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Top stories today:

1. Google Gemini still in “training, finetuning”, likely 2024 launch
2. AlphaFold can now predict structure of ligands, nucleic acids
3. SBF finishes testimony, case moves to closing arguments
4. WeWork plans to file for bankruptcy as soon as next week
5. Israeli army closes in on Gaza City, as Houthis join war

0. Data and calendar

1. Google Gemini still in “training, finetuning”, suggesting 2024 launch

• “We’ll see [about 2024 launch],” said Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google Deepmind, in an interview with CNBC.

• Prediction markets think it’s either Q4 or Q1:

2. AlphaFold can now predict structure of ligands, nucleic acids

• Previously, only the protein structure could be predicted by Google Deepmind’s AI model.

• The software is being used to develop drugs by Isomorphic Labs, Deepmind’s biotech sister company.

  • No specific drug candidates have been announced. - Techcrunch, Google, paper

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4. SBF finishes testimony, case moves to closing arguments today

Jury deliberations should be out by early next week, according to prediction markets:

• SBF speculated about whether Nishad would plead guilty in a document he wrote in Dec. 2022, suggesting Bankman-Fried knew about his head of engineering’s involvement in a broader conspiracy.

• Today: both sides will take ~2 hours each for closing arguments, and the judge is likely to decide on jury instructions. - Bloomberg live

5. WeWork plans to file for bankruptcy as soon as next week

WeWork stock is down from 500 to 2 since 2021, with a current market cap of $121M:

• WeWork missed bond payments on Oct. 2, kicking off a 30-day grace period, which was recently extended by another 7 days. - WSJ

• In Q2, WeWork had -$397M of net income and ended the quarter with $205M in cash and $475M in loan capacity.

• $13B of investor capital has been invested in WeWork since inception, mostly by Softbank. - WeWork

6. Israeli army closes in on Gaza City, as Houthis join war

• Houthis declare war, fire another missile at Israel, shot down.

• U.S., Israel weigh options for post-war Gaza: UN, U.S/Saudi/UAE control.

• Hamas allows wounded, some foreigners to leave for Egypt.

• Israeli airstrikes hit Jabalia camp, killing Hamas commander.

• 9 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza invasion: IDF.

• Hezbollah: Israel may act against them after Hamas: natl. security advisor.

• McConnell wants more U.S. border aid in Israel, Ukraine aid bill.

• Jack Lew confirmed by Senate as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, 53 × 43.

• Saudi Arabia still interested in deal with Israel: WH.

• U.S. had stopped spying on Hamas post-9/11, relying on Israel.

• Egypt’s PM: “prepared to sacrifice millions of lives” to protect territory.

• Blinken testifies to Hamas’s atrocities on Oct. 7.

• TikTok sees 4x more pro-Palestine hashtag than pro-Israel.

7. U.S. infant deaths +3% to 5.6 per 1,000 births in 2022

8. Interesting videos, posts, and memes

9. Other headlines

AI

• U.S. AI Safety Institute announced by VP Harris.

• UK AI Summit kicks off: Elon, Hassabis, Altman joining.

• Doomer risk continues to be debated by AI leaders.

• Olive AI, health automatic company once valued at $4B, sells for parts.

• Word of the year: AI.

Tech

• AMD revenue +4% to $5.8B.

• Match (Tinder, Hinge, OKCupid) revenue +9% to $882M.

• 200K Tesla Cybertrucks/year is the aim: Elon Musk.

• X all-hands meeting: full transcript.

• Video game industry sees record-breaking sales with layoffs.

• Google’s mobile-first indexing complete after 7 years.

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Tech & law

• Tesla wins 1st U.S. Autopilot trial involving fatal crash.

  • Chinese court also rules in favor of Tesla in similar case.

• Google, Match reach settlement, reducing fee from 30% to 26%.

• Apple: Dutch regulator says 30% fee violates antitrust rules.

• Chinese social media asking top users to display real names.

• U.S.-led 40-country alliance pledges not to pay ransom to cybercriminals.

• Hesai, leader in lidar sensors, new target of U.S.-China export curbs.

• Google: emails suggest blurry line between search, ads teams.

Biotech

• Synthetic organ company Miromatrix acquired for $91M.

• FDA panel: exa-cel for sickle cell disease safe, effective.

• GSK revenue +4% to £8.15B in Q3.

Business

• Fed expected to leave rates at 5.25% - 5.50%.

• New trading firm will have financial news arm.

• Evergrande proposes new debt restructuring plan for bondholders.

• Druckenmiller: “massive” bullish bet on 2-year notes.

• Waystar IPO delayed to Dec., 2024.

Crypto

• Tether reports $3.2B in excess reserves, but $12B in risky assets.

• Bitcoin white paper turns 15.

U.S. politics

• Supreme Court weighs if officials can block citizens on social media.

• Trump sues to stop Michigan 14A effort to keep him off ballot.

  • Other states are considering the issue.

  • Mental institutions for homeless latest promise.

• Realtors found liable for $1.8B for keeping commissions high.

World

• North Korea closing multiple embassies.

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