PayPal On The Block?

Summary

Tech Brew Ride Home — July 15, 2026
Episode Summary: “PayPal On The Block?”

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Episode Overview

In this brisk, information-packed episode, Brian McCullough and the Tech Brew team run through the day’s most important tech news. Major stories include New York’s precedent-setting moratorium on new high-powered data centers (with implications for AI infrastructure nationwide), a blockbuster $53B+ acquisition offer for PayPal from Stripe and Advent, a first look at OpenAI’s upcoming hardware device, updates on the Apple-OpenAI legal battle with inside details, and Prism ML’s breakthrough in compressing AI models for smartphone deployment.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. New York Pauses High-Megawatt Data Centers – A Watershed for AI Policy

[01:32 – 06:21]

• Governor Hochul’s moratorium: New York is the first state to block new environmental permits for data centers over 50 megawatts, with a pause of up to a year.

  • “New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a moratorium blocking new environmental permits for data centers over 50 megawatts for up to one year, making New York the first state to do so.” [01:32]

• National ramifications:

  • AI advocates fear other states (especially Democrat-led) may follow suit, threatening the rapid growth of AI infrastructure.
  • The move bridges moderate Democrats like Hochul and progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, who have been vocal about AI’s impacts.
  • “The concept of a moratorium, dismissed just months ago as a radical idea, is entering the mainstream.” — Senator Bernie Sanders [03:00]

• Legislative dynamics:

  • Recent introductions of federal-level moratorium bills by Sanders and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez.
  • Some moderates (e.g., Rep. Pallone, NJ) have voiced support; others (Rep. Gotheimer, NJ) warn it could cede critical tech leadership to China.
  • “Just having a blanket moratorium... hand over AI to China and let them beat us, makes zero sense to me.” — Rep. Josh Gotheimer [04:53]

• Republican stance:

  • Most oppose full moratoriums, prefer voluntary pledges for energy neutrality to protect consumers from rising energy costs.
  • Bipartisan frustration is growing in states facing water and energy shortages.
  • As of now, only Maine and New York have advanced such bills to their governors.
  • Over 300 data center regulation bills introduced nationwide this year.

Notable Quote:

“I think we’re just kind of at the cusp of probably dozens of states, if I have to be honest.” — Caleb Max, CEO, National Artificial Intelligence Association [04:20]

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2. Stripe & Advent Eye $53B PayPal Acquisition — Fintech’s Mega-Merger?

[06:21 – 11:22]

• Offer specifics:

  • Stripe and Advent jointly offer $60.50 per share for PayPal (28% premium, $53B+ total), backed by $50B in committed financing.
  • PayPal, Stripe, and Advent have declined to comment so far, deal talks ongoing.
  • “Combining Stripe and PayPal... would create one of the world’s largest global online payments company, processing some $3.7 trillion of annual payment volume.” [07:00]

• Rationale & strategic logic:

  • Stripe and Advent would co-own (not split up) PayPal.
  • Stripe's merchant dominance + PayPal’s 430M consumer accounts = strong synergies for digital wallet expansion.
  • Stripe could directly reach consumers and Venmo’s peer-to-peer network, gaining competitive leverage versus Apple Pay and Google Pay.
  • The combination could reduce dependency on legacy payment rails like Visa/MasterCard, potentially lowering fees and boosting profit.
  • Bolsters Stripe’s stablecoin and crypto ambitions via PayPal’s immense distribution network.

• Historic context:

  • PayPal’s value peaked at $360B (2021), now ~$36B — a 40% drop this year alone, largely due to competition and slowing growth.
  • CEO Enrique Llores, on board since March, is leading restructuring (splitting into three focused units: checkout, consumer finance services, payments/crypto).

• Analysts’ view:

  • Current offer seen as just a “lowball opening salvo” (William Blair’s Andrew Joffre). Potential for higher bid, up to $70/share.
  • If successful, would be the largest recent fintech M&A, surpassing Global Payments’ $24B acquisition of WorldP from FIS.

