Good morning. And just like that…the world’s most famous tech entrepreneur and the President of the United States are scrapping on social media.
Top three reactions:
3. “It’s a doge eat doge world.”
2. (Trump to Mark Zuckerberg) “Your name is Elon now.”
1. “This is like Kendrick vs. Drake but with two Drakes.”
Thoughts and prayers for Tesla shareholders. Today’s tech news below; have a great weekend. —Andrew Nusca
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China warns EV makers to self-regulate on price war
Chinese officials have reportedly “summoned” the heads of major electric automakers to address a long-running price war.
Senior executives from BYD, Geely, and Xiaomi were among the group hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, according to a new Bloomberg report.
Their marching orders: “Self-regulate” and avoid selling cars below cost.
The officials also warned against issues such as “zero-mileage” vehicles—cars distributed to partners and recorded as sales despite never reaching the consumer—“and mounting bills owed to suppliers that are squeezing cash flow along the supply chain,” the report adds.
There has been widespread concern that the price war in the category has been an unsustainable race to the bottom that could harm the auto industry more than help it.
Last month, BYD cut its prices by as much as one-third, sending all Chinese electric automaker stocks—Li Auto, Great Wall Motor, etc.—lower.
Inventory levels at dealerships are higher than they’ve been since 2023; consumer demand has been sluggish, partly a result of China’s economic malaise. —AN
Anduril raises $2.5 billion, doubling its valuation
The defense company Anduril said Thursday that it had closed an oversubscribed $2.5 billion funding round that more than doubles its valuation to $30.5 billion.
One of the first defense tech startups in Silicon Valley, Anduril was founded in 2017 by a group that includes Oculus founder Palmer Luckey and Founders Fund’s Trae Stephens.
The Costa Mesa, Calif. company builds autonomous drones, virtual reality headsets, and other AI-powered technologies for the U.S. military and its allies.
This latest fundraise marks an important milestone for the defense tech industry, which has swelled in size as the Department of Defense embraces venture capital-funded startups in an effort to supply its forces with the latest, cutting-edge technologies as global tensions rise.
With its new valuation, Anduril is one of the 13 most valuable private companies in the world, according to CB Insights.
It’s also starting to approach the market value of some of the established defense contractors that have dominated the industry for decades. Anduril is now worth half of Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, for example.
Anduril says it will use the new billions of capital for M&A, to scale up its Arsenal-1 manufacturing facility in Ohio, hire in the U.S., Australia and Europe, and invest in new product launches. —Jessica Mathews
U.S. moves to confiscate $7.7 million of allegedly stolen crypto
The U.S. Department of Justice wants to confiscate $7.7 million worth of cryptocurrency seized in connection with an alleged scheme to launder money on behalf of the North Korean government.
The DOJ filed a civil forfeiture complaint on Thursday. “North Korean IT workers obtained illegal employment and amassed millions in cryptocurrency for the benefit of the North Korean government,” the agency alleges.
The funds were initially frozen in connection to an April 2023 indictment against a man named Sim Hyon Sop.
In that indictment, the government alleged that Sim, a North Korean Foreign Trade Bank representative based in the United Arab Emirates, conspired with North Korean IT workers to launder the ill-gotten funds.
Sim was charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments in 2023 in connection to his relationship with the alleged North Korean IT workers.
The statement does not specify where the IT workers associated with Sim were employed. Still, the DOJ alleges that the workers flew under the radar by bypassing “security and due diligence checks using fraudulent (or fraudulently obtained) identification documents.”
Once hired, the workers would allegedly receive a salary—often in stablecoins like USDC or USDT—and send the funds back to North Korea via Sim or another North Korean national.
“For years,” said Sue J. Bai, head of the DOJ’s national security division, “North Korea has exploited global remote IT contracting and cryptocurrency ecosystems to evade U.S. sanctions and bankroll its weapons programs.” —Catherine McGrath
More tech
—Nintendo’s Switch 2 has launched. Here’s where to get it.
—Circle stock soars. Up 168%, to $83, after the payments company’s IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.
—Broadcom beats expectations. The chipmaker rides the AI demand wave, posting better-than-expected Q2 revenue and profit.
—Tesla sales slump. The automaker’s largest EV plant suffers its eighth straight month of declining demand.
—Walmart expands Wing partnership. Drone delivery service for Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, Tampa.
—Wise to shift listing to New York. The fintech company ditches London in a growing trend.
—China’s AI agent boom. Butterfly Effect’s Manus made a splash; ByteDance and Tencent have noticed.
—Do European startups need 996 to compete? An existential crisis among the region’s VCs.
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