Semafor

🟡 @MarcLore built Diapers.com, sold it to Amazon. Built Jet.com, sold it to Walmart. Now he’s trying something different: taking @wonder — his vertically integrated food-delivery startup — all the way to a public offering. @lizrhoffman and @sbanjo dig into how he’s betting that robots, influencers, and AI-directed meal plans can finally crack the code on profitable food delivery, what e-commerce taught him about attacking fat margins with automation, and why he’s also quietly searching for desert land to build a city from scratch.

Chinese manufacturers account for 80% of global production, and — spurred by subsidies and competition — have raced to lower prices, leading to huge losses; Western governments have complained that Beijing has encouraged overcapacity, while Chinese authorities have warned of involution.

Chinese solar panel prices rise in a sign of the price war easing. Module prices hit just 9¢/watt in December, a staggering fall from $2/watt in 2010, but are now rising. semafor.com/article/05/05/…

The Trump administration has been non-interventionist on AI, but Anthropic’s new system Mythos proved capable of finding security flaws in almost all websites, and the firm has held back its public release as a result.

The White House is reportedly considering vetting frontier AI models before release in response to growing security risks. semafor.com/article/05/05/…

Always a pleasure talking hostile M&A -- this time, $GME / $EBAY -- with @edels0n on @ProfGMarkets.

Modi’s disappointing showing in nationwide polls two years ago had seemingly signaled the beginning of the end of his rule. But his BJP’s overwhelming win in a key eastern state, one it had never secured, represents “a political earthquake” which “extends the hegemonic power of the party,” analysts said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a thumping victory in state elections, cementing a hold on power that some experts had started to doubt. semafor.com/article/05/05/…

Argentinians, scarred by numerous bank runs, have long stashed cash outside the formal economy: The country’s economy minister estimates as much as $200 billion — roughly a third of the country’s GDP — is “sitting under mattresses.” Though deposit rates have risen since President Javier Milei declared a “cash amnesty,” financialization rates remain paltry, experts said.

Two of Latin America’s biggest economies are pushing for cash to be deposited in banks en masse in a bid to boost the formal economy. semafor.com/article/05/05/…

Yesterday, there was a buzz across the UAE, with schools open and a major manufacturing exhibition underway. Then Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones, striking an oil facility in Fujairah and raising concerns that the US-Iran ceasefire could collapse. semafor.com/article/05/05/…

Oil prices remained high as fighting resumed in and around the Strait of Hormuz after the latest US military intervention to protect ship traffic there upended a fragile ceasefire. semafor.com/article/05/05/…

Listen to the full interview on Compound Interest from Semafor Business wherever you get your podcasts, or watch it on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=e53Hqq…

"I'm the IPO guy now!" @MarcLore tells @sbanjo and @lizrhoffman that he's committed to taking @wonder public and "there's no price" that could make him sell:

New: The president of the Dispatch left the company in recent days following disagreements with the organization’s founders about its direction. The Dispatch had been in talks with Axel Springer about a potential acquisition…

Energy crises, like climate change, operate with a lag. The barrels that didn’t ship through Hormuz in March don’t hit markets immediately. They show up as gasoline shortages in April, diesel shortages in May, and then fertilizer price spikes, just as farmers across the Northern Hemisphere are planting.

View from @JohnKerry: The largest energy crisis in modern history is just beginning. semafor.com/article/05/05/…

AI is not — yet — reducing artists’ employment, but it is changing how they work, research found. semafor.com/article/05/04/…

Though some analysts question the commercial viability of humanoid robotics, investors remain bullish. Meanwhile, some experts say China’s second-tier position in AI development compared to the West may lead to a globally bifurcated ecosystem.

Chinese humanoid robot maker Linkerbot is seeking investment at a $6 billion valuation, double the level it raised money at only last week. semafor.com/article/05/04/…

Listen to Compound Interest from Semafor Business wherever you get your podcasts, or watch it on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=e53Hqq…

🟡 @MarcLore built Diapers.com, sold it to Amazon. Built Jet.com, sold it to Walmart. Now he’s trying something different: taking @wonder — his vertically integrated food-delivery startup — all the way to a public offering. @lizrhoffman and @sbanjo dig into how he’s betting that robots, influencers, and AI-directed meal plans can finally crack the code on profitable food delivery, what e-commerce taught him about attacking fat margins with automation, and why he’s also quietly searching for desert land to build a city from scratch.