World’s First "Telepathy" Device Unveiled

Welcome back!

Here’s your must-read news this morning:

• White House slams Biden's "disaster" economy

• World’s first near-telepathic wearable

• "China’s Great Firewall" goes global

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

— Josh

MARKETS

💰 White House Slams Biden's 'Disaster' Economy After Record Job Revision

The Scoop: The White House criticized the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) record downward revision of 911,000 jobs for the period from April 2024 to March 2025, calling it stark evidence of the Biden administration’s economic failures, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s policy missteps, and systemic breakdowns at the BLS itself.

The Details:

• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the revision “proves that President Trump was right: Biden’s economy was a disaster and the BLS is broken,” calling for new leadership to restore trust in the agency’s data for markets, businesses, and families.

• Leavitt also targeted Powell as “Too Late,” accusing him of running out of excuses and demanding immediate interest rate cuts to address the weakening economy revealed by the revisions.

• Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer echoed the concerns, saying the adjustment “gives the American people even more reason to doubt the integrity of data being published by BLS.”

• The revision slashes estimated job growth to about 850,000 from 1.8 million, halving average monthly gains to roughly 70,000, and impacts nearly all sectors, underscoring a labor market far weaker than initially portrayed under the prior administration.

What’s Next: The White House’s push for BLS overhaul and Fed rate cuts could accelerate under the Trump administration, with President Trump’s nomination of economist E.J. Antoni as commissioner signaling deeper reforms to data practices.

Markets Roundup

🏦 Economy & Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: A U.S. district judge blocked Trump's attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook amid allegations of mortgage fraud. (CNBC)

• The Supreme Court will hear Trump's appeal on tariffs, fast-tracking arguments for November after a ruling that his emergency powers were exceeded. (FBN)

• Trump urged EU officials to impose tariffs of up to 100% on China and expansive duties on India to pressure Putin by curbing those countries' purchases of Russian oil. (RTS)

• Gold rallied to a record high above $3,600 an ounce on Tuesday, fueled by expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts. (INV)

• Trump said trade negotiations with India are ongoing, expressing optimism for a successful outcome and plans to speak soon with Modi. (X)

📈 Stock Market

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Klarna’s IPO, priced at $40 per share, above the $35-$37 range, raised $1.37 billion, valuing the firm at $15.1 billion. (MW)

• Oracle shares soared 29% in premarket trading on Wednesday, after the company reported a 359% surge in remaining performance obligations to $455 billion and a robust cloud revenue outlook. (INV)

• GameStop reported a Q2 profit of 25 cents per share and $972.2 million in revenue, exceeding Wall Street’s expectations of 16 cents per share and $823.3 million. (SHW)

🏢 Industry

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Apple introduced its iPhone 17 lineup, featuring a thinner 5.6 mm iPhone Air with a 6.5-inch display, A19 chip, and advanced AI. (ENG)

• Cracker Barrel suspended remodels at locations following outrage over plans to replace its iconic rustic Americana décor with a modern minimalist look. (FBN)

• Trump signed a memorandum that aims to crack down on direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads. (CNBC)

• Ramp announced it has reached $1 billion in annualized revenue, up $300 million from $700 million in March. (PRN)

🛢️ Energy & Commodities

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Elon Musk announced that Tesla will build its own transformers for its Megapack 3 battery pack. (X)

• The Port of Los Angeles launched the first wave energy project in the U.S., a pilot initiative by Eco Wave Power that harnesses ocean waves through bobbing floats to generate electricity for local use. (CBS)

• The EIA forecasts U.S. electricity demand to hit record highs of 4,187 billion kWh in 2025 and 4,305 billion kWh in 2026, up from 4,097 billion kWh in 2024. (RTS)

• The Trump administration's EPA proposed measures to accelerate permitting for AI infrastructure. (INV)

• The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and Samsung secured approval for the world's first LNG carrier powered by a 100-megawatt molten salt reactor. (IE)

🌕 Crypto

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: A report explores the meteoric rise of Hyperliquid, which achieved $330 billion in monthly trading volume with just 11 employees. (CT)

• A group of 12 Democrat senators released its own version of a framework to influence legislation to establish a crypto market structure. (CD)

• Coinbase has acquired Sensible, a crypto wallet infrastructure startup, to bolster its "everything exchange" vision. (TB)

• Nasdaq will acquire a minority stake in Gemini through a $50 million private placement of shares at the time of its IPO. (IBD)
  

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TECH

💻 World’s First Near-Telepathic Wearable Enables Silent Communication

The Scoop: MIT researchers have unveiled AlterEgo, a wearable device dubbed the “world’s first near-telepathic wearable,” enabling users to communicate silently by converting unspoken words into digital signals, offering a breakthrough in human-computer interaction, The Telegraph reports.

The Details:

• AlterEgo is a headpiece worn around the ears that uses bone conduction to detect subtle mouth, face, and vocal cord movements—termed “silent speech”—and translates them into words with 90% accuracy.

• Unlike brain-chip implants like Neuralink, AlterEgo does not read thoughts or require invasive procedures; it interprets deliberate, silent articulation for communication or AI queries.

• The technology could assist individuals with speech disorders, like those with multiple sclerosis, and enable hands-free interaction with devices or silent communication between users.

• Developed at MIT since 2018, AlterEgo has spun off into a for-profit startup in 2025, with ongoing efforts to improve accuracy and usability for a broader audience.

