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| ❝ | | | When you arise in the morning, think of what a privilege it is to be alive- to think, to enjoy, to love. | | | | Marcus Aurelius |
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Date: Monday, May 18, 2026 |
Hey AI Visionaries, |
In this 104th edition we talk about … |
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Thank you for being an engaged reader and helping us cross 5,500 subscribers over 104 editions! |
As usual, please send in your feedback and suggestions - it helps me to improve the newsletter for you. |
-Renjit |
PS: If you want to unleash the power of OpenClaw and Hermes AI agents for personal and business productivity, you can setup time speak to me here» |
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Microsoft Quietly Seeks AI Alternatives |
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Despite a staggering $13 billion investment in OpenAI, Microsoft is reportedly on an urgent, yet discreet, quest for new AI partners. The company has been quietly canvassing startups for acquisitions, signaling a strategic future beyond its primary collaboration. |
The surprising pivot follows a recent contract amendment that stripped Microsoft of its exclusive license to OpenAI models, effectively freeing both companies to explore new avenues. |
Microsoft nearly acquired Cursor, a prominent code-generation startup, but withdrew over regulatory concerns; Elon Musk's xAI quickly capitalized on this. |
Now, talks are progressing with Inception, a Stanford-born innovator developing uniquely fast, diffusion-based language models, aligning with Mustafa Suleyman's mandate to build a diverse in-house AI powerhouse. |
SO WHAT? |
This strategic shift is not merely about finding an "OpenAI replacement." It's a clear move to control foundational AI layers and talent. The clear is to ensure that Microsoft remains at the forefront of innovation and offers developers a broader, more resilient ecosystem of cutting-edge tools, independent of a single provider. |
Read the source |
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The ops hire that onboards in 30 seconds. | | Viktor is an AI coworker that lives in Slack, right where your team already works. | Message Viktor like a teammate: "pull last quarter's revenue by channel," or "build a dashboard for our board meeting." | Viktor connects to your tools, does the work, and delivers the actual report, spreadsheet, or dashboard. Not a summary. The real thing. | There’s no new software to adopt and no one to train. | Most teams start with one task. Within a week, Viktor is handling half of their ops. | Add Viktor to Slack for free. |
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Cerebras Launches Record $5.55 Billion IPO |
Cerebras Systems made a significant debut, completing the largest U.S. initial public offering this year by raising $5.55 billion and achieving a $40 billion valuation. |
Investor demand for the AI chip specialist's shares surged over 20 times the available supply, pushing pricing well above the initial range. |
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This remarkable debut highlights strong investor interest in companies leading the AI boom, particularly those like Cerebras developing specialized chips to power advanced AI models for real-world deployment. |
The company's impressive revenue growth, from $290.3 million to $510 million, further highlights a market segment eager for high-performance computing solutions beyond established players. |
SO WHAT? |
Beyond Cerebras's success, this IPO signals a broader resurgence in the market, especially for AI and defense technology firms. The timing of the IPO was smartly planned to ensure that it came before the planned SpaceX IPO, which is going to soak up a lot of capital. |
Read the source |
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Your Mobile Co-Pilot: Codex in ChatGPT App |
OpenAI has integrated Codex, their advanced AI agent, directly into the ChatGPT mobile app, enabling developers to manage complex coding tasks from anywhere. We saw this feature earlier in the Claude “Dispatch” feature. |
Users can now engage with active threads, review code outputs, approve commands, and initiate new investigations on their devbox or remote environments. This update allows projects to progress without being tied to a desktop; imagine inspecting a bug, making a crucial decision mid-commute, or synthesizing urgent customer data on the go. |
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The release also includes robust features such as secure remote SSH connections, programmatic access tokens for automation, and enterprise-grade support, including HIPAA compliance for local environments. This enhances AI-driven development, making it more flexible and integrated. |
SO WHAT? |
For tech professionals, this transforms a phone into a powerful co-pilot, offering unprecedented freedom to stay engaged and make timely decisions. |
Read the source |
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10x the context. Half the time. | | Speak your prompts into ChatGPT or Claude and get detailed, paste-ready input that actually gives you useful output. Wispr Flow captures what you'd cut when typing. Free on Mac, Windows, and iPhone. | Try Wispr Flow free |
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SpaceXAI Faces Talent Exodus Post-Merger |
Elon Musk's SpaceXAI is reportedly facing a significant talent exodus, with over 50 key researchers and engineers, including critical AI development leaders, having departed since its February merger. |
Rivals like Meta and Thinking Machines Lab are actively recruiting this talent, raising concerns about SpaceXAI's commitment to cutting-edge model development, particularly as its vital pre-training team has sharply diminished. We have read earlier about how Meta spent hundreds of millions to attract top talent. |
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Insiders point to Musk's notoriously intense work culture and unrealistic deadlines, alongside employees seeking liquidity from vested shares ahead of an anticipated IPO, as major drivers reducing their tolerance for high-pressure environments. |
SO WHAT? |
This exodus underscores the fierce AI talent war and raises crucial questions about SpaceXAI's long-term innovation capabilities. |
Read the source |
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Post from X that caught my eye |
Link below» |
Peter Steinberger (creator of OpenClaw personal AI Agent), spends $ 1.3M worth of tokens in 30 days! |
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📚 Sources & Further Reading |
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