6Pages Market Shifts

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, there’s been a steady stream of white-collar layoff announcements from companies like Amazon, Meta, YouTube, Goldman Sachs, and Target. If we dig down, however, into why these companies are laying off white-collar workers, the rationales are nuanced. Next, OpenAI has officially completed its for-profit conversion....

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, AI web browsers are officially a thing. This week saw the long-awaited debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Atlas browser, followed quickly by Microsoft’s “Copilot Mode” in Edge. That’s on top of recent launches from Google, Anthropic, Perplexity, Opera, and others. The browser is fast becoming the new battleground for data,...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, retail trading has hit an inflection point – and this time it’s not just meme stocks. For the first time, a majority (54%) of working-class Americans earning $30K-$80K hold taxable investment accounts – with more than half of those entering the market within the past 5 years. Next, OpenAI is stacking up chip deals...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Apple is letting developers use its local AI model for free, and the app updates are rolling in fast. The model may be just 3B parameters but it runs locally, preserves privacy, and, most importantly, costs nothing, which is hard to beat. Next, Stripe just launched a new stablecoin issuance platform, letting any bu...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Trump’s $100K H-1B visa has companies and workers scrambling. While the $100K fee won’t apply to renewals or existing H-1B holders, the administration is signaling that H-1Bs will be fewer, more expensive, and skewed toward higher-paid roles. Next, the US deal for TikTok looks like it’s actually happening. Under Tr...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Google’s Gemini elbowed past ChatGPT to become the #1 app in Apple’s App Store globally, boosted by the viral breakout of the Nano Banana image-editing model. Google is lately intent on expanding Gemini’s distribution, with integrations into Chrome, likely Siri, and more. Next, the first pill-based GLP-1 treatments...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Robinhood is aiming to be a financial superapp with the launch of Robinhood Social. The social network’s idea generation and signal-to-noise ratio will rely on Robinhood’s ability to verify profile identities through KYC and validate traders’ real performance Next, a coalition of publishers, social platforms, and C...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, remedies in the Google search antitrust case have dropped – and Google has come out relatively unscathed. While Google is barred from exclusive distribution agreements and tying its products, it will not have to divest Chrome or Android. Next, businesses are shifting focus away from SEO and towards GEO (generative-...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, the Fed signaled a policy shift last week, with Powell framing a recalibration of the Fed’s inflation strategy away from prolonged overshoots over 2%, while hinting at a rate cut. Powell is giving with one hand but providing the Fed with cover to take it back if needed. Next, recent reports are indicating a bifurca...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Google’s new Gemini-powered hardware is tempting iPhone users to cross over. Gemini for Home is a major smart-home upgrade, and the Pixel 10’s “Magic Cue” proactive surfacing of relevant information is painting a picture of what ambient, pervasive AI will look like.  Next, hackers are rebuilding the business operat...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Amazon is expanding same-day fresh grocery delivery to 1,000+ cities, with plans to more than double that by end of 2025. With Prime members now able to get groceries delivered within hours for free, Walmart and other rivals’ stock prices have tumbled in the wake. Next, Trump signed a new executive order aiming to...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, OpenAI dropped GPT-5 this week, along with its first open-weight models in a long while. While GPT-5 might be the best all-around model (or hybrid “unified” system) today, the open gpt-oss family – which can be downloaded for free, customized, and run on a laptop or phone at low cost – might be even more exciting....

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, enterprises now prefer Anthropic’s Claude over OpenAI, according to Menlo Ventures.  Anthropic is the new leader in enterprise AI with 32% of the market (in compute), while OpenAI’s share has fallen from 50% to 25% in just over a year and a half. Next, the EPA has formally begun its repeal of the 2009 “endangerment...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, smart jewelry is suddenly one of the hottest fronts in the AI device race. Amazon just acquired Bee’s always-listening bracelet, Meta is working on gesture-control wristbands, Samsung is exploring more smart jewelry, and OpenAI’s hardware team (led by Jony Ive) is working on a new form factor altogether. Next, Uber...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, AI is taking aim at financial analysts. Anthropic’s Claude for Financial Services can analyze market data, build DCF models, and generate investor decks – complete with on-brand deliverables – while OpenAI’s “ChatGPT agent” can conduct research and build spreadsheets and decks while you’re out to lunch. Junior role...

Hi everyone – we’re back! Much has happened in the world of market shifts while we were on hiatus, so much that we even considered making this a “17 shifts” catch-up edition. In lieu of that, we have a longer-than-usual “cutting room floor” at the bottom of our edition – make sure to take a look. First up, US courts are beginning to clear the fog around AI training as fair use. Two major rulings s...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, the US labor market is shrinking in ways that feel more structural than cyclical, with a declining employment-population ratio and businesses seeking “headcount-less growth.” So far it’s mostly “small cracks” but between immigration policy and automation, we’re looking at a labor market in transition – and the land...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, Mary Meeker is back with another 300+ slide deck, her first Trends report since 2019 – this one focused on AI. We highlight what we consider to be the most interesting themes – and we did it by actually reading the deck and writing the brief (vs. running it through AI). Next, AI players are racing to ink distributi...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, California’s longtime leadership on climate regulation may be coming to an end. Congress just voted to revoke California’s emissions waivers, in a move set to nullify the state’s authority to enforce stricter-than-federal vehicle standards – a power it’s held since 1967. Next, Texas passed a new law requiring app s...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, AI slop is spreading like kudzu and it’s more than just annoying spam – it’s a threat to online ecosystems as we know them. From YouTube channels to Pinterest recipes to Spotify playlists, slop farmers are exploiting AI’s ability to generate content cheaply and en masse. Next, patient-specific CRISPR gene-editing i...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, we delve into the rise of APIs for AI web search, with Anthropic recently joining Google, Perplexity, OpenAI, and others in releasing a product. It’s looking like AI search will soon be broadly distributed across 3rd-party applications and websites. Next, crypto’s regulatory barriers are coming down, with the OCC,...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, a federal judge laid down the hammer on Apple last week for “willful violation” of her 2021 injunction. Developers like Spotify, Amazon, and Patreon are now moving quickly to cut Apple out of transactions, now that Apple can’t charge commissions on off-app purchases. Next, Visa and Mastercard are opening up their n...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. We’re opening this one up to everyone because of the importance of some of these topics. Feel free to forward and share.  First, Waymo is pulling away in the robotaxi race with now 250K+ paid robotaxi rides per week, amid a flurry of industry activity and Tesla in hot pursuit. If Waymo is not just better and safer but als...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, the US government is restarting student loan collections, with garnishment of wages, social-security benefits, and tax refunds all back on the table starting May 5. Borrowers avoiding their loan balances might want to check their mail – and maybe their blood pressure too. Next, protein is taking over everything we...

Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version]. First, OpenAI is on its way to becoming the next consumer big tech giant, with ChatGPT surging to 800M+ weekly users. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are chasing power users with $200/month tiers but the real story might be what’s happening on the free end of freemium. Next, manufacturing in certain sectors may be coming back t...