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• Tech companies Coinbase, Shopify, and Ramp have developed their own proprietary AI coding agents while continuing to pay for Anthropic's Claude Code. • The industry trend suggests the primary competitive advantage lies in the "agent harness"—the infrastructure surrounding the AI—rather than the underlying large language model. • Ramp's "Inspect" tool exemplifies this by executing code within sandboxed virtual machines and integrating with engineering systems like Datadog, Sentry, and LaunchDarkly.

• NASA is scheduled to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope on August 30, 2026, using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. • The telescope features a mirror similar in size to Hubble's but possesses a field of view approximately 100 times wider, allowing it to map dark energy and search for exoplanets. • By monitoring roughly 200 million stars for gravitational microlensing, the mission aims to discover over 1,000 planets, specifically targeting cold, distant worlds that current detection methods often miss.

Supporters fear structure could be torn down as safety hazard and want it to become memorial to postwar foreign labourers in honour of its Turkish creatorSometimes the currents of history converge in a single spot. In Berlin, one of the most intriguing of those places is a small traffic island with a lovingly tended garden and a ramshackle two-storey structure called the Treehouse at the Wall.In 1983, Osman Kalin, a Turkish “guest worker”, was looking in his corner of the city cleaved by the Berlin Wall for a patch of earth in which to plant his onions, garlic and cucumbers. Virtually on his doorstep in the Kreuzberg district was a slice of no man’s land next to the concrete barrier and barbed wire. Although it sat in West Berlin, cold war logic meant the lot officially belonged to the communist East. Continue reading...

• 24-year-old Leopold Aschenbrenner launched Situational Awareness, an AI-focused investment fund that rapidly gained prominence in Silicon Valley. • The venture was based on Aschenbrenner's viral essay, which predicted that research labs would achieve superintelligent AI by 2027. • Despite the initial hype and the fund's goal to capitalize on rapid AI advancements, the project experienced a sudden and significant "melt down."

• Leopold Aschenbrenner, a 24-year-old former OpenAI researcher known for predicting the AI investment boom, has experienced a sharp reversal in his hedge fund's fortunes. • Within weeks of its launch, the fund sold its entire publicly traded portfolio to Citadel, leaving it primarily with private holdings. • The remaining portfolio is dominated by a stake of approximately $5 billion in the AI startup Anthropic, alongside other private investments.

• Former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner experienced a dramatic crash of his AI-focused hedge fund, Situational Awareness, losing most of its $45 billion valuation within days. • Aschenbrenner rose to prominence in Silicon Valley following his 2024 AI manifesto, but his sudden financial decline has reignited criticism regarding his lack of professional money management experience. • The collapse is particularly notable given Aschenbrenner's past ties to FTX, adding further scrutiny to his investment strategies and risk management.

• Sonam Wangchuk praised Gen Z and the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) for achieving a "democratic victory" after the government accepted key demands, leading to the end of protests at Jantar Mantar. • The movement saw a significant outcome today as Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan submitted his resignation to the Prime Minister. • Wangchuk emphasized that a nation is not built by resignation alone, calling for sweeping reforms in governance and the education system.

As the Latino population of North Carolina booms, opportunities abound – and Donal Gooch is capitalizing on changing nature of his home regionDonal Gooch is not pleased about the trash on his arena floor.“Shit, it’s pitiful,” he says. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: A new law criminalising public bodies and officials that lie to the British public is expected to complete it final stages in the Commons. Why did it take so long?Good morning. We think we know this story, the one about the 97 who went to watch a football match on a sunny afternoon. Perhaps you remember, as I do, watching footage of the lethal crush at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium, on the evening news in your childhood living room. Or maybe you read later how South Yorkshire police presented a series of false narratives that blamed Liverpool football club supporters, rather than take responsibility for their own catastrophic mismanagement of the FA Cup semi-final.Today, after a decade of campaigning, a new law criminalising public bodies and officials that lie to the British public, and supporting people fighting these authorities for the truth, is expected to complete it final stages in the Commons, pushed through by Keir Starmer as one of his final acts as prime minister.UK news | British counter-terrorism police are now leading the investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe in a shock development that has renewed the debate over the security of politicians. A 28-year-old man from Rotherham is being held in custody on suspicion of her murder.Middle East | The US has launched its third consecutive night of strikes on Iran hours after Donald Trump said Washington would reinstate a maritime blockade on the country and, in an apparently policy reversal, charge ships for safe passage.UK politics | Andy Burnham is to become Britain’s next prime minister after winning the backing of 349 Labour MPs, including all eligible members of Keir Starmer’s current cabinet, making it impossible for any rival to secure enough nominations to challenge him.Environment | Most of the UK media stories about the record-breaking heatwave that struck in June failed to mention the climate crisis, analysis has found. Even fewer pieces drew a link between the heatwave and government policies designed to tackle the climate crisis.US news | The US government has already paid back tens of billions of dollars in tariffs it collected before the supreme court ruled them illegal, according to budget figures released on Monday. Continue reading...

• The author argues that technology is no longer the primary barrier to startup success due to the accessibility of open-source software and artificial intelligence. • AI now allows founders to automate critical business functions, including writing code, generating documentation, and managing customer support. • This shift has intensified competition across diverse sectors such as fintech, cybersecurity, healthtech, and enterprise software, as seen in Built In's technology communities.