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Top stories today:
- Reflection AI, open LLM maker, raises $2B at $8B valuation
- Intel unveils 18A Panther Lake chip for 2025 turnaround
- China said to have launched customs crackdown on NVIDIA AI chips
- OpenAIās Sora app hits 1M downloads in under 5 days
- Nobel Peace Prize 2025 awarded to MarĆa Corina Machado
- Anthropic study finds just 250 malicious documents can backdoor LLM
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).
No major events today.
Listen to our AI-generated podcast summarizing todayās newsletter (beware of hallucinations):
1. Reflection AI, open LLM maker, raises $2B at $8B valuation with NVIDIA backing
Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sequoia, existing investors, also joined the round.
NVIDIA contributed an $800M check and sent engineers to help Reflection AI optimize its latest chips
DST, 1789 Capital, and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt participated as well.
Elon Musk is building the Tesla Smart Home.
Apple is doubling down with new Face-ID locks and smart displays.
The worldās biggest tech giants are battling for dominance in the $158B smart home market, growing 23% each year.
Big Tech is pouring billionsā the race is officially on.
Just like how Google acquired Nest for $3.2 Billion and Amazon snapped up Ring for $1.2 Billion, investors are hunting for the next smart home breakout.
As Tesla and Apple race ahead, one startup is riding the waveāleading a massive, overlooked category - smart shades. And RYSE is dominating it.
RYSE checks every box:
10 granted patents
Over $12M in revenue
200% annual growth
RYSE is not just another smart gadgetāitās a prime acquisition target in a category with billion-dollar potential.
At just $2.25/share, investors can still get in earlyābefore their next wave of growth.
The next Nest or Ring could be this.
Invest in RYSE now
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3. Intel unveils 18A Panther Lake chip (Core Ultra Series 3) for 2025 turnaround
Intel shares +1% on launch news:
Early 2026: Panther Lake processors will go on sale
18A process tech developed and deployed in the U.S., Intel says
Features gate-all-around transistors and backside power delivery
Intel faces a tough fight with NVIDIA in the data center market
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5. China said to have launched customs crackdown on NVIDIA AI chips
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