
Greetings! Your latest quick tech update is here:
☀️ On this day: On September 6, 2012, Facebook officially closed its acquisition of Instagram, then a 13-person team with roughly 30 million users and no revenue. The headline number was $1 billion, but Facebook's stock had slid since the April announcement, so the deal actually closed at about $715 million. Instagram crossed 3 billion monthly users last year, which makes it one of the cheapest billion dollars ever spent in tech.
What’s happening:
🤝 US and China plan AI safety talks
💰 Top 1% drive 80% of OpenAI revenue
⚖️ Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI, Microsoft
📱 iOS 27 lets two iPhones share one phone number
🚀 Germany just launched its first commercial rocket to orbit
+ 📊 Daily poll and results
+ 📈 Trending tools and resources
AI Guide
200 Ways To Make Money With AI
Ready to transform artificial intelligence from a buzzword into your personal revenue generator?
HubSpot’s groundbreaking guide "200+ AI-Powered Income Ideas" is your gateway to financial innovation in the digital age.
Inside you'll discover:
A curated collection of 200+ profitable opportunities spanning content creation, e-commerce, gaming, and emerging digital markets, each vetted for real-world potential
Step-by-step implementation guides designed for beginners, making AI accessible regardless of your technical background
Cutting-edge strategies aligned with current market trends, ensuring your ventures stay ahead of the curve
Download your guide today and unlock a future where artificial intelligence powers your success. Your next income stream is waiting.
Hand-picked news:
🤝 US and China plan AI safety talks ↗️LINK
The US and China are expected to hold their first dedicated AI safety talks in mid-September, creating a new official channel between the rivals since Donald Trump began his second term.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will likely lead the US delegation, which wants AI labs in both countries to curb AI-enabled cyberattacks and share threat information, though Washington says talks remain unconfirmed.
Washington also plans to raise Chinese distillation of US models after accusing Moonshot AI of copying Anthropic, so any agreement may start with a very narrow definition of cooperation.
💰 Top 1% drive 80% of OpenAI revenue ↗️LINK
New data from Ramp shows the top 1% of customers generate 80% of enterprise revenue at both OpenAI and Anthropic, even as more companies start paying for generative AI.
Ramp economist Ara Kharazian says no other software category it tracks shows this much concentration risk, partly because usage-based pricing scales spending with activity rather than employee seats.
At Anthropic, Cursor and GitHub Copilot contributed about $1.2 billion of its $5 billion revenue last year, showing how a tiny group of power users can carry an AI business.
⚖️ Seattle Times and Newsday sue OpenAI, Microsoft ↗️LINK
The Seattle Times and Newsday sued OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing both companies of using their journalism to train generative AI systems without permission and warning the practice threatens publishers’ business models.
The case joins a growing list of media lawsuits, including The New York Times’ 2023 complaint, as publishers argue AI companies profit from copyrighted reporting while competing with the journalists who created it.
The Seattle Times case adds an awkward twist: OpenAI and Microsoft previously funded some of the paper’s journalism projects and fellowships, turning a former collaborator into another courtroom opponent.
📱 Two iPhones can share one phone number ↗️LINK
Apple's iOS 27, due later this month, adds iPhone Handoff, which lets one phone number move between two iPhones. You pick a main device and a companion device in Settings.
The main iPhone keeps your primary eSIM while the companion gets a second eSIM on the same number and account. The line follows whichever iPhone you unlock and use.
Carriers control the switch, and only T-Mobile US and Deutsche Telekom show up in the code so far. Handy timing, given Apple unveils its first foldable iPhone on September 9.
🚀 Germany launched its first commercial rocket to orbit ↗️LINK
German startup Isar Aerospace launched its Spectrum rocket into low-Earth orbit from Norway, becoming Europe’s first fully commercial launch vehicle to reach orbit after its debut flight failed in 2025.
Isar spent eight years building Spectrum and raised roughly $1 billion, while Europe’s governments increasingly want cheaper, sovereign launch options instead of relying on heavily subsidized incumbents or SpaceX.
Isar already has five more Spectrum rockets in production and a factory designed for 40 launches annually, so reaching orbit may prove easier than turning one success into a routine business.

Today’s Poll:
Vote and find out about the result tomorrow.
Yesterday’s Poll Result:
Do you think you'd actually use an AI chatbot while driving?
A) Yes - 47%
B) No - 53% 🏆
Reader’s opinions:
“We don't need AI in every single facet of our lives. Make it useful, not a gimmick.”
“I'm such a bad driver anyway, I don't need any more distractions. ”
From our partner
How Jennifer Aniston’s LolaVie brand grew sales 40% with CTV ads
For its first CTV campaign, Jennifer Aniston’s DTC haircare brand LolaVie had a few non-negotiables. The campaign had to be simple. It had to demonstrate measurable impact. And it had to be full-funnel.
LolaVie used Roku Ads Manager to test and optimize creatives — reaching millions of potential customers at all stages of their purchase journeys. Roku Ads Manager helped the brand convey LolaVie’s playful voice while helping drive omnichannel sales across both ecommerce and retail touchpoints.
The campaign included an Action Ad overlay that let viewers shop directly from their TVs by clicking OK on their Roku remote. This guided them to the website to buy LolaVie products.
Discover how Roku Ads Manager helped LolaVie drive big sales and customer growth with self-serve TV ads.
The DTC beauty category is crowded. To break through, Jennifer Aniston’s brand LolaVie, worked with Roku Ads Manager to easily set up, test, and optimize CTV ad creatives. The campaign helped drive a big lift in sales and customer growth, helping LolaVie break through in the crowded beauty category.

AI for Managers by Microsoft (free course): In this learning path, managers at all levels of the organization will learn practical ways to enhance their effectiveness with generative AI.
Meco (free app): Meco is a distraction-free space for reading and discovering newsletters, separate from the inbox. Add your newsletters in seconds and liberate your inbox today!
Gamma: Create unlimited presentations, websites, and more in seconds. Everything you need to quickly create and refine content with AI.
Granola: AI notepad that turns your messy meeting notes into clean, structured summaries.
Better Pic: Get Studio Quality AI professional headshots, without a photographer or a photoshoot.




