Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Finpresso.
In today's newsletter:
🔀 Google reshuffles AI leadership as Dean exits
🔧 Anthropic is designing its own AI chips
🇨🇳 China tightens drone exports to US
🛒 Shopify soars 18% on 34% revenue jump
💼 Private hiring slumped to 44,000 in July
🏦 BlackRock and Visa back Circle's Arc chain
Plus: 🌍 8 macro news, 🏢 10 corporate news, 💰 9 deal flow, and 📑 5 research & reports.
| 🔀 Google reshuffles AI leadership as Dean exits LINK |
- Alphabet shares fell about 4% after Google announced an overhaul of its AI leadership, including the exit of chief scientist Jeff Dean after 27 years to launch his own startup, which Google will back.
- The reshuffle lands as Google spends heavily to compete with OpenAI and Anthropic, having turned cash-flow negative for the first time on record last quarter and guiding to full-year capital spending of up to $205 billion.
- DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis becomes that unit's chairman and Alphabet's chief scientist, while DeepMind tech chief Koray Kavukcuoglu takes over the AI division and will lead development of the next model, Gemini 4, reporting to Sundar Pichai.
| 🔧 Anthropic is designing its own AI chips LINK |
- Anthropic is building an in-house "custom silicon team" to design its own chips for its Claude AI models, aiming to run the technology faster and more cheaply as customer demand scales.
- The move is costly: industry sources cited by Reuters put the price of developing an advanced AI chip at close to half a billion dollars, driven by scarce engineering talent and the expense of defect-free manufacturing.
- The effort sits within a broader buildout, including a $15 billion financing deal for a Texas data-center campus where Google backstops Anthropic's obligations and is expected to take a roughly 20% equity stake in the project.
| 🇨🇳 China tightens drone exports to US LINK |
- China has tightened exports of drones to the US, subjecting sales of the aircraft, key components and related technology to "strict case-by-case review" as part of a retaliation package against widening American trade and technology curbs.
- The move leverages China's grip on global drone production, Shenzhen-based DJI alone held about 70% of the US commercial drone market last year, and follows a December FCC ban on most foreign-made drones affecting new imports and sales.
- Beijing, calling its response "restrained," also sanctioned six US firms and launched a security probe into imported office printers and copiers, while warning of further steps ahead of a Xi-Trump meeting scheduled in the US next month.
| 🛒 Shopify soars 18% on 34% revenue jump LINK |
- Shopify shares jumped 18.18% to $145.72 after second-quarter revenue climbed 34% year-over-year to $3.58 billion, with the value of goods sold across its platform reaching $115.57 billion, up from $87.84 billion a year earlier.
- Profitability improved alongside the top line, as operating income rose to $488 million from $291 million and free cash flow hit $654 million from $422 million, lifting the cash-flow margin to 18% from 16%.
- For the third quarter, Shopify guided to revenue growth in the low-thirties percentage range and a free cash flow margin in the high-teens to low-twenties, signaling continued merchant demand and a focus on profitable growth.
| 💼 Private hiring slumped to 44,000 in July LINK |
- Private-sector hiring slowed sharply to 44,000 jobs in July, according to payrolls firm ADP, well below June's downwardly revised 95,000 and the 75,000 economists had expected.
- Nearly all the gains came from services, which added 47,000 led by 36,000 in education and health care, while goods-producing industries lost 3,000 as trade and mining shed jobs.
- Pay for job-stayers held at 4.4% annually while job-switchers saw a 7% jump, the biggest since August 2025, as markets weigh a possible Fed rate hike this year if inflation stays high.
| 🏦 BlackRock and Visa back Circle's Arc chain LINK |
- BlackRock, Visa, Mastercard and eight other financial firms signed on as the first validators securing Circle's Arc blockchain, sending Circle shares up about 7% in pre-market trading as the stablecoin issuer reported second-quarter results.
- Arc is a network that uses Circle's USDC stablecoin as its fuel and routes security through the institutions that use it rather than anonymous operators; BlackRock plans to run its $-denominated BUIDL money fund on it, ahead of a public launch on Sept. 16.
- Circle's quarterly revenue rose 7% to $701 million and net income reached $48 million, but its return on reserves fell to 3.5% as lower interest rates squeezed its core business, even as USDC in circulation climbed 19% to $73.3 billion.
🌍 Macro News
- Trump administration refunds $100 billion after Supreme Court voided tariffs. LINK
- Kashkari says Fed should start gradually raising rates, possibly in September. LINK
- US prepares tariffs and minimum import prices on polysilicon this week. LINK
- Fed's Cook says she would back rate hike if inflation persists. LINK
- CFPB proposal would let banks charge fintechs for customer data access. LINK
- Senate crypto regulation bill stalls before August recess amid disputes. LINK
- Putin signs law legalizing retail crypto trading in Russia. LINK
- Gold jumps to $4,280 as Hormuz progress eases rate-hike fears. LINK
🏢 Corporate News
- Uber shares fall as third-quarter guidance misses Wall Street estimates. LINK
- Disney beats earnings estimates but narrowly misses on revenue. LINK
- Eli Lilly raises 2026 revenue outlook on strong weight-loss drug sales. LINK
- Arista's quarterly revenue tops $3 billion on AI networking demand. LINK
- EBay's revenue guidance beats estimates on luxury and refurbished goods push. LINK
- Figma shares drop 15% despite strong revenue growth and raised outlook. LINK
- Salesforce names Miguel Milano chief operating officer under Marc Benioff. LINK
- Uber and Wayve win London's first self-driving taxi licenses. LINK
- Lam Research forecasts 52% revenue growth on AI chip demand. LINK
- Block's AI-driven cost cuts boost gross profit and operating income. LINK
📈 Stocks
💰 Deal Flow
- ICEYE raises €1 billion, pushing valuation above €10 billion. LINK
- Moss becomes a unicorn after €30 million Series C round. LINK
- Robinhood to launch fund letting investors bet on Y Combinator startups. LINK
- India's River raises $120 million to expand electric-moped production. LINK
- Yann LeCun joins new $100 million venture fund after prior collapse. LINK
- 10x Banking raises £40 million to expand banking software sales. LINK
- Yellow Card raises $40 million to expand stablecoin payment infrastructure. LINK
- JPYC extends funding round to $38 million for stablecoin adoption. LINK
- WindBorne raises $37 million, valuing weather-data startup at $250 million. LINK
📑 Research & Reports
- KPMG says AI's next edge in finance requires stronger governance. LINK
- JPMorgan warns tech trade may grow more retail-driven and volatile. LINK
- New York Fed says AI is reshaping skills, not causing layoffs. LINK
- Mastercard targets virtual card market seen reaching $17.4 trillion by 2029. LINK
- FATF opens consultation on revised cross-border payment travel rule. LINK