• Lead scientist Arnav Kapur calls it a “natural extension of the human mind,” offering telepathy-like communication for thoughts users choose to share.

What’s Next: AlterEgo’s approach could reshape assistive technologies and everyday communication, competing with neural interface innovations. As the startup refines its accuracy and scalability, it may expand applications in healthcare, AI integration, and secure, silent communication systems.

Tech Roundup

🧠 AI

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Inception Point AI unveiled plans to disrupt the podcast industry by leveraging generative AI to automate production, with over 5,000 shows already in its network and more than 3,000 episodes produced weekly. (THR)

• DeepMind's AlphaFold2 breakthrough in protein structure prediction, coupled with the surge in generative AI technologies, has reignited the AI drug discovery boom. (FT)

• Microsoft will use Anthropic's Claude Sonnet 4 for some Office 365 AI features, finding it outperforms OpenAI's GPT-5 in tasks like PowerPoint and Excel automation. (TI)

• Meta's AI unit has sparked internal tensions with long-time employees, as the company's multimillion-dollar recruitment of researchers creates status rifts. (WSJ)

🤖 Hardware & Robotics

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Seven-Eleven Japan launched a robot trial at a Tokyo store, deploying machines for shelf-stocking, cleaning, and deliveries alongside remote customer service. (MAI)

• Polybee's AI-powered microdrones are revolutionizing corn pollination by autonomously delivering pollen to crops, boosting yields by up to 20%. (FF)

• China's Unitree Robotics plans a $7 billion IPO in Hong Kong, aiming to capitalize on surging demand for its advanced AI-powered models. (CNBC)

• Thomas Wolf, co-founder of Hugging Face, discussed how open-source AI models and community-driven data sharing are laying the foundation for an “App Store” for robots. (SEQ)

🚀 Defense & Space

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) revealed at a UAP hearing that U.S. Reaper drones fired on an unidentified aerial object off Yemen in October 2024, but the object kept flying. (TWZ)

• Robotics advancements like autonomous rovers and AI-driven habitats could transform Mars settlement by handling dangerous tasks and boosting astronaut safety. (SP)

• The U.S. military's push to ramp up drone production is poised to unlock the full potential of 3D printing, transitioning the technology from labs to frontline mass production. (A3DP)

• SpaceX will target September 23 for the launch of NASA's mission aboard a Falcon 9 rocket aimed at studying the heliosphere's boundaries. (SN)

💰 Venture Capital & Deals

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Reflection AI, a startup backed by Nvidia and Sequoia Capital, is nearing a $1 billion funding round that would value the AI coding tools developer at $5.5 billion. (FT)

• Quantum startup PsiQuantum raised $1 billion in funding led by BlackRock, boosting its valuation to $7 billion, to accelerate development of a 1 million-qubit quantum computer. (FT)

• CuspAI, an AI-driven chemistry startup targeting sustainable material discovery, secured $100 million in a Series A funding round led by New Enterprise Associates. (FOR)

• Fyxer AI, developer of an AI-powered executive assistant for everyday professionals, announced a $30 million Series B funding round led by Madrona. (SUM)

FREEDOM

🔒 Chinese Firm Exposed for Exporting Great Firewall-Style Censorship Systems Globally

The Scoop: A massive leak of over 100,000 documents reveals that Geedge Networks, a Chinese company founded in 2018, has been covertly selling advanced censorship and surveillance systems, modeled on China’s Great Firewall, to governments in countries including Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Myanmar, enabling mass internet monitoring and control, according to WIRED.

The Details:

• Founded with ties to the China Electronics Corporation and an investor known as the “father” of China’s Great Firewall, Geedge markets itself as a cybersecurity provider but offers tools for real-time internet traffic monitoring, website blocking, and individual surveillance.

• The Tiangou Secure Gateway can scan and filter all internet traffic, intercept unencrypted data like passwords and emails, and use deep packet inspection to detect VPN usage, while also flagging and blocking encrypted traffic deemed suspicious.

• Leaked documents confirm Geedge’s systems are operational in Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Myanmar, and one unidentified country, with job postings suggesting expansion to Belt and Road nations like Malaysia and Algeria.

• In Myanmar, Geedge monitors 81 million connections across 26 data centers, targeting 281 VPNs and 54 apps, including Signal and ExpressVPN, for blocking.

What’s Next: Researchers urge stronger export controls on such technologies, while Geedge’s ongoing projects in China’s Xinjiang region and elsewhere suggest further refinement of these surveillance capabilities for both domestic and international use.

Freedom Roundup

🏛️ Policy, Free Speech & Woke Overreach

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Indiana University is the worst public university in the country for fostering and protecting free speech on campus, a study found. (INST)

• DEI-driven regulatory policies, including aggressive zoning reforms and local land-use restrictions, are exacerbating America's housing crisis. (FOX)

• Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily allowed Trump to withhold $5 billion in congressionally approved foreign-aid funds. (NYP)

• Former U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg warned that Britain is "out of whack" on free speech, urging a reevaluation of laws that overly restrict expression. (SKY)

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DISCLAIMER: The CAPITAL newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The CAPITAL newsletter and its owner and operator, Josh Caplan, are not liable for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on this information. The CAPITAL newsletter is solely owned and independently operated by Josh Caplan, separate from any employer affiliations.