Napster is back, humans love free AI, & more (June 27, 2025)
David Pawlan
Co-Founder
Happy Friday!
We’re back this morning with, unsurprisingly, a whole new slate of AI news. Get ready to end your week with a kick of AI. Let’s dive in 👇
👥 The Humans Are Using AI, A TON
📈 AI Isn't Just for Tech Bros Anymore
According to Menlo Ventures, a stunning 61% of Americans have used AI in the past six months. Globally, that’s 1.8B users, and 600M use it daily. But here’s the kicker: only 3% pay for it. Parents, Millennials, and students are leading the charge, but Boomers are quietly showing up too. There’s massive opportunity in under-tapped categories like healthcare, finances, and education.
🧠 Meta Raids OpenAI’s Talent Pool
Zuckerberg’s new superintelligence unit just landed four OpenAI researchers, including key figures behind its Zurich operations and o1 reasoning model. Despite Sam Altman saying none of his best people left, it turns out they very much did. Whether those $100M bonuses are real or not… Meta’s building something big.
🚖 Uber Goes Full Robot in Atlanta
Uber just launched both robotaxis and robotic food delivery in Atlanta. This could be the next big battlefield in autonomous service, as former CEO Travis Kalanick eyes Chinese robotaxi startup Pony AI.
🛠️ Agents, Avatars & Emotional AI
🧑🚀 Napster’s Back, With AI Avatars in 3D
The OG music disruptor has rebranded into a futuristic AI company. “Napster Companion” lets you chat with skill-based avatars, chefs, coaches, strategists, that use tools, see your screen, and remember you. Their “Napster View” adds a holographic layer for immersive, lifelike conversations.
😌 Claude Isn’t Your Therapist (Yet)
A new study from Anthropic reveals just 2.9% of Claude interactions are emotional in nature, and only 0.5% involve companionship. Most users treat Claude like a tool, not a friend, but when they do open up, chats tend to end on a positive note.
📈 CoreWeave’s Wild 300% Stock Surge
Since its IPO, AI data center startup CoreWeave has tripled in market value, skyrocketing its CEO’s net worth from $1.5B to nearly $10B. All this despite skepticism around its business fundamentals. Bubble or beast? Time will tell.
🧰 Tools of the Day
- PageAI – One-click AI site builder with SEO, blogs, code export
- NativeMind – On-device private AI browser assistant
- Middleware OpsAI – Detects & fixes bugs in production with AI
- Doppl – Google’s virtual try-on tool for fashion
- Gemma 3n – Google’s AI model for phones, video, audio & more
🎯 Prompt of the Day
Debug Like a Pro:
Act as a senior dev. Analyze this code for errors, walk through each line, fix it, and suggest optimizations. Best practices only.
⚡ Quick Hits
- Google drops Magenta, an AI model that creates real-time music
- OpenAI launches Deep Research API & webhook notifications
- Lockheed Martin unifies AI ops with IBM’s watsonx
- DeepSeek R2 delayed due to Nvidia chip shortage
🧠 TLDR
AI adoption is booming but monetization isn’t. Meta’s poaching top talent from OpenAI, Napster is reinventing itself with immersive AI, and CoreWeave is on a financial rocket ride. Behind the buzz, most users treat AI like a utility, not a companion.
Catch you on the next wave,
David
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