• Stripe profile:

  • Privately held, valued at $159B as of February’s tender offer.
  • “Stripe is among the world’s most valuable companies.” [11:13-11:22]

Notable Quote:

“PayPal’s consumer offerings could be attractive to materially accelerate Stripe’s efforts to build out its digital wallet offering.” — Brian McCullough [08:53]

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3. OpenAI’s First Hardware — A Screenless, Moving “AI Companion” Speaker

[12:48 – 15:22]

• Product details:

  • New device is a screenless, portable smart speaker with a camera and various sensors (“a computer built for AI”).
  • Developed with design input from Jony Ive’s studio and ex-Apple staff — aiming to be deeply personal, proactive, and emotionally engaging.
  • Features battery power, mobility, mechanical elements that create a sense of “aliveness.”
  • Integrates with ChatGPT and the new, advanced voice mode (GPT Live) for more natural, human conversation.

• Intended to proactively serve information, learn deeply about its user (down to using email data for context), and become a “physical manifestation” of ChatGPT.

• Unveiled as OpenAI’s first dedicated hardware product as part of a $6.5B acquisition of IO Products (Jony Ive-helmed).

Notable Quote:

“OpenAI believes the product’s defining feature will be its personality and ability to connect on a human like level with users.” [13:34]

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4. Apple Sues OpenAI Over Trade Secrets: Lawsuit Drama & Email Mishaps

[15:31 – 17:52]

• Apple alleges OpenAI (and IO Products, with ex-Apple employees) stole hardware trade secrets.
  • Apple claims OpenAI never replied to initial outreach and failed to assure Apple it was taking precautions.
• Mistaken identity incident: Apple’s lawyer accidentally emailed wrong OpenAI employee (Wang vs. Chang).
  • Resulted in a brief, confused exchange with accusations of lying, apologies, and breakdown in communication.
  • Lawsuit was ultimately filed after talks fizzled.

Notable Moment:

“Chang got in touch with two in house Apple attorneys, accusing the company’s outside attorney of, quote, lying about speaking with me on the phone, adding I don’t know who he is and we have never spoken.” [17:27]

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5. Prism ML Shrinks AI Models to Run on iPhones – Apple in the Wings

[18:07 – 19:04]

• Prism ML, a Caltech spinout, compressed Alibaba’s 27B-parameter Quen model from 54GB to <4GB.
• Can run full AI models on an iPhone 15 or newer.
• Apple among those “really evaluating our technology right now,” per Prism ML CEO Babak Haseebi.
• Implication: Unlocks more advanced, private, and efficient on-device AI — a hot trend amid privacy concerns and energy debates.

Notable Quote:

“They’re really evaluating our technology right now.” — Babak Haseebi, Prism ML CEO [18:46]

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Memorable Quotes

• “Maybe we better slow the process up in order to understand the extraordinary impact that AI is going to have on our economy, on our privacy rights, on the mental health of our kids, and existential threats as well.”
  — Sen. Bernie Sanders [03:09]
• “If the industry doesn’t wake up quick and start solving this, it’s going to get a lot worse.”
  — Caleb Max, NAI Association [04:34]
• “Just having a blanket moratorium... makes zero sense to me.”
  — Rep. Josh Gotheimer [04:55]
• “OpenAI believes the product’s defining feature will be its personality and ability to connect on a human like level with users.”
  — Brian McCullough [13:34]
• “Chang got in touch with two in house Apple attorneys, accusing the company’s outside attorney of, quote, lying about speaking with me on the phone...”
  — Brian McCullough [17:27]
• “They’re really evaluating our technology right now.”
  — Babak Haseebi, Prism ML CEO [18:46]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [01:32] – New York data center moratorium & implications
• [03:00] – Senator Sanders and Democrat policy divides
• [04:20] – Industry and bipartisan reactions
• [06:21] – Stripe & Advent offer to buy PayPal
• [08:53] – Analyst insights on merger synergies
• [12:48] – OpenAI’s upcoming AI hardware device
• [15:31] – Apple’s trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI; bungled legal exchanges
• [18:07] – Prism ML’s AI compression breakthrough

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Summary Takeaway

This episode distills essential shifts at the intersection of tech, politics, and innovation: state-level reactions to AI infrastructure, M&A drama re-shaping fintech, ambitious new AI hardware from OpenAI, closely watched legal confrontations at Big Tech’s cutting edge, and advances in bringing powerful AI to the smartphone in your pocket. Expect ramifications in election politics, payments competition, consumer hardware, and on-device intelligence in the months ahead.

