Daily Strategic Briefing

Long live the nub: ThinkPad designer David Hill spills secrets, designs that never made it

We almost got more butterfly keyboards and foldable workstations Interview  Launched in 1992, the boxy black ThinkPad with its little red nub remains the quintessential business productivity notebook. Unlike commercial offerings from competitors such as Dell and HP, Lenovo's laptop has a following of people who collect old models and celebrate each new innovation.…

Reddit is people! Which means its search might not be so damaged by AI slop

Community content site aims to profit from real conversation Reddit has found that trafficking in human-authored content pays well in the AI era.…

CISA roasts unnamed critical national infrastructure body for shoddy security hygiene

Plaintext passwords, shared admin accounts, and insufficient logging rampant at mystery org CISA is using the findings from a recent probe of an unidentified critical infrastructure organization to warn about the dangers of getting cybersecurity seriously wrong.…

Florida jury throws huge fine at Tesla in Autopilot crash

Plaintiffs argued that the company massively oversold the assisted-driving capabilities of its cars After two weeks of testimony, a Florida jury has found Tesla partially responsible for the death of one person and causing serious injuries to another in a crash where the driver was using the company's much-touted Autopilot system.…

Rampant emoji use suggests crypto-stealing NPM package was written by AI

Kodane code was either machine-generated or done by a teenager An NPM package packed with cryptocurrency-stealing malware appears to have been largely AI-generated, as evidenced by its liberal use of emojis and other telltale signs.…

Tim Cook reportedly tells employees Apple ‘must’ win in AI

Summary:

Apple CEO Tim Cook held an hourlong all-hands meeting in which he told employees that the company needs to win in AI: “Apple must do this. Apple will do this.”

Anthropic cuts off OpenAI’s access to its Claude models

Summary:

Anthropic has cut off one of its biggest competitors, revoking OpenAI’s access to its Claude family of AI models.

A backlog at the Commerce Department is reportedly stalling Nvidia’s H20 chip licenses

Summary:

News of a backlog at the U.S. federal department comes less than a week after national security experts urged the Trump administration to reverse its decision that allows Nvidia to export H20 chips to China.

Google bets on STAN, an Indian social gaming platform

Summary:

STAN, headquartered in Singapore, is trying to position itself as a gaming community platform to rival Discord, but its approach to the market is quite different.

From Meta’s massive offers to Anthropic’s massive valuation, does AI have a ceiling?

Summary:

Meta is still going all-in on the AI talent war, with Mark Zuckerberg reportedly reaching out to top recruits himself, throwing around jaw-dropping compensation packages that top $1 billion over multiple years. And Meta’s latest target? Mira Murati’s new startup, Thinking Machines Lab. It’s a bold play in an already overheated market. While Zuck eyes […]

IPV launches $110M global angel fund under GIFT City framework

IPV International completed the first close in April 2025 and has already made its debut investment in Singapore-based deeptech startup Cellivate Technologies.

AI-powered blue-collar worker recruitment startup Vahan.ai bags investment from LemmaTree

Khosla Ventures-backed AI-startup Vahan.ai has also acquired L.earn, the mobile-first digital upskilling platform from GoodWorker.

STAN bags $8.5M from Google’s AI Fund, Bandai Namco, others

The funding will support STAN’s expansion in India and other mobile-first markets, enhance AI-driven personalisation and creator tools, and enable new integrations for publishers and partners focused on gaming-led communities.

AI-edtech startup Arivihan raises $4.17M from Prosus, Accel

Founded in 2024 by IIT Roorkee alumni, Arivihan offers interactive video lectures, instant doubt-solving, and algorithmically generated study plans without requiring live teachers.

VC funding in Indian startups declines 42% YoY in July

July saw VC funding drop to its lowest level for the year till now, and this was largely due to the absence of large-value deals.

Stylam Q2 Sales Hit 5-Qtr High, EPS Drops on Rising Costs

Stylam Industries reported Q2 FY25 net sales of Rs 282.98 crore, highest in 5 quarters. EPS dropped to Rs 16.69, with rising interest expenses and lower debtors turnover ratio. Source: Marketsmojo

Nippon MF Updates Fund Managers for Key Schemes from Aug 2025

Nippon India Mutual Fund announces fund manager changes effective 1 Aug 2025. Affected schemes include Vision Large Mid Cap, Consumption, and Balanced Advantage Funds. Source: Capital Market

