Good morning readers. Amazon must be feeling pretty happy with the way Prime Day went this year. The online retailerbroke records, with U.S. online spending soaring 11% to $14.2 billion, fueled by back-to-school shopping and tech upgrades, according to Adobe Analytics. The company’s AI shopping assistant, Rufus, made its debut (and was a big hit with shoppers), improving the overall shopping experience and helping millions shop smarter in the process. Shoppers also spent more per order, averaging $57.97 per basket, but opted for essentials and home goods over big-ticket items. Competing sales from other retailers also thrived, making Prime Day a major revenue driver across the board.

Let’s jump into today’s storylines.

In today’s digest:

• Bitcoin miners are moving away from bitcoin and into AI

• Headline Hustle: USPS shared customer information with Meta, LinkedIn and Snap, OpenAI releases its latest AI model, Ford is spending $3 billion on expanding a production plant in Canada

• Robotaxi’s in China cost less then a cup of coffee…and people are concerned

• Pulse Points: What’s Trending

TECH

Bitcoin miners are pivoting to AI in a big way

The tech world is changing fast, and bitcoin miners are jumping into a new game: artificial intelligence. With bitcoin mining becoming less profitable, these tech-savvy companies are using their powerful infrastructure to fuel the next wave of innovation.

On Thursday morning, Houston-based Lancium and Denver-based Crusoe Energy Systems announced a big deal to build a 200-megawatt data center just for AI companies. This new facility will support advanced computing tasks like medical research and aircraft design, and it’s just the first part of a larger plan to expand to 1.2 gigawatts. Lancium President Ali Fenn pointed out that this will be one of the biggest AI data centers in the world once it’s fully built.

The switch makes sense

Mining firms have large data centers with lots of power and fiber line access, making them perfect for AI operations. At the same time, bitcoin miners are looking to diversify due to the reduced profits from the recent bitcoin halving.

Lancium and Crusoe are just two of many companies making the shift. The market value of the top 14 U.S.-listed bitcoin miners hit a record high of $22.8 billion on June 15. To give you some context:

• Bit Digital, which sees 27% of its income from AI, expects to make $92 million a year from a new data center deal in Iceland.

• Hut 8 raised $150 million to grow its AI data center portfolio, and

• Core Scientific, fresh out of bankruptcy, is now worth about $2 billion after rejecting a $1.02 billion buyout offer from CoreWeave (a cloud AI startup heavily backed by companies like Nvidia)

It’s too much energy: AI’s growing energy needs are also leading some companies to explore renewable energy sources, like nuclear power, to keep these data centers running. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that data centers could consume up to 9% of the country's total electricity by 2030, up from around 4% in 2023. Many see nuclear energy as the solution to meet this growing demand.

IN THE KNOW

Headline Hustle

📫️USPS shared customer information with Meta, LinkedIn and Snap. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) was found to have shared the postal addresses of its online customers with Meta, LinkedIn, and Snap via hidden tracking pixels on its website. USPS claimed it was unaware of this and has since stopped the practice. The data included postal addresses and other information, affecting potentially over 62 million Informed Delivery users. The agency did not disclose the steps taken or if it will request data deletion from the tech companies.

🤖OpenAI releases its latest model, GPT 4o mini. OpenAI announced the launch of its latest AI model, "GPT-4o mini," on Thursday. Touted as the "most capable and cost-efficient small model available," it will initially handle text and later integrate image, video, and audio capabilities. This mini model is an offshoot of GPT-4o, which boasts improved multimodal capabilities in 50 languages. OpenAI, valued at over $80 billion and backed by Microsoft, aims to lead in "multimodality." GPT-4o mini will be accessible to all ChatGPT users, including Plus, Team, and Enterprise subscribers.

🛻Ford is spending $3 billion on expanding a production plant in Canada. Ford Motor will expand production of its large Super Duty trucks to a Canadian plant initially planned for electric vehicle production. The $3 billion investment includes $2.3 billion for the Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada, and additional funds for supporting U.S. and Canadian facilities. This move aims to meet high demand, adding 100,000 units annually from 2026. Ford had planned a $1.3 billion EV investment for the plant but shifted focus due to slower-than-expected EV adoption. The expansion secures about 1,800 Canadian jobs.

CARS

A new era of mobility: China’s 50-cent robotaxis

In Wuhan, China, you can now zip six miles in a driverless taxi for about 50 cents. That’s right—50 cents. With a fleet of 500 autonomous vehicles courtesy of Baidu’s Apollo Go, Wuhan is positioning itself as a global pioneer in driverless transportation, even if these futuristic rides sometimes struggle with the basics of street navigation.

The jaw-dropping affordability of these robotaxis—starting at just 4 yuan (55 cents) compared to 18 yuan ($2.48) for a traditional cab—has caught the public’s attention.

• The service, which launched in 2022, is set to double its fleet to 1,000 by 2024.

• Yet, beneath this shiny new tech lies a more troubling reality: the disruption it brings to the gig economy.

The rapid rollout of these autonomous cabs has sparked concern among Wuhan’s workforce, already reeling from deflation and stagnant wages. “With the Chinese economy struggling a bit, Chinese people are likely much more fearful of losing their jobs,” says Tu Le from Sino Auto Insights. While the robotaxi revolution promises efficiency, it’s also fueling fears of job losses among drivers and related sectors.

Adding to the unease, the National Bureau of Statistics recently reported a slower-than-expected GDP growth of 4.7% for the first half of the year. Traffic woes and safety concerns are mounting too—one robotaxi recently ran a red light, causing a crash, further igniting public debate.

Meanwhile, in the US: autonomous vehicle trials face their own hurdles. Companies like Waymo and Cruise have stumbled, with incidents that challenge their safety claims too.

SNIPPETS

Pulse Points

• With NBA media rights nearing finalization, Warner Bros. Discovery has five days to decide whether to match a proposed broadcasting rights package.

• Netflix announced on Thursday that it will begin phasing out its $11.99 per month Basic plan, its cheapest ad-free option, in the United States.

• John Deere announced it will stop sponsoring "social or cultural awareness" events, joining other major US companies in distancing from diversity and inclusion measures following conservative backlash.

• Bud Light, once the top-selling beer in the U.S., has fallen to third place following a year of industry upheaval and a significant boycott.

• Facebook parent Meta Platforms is in talks to acquire a 5% stake in eyewear company EssilorLuxottica, its partner in making Ray-Ban smart glasses, according to sources familiar with the matter.

• U.S. health officials authorized tobacco-flavored versions of the top-selling e-cigarette brand Vuse Alto on Thursday, allowing these products to remain on the market.

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