Virality, Valuations, & Velocity

📡 Radar

📱 OpenAI Goes Viral

This one was hard to miss. OpenAI just dropped a TikTok-style app powered by its Sora 2 model, letting users create 10 second AI generated videos, including deepfakes of themselves or anyone who opts in. The app leans into algorithmic feeds, remix culture, and alerts when someone makes a video of you, even in drafts. OpenAI also flipped the copyright script by requiring creators to opt out if they don’t want their work used to train the model. This feels less about the tech itself and more about owning the next wave of AI powered entertainment. Is this the next chapter for social media? OpenAI

We have three (3) Sora 2 invites to give out. The first three people to reply to this email with their favorite GIF get them. Bonus points if it’s AI-related.

🎯 Defense Moves at Startup Speeds

Anduril just rewrote the playbook. Eight weeks after securing a $99.6M prototype contract, the 4th Infantry Division is already running live fire missions with its Next Gen Command and Control system. This isn’t defense contracting as usual. It’s startup speed on the battlefield. As drone warfare reshapes modern combat, the Pentagon needs partners who move at commercial velocity, not government pace, and Anduril is leading that charge. Anduril

💳 ChatGPT Becomes Checkout Counter

OpenAI just turned ChatGPT into a shopping assistant with a checkout button. Thanks to new partnerships with Etsy, Shopify, and Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Protocol, users can now buy products inside the chat with no app switching or extra steps. But the real play is the protocol itself. By making it open source, OpenAI is inviting the entire internet of merchants to build on their rails and positioning ChatGPT to take a cut of trillions in e-commerce. WSJ

🏎️ Groq Races With McLaren F1

Groq officially partnered with McLaren Formula 1, deploying high-speed AI inference directly to the racing grid where microseconds determine outcomes. Announced at the Singapore Grand Prix, the deal positions Groq's technology in one of the most data-intensive, real-time decision environments on the planet - validating their performance-at-cost thesis. McLaren's adoption signals enterprise confidence in Groq's ability to deliver mission-critical inference where latency isn't just a metric, it's the difference between podium and pit lane. Groq

🚀 OpenAI Dethrones SpaceX

OpenAI just hit a $500B valuation after a massive secondary, making it the most valuable private company in the world. That is up from $300B in April. Over $6.6B in employee shares changed hands, with backing from SoftBank, Thrive, and T. Rowe Price. With exposure to both companies, we are enjoying the front row seat to this valuation race. Yahoo Finance

💬 Prompt

What can I help you with?

Design a dinner party menu that seems fancy but is secretly easy.

🧠 Wisdom

🇺🇸 Ryder Cup

Team USA made a late push but came up short, but it was still a great time with a few LFG LPs in the mix. Don’t mind the double-fisted beverages, the lines were wild.

📊 Survey

🧠 Speed Is a Superpower

We love Naval’s sharp takes. Treat every task like it matters. Move with urgency. Close the loop fast. Momentum follows.

👕 Gear

You asked for more gear, so we hit the lab. Introducing the LFG Fairway Towel, made to keep your clubs clean, your hands dry, and your game dialed. Available now in black or white, only in the LFG Shop.

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