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Top stories today:
- Apple may be working on Ring, Glasses, improved Airpods, HomePod
- Samsungās Galaxy Ring sees more details revealed
- Buffett calls Munger āarchitect of Berkshire,ā as earnings +21% in 2023
- Figure AI raises $675M at $2B pre-money valuation
- BYD announces $233K premium EV, proposes doubling buyback
0. Data and 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.
1. Apple may be working on Ring, Glasses, improved Airpods, HomePod
A HomePod with āiPad-like displayā is the most likely of these to be launched soon, possibly in 2025+.
The Apple Ring would be a much cheaper alternative to the Apple Watch, and also focus on health features.
Appleās glasses would be cheaper, lighter versions of the Vision Pro, and potentially an AirPods replacement.
Adding cameras to the AirPods is being studied by Apple.
Rumors reported by Bloomberg just 1 day before Samsungās Galaxy Ring announcement (details below).
2. Samsungās Galaxy Ring sees more details revealed
Health sensors include heart rate, movement, and respiratory indicators.
My Vitality Score is their new metric based on sleep, activity, heart rate, and heart rate variability.
Launch date: 2024, month TBD.
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4. Buffett calls Munger āarchitect of Berkshire,ā as operating earnings +21% to $37.4B in 2023
Buffett started Berkshire Hathwayās 2023 letter to shareholders with a homage to Charlie Munger, who died at 99 this year:
āNo possibility of eye-popping performance,ā writes Buffett.
Operating earningsā growth was led by insurance, helped by higher interest earned on their record $169B float
Berkshireās cash position grew to a record $168B, as Buffett held off on acquisitions and share purchases
Berkshire stock +5% in the pre-market, as its valuation hovers at ~ $950B.
Buffettās son has donated $522M to Ukraine, as of Jan. 2024.
5. Figure AI raises $675M at $2B pre-money valuation, from Bezos, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon, Intel, OpenAI
Bezosā investment suggests Figure and Amazon may be working together on using Figureās AI-powered robots on Amazon facilities.
OpenAI considered acquiring Figure āat one point.ā
Disclaimer: weāre indirect investors in Figure.
Meanwhile, Elon posted a new video of Teslaās Optimus robot on X
Tesla and Figure are seen as the top 2 players in humanoid robots:
Yangwang U9 takes 2.36 seconds to go from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph).
Vs. 1.99 seconds for the Tesla Model S Plaidās 0 to 60.
Exclusive to China, for now.
Stock was +5% after the buyback doubling announcement, but closed at +1%.
7. iPhone remains leader in Europe, at 30%, with Samsung at 29%, Xiaomi 18%
8. Interesting videos, posts, and memes
9. Other headlines
AI
Gemini coming for Google Messages this week in beta.
Google explains Geminiās failure to draw historical figures accurately.
Humane Ai Pinās delivery delayed to mid-April.
HubSpot: download 100 curated ChatGPT prompts, for free.*
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Tech
Microsoft offered to sell Bing to Apple in 2018.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra launches in Europe for ā¬1,499.
X rolling out audio, video calls to non-Premium subscribers.
Google tests removing News tab from search results.
Thiel Fellowshipās success: a look at.
citizenM has 14 tech-ready hotels stateside for the best night's sleep of your life.*
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Tech & law
Supreme Court to hear arguments on online free speech today.
TSMC opens 1st chip plant in Japan, $5B in new subsidies announced.
SpaceX pressured by House China committee to offer services to Taiwan.
Biotech
Partial reprogramming extends lifespan in mice: Rejuvenate Bio study.
Xolair protects against multiple severe food allergies: study.
Business
Crypto
MicroStrategyās X account hacked.
All-time VC funding reaches $90B.
Binanceās $4.3B plea deal approved by judge, CZās sentencing in Apr.
DOE agrees to temporarily suspend crypto miner survey following lawsuit.
*Sponsored.
U.S. politics
RNC chair to step down on Mar. 6, as Trump seeks to install allies.
Koch network stops funding Haley after 60% - 40% loss to Trump in SC.
Partial shutdown deal not reached in Washington.
Vivek, Noem tied as top VP choices at CPAC straw poll.
Fake AI Biden robocall: dem operative admits to being creator.
Trumpās D.C. hotel: new owner defaults on $100M loan.
World
Netanyahu: ātotal victoryā āweeks awayā after Rafah operation.
Sunak calls for $300B in Russian frozen assets to be given to Ukraine.
Russia preparing new offensive in late May+: Zelensky.
Navalnyās body handed to mother, funeral TBD.
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