Tuesday 1 September 2026
Top stories today:
Amazon sued by FTC, 22 state AGs over alleged hidden ad surcharges
Phil Schiller steps down from Appleās App Store, events roles
Pentagon launches ChatGPT Mil, Grok for Government
Polymarket raises $1B at $21B valuation, led by 1789 Capital
ChatGPTās ad business hits $1B annualized revenue run rate
0. Data & Calendar
All values as of 6 AM ET / 3 AM PT, other than S&P500 and NASDAQ close (4 PM ET / 1 PM PT).
All times are ET.
Listen to our AI-generated podcast summarizing todayās newsletter (beware of hallucinations):
1. Amazon sued by FTC, 22 state AGs over alleged $20B+ in hidden ad surcharges
Amazon shares closed Mon. -2.5% on the news:
Amazon āsecretly and systematically overchargedā advertisers by manipulating its pricing and auction systems, the FTC alleged.
Millions of advertisers were misled into paying significantly higher prices, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson said.
2019: Amazon allegedly changed its auction rules without notice, adding an undisclosed surcharge called a āsoft reserve price.ā
Amazon called the lawsuit āmisguidedā and said the complaint āfundamentally misunderstands how advertising auctions operate.ā
Advertisers saved $8B through Amazonās auction systems between 2021-2025, the company claimed.
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3. Phil Schiller steps down from App Store, events roles as John Ternus becomes Apple CEO
Schiller will remain at Apple as an Apple Fellow, working on unspecified initiatives.
Eddy Cue will take responsibility for the App Store under his services unit.
Tim Cook penned an emotional memo on Mon., his last day as Apple CEO
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5. Pentagon launches ChatGPT Mil, Grok for Government for 3M personnel
GenAI.mil has added the two tools alongside Google Gemini.
ChatGPT Mil will support document-heavy, routine unclassified work, including administration, logistics and planning.
Grok is expected to deliver immediate productivity gains for warfighters while supporting knowledge continuity.
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7. Polymarket said to raise $1B at $21B valuation, led by Trump Jr.-linked 1789 Capital
1789 Capital is reportedly investing ~$300M of the $1B round.
Donald Trump Jr. is an adviser to both Polymarket and Kalshi, as well as a partner at 1789 Capital