Transcript

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[Brian McCullough]

Welcome to the Tech Brew Ride Home for Wednesday, July 15, 2026 I'm Brian McCullough. Today, New York has become the first state to pause new data center permits, worrying the AI industry Stripe and Advent offered more than $53 billion for PayPal.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

OpenAI's first device leaked as a screen

[Brian McCullough]

free speaker and Prism ML shrank a

[Tech Brew Reporter]

model to run on iPhones again. Here's what you missed today in the world of tech.

[Brian McCullough]

To all the IT pros out there, today's sponsor has a special gift for you.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

That gift is Ace of Uptime, an online card based game where you can

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go up against the problems that threaten uptime on a daily basis. Each level pits you against a recognizable adversary. We're talking about alert overloads, heat that's

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to let you test how you'd respond when Uptime is on the line. Think you can beat the villains of downtime? Head over to eaton.com ace to find out. That's eaton.com ace New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a moratorium blocking new environmental permits for Data centers over 50 megawatts for up to one year, making

[Tech Brew Reporter]

new York the first state to do so.

[Brian McCullough]

And AI advocates fear this moratorium could embolden Democrats, especially across the country, to seize on a hot button populist issue to enact more such state restrictions in the midterms.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

Quoting Politico, the executive order that Democratic

[Brian McCullough]

governor Kathy Hochul signed Tuesday marks the first state level pause on data center construction, following dozens of municipalities in red and blue states that have passed similar moratoriums. But industry supporters and detractors alike say it it's unlikely to be the last, amid poll numbers showing growing public skepticism toward AI.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

The moratorium also serves as a bridge of sorts between moderate Democrats such as Hochul and progressives like Senator Bernie Sanders

[Brian McCullough]

of Vermont, who have clamored for more restrictions on data centers and artificial intelligence.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

The party as a whole remains torn on how hard a line to draw

[Brian McCullough]

against one of Silicon Valley's top priorities,

[Tech Brew Reporter]

despite a trend of Democrats from Pennsylvania to California embracing the push for new guardrails on the sprawling, energy hungry AI hubs.

[Brian McCullough]

Senator Sanders told Politico on Tuesday that the concept of a moratorium, dismissed just

[Tech Brew Reporter]

months ago as a radical idea, is entering the mainstream. There is a growing understanding that maybe

[Brian McCullough]

we better slow the process up in order to understand the extraordinary impact that AI is going to have on our economy, on our privacy rights, on the

[Tech Brew Reporter]

mental health of our kids, and existential threats as well, sanders said.

[Brian McCullough]

The senator introduced legislation with Representative Alexandria

[Tech Brew Reporter]

Ocasio Cortez of New York this year

[Brian McCullough]

that would impose a nationwide pause on data center construction.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

A month later, one of the party's most powerful moderates, Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the

[Brian McCullough]

House Energy and Commerce Committee, endorsed a federal moratorium as well. The moratorium call has yet to gain

[Tech Brew Reporter]

traction among congressional Democrats as a whole,

[Brian McCullough]

but data center developers are expressing angst about where the trend is heading. If a state as large as New York can pause on permitting, developers have

[Tech Brew Reporter]

to assume it could happen anywhere, said Joseph Hoffer, principal and chief AI officer

[Brian McCullough]

at the Monument Advocacy lobbying firm. I wouldn't call it a panic, but

[Tech Brew Reporter]

the concern is real and it moved fast, hoffer said.

