TOGETHER WITH
Hey there weekday warriors,
Here’s what’s on tap today… the only thing Zuck is worse at than the metaverse is AI, Elon says xAI is “starting over,” and GDP is lower than your T.
Enjoy the next 3 minutes and 40 seconds of blue-chip news and commentary.
Keep on snapping necks and cashing checks,
Avocado toast
Giphy
“Zucks to Zuck.” - @sama and Dario Amodei
Just how bad have things gotten over at Meta’s $META ( ▼ 3.83% ) AI department? They’re taking a page out of Apple’s playbook. Woof.
Zuck is considering the unthinkable: licensing Google’s $GOOGL ( ▼ 0.42% ) Gemini to realize his AI wet dreams.
Why play ball with a competitor?
Because apparently, performance for Meta’s “Avocado” AI model is worse than that of Zuck the first time he felt the tender touch of a woman.
It failed miserably head-to-head vs. all the leading models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. The report also indicated that this would set the model release back at least 2 months.
This is a really bad look for Meta and Zuck, who have basically assembled the 2024-2025 LA Dodgers of AI talent.
So, what’s a Zuck to do?
Pump the brakes on AI spending. Pull the plug on the metaverse. Layoffs.
Rumors are swirling that Meta is considering laying off up to 20% of its workforce to offset spiraling AI costs.
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+ Don’t worry, Zuck, it could be worse…
Turns out “synergies” and building data centers in space might not have been the only reasons Elon merged SpaceX and xAI. On Friday, Elon tweeted: xAI “was not built right first time around, so is being rebuilt from the foundations up.”
Elon’s decision to hit the reset button comes after a mass exodus of top talent from xAI over the past few months. Only 2 of Elon’s cofounders remain.
And in case it wasn’t clear just how bleak the situation is, Elon even tweeted an apology: “Many talented people over the past few years were declined an offer or even an interview @xAI. My apologies.”
+ “You gotta pump those numbers up, those are rookie numbers in this racket…”
Q4 GDP got a yuge downgrade. The Commerce Department revised the 4th quarter’s Gross Domestic Product down from 1.4% to just 0.7%. Did I mention that economists were expecting 1.5%?
But wait, it gets worse…
We also got core PCE inflation data (the Fed’s preferred gauge). And while it came in roughly in line with expectations, it was still 3.1% (spoiler: nowhere near 2%).
+ I did not have this on my 2026 BINGO card: “Uber, Travis Kalanick, and Anthony Levandowski Working on Self Driving.”
It appears the gang might be getting back together. Early Friday, the Information reported that TK and AL are teaming up on a self-driving startup backed by Uber $UBER ( ▲ 0.49% ). ICYMI, here’s why that sentence is so batsh*t…
Travis, the founder of Uber, was pushed out of the company in 2017. To be clear, bridges weren’t just burned; they were nuked. Meanwhile, Levandowski was sentenced to 18 months in jail for bringing self-driving trade secrets with him from Waymo to Uber (but he was eventually pardoned by President Trump).
While we didn’t get confirmation on the Uber investment yet, Travis appeared on TBPN to intro the new project: Atoms. It will focus on robotics in 3 sectors: 1) food (the ghost kitchen startup he founded), 2) mining, and 3) transportation (oh, so Uber?).
You’re dumb (yes, you)
Don't worry, I am too. We all make dumb money moves. Every damn day.
We’ll spend countless hours researching a new investment, but we'll overpay for insurance or home improvements.
See where you're leaving money on the table.
> Trump Administration Set to Receive $10 Billion Fee for Brokering TikTok Deal (WSJ) // I’ll save you the Google/ChatGPT/Claude… that is not a typo.
> Amazon to hike price of ad-free Prime Video tier by $2 a month (CNBC) // $2 doesn’t sound so bad, until you realize it used to cost $2.99…
> Judge Rejects Subpoenas of Fed in Powell Case; DOJ to Appeal (Bloomberg) // The government’s evidence thus far: “trust me, bro.”
> Digg lays off staff and shuts down app as company retools (TechCrunch) // Annnnd it’s gone.
Friday, I asked, “On the average weekend (Friday dinner-Sunday dinner), what's your dine out/takeout to cooking ratio?”
"Mostly cooking myself" eked out a win with 30.9% of the vote, followed by "Even split between me and someone else cooking" and "Mostly dining out."
Here’s what some of you guys had to say (and my response in italics)…
Mostly cooking myself: “The ladies love a man that knows his way around the kitchen.” This guy f*cks, amirite?
Mostly dining out/takeout: “Friday- Pizza(order, sometimes frozen) Saturday- usually out. If home, order Sunday- make a nice dinner, or Chinese if too hungover." Can you adopt me?
Mostly cooking myself: “I have a two year old and five year old, I can only endure so much chaos taking them to a restaurant." They can be emotional terrorists.
Mostly cooking myself: “Water Coolest hasn’t made me independently wealthy yet. I am lucky to afford a quick take out now and then." That makes two of us, brother.
Here’s today’s question(s)…
I finally got a chance to try a Waymo. Have your driven in a self-driving car, and what did you think?
+ US stocks “fell and the U.S. dollar strengthened on Friday as uncertainty over the Iran war continued to disrupt energy supplies, heightening concerns over fuel prices and interest rates.” (Reuters)
+ The 10-year yield “was little changed on Friday as investors weighed the release of dramatically slower, downwardly revised fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth numbers.” (CNBC)
+ Oil “settled higher on Friday, extending their weekly gains and holding above the key $100 a barrel level. Historic supply disruptions from the closure of the critical Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war has sparked concerns of an inflationary shock.” (Investing.com)
+ The “smart” money (prediction markets) thinks there’s a 28% chance that the US escorts a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz by March 31st. (Polymarket)
⏪ On Friday…
+ The core PCE price index report for January dropped
⏩ Today we’re keeping an eye on…
+ Dollar Tree reports before the opening bell
+ Microvast and Semtech report after hours
+ NVIDIA’s GTC event gets underway in San Jose
Oh, and one more thing…
What did you think about today's newsletter?
Sent from my Amazon Fire Phone. Please excuse any mistakes and typos.
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