C_NCENTRATE [FREE ISSUE]

IN THIS ISSUE: Meta courts Trump, disappearing plastic, DeepSeek fortune teller(?), holograms get touchy, oh — and tech’s got a fake expert problem +++

Apr 13, 2025

Thousands of startups use Notion as a connected workspace to create and share docs, take notes, manage projects, and organise knowledge—all in one place. We’re offering 6 months of new Plus plans, including unlimited Notion AI so you can try it all for free!

Redeem offer

/// Play this ↓

Curated with neuroscientists, ’Focus’ is the official C_NCENTRATE playlist that aids your encoding and recall. Play as is, or hit shuffle.

/// Skim this ↓

Starting with with the United State of Trump Tarriffs, the Tariff-Administer-in-Chief exempted phones, computers, and chips from new reciprocal tariffs, in a move aimed at shielding U.S. consumers while escalating trade pressure on China. Palantir’s new IRS contract revealed its evolving approach to public-sector data work, rolling out MEGA — a system that acts as an API layer across U.S. government databases. SK Hynix took the top spot in DRAM revenue for the first time, driven by surging demand for HBM (high bandwidth memory) used in AI training chips. It’s a milestone that underscores memory’s rising strategic value.

Over to China, TikTok’s AI strategy is under scrutiny as Chinese regulators pushed ByteDance to share its algorithms. The company insists China has no control over its U.S. product(!), a claim facing growing skepticism globally. In un-related, but related, news(!), TP-Link’s future in the U.S. is uncertain as it faces national security concerns over its links to China. The company insists it has separated its China operations but skepticism remains. Coincidence? With these ongoing issues it’s no surprise that Asia’s startup scene slumped in Q1, with funding down 26% YoY. Even AI couldn’t offset the slowdown, raising questions about whether Asia’s funding drought is structural or temporary.

Everywhere else, ChatGPT became the most downloaded app globally in March, surpassing TikTok and Instagram — a striking signal of its mainstream reach despite mobile UX limitations. Oh, and Netflix is testing an OpenAI-powered search engine that lets users find shows via inquiries that go beyond genres or actors' names, like the subscriber's mood. Google’s AI Overviews, part of its SGE project, started linking directly to its own properties more frequently — raising old antitrust concerns in a new AI wrapper. Both had incredibly busy weeks - find out more with What Did ___ Do This Week? each week for both companies (and Amazon).

/// Read these ↓

Dissolvable plastic is on the rise, expect to hear a lot more about tPB in the coming months/years. /4 mins
Journavx, a non-opioid drug that sidesteps the risk of addiction, just got approved. /11 mins
How DeepSeek became a fortune teller for Chinese youth. /14 mins
↑ There’s now a hologram that you can interact with. /6 mins
When to use generative AI over predictive AI. /12 mins
The biggest obstacle to sustainable eating isn’t tech — it’s your gag reflex. /12 mins
How recording your meetings is changing your meetings. /9 mins
Huge: How fake experts hijacked the tech media’s credibility loop. /13 mins
An AI avatar just tried to argue a case before a New York court, but judges said no. /8 mins
How AI could help the climate. /5 mins

WE’RE ABOUT TO FIND OUT HOW MUCH TRUMP REALLY LIKES ZUCK

On Monday, Meta faces off against the FTC in what might be the most consequential antitrust trial of the modern tech era. At stake is whether the government can unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, more than a decade after they were signed off.

This isn’t just a fight about competition in social media. It is about timing, politics, and whether Meta has any real friends left in Washington.

Zuckerberg has personally lobbied to/for Trump to intervene which in itself is wild. The White House is currently waging an economic war against Big Tech through global tariffs, targeting the same companies it once courted. Meta, in particular, has been in the firing line for years, and not just from regulators, but from conservatives who see it as politically hostile and progressives who view it as monopolistic.

Whatever Trump decides, the fact that Meta is leaning on a man who has spent months dismantling Silicon Valley’s international clout speaks volumes.

Meta’s defence is familiar. The acquisitions were legal at the time. The competitive landscape has changed dramatically. Unwinding the deals now would do more harm than good. But that is a harder sell when Europe is preparing to include Meta in its retaliatory tariff measures against the US. Ooof. All of this is before you look to other continents. In India, the government is accelerating domestic apps to displace WhatsApp. In Southeast Asia, governments are actively building regional messaging alternatives. Meta has a messy few years ahead of it, all while it wages AI war against larger pocketed competitors. Trump’s position remains unpredictable at best, but even if Meta wins in court, it loses in every other way.

SO WHAT?

Landing at the worst possible moment for Meta because of what’s happening outside the courtroom. Namely that the narrative of Big Tech is changing thanks to Europe and Asia. US regulators will, for the first time in decades, seriously test whether antitrust enforcement can be retroactive.

If Meta loses and is forced to divest Instagram and WhatsApp, it will set a precedent that reaches far beyond social media. Amazon, Google, and Microsoft will all feel the chill. If Meta wins, Zuck and co still face a global environment that has shifted decisively against its scale, its strategy, and its centralised power. People are starting to ask if we all still use Facebook, are we really using it? In a lot of ways, Meta isn’t just fighting the FTC, it’s fighting the future.

DO: Expect any Meta victory to feel hollow. Regulators globally are not going away. DON’T: Expect any breakup to be neat or fast. Unwinding a decade of integrated platforms will be messy, expensive, and precedent-setting. No emergency strategy meetings needed.

THANKS AGAIN TO THE SMART COOKIES AT NOTION FOR MAKING THIS ISSUE FREE ↓