Greetings enlightened meme-lovers.

Let’s get stuck into the news you need to know from this week, delivered to you via carefully crafted and curated memes.

⏰ Today's reading time is 4 minutes (6 if you’re a bit thick).

Quote of the Week

Donald Trump is dusting off his old tariff routine, vowing steep taxes on Canada, Mexico, and China to curb drugs, migration, and trade imbalances.

His 25% tariff on neighbors violates the USMCA (United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement), the very deal he championed during his first term. Meanwhile, a 10% tariff on Chinese imports piles onto threats of even higher levies, despite warnings of trade wars and economic fallout.

Markets reacted sharply, with currencies and stocks shifting downwards, a stark contrast to how they reacted when he won the election earlier this month.

Economists warn Trump’s plans could disrupt supply chains and drag U.S. tariffs back to Depression-era highs, whilst proponents of the tariffs argue that they will compel trading partners to negotiate fairer terms, ultimately reducing the trade deficit in the long term.

Zoom ditches video in a surprising AI-based rebrand

Zooming away from its video roots (pun very much intended), Zoom Video Communications is rebranding as an "AI-first" company and dropping "video" from its name.

Now simply "Zoom Communications," the company is betting big on AI tools like its AI Companion, promising to revolutionize hybrid work and even shave a day off your workweek.

While the pivot is bold, critics wonder if chasing the AI zeitgeist is a little short-sighted. After all, buzzwords dont pay the bills and Zoom has fallen behind it’s well funded competitors Meets (Google) and Teams (Microsoft).

Zoom’s meteoric rise during the pandemic was a masterclass in being at the right place at the right time. In 2020, it became the de facto lifeline for work, school, and weird virtual happy hours.

It’s user base surged 2,900% between December 2019 and April 2020, with a peak market cap of $159 Billion by October of that year. Now, amid the aforementioned competition and a different remote work environment, its market cap had dwindled to $18.4 billion.

AI and robotics technology look to disrupt vertical farming

In a world where the extent of AI use seems to cover making weekend trip itineraries and drafting emails to your boss, vertical farming would be the last use thing most people would think of when it comes to artificial intelligence.

But AI is combining robotics, data, and controlled environments to grow high-quality crops with minimal resources, spearheaded by companies like Oishii (who recently closed a $150 million series B funding round).

Hiroki Koga, CEO of Oishii, believes the way AI monitors plants, optimizes pollination, and automates harvesting will achieve yields and quality far beyond traditional methods.

Vertical farms use 90% less water, no pesticides, and can grow crops year-round, cutting transportation costs and boosting freshness. Though pricier now, costs are dropping, and this sustainable farming model could reshape global agriculture—making fresh, local produce the new norm.

Google ordered by the Justice Department to sell Chrome and end their search monopoly

The DOJ is targeting Google’s search dominance, demanding the tech giant sell Chrome, the world’s top browser, and end deals making Google Search the default on devices like Apple’s iPhones and Samsung’s smartphones.

This follows an antitrust ruling that found Google illegally stifled competition in online search. Proposed remedies include court oversight of Android and banning Google from re-entering the browser market for five years.

The DOJ argues these changes could restore competition and give new players a chance to thrive.

Google calls the proposals “radical” and warns they could harm innovation and popular products. With a decision expected in 2025, the battle could reshape the online search and browser landscape. Google are expected to drag their feet as much as they can.

Anyone fancy using Bing again?

Bluesky is rising out of Twitter’s ashes to challenge X

Bluesky is having a moment, gaining almost 9 million users since November 5th as people search for an ad-free, decentralized alternative to platforms like X (the artist formerly known as Twitter) and Meta owned Threads.

Its "billionaire-proof" design means users can take their data elsewhere anytime, keeping it true to Jack Dorsey’s vision of a freer, open-source social network and a true realisation of the idea of creating the “internets town square”. Dorsey lead the Bluesky spin off from Twitter and was on the the board up until May of this year.

Brands are curious, but Bluesky isn’t rushing into monetization, aiming to keep things authentic with user-friendly monetization ideas like payments between users and prioritising quality discourse and content. It’s 22 million users is tiny compared to X (429 million) and Threads (275 million), but it’s growth is showing no signs of slowing down.

As it grows, the challenge will be staying true to its anti-big tech ethos while building a sustainable business, as well as staving of the dreaded phenomenon of "enshittification” (it’s a real thing, I promise).

🍻Half Pints

Quick-fire news you might have missed:

• Former Attorney General pick Matt Gaetz has gone from being accused of sex trafficking minors to giving birthday messages on Cameo.

• John Alfred Tinniswood, the worlds oldest man, has passed away at the tragically young age of 112.

• Food Delivery startup Zomato is making successfull applicants pay almost $24k to work as Chief of Staff to the CEO.

• Dolls from the new Wicked Movie were directing unsuspecting children to a porn site.

• California man indicted after allegedly trying to fly with 71 pounds of meth-soaked clothes, including a cow onesie.

• British phone company 02 has created an AI grandma whose sole purpose is to waste phone scammers time.

That’s all for today.

We’ll be back, bigger and better, next week.

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