Gm. Lot of French talk here recently, but I think it’s important to tell you all I found the funniest TikTok account of all time. It’s this American dude living in Paris who just goes around messing with people. Check him out, he’s hilarious.

— Stephen Flanders

🏠 AI

Apple Finally Gets In The Game

The AI race has attracted practically every big name there is. OpenAI. Microsoft. Google. Salesforce. Meta. The list goes on and on.

However, one name that has been conspicuously absent is the world’s most valuable company, Apple. For some reason, the leader in cutting-edge tech wasn’t on this cutting-edge, and nobody knew why.

Well, that is no longer the case.

Enter AppleGPT

According to Bloomberg’s resident Apple expert Mark Gurman, Apple is building its own AI system called Ajax. With Ajax, Apple is creating its own AI chatbot, the creatively named Apple GPT.

And according to Gurman, Apple isn’t just building AI systems. They are absolutely hustling to get AI products out.

This makes sense, as AI is a massive opportunity, and they have so far been absent from the party.

Playing Catch Up

Besides Siri, which is basically the poster-boy for disappointment, Apple doesn’t have a flagship AI product.

So, the company is building out its AI capabilities and exploring where the consumer angle is for generative AI. In other words, what AI products they should build.

Gurman says there is no concrete plan yet. But, considering it’s Apple, we’re sure

The Big Picture: If AI is great now, just wait until Apple gets fully in the game.

🏃‍♀️ QUICKIES

What else is going on?

• Meta’s AR glasses aren’t going to be as drippy as first believed.

• Tesla’s discussing licensing out their FSD technology.

• ChatGPT might be getting worse.

• Apple is threatening to shut down iMessage and FaceTime in the UK unless the government rethinks its surveillance plans.

Stat: $170,000: The median pay for software engineers, according to the very interesting levels.fyi mid-year compensation report.

Rabbit hole: A Creepy Question We’ll All Have To Answer Soon (Jason Pargin)

🤑 FUNDING FRIDAY

If you want a boring list of startup raises, look away now. If you want the 2 coolest raises of the week, then you’ve come to the right place.

🤖 Neura Robotics

Robots are cool, and considering our aging and declining population, will be absolutely necessary in the future. Cognitive robots, aka robots that have a memory, the ability to perform complex tasks, and can collaborate with people, are even cooler. Good thing Neura Robotics just picked up $55M to ramp up production.

🙆‍♂️ Figure

You know what’s even cooler than cognitive robots? A humanoid robot. Figure is building one, and just raised $9M to further the cause.

🎁 FINAL JEOPARDY!

This Final Jeopardy! question stumped every contestant. Can you get it right?

Category: French Food History

Clue: A popular product was born when Jean Naigeon of this city substituted the juice of unripe grapes for vinegar.

🛠️ FOUNDERS CORNER

The best resources we came across recently that will help you become a better founder, builder, or investor.

✨ Visual QR enables you to generate beautiful QR codes with AI.

📸 ProductAI generates professional product photos without a physical photo shoot.

📈 Here is the complete guide to SaaS product metrics you’ve been waiting for.

💉 DOPAMINE HIT

How do people do this…

@victordemartrin

For the secret agent in all of us #MissionImpossible only in theatres July 12 – #missionimpossiblechallenge #paramountpartner #collaborati... See more

REACH 40K+ FOUNDERS, INVESTORS & OPERATORS

If you’re interested in advertising with us, send an email over to [email protected] with the subject “Homescreen Ads”.

FINAL JEOPARDY ANSWER

Dijon.