[Brian McCullough]

The real worry in the industry isn't

[Tech Brew Reporter]

New York specifically, it is the precedent.

[Brian McCullough]

Caleb Max, CEO of the National Artificial Intelligence association, said he feared the impulse

[Tech Brew Reporter]

would spread to other states.

[Brian McCullough]

I think we're just kind of at the cusp of probably dozens of states, if I have to be honest, he

[Tech Brew Reporter]

said, citing devastating poll results on people's attitudes toward data centers.

[Brian McCullough]

If the industry doesn't wake up quick and start solving this, it's going to

[Tech Brew Reporter]

get a lot worse, he said. End quote. Some Democrats remain unchanged in their opposition

[Brian McCullough]

to a federal pause despite Hochul's decision.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

Representative Josh Gotheimer of New Jersey, Democrat co chair of the House Democratic Commission

[Brian McCullough]

on AI, warned that a moratorium risks

[Tech Brew Reporter]

surrendering the lead in innovation to China.

[Brian McCullough]

Just having a blanket moratorium, saying we're

[Tech Brew Reporter]

going to just pack up and go home, hand over AI to China and let them beat us, makes zero sense to me, gottheimer told Politico on Tuesday.

[Brian McCullough]

There's a similar similar vibe across the aisle where Republicans are keen on protecting ratepayers from rising energy costs associated with data centers, but like Gotheimer, don't want

[Tech Brew Reporter]

to risk giving China an edge in the AI race.

[Brian McCullough]

Republican Representative Nancy Mace expressed support for

[Tech Brew Reporter]

a data center pause in her state

[Brian McCullough]

of South Carolina, but most in the party are unwilling to go that far, instead supporting the voluntary ratepayer protection pledges

[Tech Brew Reporter]

tech companies signed with the White House in March. Those agreements task data center developers with

[Brian McCullough]

buying, bringing or building their own power supply for the projects to ensure ordinary

[Tech Brew Reporter]

customers don't bear the brunt of rising energy costs. Energy costs, water scarcity and general unease with AI are all contributing to a surge of frustrated constituents.

[Brian McCullough]

But governors and state lawmakers in both parties have struggled to stake out a

[Tech Brew Reporter]

lane on data centers. Lawmakers in 15 states have introduced legislation that would impose a moratorium on data

[Brian McCullough]

centers, according to information from the National

[Tech Brew Reporter]

Conference of State Legislatures.

[Brian McCullough]

Only two states, Maine and New York, had bills reach the governor's desk and

[Tech Brew Reporter]

neither was signed until now. State lawmakers have introduced more than 300 bills related to data center regulation overall this year. End Quote.

[Brian McCullough]

Sources report that Stripe and private equity firm Advent have jointly offered $60.50 a

[Tech Brew Reporter]

share to acquire PayPal, which would be a 28% premium to Tuesday's close, valuing PayPal at more than $53 billion, quoting Reuters.

[Brian McCullough]

The offer submitted earlier this month is backed by about $50 billion in committed

[Tech Brew Reporter]

financing from banks, said one of the known sources. The sources declined to be named as the deal discussions are confidential.

[Brian McCullough]

PayPal, Stripe and Advent declined to comment.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

Reuters first reported the news late on Tuesday. Combining Stripe and PayPal, the most widely used payment platforms for Internet merchants, would create one of the world's largest global

[Brian McCullough]

online payments company, processing some $3.7 trillion of annual payment volume.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

The proposal follows an initial approach made in early April. The sour Stripe and Advent have not

[Brian McCullough]

received a response from PayPal and are

[Tech Brew Reporter]

seeking to advance discussions in the coming weeks, the sources said.

[Brian McCullough]

Under the proposal, Stripe and Advent would jointly own PayPal, with each holding an

[Tech Brew Reporter]

equal stake rather than breaking up the company, the people said, adding that there is no certainty the approach will result in a transaction. Founded in the late 1990s, PayPal was

[Brian McCullough]

an early player in digital payments but has faced competition as consumers have embraced

[Tech Brew Reporter]

alternative payments payment methods and rivals such as Apple Pay and Google Pay have gained market share.

