Peter Thiel-backed Startup Plans American Energy Revolution

Welcome back!

Here’s your must-read news this morning:

• Pioneering U.S.-owned uranium project

• OpenAI’s new models challenge Meta

• Ex-DOGE staffer 'Big Balls' beaten

I’ve got all the details for you, so let’s dive in.

— Josh

MARKETS

⚛️ General Matter’s $1.5 Billion Kentucky Project to Pioneer U.S.-Owned Uranium Enrichment

The Scoop: General Matter has leased the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant from the U.S. Department of Energy for a $1.5 billion project to build the nation’s first U.S.-owned, privately developed uranium enrichment facility, marking the largest economic development initiative in Western Kentucky’s history.

The Details:

• General Matter will develop a 100-acre facility in McCracken County to produce low enriched uranium (LEU) and high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU), fueling next-generation nuclear reactors critical for AI, manufacturing, and other industries.

• The project aims to end U.S. reliance on foreign adversaries for nuclear fuel, which powers 20% of the nation’s grid, and is expected to create 140 high-paying jobs and numerous construction roles.

• Collaborating with state, local, and DOE leaders, General Matter, a privately funded firm with nuclear and tech expertise, plans to begin enrichment by 2030, backed by DOE contracts for LEU and HALEU production.

• The site, selected 75 years ago by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission for uranium enrichment, will be revitalized, with local officials praising its role in positioning Kentucky as a nuclear energy leader.

• Scott Nolan, a Founders Fund partner, is CEO of General Matter, and is joined by Peter Thiel on the board, with $50 million in funding led by Thiel's Founders Fund.

What’s Next: The Paducah facility will bolster U.S. energy independence, drive long-term economic growth in McCracken County, and establish Kentucky as a global hub for nuclear fuel production, supporting a clean energy future.

Markets Roundup

🏦 Economy & Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: The U.S. trade deficit narrowed 16% to $60.2 billion in June, and saw a 33% plunge in the China trade gap to $9.5 billion, the smallest since February 2004. (CNBC)

• Trump said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has withdrawn from consideration for Federal Reserve chair, with four other candidates, including Kevin Warsh and Kevin Hassett, now in contention. (BBG)

• The U.S. Services PMI rose to 55.2 in July, exceeding forecasts of 53.0, signaling robust growth in the service sector. (ADPR)

• Trump announced plans for new tariffs on imported semiconductors next week, aiming to boost U.S. chip manufacturing. (CNBC)

📈 Stock Market

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Advanced Micro Devices reported Q2 earnings of $0.48 per share, missing estimates by a penny, despite revenue of $7.69 billion surpassing expectations. (CNBC)

• Pfizer raised its 2025 adjusted earnings per share guidance to $2.90-$3.10 from $2.80-$3.00, beating Q2 expectations with $0.78 earnings per share and $14.7 billion in revenue. (SA)

• Caterpillar reported Q2 adjusted earnings per share of $4.72, falling short of analyst expectations of $4.90, while revenue of $16.6 billion topped forecasts of $16.27 billion. (CAT)

• Fox Corporation reported Q4 fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $1.27, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.99, with revenue of $3.29 billion exceeding forecasts of $3.12 billion. (INV)

🏢 Industry

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: The NFL will acquire a 10% stake in ESPN, as analysts estimate ESPN's worth at $25 billion to $30 billion, implying a $2.5 billion to $3 billion stake for the NFL. (WSJ)

• Two Chinese nationals in California face charges for illegally exporting Nvidia AI chips worth millions to China, violating U.S. export controls. (DOJ)

• Linda Yaccarino has taken the helm of eMed Population Health, a digital health platform focused on GLP-1 treatments, less than a month after resigning as X CEO. (BBG)

💵 Energy & Commodities

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: The EPA plans to terminate $7 billion in solar grants under the Biden-era Solar for All program. (NYT)

• The Trump administration is considering sanctions on Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers if Putin fails to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire by Friday. (FT)

• The Interior Department approved a 2,240-acre expansion of the Rosebud Mine in Rosebud and Treasure counties, Montana, allowing the extraction of 33.75 million tons of coal. (DOI)

• Citibank has reversed its earlier bearish outlook on gold, now forecasting record highs above $3,000 per ounce this year. (FXS)

🌕 Crypto

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Solana Mobile launched global shipping of its second-generation Seeker smartphone, targeting $67.5 million in revenue with 150,000 pre-orders across 50+ countries. (CN)

• The SEC's latest guidance states that certain liquid staking activities are not securities. (TB)

• Indonesia is exploring adopting Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset, according to a local group. (CT)

• China warned that a foreign company’s collection of iris data for crypto, likely referencing Worldcoin, poses a national security threat due to data transfers abroad. (CD)
  

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TECH

💻 OpenAI’s First Open-Weight Models in Five Years Challenge Meta’s AI

The Scoop: OpenAI has released its first open-weight models in over five years, gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b, marking a strategic pivot to freely downloadable AI tools that can run locally and be fine-tuned, challenging competitors like Meta in the race for AI innovation.

The Details:

• The gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b models, available for free on Hugging Face under the Apache 2.0 license, allow commercial use and local operation on devices with over 16 GB of memory, without internet or firewall restrictions.

