Daily Strategic Briefing

Congress tries to outlaw AI that jacks up prices based on what it knows about you

Surveillance-based pricing? Two lawmakers say enough Two Democratic members of Congress, Greg Casar (D-TX) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI,) have introduced legislation in the US House of Representatives to ban the use of AI surveillance to set prices and wages.…

Blame a leak for Microsoft SharePoint attacks, researcher insists

MAPP program to blame? A week after Microsoft told the world that its July software updates didn't fully fix a couple of bugs, which allowed miscreants to take over on-premises SharePoint servers and remotely execute code, researchers have assembled much of the puzzle — with one big missing piece.…

Intel to throw networking biz over the side of its rapidly shrinking ship

Chipzilla hopes it can pull an Altera with its NEX division, and is now looking for buyers Intel isn't just laying off employees and closing plants in a bid to cut costs – it's also reportedly planning to get rid of its entire Network and Edge Group (NEX) to help right the ship. …

Senator to Google: Give us info from telco Salt Typhoon probes

AT&T and Verizon refused to hand over the security assessments, says Cantwell US Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) has demanded that Google-owned incident response firm Mandiant hand over the Salt Typhoon-related security assessments of AT&T and Verizon that, according to the lawmaker, both operators have thus far refused to give Congress.…

First release candidate of systemd 258 is here

The latest version of systemd looks to be a big one, with substantial new functionality. More to love – right? Like it or not, systemd is the industry-standard init system these days. A new release is coming, and it's a big one.…

Meta names Shengjia Zhao as chief scientist of AI superintelligence unit

Summary:

Shengjia Zhao, a former OpenAI researcher, will round out the leadership team at Meta’s new AI lab.

AI referrals to top websites were up 357% year-over-year in June, reaching 1.13B

Summary:

AI platforms in June 2025 generated over 1.13 billion referrals to the top 1,000 websites globally, up 357% year-over-year.

Sam Altman warns there’s no legal confidentiality when using ChatGPT as a therapist

Summary:

In response to a question about how AI works with today’s legal system, Altman said one of the problems of not yet having a legal or policy framework for AI is that there’s no legal confidentiality for users’ conversations.

A timeline of the US semiconductor market in 2025

Summary:

From leadership changes at legacy semiconductor companies to wishy washy policy around chip exports, a lot has happened already.

Should Silicon Valley celebrate Trump’s AI plans?

Summary:

The big AI companies seem to be in a celebratory mood after President Donald Trump unveiled his AI Action Plan — not surprising, perhaps, since the plan was shaped by Trump’s Silicon Valley allies. Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha look at how the Trump administration plans to […]

MoEngage to secure $200M from ChrysCapital, A91 Partners, and Goldman Sachs: Report

The funding round is likely to value the Bengaluru and San Francisco, California-based firm between $750 million and $800 million.

Priyanka Gill's lab-grown diamond startup Coluxe closes friends and family funding round

Coluxe's capital injection is expected to support its digital launch in August 2025 as well as expand its product catalogue and infrastructure.

AI startup Olto raises $5.1M in pre-seed funding co-led by Nexus Venture Partners and The General Partnership

The company was founded by former Amazon executives Kintan Brahmbhatt and Jean-Baptiste Chaput, along with Pranav Midha joining as founding engineer.

SuperK raises Rs 100 Cr in Series B round co-led by Binny Bansal and Mithun Sacheti

SuperK plans to use the fund to hire across marketing, operations, and growth functions, and to expand into new towns and adjacent product categories.

[Weekly funding roundup July 19-25] VC money continues to move in the slow lane

Venture capital funding in the month of July has been quite lacklustre, hovering around the $100 million range.

Sun Pharma, Lupin, Dr Reddy's Recall Products in US

Sun Pharma, Lupin, and Dr Reddy's recall products in the US market. Source: ScoutQuest

String Metaverse Sets Board Meet for Q1 FY25 Results on Aug 4

String Metaverse Ltd schedules board meeting on 04/08/2025 to review Q1 FY2025 results, Board's report, AGM notice, ESOP schemes. Trading window remains closed till 48 hours post financial results declaration per SEBI insider trading regulations. Source: BSE

Mphasis Aims to Double Growth by FY26 on Record Deal Wins

Mphasis targets doubling industry growth by FY26 with record deal wins. Source: ScoutQuest

Crisil Reaffirms Force Motors at AA/Stable

Crisil reaffirmed Force Motors' ratings at AA/Stable and A1+, citing leadership in niche LCVs. Ratings on certain term loans and debentures were withdrawn at the company's request. Source: ScoutQuest

Sudarshan Chem Analyst Call on Jul 29 to Review FY25 Results

Sudarshan Chemical to hold analyst call on 29th July 2025 at 12 PM IST. Hosted by Axis Capital, call will discuss FY25 audited financials with management. Source: ScoutQuest

