to-end AI model, likely powered by Nvidia’s Cosmos foundation model, to train autonomous driving systems using synthetic video data.

• Why: Internal tests revealed Nvidia’s self-driving tech still trails Tesla’s FSD, prompting a push to refine performance and gather real-world experience.

• Impact: The move positions Nvidia as both a chipmaker and mobility operator, expanding its AI footprint from powering cars to running them—directly challenging Tesla’s lead in autonomy.

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Today’s Poll:

Vote and find out about the result tomorrow.

Yesterday’s Poll Result:

Do you prefer honesty over empathy from chatbots?

• A) Yes – I want real feedback - 93% 🏆

• B) No – I’d rather feel understood - 7%

Reader’s opinions:

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