[Brian McCullough]

PayPal has spent the past several years

[Tech Brew Reporter]

grappling with slowing growth and intensifying competition

[Brian McCullough]

in digital payments, wiping out much of

[Tech Brew Reporter]

the value it gained during the pandemic.

[Brian McCullough]

The company's market capitalization peaked at about $360 billion in 2021 and fell to

[Tech Brew Reporter]

as low as roughly $36 billion this year. It has lost more than 40% of its market value over the past 12 months.

[Brian McCullough]

After taking over in March. PayPal CEO Enrique Llores started a sweeping

[Tech Brew Reporter]

turnaround exercise to simplify the payments provider and sharpened its focus on growth. In April, the company split its operations into three units covering checkout, consumer financial

[Brian McCullough]

services, Venmo and payments and crypto, while

[Tech Brew Reporter]

making a series of management changes.

[Brian McCullough]

Despite the valuation premium, William Blair analyst Andrew Joffre said, we do not think

[Tech Brew Reporter]

PayPal's new CEO will likely embrace what could be viewed as a lowball offer.

[Brian McCullough]

If the current offer is an opening salvo, we could see Stripe and Advent going as high as $70 per share. The strategic appeal is that Stripe's business has been overwhelmingly focused on merchants. While PayPal adds more than 430 million consumer accounts and direct consumer payment and

[Tech Brew Reporter]

banking relationships, PayPal's consumer offerings could be

[Brian McCullough]

attractive to materially accelerate Stripe's efforts to build out its digital wallet offering. TG Cohen analyst Brian Burgin said the deal would give Stripe direct consumer relationships

[Tech Brew Reporter]

with a large user base and the potential for financial Services distribution, which PayPal has recently increased its efforts on. Stripe would also gain Venmo's peer to peer network and PayPal's consumer facing checkout button.

[Brian McCullough]

A Stripe PayPal combination would allow more transactions to flow across its network, reducing reliance on processors like Visa or MasterCard,

[Tech Brew Reporter]

which could in turn help bypass transaction

[Brian McCullough]

fees and earn more from each payment. The deal could also bolster Stripe's stablecoin

[Tech Brew Reporter]

ambitions, giving the company a vast consumer

[Brian McCullough]

distribution network to help drive mainstream adoption

[Tech Brew Reporter]

of stablecoin based payments payments. Stripe has invested heavily in its crypto unit bridge.

[Brian McCullough]

The potential PayPal transaction, if completed, will add to the recent M and A activity in the global payment sector, where buyers have pursued targets amid rapid changes

[Tech Brew Reporter]

in financial technology and the rise of artificial intelligence. Payment companies are also increasingly seeking to

[Brian McCullough]

scale through MA as well as exposure

[Tech Brew Reporter]

to faster growing segments such as Cross

[Brian McCullough]

Border and Business to Business Payments amid

[Tech Brew Reporter]

slower growth for traditional payment processing.

[Brian McCullough]

In 2025, Global Payments agreed to acquire

[Tech Brew Reporter]

rival WorldP from FIS and private equity firm GTCR for $24.25 billion in a complex three way deal. As part of that deal, GTCR sold its 55% stake in FIS and exited its remaining 45% holding.

[Brian McCullough]

The sector has also seen a steady stream of smaller deals, including the acquisition

[Tech Brew Reporter]

of Payoneer Global by Canadian payments firm Nuvai for $2.75 billion. Nuvai is backed by Advent International and other private equity firms.

[Brian McCullough]

PayPal's revenue rose 7% to 8.35 billion

[Tech Brew Reporter]

in the first quarter, beating analysts average estimate of 8.05 billion on a currency neutral basis. Total payment volumes jumped 8% over a year ago to about 464 billion.

[Brian McCullough]

Lores outlined plans in May to leverage artificial intelligence to streamline operations at PayPal across the company and eliminate duplication in

[Tech Brew Reporter]

workforce layers, but did not provide additional details. The company has said these initiatives would

[Brian McCullough]

save about $1.5 billion over the next

[Tech Brew Reporter]

two to three years, adding it will reinvest that amount to drive new growth.

