Tech news digest for Friday, July 3, 2026

DeepMind's union talks stall amid frustrations

Negotiations between Google DeepMind and its employees over unionization have hit a significant roadblock, leading to frustration among union representatives. A prepared letter presented during the meeting accused Google of employing intimidation tactics against those advocating for unionization, highlighting tensions within the company.

• 600 US-based Google employees protested a deal allowing the Pentagon to utilize Google's AI for various government purposes.
• Union representatives expressed concerns over intimidation tactics allegedly used by Google during the negotiations.

Google Wallet Enhances Order Tracking and Wear OS Integration

Google Wallet is rolling out a new order tracking dashboard for Android users in the US, allowing them to view detailed receipts, tracking numbers, and shipping statuses directly from their Gmail accounts. Additionally, the app now includes payment history from Wear OS devices, enabling users to see transactions made via NFC payments from their smartwatches.

• Previously, Google Wallet only displayed phone transaction histories; now, Wear OS payment history is integrated.
• The Wear OS payment tracking feature was first teased in January 2026.

Most Income Investors Have Never Heard of the Bond ETF Paying 8 Percent for Betting Against Natural Disasters

The Brookmont Catastrophic Bond ETF (ILS) provides investors with a unique opportunity to earn a 12-month trailing yield of 8.14% by investing in catastrophe bonds, which transfer disaster risk from insurers to capital markets. Unlike traditional bonds, ILS offers exposure to risks associated with natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, while maintaining low correlation with conventional financial markets. This ETF, which invests in a diversified portfolio of around 100 catastrophe bonds, is designed for investors willing to accept the specific risks of insured losses, although it comes with a relatively high expense ratio of 1.58% and lower liquidity compared to mainstream bond ETFs.

• The Brookmont Catastrophic Bond ETF (ILS) currently yields approximately 8.14%.
• ILS distributes income quarterly, differing from many bond ETFs that pay monthly.

Meet the Major Artificial Intelligence (AI) CPU Player That Just Joined Nvidia, Tesla, and Palantir as One of the Most Popular Stocks on Robinhood

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has emerged as a significant player in the AI CPU market, now ranking as the ninth-most held stock on Robinhood. This surge in popularity is attributed to the growing demand for CPUs in agentic AI applications, which require robust orchestration and data processing capabilities. AMD's stock has risen approximately 154% year-to-date as of June 30, 2026, bolstered by a 57% year-over-year revenue increase in its data center division, which reached nearly $5.7 billion. CEO Lisa Su noted that major cloud providers and enterprise customers are driving this demand as AI adoption scales.

• Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse raised AMD's price target to $700, indicating a potential 34% upside.

UK's AI Security Institute finds standard benchmarks systematically underestimate what AI agents can actually do

A study by the UK's AI Security Institute (AISI) reveals that standard benchmarks significantly underestimate AI agents' capabilities when compute budgets are limited. Researchers found that as computing time increases, success rates can rise by up to 25%, especially in cybersecurity and software development tasks. The study also established a direct correlation between the time a human expert requires for a task and the number of tokens an AI model needs, indicating that fixed evaluation budgets may misrepresent an agent's true skill level. Notably, newer models benefit disproportionately from larger budgets, with optimal performance often requiring upwards of 100 million tokens.

• A human expert's task time correlates with the token consumption of AI agents, following a power law.

We really need a way to hand over ownership of an Apple Home

The author encountered difficulties transferring ownership of smart home technology when selling their house, as Apple's Home ecosystem lacks a mechanism for this. While the buyer was interested in the existing smart tech, the author had to use a workaround, adding the buyer as a Resident in the Apple Home app and coordinating with their broadband provider for continuity. Although this allowed the buyer to access the system temporarily, it highlighted the need for Apple to implement an Owner category to facilitate smoother transitions in smart home ownership, especially as smart technology becomes more prevalent in real estate.

• Smart home technology is increasingly mainstream, complicating ownership transfers.
• Current Apple Home app allows users to add others as Residents but lacks an Owner category.