China Industrial Profits Slip 1.8% YoY in H1

Country: China, Description: Profits at China’s industrial firms declined 1.8% from a year earlier to CNY 3.44 trillion in the first half of 2025, widening from a 1.1% fall in January–May. The data highlights persistent deflation pressures and growing trade uncertainty amid broad U.S. tariffs. State-owned enterprises experienced steeper losses (-7.6% vs. -7.4% in January-May), while profit growth in the private sector slowed markedly (1.7% vs. 3.4%). Profits fell in coal mining (-53.0%), oil and gas extraction (-11.5%), chemicals (-9.0%), textiles (-8.1%), and non-metallic minerals (-5.4%). Meanwhile, gains were seen in agriculture (22.8%), ferrous metal smelting (13.7%), electrical machinery (13.0%), non-ferrous metals (7.8%), general manufacturing (6.5%), heat production (5.6%), special equipment (4.4%), autos (3.6%), computers and communications (3.5%), and other electronics (3.5%). In June alone, profits fell 4.3% yoy, easing from a 9.1% drop in May but marking the second straight monthly decline.

Agricultural Commodities Updates: Orange Juice Falls by 2.92%

Country: Commodity, Description: Top commodity losers are Orange Juice (-2.92%), Coffee (-2.52%) and Sugar (-1.76%). Gains are led by Cocoa (2.59%), Rubber (2.42%) and Wool (1.47%).

Metals Commodities Updates: Lithium Carbonate Gains by 3.33%

Country: Commodity, Description: Top commodity gainers are Lithium Carbonate (3.33%). Biggest losers are Silver (-2.29%), Platinum (-1.13%), Steel Rebar (-1.07%) and Gold (-0.93%).

Energy Commodities Updates: Crude Oil WTI Drops by 1.45%

Country: Commodity, Description: Top commodity losers are Crude Oil WTI (-1.45%), Brent Crude Oil (-1.19%) and Uranium (-0.90%). Gains are led by Natural Gas UK GBP (1.04%) and Natural Gas EU Dutch TTF (0.51%).

FX Updates: Brazilian Real Drops by 0.73%

Country: Currency, Description: Top currency losers are Brazilian Real (-0.73%), South Korean Won (-0.71%), British Pound (-0.55%), Japanese Yen (-0.44%) and Euro (-0.12%). Gains are led by Dollar Index (0.30%).

Trump plays golf in Scotland amid mass protests

Summary: Hundreds demonstrated in Edinburgh and Aberdeen while the president golfed at his Turnberry resort under heavy security., Description: President Donald Trump teed off at his Trump Turnberry golf resort in Scotland on Saturday under heavy security while hundreds of protesters gathered in Edinburgh and Aberdeen to voice their opposition to his five-day visit to the country. The president, dressed in black with a white "USA" cap, played golf with his son Eric and U.S. Ambassador to Britain Warren Stephens on the first full day of...

Ocean temperatures hit record highs in historic 2023

Summary: Marine heatwaves lasted four times longer than normal and affected 96% of global ocean surface, scientists warn of potential climate tipping point., Description: Ocean temperatures soared to unprecedented levels in 2023, with marine heatwaves shattering records for intensity, duration and global coverage, according to a comprehensive study published Thursday in the journal Science. The findings suggest these extreme oceanic events may signal a climate tipping point that could trigger irreversible changes to marine ecosystems worldwide. Scientists found...

Rubio condemns Hong Kong bounties on overseas, pro-democracy activists

Summary: Secretary of State calls the financial rewards targeting pro-democracy figures a form of "transnational repression" the US won't tolerate., Description: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned Hong Kong's announcement of financial rewards targeting overseas pro-democracy activists, labeling the bounty offers as a form of "transnational repression" that the Trump administration will not tolerate. Rubio issued his statement Saturday in response to Hong Kong police's Friday announcement of bounties for information leading to the arrest of 19...

Democrats hit worst approval rating in 35 years

Summary: Only 33% of voters view the party favorably, with Republicans trusted more on nearly every major issue despite Trump skepticism., Description: The Democratic Party has plummeted to its worst approval rating since 1990, with a staggering 63% of voters viewing the party unfavorably according to a new Wall Street Journal poll. The survey of 1,500 registered voters, conducted between July 16-20, found only 33% hold a favorable view of Democrats. The 30-point gap represents the party's lowest net rating in the publication's 35-year polling...

25 Palestinians killed seeking food aid in northern Gaza

Summary: Victims were shot while waiting for aid trucks near the Zikim crossing, continuing a deadly pattern at the location., Description: At least 25 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes and gunfire near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza early Saturday as thousands of desperate civilians sought food aid, according to Palestinian health officials and hospital staff. The majority of victims were shot while waiting for aid trucks close to the crossing point, with their bodies brought to Shifa Hospital. The Israel Defense...