🕶️ Build vs. buy: Apple’s $60B AI dilemma

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From AI-powered scams to billion-dollar cash-outs, this week feels like tech’s split personality on full display. Startups are raising millions for vaccines, holograms, and voice bots, while Big Tech wrestles with heavier questions: Apple torn between building or buying its way into AI, OpenAI employees liquidating $8B in shares, and automation quietly gutting entry-level jobs. Even Hyundai is betting on plant-based car seats, while hackers are using generative AI to sharpen ransomware.

And if you want the unfiltered version — with jokes, rants, and side-comments — check out our brand-new podcast, where we go deeper into the stories shaping startup land.

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Seven bullets of updates

🌱 Hyundai aims to use plant-based leather that slashes emissions by 95%, working to ditch animal hides for greener car interiors .
🤖 Melania Trump launches an AI contest for grades 9-12 to spur interest in next-gen tech, putting a spotlight on youth innovation in AI .
💻 Generative AI is now helping fuel ransomware attacks, with hackers using AI to automate malicious code and stay ahead of defenses.
🚀 Entrepreneurship can build wealth 10x faster than saving with millionaire habits, as seen with a side hustle earning 6 figures in just 1-2 hours weekly.
🤑 OpenAI allows employees to sell $8 billion worth of shares, surpassing previous estimates.
🤖 Employees are quietly using AI tools to save up to 30% of their time off the books, reshaping real productivity.
👶 Stanford data shows AI is gutting entry-level jobs — young coders down nearly 20% since 2022 — while “helper” roles see modest growth.

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Social Security Records Exposed in Amazon Cloud Security Incident

Photo by Adrien on Unsplash

The Social Security Administration’s top data cop just accused DOGE of playing fast and loose with the keys to the kingdom, uploading a live copy of critical Social Security records—names, numbers, the works—to an exposed Amazon server.

Government data rarely makes headlines for the right reasons, but this saga is a case study in the risks of cloud migrations done wrong. For founders handling sensitive customer data, consider this a cheat sheet for what not to do: move fast and break things is not a compliance strategy.

If the SEC or Congress decides to make an example, expect a ripple effect in enterprise sales cycles, procurement, and, of course, the next round of hiring for “Head of Data Security.”

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Why AI Music can Make Ridiculous Money

AI-generated bands are already hitting millions of streams, and the business behind them is shockingly profitable. From stream farms to loopholes in Spotify’s royalty system, fake music is quickly becoming one of the most lucrative scams in the industry.

In this video, we break down how streaming economics, click farms, and generative AI collided to create a perfect storm — and why the future of music might look more artificial than ever.

😎 More videos here 😎

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Learn from this investor’s $100m mistake

In 2010, a Grammy-winning artist passed on investing $200K in an emerging real estate disruptor. That stake could be worth $100+ million today.

One year later, another real estate disruptor, Zillow, went public. This time, everyday investors had regrets, missing pre-IPO gains.

Now, a new real estate innovator, Pacaso – founded by a former Zillow exec – is disrupting a $1.3T market. And unlike the others, you can invest in Pacaso as a private company.

Pacaso’s co-ownership model has generated $1B+ in luxury home sales and service fees, earned $110M+ in gross profits to date, and received backing from the same VCs behind Uber, Venmo, and eBay. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

Invest for $2.90/Share

_{Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at}_{invest.pacaso.com}_{. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.}

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These companies just raised money

💉 Vaxxas secures $90M to scale its needle-free vaccine patch tech, aiming to replace traditional jabs with painless skin delivery.
👓 Holo closes $22M to advance its holographic 3D printing tech, aiming to bring high-precision metal parts to industries like aerospace and healthcare.
🎤🍔 Vox AI grabs $8.7M to put voice bots in drive-thrus, aiming to speed orders and cut costs for fast-food chains.
🧵 BlueJay, a YC-backed startup with ex-Amazon and Microsoft talent, emerges from stealth with $4M to build AI agents that automate complex workflows.

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Apple’s AI Dilemma: Build or Buy?

Apple’s long-running “build, not buy” philosophy is under fire as the AI race heats up. Rumors point to talks with Perplexity and Mistral, but nothing is sealed, and that’s the story. Inside Apple, Eddy Cue is pushing for a big swing, while Craig Federighi argues his team can code their way out of trouble.

Officially, Apple is telling bankers it will stick to smaller AI deals, even as Tim Cook hints the company is “very open” to acquisitions that speed up its roadmap. With a $60B war chest and Google Search uncertainty looming, the question isn’t whether Apple can buy its way forward, it’s whether it finally will.