Rocket Report: Indian startup nears first launch; SpaceX's millenary milestone

Skyroot Aerospace is gearing up for the test flight of its Vikram-1 rocket, scheduled between July 12 and August 4 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center. This launch represents India's first private attempt to place a launch vehicle into orbit, aiming to collect vital data on propulsion, stage separation, and vehicle performance. The Vikram-1 is designed to carry nearly 500 kg into low-Earth orbit and has already secured approximately $160 million in funding, significantly boosting its valuation to over $1 billion.

• NASA has delivered braking engines for the Rosalind Franklin Mars mission, set for 2028.

The Tech Download: Amazon’s devices chief Panos Panay on tech giant's AI gadget push

Amazon's devices chief Panos Panay discussed the company's ambitious plans for AI-driven gadgets in a recent podcast. Central to this vision is 'Alexa+', an upgraded version of the voice assistant designed to learn from user interactions and provide contextual assistance throughout the day. Panay emphasized a shift away from traditional screens and apps, suggesting that Amazon is exploring a future where voice commands dominate. The company is also expanding its hardware lineup with the acquisition of Bee, a startup specializing in wearable technology, and is focusing on developing its own semiconductor chips to enhance device performance and integration.

• Panos Panay revealed Amazon's shift towards 'end-to-end silicon' for better hardware-software integration.

Anthropic wants to develop its own drugs

At the recent event 'The Briefing: AI for Science,' Anthropic unveiled Claude Science, an AI workbench designed to consolidate scientific tools and datasets, enhancing the pace of research. Additionally, the company announced its intention to develop drugs, specifically targeting neglected diseases, as stated by Eric Kauderer-Abrams, head of life sciences. This move positions Anthropic uniquely among AI firms, as it will sell software to competitors while also entering the drug development arena. However, the company has provided limited details on its drug development strategy, including potential partnerships and specific diseases of interest.

• The company plans to focus on treatments for 'neglected' diseases.
• Anthropic has been actively hiring biologists and building wet labs for drug development.

Jon Prosser responds to Apple lawsuit by blaming the other guy

YouTuber Jon Prosser has filed a response to Apple's lawsuit alleging he and Michael Ramacciotti conspired to steal iOS trade secrets. While denying any planned conspiracy, Prosser admitted to recording a FaceTime call where he viewed unreleased iOS features and to sharing revenue from his leak videos with Ramacciotti. He claims Ramacciotti is solely responsible for the alleged disclosure, asserting he had no prior knowledge of Ramacciotti's actions or the identity of the Apple employee involved. Prosser is also seeking a jury trial on all issues.

Meta's AI agent push is moving slower than Zuckerberg planned

During an internal town hall, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that the company's AI agents are not progressing as quickly as planned, citing a less-than-ideal restructuring process. He noted that the anticipated acceleration in development over the past four months has not materialized, and the company's significant investments in AI, including a planned $145 billion this year, have yet to yield tangible results. Despite this, AI chief Alexandr Wang asserted that the upcoming model, code-named 'Watermelon,' is in training and has made strides comparable to OpenAI's latest offerings.

• Meta plans to invest up to $145 billion in AI infrastructure this year.
• The company laid off 10% of its workforce in May to support AI initiatives.

Tesla caps employee AI spending at $200 per week

Tesla has instituted a weekly cap of $200 on employee spending for AI resources, as detailed in an internal memo. This policy, effective July 6, follows a trend where software engineers previously incurred expenses in the thousands weekly. Employees seeking to exceed this limit must now obtain approval, although beta versions of xAI products remain exempt. The cap aligns with Tesla's broader initiative to enhance AI integration, as CEO Elon Musk has urged staff to explore Cursor's coding models, despite Grok's lack of popularity compared to Anthropic's Claude. Tesla aims to leverage AI significantly in its robotaxi and Optimus robot projects amidst stagnant revenue over the past two years.

• SpaceX plans to acquire Cursor maker Anysphere for $60 billion.