[Brian McCullough]

Privately held Stripe is among the world's most valuable companies. It was valued at $159 billion in

[Tech Brew Reporter]

a tender offer for employees and shareholders

[Brian McCullough]

in February, a more than 70% jump

[Tech Brew Reporter]

from a similar share sale a year earlier.

[Brian McCullough]

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[Tech Brew Reporter]

a major ripple effect.

[Brian McCullough]

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[Brian McCullough]

Mark Gurman says that Apple's lawsuit notwithstanding, OpenAI's first hardware device will be a movable screen free smart speaker with a camera and sensors meant to serve as

[Tech Brew Reporter]

an AI companion that taps into ChatGPT, quoting Bloomberg. OpenAI's success and hardware will hinge on bringing a novel approach to the market,

[Brian McCullough]

something it aims to do with the smart speaker, for instance. The device's technology is meant to become increasingly personalized and proactive as it gains

[Tech Brew Reporter]

a deeper understanding of its owner over

[Brian McCullough]

time, according to the people.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

OpenAI envisions the device anticipating needs, surfacing

[Brian McCullough]

information proactively and serving as an expert on its user, they said, though the

[Tech Brew Reporter]

speaker is designed to stay in the

[Brian McCullough]

home, it will be easy to move around the house. OpenAI believes the product's defining feature will be its personality and ability to connect

[Tech Brew Reporter]

on a human like level with users.

[Brian McCullough]

The speaker incorporates mechanical elements that can

[Tech Brew Reporter]

move on their own, creating a sense that is it is alive and not just an object responding to commands.

[Brian McCullough]

The machine will also draw on personal information such as emails to better understand its owner. The goal is for the device to feel like a companion and become a

[Tech Brew Reporter]

physical manifestation of OpenAI's ChatGPT. Still, the exact plans could change as the company works through the development and legal process. An OpenAI spokesperson declined to comment. The device's communication abilities will rely on a more advanced version of the ChatGPT

[Brian McCullough]

voice mode GPT Live that OpenAI rolled out this month.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

The new voice mode is designed to act more like a human.

[Brian McCullough]

It can listen and talk at the same time, adapt more naturally during conversations,

[Tech Brew Reporter]

and quickly process information.

[Brian McCullough]

Though the new product resembles a speaker, OpenAI internally describes it as the first of its kind, a computer built for AI to help make people more productive. It includes a camera and other sensors

[Tech Brew Reporter]

that help it understand a user's surroundings and context, as well as advanced AI models beyond those available on conventional smart speakers. Another central difference is that the device

[Brian McCullough]

includes a rechargeable battery, allowing it to be carried from room to room throughout the day.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

A user could bring it into the laundry room while doing chores, move it into the kitchen for cooking assistance, and

[Brian McCullough]

later place it in a living room or bedroom to have it play music.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

It can also remain plugged into a

[Brian McCullough]

single room if the customer chooses to build up its devices. Business OpenAI spent $6.5 billion last year

[Tech Brew Reporter]

to acquire I O Products, a startup co founded by Apple design veteran Jony

[Brian McCullough]

I've I've Studio Love from also is helping craft the new lineup and the

[Tech Brew Reporter]

endeavor involves many former Apple designers and engineers responsible creating products such as the iPhone and Mac. OpenAI believes the love from team's expertise

[Brian McCullough]

in making technology feel personal will help

[Tech Brew Reporter]

distinguish the company's first hardware product. End quote.

[Brian McCullough]

Speaking of that Apple lawsuit against OpenAI

[Tech Brew Reporter]

quoting 9to5Mac last Friday, Apple filed a trade secrets theft lawsuit against OpenAI, IO Products and two former employees.

[Brian McCullough]

In the lawsuit, Apple accuses its former employees of stealing confidential hardware information to

[Tech Brew Reporter]

advance OpenAI's consumer device ambitions.