CAMS Q1 Revenue Falls 4.5%; Slow Growth Expected by 2026

Computer Age Management Services (CAMS) Q1 results missed forecasts, with revenue at ₹3.5b and EPS at ₹21.97, down 4.5% and 5.3% respectively. Analysts expect CAMS revenue to grow 6.1% by 2026, slower than peers' forecasted 13%, with consensus target price steady at ₹4,322. Source: Simply Wall Street

Tata Power Q1 PAT Up 6%; Renewables Surge 95%

Tata Power Q1 PAT rose 6% YoY to Rs 1,262 cr; EBITDA grew 17% to Rs 3,930 cr. Renewables PAT surged 95% YoY; rooftop solar revenue doubled; Odisha Discoms PAT grew 156%. Source: Capital Market

PB Fintech Grants ₹400 Cr Loans to Subsidiaries at 12% Interest

PB Fintech granted INR 300 Cr and INR 100 Cr unsecured loans to subsidiaries. Loans carry 12% interest, are repayable in 1 year, and are at arm's length. Source: ScoutQuest

Crypto currencies dropping on Friday

Country: Crypto, Description: Crypto markets slipped across the board, Ether down -6.70%, Bitcoin down -2.43%.

Agricultural Commodities Updates: Orange Juice Tumbles by 9.60%

Country: Commodity, Description: Top commodity losers are Orange Juice (-9.60%) and Cocoa (-3.46%). Gains are led by Lumber (0.64%).

Metals Commodities Updates: Gold Gains by 2.25%

Country: Commodity, Description: Top commodity gainers are Gold (2.25%), Platinum (1.74%) and Silver (0.93%). Biggest losers are Lithium Carbonate (-0.90%).

Energy Commodities Updates: Heating Oil Drops by 4.50%

Country: Commodity, Description: Top commodity losers are Heating Oil (-4.50%), Natural Gas UK GBP (-4.14%), Natural Gas EU Dutch TTF (-3.98%), Brent Crude Oil (-3.10%) and Crude Oil WTI (-2.89%). Gains are led by Methanol (1.61%).

FX Updates: Japanese Yen Increases by 2.35%

Country: Currency, Description: Top currency gainers are Japanese Yen (2.35%), Polish Zloty (1.62%), Swedish Krona (1.48%), Euro (1.48%) and British Pound (0.53%). Biggest losers are Dollar Index (-1.27%).

Senate confirms Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as US Attorney for DC

Summary: The former Westchester County prosecutor was confirmed 50-45 despite Democratic opposition over her promotion of false 2020 election claims., Description: The Senate on Saturday confirmed former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia by a 50-45 vote, primarily along party lines, after a contentious nomination process that highlighted deep political divisions over Trump's judicial appointments. Pirro's confirmation represents Trump's first successful nomination for a U.S. attorney position after his initial...

Former Colombian president Uribe sentenced to 12 years house arrest

Summary: Álvaro Uribe becomes first ex-president in Colombia's history convicted of a crime, receiving 12 years for witness tampering and bribery., Description: Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was sentenced Friday to 12 years of house arrest for witness tampering and bribery, making him the first ex-president in Colombia's history to be convicted of a crime. Judge Sandra Heredia also banned the 73-year-old conservative leader from holding public office for eight years and imposed a fine of approximately $835,120. The sentence followed a nearly...

Hamas rejects US claims it's willing to disarm

Summary: The militant group says it won't lay down arms without an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital., Description: Hamas issued a firm rejection Saturday of US claims that it was willing to disarm, stating it will not lay down arms unless an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is established. The Palestinian militant group's statement came in response to remarks by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who claimed Hamas had shown willingness to demilitarize during ceasefire negotiations...

Dem. Sen. Fetterman backs Trump's tariff strategy

Summary: Pennsylvania senator says Democrats "got it wrong" about trade war, breaking ranks with party colleagues., Description: Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman broke ranks with his Democratic colleagues Friday by offering support for President Trump's tariff strategy, saying the ongoing trade war is "going well" and acknowledging that Democrats had misjudged the president's approach. "I very much want to protect Dreamers. I very much want to protect and strengthen SNAP. I very much want to deliver Whole Home at the...

Berkshire profits plunge as Buffett takes $5B Kraft hit

Summary: The conglomerate's quarterly earnings fell to $12.37 billion from $30.348 billion a year ago amid the massive writedown., Description: Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway posted a dramatic drop in quarterly profits after writing down its Kraft Heinz investment by $5 billion in the second quarter, as the legendary investor prepares to step down as CEO at year's end. The Omaha-based conglomerate reported net earnings of $12.37 billion, down from $30.348 billion a year ago, marking the first earnings report since Buffett...