• These text-only models employ chain-of-thought reasoning, akin to OpenAI’s o1 model, and can browse the web, execute code, and act as AI agents, with gpt-oss-120b rivaling proprietary models like o3 and o4-mini in performance.

• CEO Sam Altman emphasized the models’ role in advancing U.S.-led AI innovation based on democratic values, contrasting with competitors like China’s DeepSeek.

What’s Next: The gpt-oss models position OpenAI to compete fiercely with Meta’s Llama series in the open-weight AI space, potentially reshaping developer preferences and intensifying the AI talent war, as the industry grapples with balancing innovation, safety, and global competition.

Tech Roundup

🧠 AI

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4.1, boosting software engineering accuracy to 74.5% and enhancing agentic tasks, coding, and reasoning for paid users and API integrations. (AN)

• ElevenLabs launched a new service called Eleven Music that lets individuals and businesses generate their own music with its AI model. (WSJ)

• Google DeepMind released its Genie 3 AI model that generates interactive 3D video game worlds in real time from text prompts, offering 720p resolution and sustained coherence for minutes. (TV)

• Trump dismissed concerns about AI-driven job losses, arguing that the technology will boost efficiency and create a surge in new jobs. (BN)

🤖 Hardware & Robotics

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Google's DeepMind unveiled a "world model" simulating real-world environments to train robots and autonomous vehicles. (TG)

• ABB Robotics and Cosmic deployed AI-driven robotic microfactories in Pacific Palisades, California, to rebuild homes faster and cheaper after wildfires. (ABB)

• Scientists unveiled a flexible robotic sheet that autonomously folds, moves across surfaces, and grasps objects. (CNN)

• Little Caesars has teamed up with Serve Robotics to launch autonomous robot pizza delivery in Los Angeles. (YF)

🚀 Defense & Space

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: China's tailless, stealthy aircraft test flight sparks buzz after leaked photos surface, hinting at a sixth-generation fighter or advanced drone. (IE)

• Foreign adversaries, particularly China and Russia, are increasingly exploiting open-source software to insert malicious code and steal intellectual property. (STR)

• Anduril has become the third U.S. supplier of solid rocket motors, breaking a decades-long duopoly between Northrop Grumman and Aerojet Rocketdyne. (DO)

• Germany and Japan's AI robots played hide-and-seek on the ISS to improve teamwork for future space missions.(OT)

💰 Venture Capital & Deals

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: OpenAI is in early discussions for a secondary stock sale for employees, targeting a $500 billion valuation. (BBG)

• AI sales automation startup Clay raised $100 million at a $3.1 billion valuation, led by CapitalG. (TC)

• Israeli startup QuamCore secures $26 million in Series A funding, led by Sentinel Global, to develop a million-qubit quantum computer. (GL)

• Vendict, an AI-native platform transforming enterprise governance, risk, and compliance, raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Moneta VC. (AX)

FREEDOM

👊 Ex-DOGE Staffer 'Big Balls' Left Bloodied After Brutal DC Carjacking Attempt

The Scoop: Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer nicknamed “Big Balls,” was brutally beaten by a mob of 10 teenagers while thwarting an attempted carjacking in Washington, D.C.

The Details:

• Early Sunday around 3 a.m., Coristine shielded his significant other by pushing her into their car for safety and confronted a group of juveniles demanding the vehicle near Swann Street NW in D.C.’s Logan Circle, before being attacked, according to a Metropolitan Police Department report.

• D.C. police, patrolling the area, interrupted the assault, arresting two 15-year-olds from Hyattsville, Maryland, for unarmed carjacking, while the remaining suspects fled; Coristine’s iPhone 16 was stolen during the attack.

• Coristine, treated on-site for a broken nose, concussion, and black eye, was praised as a hero by former DOGE colleague Marko Elez, who shared a photo of the bloodied teen on social media.

• Former DOGE chief Elon Musk condemned the attack on X, without naming Coristine.

• Coristine, who resigned from DOGE in June after Musk’s departure, previously interned at Neuralink and now works as a senior adviser at the Social Security Administration.

What’s Next: The incident intensifies debates over D.C.’s crime policies, particularly youth crime, as President Donald Trump’s threats of a federal takeover of the district loom, while the Metropolitan Police Department’s Carjacking Task Force continues its search for additional suspects.

Freedom Roundup

🏛️ Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is under federal criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland for alleged mortgage fraud, a Trump administration source told Fox News. (FOX)

• HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the cancellation of mRNA vaccine contracts worth $500 million, saying he will instead prioritize “safer, broader” vaccine strategies. (X)

• Republican-led states, including Texas and Florida, are repealing in-state tuition for illegal alien students. (FBN)

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy proposed allowing commercial drones to fly beyond visual line of sight, possibly a significant boost to Amazon and Walmart’s delivery operations. (BBG)

💬 Free Speech & Woke Overreach

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Stanford University dissolved its Office for Inclusion, Belonging and Intergroup Communication, citing financial reasons. (SD)

• Florida sued major porn sites for allegedly violating its new age-verification law. (404)

• Albertsons’ policy bars store managers from restricting transgender-identifying men from using women’s bathrooms, revealed by a Consumers' Research. (DW)

• The UK High Court dismisses Muslim YouTuber Mohammed Hegab’s defamation suit against Douglas Murray, upholding Murray’s article accusing Hegab of inciting racial tensions as “substantially true.” (TEL)

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