C_NCENTRATE #1033 [FREE ISSUE]

Thanks for all the comments on the new look, apologies for some of the links in the Scan section didn’t work as I copied them in from a Google Doc. Lesson Learned. Hopefully all well this week!

Spent most of the week at SXSW and in fringe events, seeing the art and generally chatting to people. London Tech Week and AI Summit are up this week so i’ll be doing the rounds there too. Join the unofficial WhatsApp group here. See you there?

I also met with the smart Oneder folks, and we’ll be announcing some news very soon! Make sure you get your seat for the Google / NotebookLM (July 17) and Shopify (September 18) TNNs.

Meta is in talks to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Scale AI, its biggest external AI deal yet. Mistral AI is signing $100M+ contracts to build its own infra. Anthropic launched Claude Gov for U.S. national security. Thread AI raised $20M to scale workflows. Anduril raised $2.5B at a $30.5B valuation. Superblocks launched an enterprise AI agent. Skyral and Obvio raised funding to scale AI-based twins and traffic enforcement.

OpenAI is appealing a court order to store all ChatGPT outputs and says it blocked 10 influence ops. Apple’s Siri LLM upgrades remain buggy, per insiders, while it expands repairs via Tata. YouTube now localizes thumbnails; X banned model training on its content and launched Polymarket (think crypto betting) integration.

The SEC’s EDGAR system remains exposed years after its breach. iVerify found active iPhone spyware; Play ransomware hit 900 orgs. The UK delayed its AI bill to 2026, while its High Court warned lawyers using fake AI legal text.

The Gulf’s super app race is heating up with Careem, Talabat, Noon, and Amazon. Flipkart secured lending approval in India, and Nigerian fintech startup, PalmPay is scaling wildly across Africa thanks to Chinese backing.

While we wait to see the new design style Apple is planning for the 20th Anniversary iPhone, a lot was going on in the AI landscape with Meta, but the interesting news was Musk and Trump proving they are messy b’s who live for drama.

The most consequential rift in tech and politics right now isn’t happening in courtrooms or boardrooms, but on Truth Social. Donald Trump and Elon Musk have broken publicly and messily, with the former president calling Musk “a total headcase” and accusing him of manipulating government contracts, and Musk using X to undercut Trump’s messaging power and question his judgment. Until recently, the two men represented a high-functioning (if volatile) alignment of interests. Trump needed tech credibility, AI rhetoric, and direct communication tools. Musk needed deregulation, favourable treatment for Starlink, Tesla, and SpaceX, and room to experiment without constraint. Now, that understanding appears over—and the fallout may be extensive.

The timing is far from subtle, but then what is right now in US politics? Trump is escalating his push for control over U.S. technology infrastructure, while Musk is simultaneously expanding globally and showing signs of political defiance. In the past week alone, Starlink secured a licence in India to operate commercially, extending its geopolitical footprint just as Washington Post reporting revealed growing White House unease about Starlink’s independence from US oversight. The administration is reportedly considering new guardrails on Musk’s national security influence, particularly as Starlink becomes entangled in sensitive military and diplomatic operations.

Behind the scenes, the White House is privately reviewing Musk’s roles across multiple domains, from critical infrastructure to AI, and weighing regulatory options. Trump's pivot to attacking Musk now, calling him “a manipulative fraud” in one Truth post, is not just personal, but also strategic. Trump’s camp sees Musk’s empire as a threat to their messaging dominance and national tech agenda. The smart money is, sadly for us all, on more drama.

SO WHAT?

The Musk–Trump rupture cuts through the core of the US tech-political-industrial complex. For years, Musk has operated as both a private-sector force and a kind of informal sovereign actor, running satellites in war zones, shaping AI policy narratives, and reengineering digital speech through X and Community Notes. Trump tolerated it because it served him, but that utility has now gone. Now Trump faces an adversary with deep institutional memory, vast influence, and no hesitation to turn off the tap, or release the receipts.

The fallout spans every major Musk-led domain, from AI and autonomy to defence infrastructure and broadband access, all of it now politically exposed at moments of critical scale-up or fragility. What was once a shared opportunism has become an unpredictable feud, and the open question for Democrats is whether they can contain the damage, or capitalise on the chaos.

[DO] Keep your eyes on Starlink, Tesla, and xAI, they’re about get a lot more regulatory scrutiny. The break with Trump removes one of Musk’s last buffers against political blowback.

[DON’T] Underestimate how much this could reshape the centre of gravity in US tech Musk is now politically homeless, and far more exposed even with +$400 $342 billion. That’s a dangerous place for someone who wants to run infrastructure at scale.

▲ 12 AI’s were pitted against each other in a game of diplomacy…the models that did the best learned to lie, deceive, and betray their fellow players. /11 mins

Why nothing new gets through and nothing old goes away. /23 mins

Japanese scientists have developed a plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours. /5 mins

TikTok wants you to know it’s a full-funnel platform, not an entertainment app. Is there trouble in paradise? /6 mins

These 120 high-growth US consumer products brands have captured a staggering 39% of growth within their categories. /6 mins

The Gulf is leading a push for super apps…and it’s winning. /6 mins

Here’s a list of all the new technologies that Airports are getting like x-rays that can tell ecstasy from eczema meds. /11 mins

Here’s how Expedia’s CEO plans to battle the existential threat to its business that is agentic AI. /5 mins

Netflix is inching closer to launch poor tax ads that blend into your favourite shows like Bridgerton. /6 mins

Why governments are urgently searching for GPS alternatives. /5 mins

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Paul delivers actionable insights that keep companies ahead of the coming disruptions. As the founder of TBD Group and author of Disruptive Technologies, he is trusted by global brands, agencies, and when breaking news hits the FT, WSJ, BBC, and CNN ask for his analysis. Find out more and connect with him on LinkedIn and Bluesky.