Good morning. It’s Thursday, December 4. Today we are covering:
Sam Altman Has Explored Deal to Build Competitor to Elon Musk’s SpaceX
Meta to cut up to 30% of metaverse budget
Apple Design Executive Alan Dye Poached by Meta in Major Coup
Google launches Workspace Studio to create automated Gemini-powered agents
Pentagon Investigator Faults Hegseth for Improper Use of Signal
Let’s dive in
Sam Altman Has Explored Deal to Build Competitor to Elon Musk’s SpaceX
By Berber Jin via Wall Street Journal
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has explored raising funds to acquire or partner with a rocket company, a move that would position him as a direct competitor to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Altman held talks with Stoke Space starting in the summer, with discussions intensifying in the fall, according to people familiar with the matter.
One proposal under consideration involves OpenAI making a series of equity investments in Stoke Space over time, potentially ending with a controlling stake worth billions of dollars.
𝕏: A scoop at the intersection of space and AI from @berber_jin1: OpenAI’s Sam Altman has explored putting together funds to acquire or partner with a rocket company, a move that would position him to compete w/Elon Musk’s SpaceX. - Micah Maidenberg (@MicahMaidenberg)
Meta to cut up to 30% of metaverse budget
Reuters
Meta is weighing up to 30% budget cuts for its loss-making metaverse unit, part of 2026 planning after more than $60 billion in cumulative losses since 2020, with potential layoffs as early as January; the news sent shares up nearly 4%.
The cuts were discussed in a series of internal meetings at Mark Zuckerberg’s compound in Hawaii, signaling a major pullback from the once-flagship bet that led the company to rebrand from Facebook to Meta in 2021.
The shift comes as Meta races to regain ground in AI after a weak reception to Llama 4, leaning on a new Superintelligence Lab and a $14.3 billion deal for a 49% stake in Scale AI, led by Alexandr Wang.
𝕏: “Zuckerberg has asked Meta executives to look for 10% cuts across the board, standard request during budget cycles the past few years. The metaverse group was asked to cut deeper given Meta has not seen the level of industry-wide competition over the technology it once expected” - modest proposal (@modestproposal1)
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Apple Design Executive Alan Dye Poached by Meta in Major Coup
By Mark Gurman via Bloomberg
Meta has hired Alan Dye, Apple’s top user interface design chief since 2015, in what’s described as a major poach that highlights Meta’s ambitions in AI-powered consumer hardware.
Dye’s move strengthens Meta’s in-house design firepower as it develops new AI-equipped devices, potentially sharpening competition with Apple across hardware and software experiences.
Apple will replace Dye with longtime designer Stephen Lemay, signaling continuity for its UI design team even as it navigates a high-profile leadership change.
𝕏: Apple interface design chief Alan Dye is leaving the iPhone maker to become the Chief Design Officer at Meta in a blockbuster coup for the social networking giant. - Mark Gurman (@markgurman)
Google launches Workspace Studio to create automated Gemini-powered agents
By Abner Li via 9to5Google
Google launches Workspace Studio, a no-code automation tool (formerly Workspace Flows) that lets users design, manage, and share Gemini 3–powered AI agents across Gmail, Chat, Drive, and third-party apps like Asana, Jira, Mailchimp, and Salesforce.
These AI agents move beyond rule-based workflows using Starters (triggers like time or incoming emails), Steps (actions such as drafting replies or extracting data), and Variables (dynamic placeholders like Gemini’s response, sender, or form inputs) to handle tasks like sentiment analysis, smart notifications, and content generation from plain-language prompts.
Workspace Studio is now generally available and rolling out over the coming weeks to Business Starter/Standard/Plus, Enterprise Starter/Standard/Plus, Education Fundamentals/Standard/Plus, Google AI Pro for Education, and Google AI Ultra for Business customers.
𝕏: Google decided to go absolutely ham with the product velocity. This seems like it lets you build AI agents and automations onto of your google suite. Actually love this. - Tom Osman (@tomosman)
Pentagon Investigator Faults Hegseth for Improper Use of Signal
By Robert Jimison via The New York Times
A Pentagon watchdog found that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of a private Signal group chat to share a detailed timeline of upcoming U.S. airstrikes in Yemen (Operation Rough Rider) risked exposing Defense Department information in ways that could have endangered American troops and missions.
The report, led by acting inspector general Steven A. Stebbins, says Hegseth refused an interview, offered only a brief written statement, left some messages improperly preserved under the Federal Records Act, and did not resolve whether the information he shared was classified or properly handled under his original classification authority.
The findings land as Congress pursues bipartisan investigations into Hegseth’s role in Sept. 2 strikes on a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean, including allegations he pushed for a second wave of attacks that would leave no survivors, raising potential international law concerns.
𝕏: Herseth endangered troops by using the unsecure Signal app to discuss plans to attack the Houthis early this year, inspector general concludes after months of investigation. - Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt)
Trending in AI
Crucial is shutting down — because Micron wants to sell its RAM and SSDs to AI companies instead
Micron to exit consumer memory business amid global supply shortage
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