[Brian McCullough]

Apple also alleges that OpenAI failed to

[Tech Brew Reporter]

respond when the company first raised the issue directly in February. In February, as its investigation was in

[Brian McCullough]

its early stages, Apple wrote OpenAI to raise its concerns that Apple's confidential information

[Tech Brew Reporter]

could be making its way into OpenAI's business improperly. Apple asked OpenAI to discuss what precautions OpenAI was taking to avoid this problem,

[Brian McCullough]

to investigate it and to remediate any issues.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

OpenAI never responded. This necessitated Apple's further investigation investigation revealing the alarming unlawful contact discussed above. End quote.

[Brian McCullough]

However, according to NBC News, OpenAI says that it did not respond to Apple's initial outreach, but that communications broke down

[Tech Brew Reporter]

after an outside lawyer for Apple mistakenly emailed the wrong OpenAI employee and confused him with another person.

[Brian McCullough]

According to the report, Gabriel Gross, quote, an outside attorney representing Apple with the

[Tech Brew Reporter]

law firm Weill, Gottschall and Manges, sent an email to Che Chang, OpenAI's general counsel, with the subject former Apple Apple

[Brian McCullough]

employees at OpenAI retaining non public, confidential

[Tech Brew Reporter]

and proprietary information and containing attachments supporting Apple's accusation.

[Brian McCullough]

Then 13 minutes later, Gross emailed Chang once again thanking him for a phone call that supposedly took place in the

[Tech Brew Reporter]

interim and for offering your cooperation so quickly.

[Brian McCullough]

The problem is that the second email wasn't intended to Chang, but rather to

[Tech Brew Reporter]

a former Apple employee who had gone to work at OpenAI whose last name is Wang, says NBC News. Gross had emailed both Chang and Wang

[Brian McCullough]

moments ago and had spoken with Wang

[Tech Brew Reporter]

on the phone in the interim, but replied to Chang by mistake, believing Gross had emailed him with fabricated information to advance Apple's case against OpenAI.

[Brian McCullough]

Chang got in touch with two in house Apple attorneys, accusing the company's outside attorney of quote, lying about speaking with me on the phone, adding I don't know who he is and we have never spoken.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

He then asked Gross to be removed from the case. Gross later apologized to changing while one of Apple's in house attorneys told Chang that he could remain in contact with

[Brian McCullough]

Gross and his law firm as the case moved forward. The talks appear to have ended there,

[Tech Brew Reporter]

says NBC News, adding that OpenAI claims it had no record of subsequent outreach by Apple's lawyers until Friday when Apple filed its lawsuit. End quote.

[Brian McCullough]

And one more real quick on the

[Tech Brew Reporter]

Apple AI angle, quoting cnbc. Apple is in talks with a small Silicon Valley company that says it can

[Brian McCullough]

shrink powerful artificial intelligence models enough to

[Tech Brew Reporter]

run directly on an iPhone, the startup CEO told cnbc. Prism ML A Khosla Ventures backed spin out from the California Institute of Technology

[Brian McCullough]

publicly released compressed versions of Alibaba's open

[Tech Brew Reporter]

source Quen model on Tuesday. The company said it reduced the model

[Brian McCullough]

from roughly 54 gigabytes to less than 4 gigabytes, allowing all 27 billion of

[Tech Brew Reporter]

its parameters to run on an iPhone 15 or newer.

[Brian McCullough]

Prism ML CEO Babak Haseebi told CNBC

[Tech Brew Reporter]

that Apple and other companies have been evaluating the startups models and measuring their speed, energy efficiency and performance on devices. They're really evaluating our technology right now, haseebi said of Apple. He characterized the discussions as very early

[Brian McCullough]

and said it remains unclear where they will lead, but that things are progressing nicely.

[Tech Brew Reporter]

His words. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. End quote.

[Brian McCullough]

So in terms of today's World cup

[Tech Brew Reporter]

semifinals, which are happening right as I hit publish on that, if you know, you know.