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Hello there.
Hundreds of investing and finance newsletters hit my (and maybe your) inbox every week. This is the best of the best of tech from the past week. Every Monday, we’ll tackle policy, and every Wednesday, we’ll recap finance.
This week, on Tech Wrapped, we’ve got…
🦈 BlackRock Smells Blood in the Water
⚡️ The Tech Ticker
🚘 Ford CEO Gives a Sober View of EVs’ Future
🤖 All Eyes on AI
😆 Meme of the Week
🎙️ Pulse, Meta Vibes, and Creator vs. Algorithm
With how quickly the market and investment climate are changing right now, we can’t afford to fall behind. You can always read the latest and most relevant finance news & updates on Finance Wrapped.
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🦈 Sharks Circling AI by the Billions
OpenAI just hit a $500 billion valuation, making it the world’s largest startup. The software headlines are flashy, but the real story is the physical buildout needed to keep AI running. Data centers, power plants, and transmission lines are the new picks and shovels of this gold rush. (Also AI companies are selling merch now???)
I had to get some @perplexity_ai merch from @PPLXsupply
The attention to details is impecabile and the quality as well. Can’t wait to use them ❤️
— #Cristian Iordan 🇷🇴 (#@CristianIordan_)
12:38 PM • Feb 12, 2025
BlackRock is circling a $38 billion deal for AES, a utility that already powers Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta’s data centers. Brookfield pegs the total global investment needed at $7 trillion, with Goldman Sachs forecasting data center power demand up 50% by 2027. Real estate investors are shifting from office towers to server farms, and I am shifting from “ChatGPT is cool” to “we’re heading for the singularity 😨“
OpenAI just hit a $500B valuation.
Now the world's most valuable private company.
Here’s how the top 10 stack up.
— #App Economy Insights (#@EconomyApp)
9:43 PM • Oct 2, 2025
Meanwhile, China is racing ahead in AI-powered robotics, showing that the competition is about who controls the physical layer, not just the code. So the money isn’t just in the software stocks, it’s in the utilities, infrastructure funds, and data-center REITs that keep the lights on.
⚡️ The Tech Ticker
Peloton announced a full relaunch of its product lineup, adding AI-powered tracking cameras, 360-degree swivel screens, and voice control.
JPMorgan committed $20 billion in financing to the $55 billion buyout of Electronic Arts, marking the largest single‑bank debt commitment ever.
Citi launched mandatory AI prompt training for 175,000 employees to improve how staff interact with generative AI tools.
YouTube TV and NBC are clashing over the future of streaming bundles as Google pushes to integrate Peacock’s full catalog directly into its app.
Samsung will supply Vodafone with Open RAN solutions, including its vRAN platform, O-RAN compliant radios, and network management tools.
🚘 The EV Market Hits a Pothole
Tesla just hiked lease prices after the $7,500 federal EV tax credit was killed. The Model Y now leases for $529–$599 a month, up from $479–$529, while the Model 3 jumped as much as $100. The subsidy’s removal pulled forward demand in Q3, but the hangover is here.
Elon Musk becomes first person worth $500 billion: Forbes trib.al/TGPFogr
— #New York Post (#@nypost)
8:35 PM • Oct 1, 2025
Ford’s CEO warned EV market share could fall from 10–12% to just 5%. Hyundai is trying to keep buyers interested by cutting up to $9,800 off its Ioniq 5. Automakers are scrambling to reprice their way into a market that suddenly looks smaller than expected.
Yet Ford’s Q3 sales still surged 8.2%, led by trucks and EVs. The mixed signals show an industry in transition: investors should expect volatility as subsidies vanish, but strong brands with diversified lineups may still find ways to grow.
🤖 All Eyes on AI
MIT researchers found that using AI reduces brain activity, showing that students who relied on ChatGPT had weaker memory recall.
OpenAI launched a new social app called Sora, which quickly filled with deepfakes of CEO Sam Altman and copyrighted characters.
Perplexity AI acquired the team behind Visual Electric, a Sequoia‑backed startup specializing in AI design tools.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring AI safety disclosures, mandating that AI firms publish risk assessments on various threats.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son predicted artificial superintelligence within a decade, claiming AI could be 10,000 times smarter than humans by 2035.
😆 Meme of the Week
Peter Thiel and Mark Zuckerberg talking about what AI social media slop could do to the human race
— #High Yield Harry (#@HighyieldHarry)
3:40 PM • Oct 1, 2025
🎙️ Pulse, Meta Vibes, and Creator vs. Algorithm
This episode of The Best One Yet runs through how AI is moving from search to a daily feed, why personalized AI briefs and AI-generated short videos threaten (and create) new creator economies, and what big-money AI deals and antitrust drama mean for the future of media.
📻 Tune in to:
Hear why ChatGPT Pulse could become a new advertising surface and a direct competitor to creators’ attention.
Follow the rise of AI “companionship” and Meta’s Vibes to see why AI-generated short-form content risks eating creator jobs.
Learn how massive AI investments, antitrust battles, and policy moves are reshaping which companies control distribution, discovery, and monetization.
🎧 Listen on:
⭐️ What did you think of today's edition?
That’s all for today. Write us and let us know your thoughts on the market, the newsletter, or the weather—we’d just love to hear from you.
Till next time,
— Brandon and Blake
Disclosures
The information provided in Finance Wrapped is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice, investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Finance Wrapped is not a registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, or licensed financial planner. Always do your own research and consult with a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decisions. We may hold positions in or receive compensation from the companies or products mentioned. Disclosures will be made where applicable.
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