Plus: AI Startup Flock Thinks It Can Eliminate All Crime In America |
Good morning,
AI is king on Forbes’ latest Cloud 100 list, which features the top companies in cloud computing.It’s not surprising that AI juggernauts OpenAI and Anthropic took the No. 1 and 2 spots, respectively, but another firm that made a blockbuster debut at No. 8 is Anysphere, the company behind popular generative coding tool Cursor. One notable absence is Scale AI, which ranked No. 7 last year, but announced in June that Meta was buying nearly half of the company for $14 billion. With Scale’s high-profile founder and CEO Alexandr Wang now leading Meta’s AI lab, it’s unclear how strong its business will be going forward.
Let’s get into the headlines, |
|
| Google will not have to sell its Chrome browser to remedy its search market monopoly, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, but the tech giant will have to share some of its data with competitors, among other legal concessions. Google makes most of its revenue from its ad business, and shares of its parent company Alphabet surged nearly 8% in after-hours trading Tuesday. A federal appeals court ruled that President Donald Trump’s administration cannot fast-track the deportation of Venezuelan migrants from the country using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which has previously only been used during wartime. The court dismissed the argument that the migrants were part of an “invasion,” and if the Trump Administration challenges the ruling, it’s likely to bring the issue to the Supreme Court again. |
|
| With more than 80,000 AI-powered cameras across the U.S., Flock Safety has become one of cops’ go-to surveillance tools and a $7.5 billion business since its founding in 2017. The cameras record not just the license plate numbers of the cars that pass them, but their make and distinctive features—broken windows, dings, bumper stickers. CEO and cofounder Garrett Langley estimates they help solve 1 million crimes a year. Soon, Flock’s cameras will take to the skies mounted on its own “made in America” drones. Produced at a factory the company opened earlier this year near its Atlanta offices, they’ll add a new dimension to Flock’s business and aim to challenge Chinese drone giant DJI’s dominance. Langley has a prediction: In less than 10 years, Flock’s cameras, airborne and fixed, will eradicate almost all crime in the U.S. (He acknowledges that programs to boost youth employment and cut recidivism will help.) Not everyone shares law enforcement’s enthusiasm for Flock’s rapid expansion. Privacy advocates say the company is building an unprecedented mass-surveillance dystopia. But Langley’s most pressing concern by far is the $2.1 billion (2024 revenue) police tech giant Axon Enterprise. Flock had a burgeoning partnership with the publicly traded ($59 billion market cap) Taser creator, but in January, Axon CEO and billionaire cofounder Rick Smith killed their deal, accusing Flock of overcharging and trying to lock customers into its products. In April, Axon debuted its own stand-alone license plate reader cameras along with a shot-across-the-bow first customer: the Atlanta Police Department, a current Flock user. Langley says Axon is a monopolist abusing its market position to choke out competition. “I plan to go take them out,” he says. “We will deliver a better product at a lower price.” |
|
|
| The goal of preventing all crime in the U.S. sounds like a pipe dream from another AI-can-solve-everything tech bro, but Langley, in the face of a wave of opposition from privacy advocates and Flock’s archrival Axon, is a true believer. “I’ve talked to plenty of activists who think crime is just the cost of modern society. I disagree,” Langley says. “I think we can have a crime-free city and civil liberties … We can have it all.” |
|
|
Shares of TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor firm by market value, fell sharply after the U.S. revoked a waiver allowing the company to ship to its China-based facilities freely. The move could interrupt the company’s production, as the Trump Administration has tightened export controls on semiconductor and chip shipments to China this year.
When Meta announced its Scale AI deal, Mercor, a smaller rival that recruits PhDs and other experts to train models for AI labs, saw an immediate opening. But the buzzy startup, debuting on Forbes’ Cloud 100 list, is in transition: Its original conception was to modernize recruiting with AI, but along the way, it found its sweet spot in recruiting people to train AI models. |
|
| Seattle-based Interlune faces daunting hurdles in its quest to develop robots to harvest a valuable form of helium on the moon. But the firm, which has received $18 million in funding, may be among the startups with the best shot of building a space mining business in the near term —partly because it has ways to monetize its technology in the meantime. |
|
| Presented by Forbes Membership | | Special Membership Offer |  | The final stretch of the year is here! Invest in insights and tools that will help you achieve your goals and finish the year strong. Subscribe now during the Labor Day Sale for just $49.99 for your first year (regularly $74.99)—less than $1/week! Unlock unlimited access to a world of inspiration unique to Forbes, including the stories featured in today’s newsletter. Plus get Forbes Insider, an exclusive newsletter just for members written by our Chief Content Officer Randall Lane.
| |
|
| The FAA’s plan to address a long-standing air traffic controller shortage has hit a snag: There aren’t enough instructors to train thousands of new recruits. The agency expects to hire 8,900 new air traffic controllers by 2028, but because of factors like attrition, retirements and program washouts, this will only result in 1,000 more certified controllers, according to FAA documents. |
|
| The “No Tax on Tips” policy enacted through President Donald Trump’s signature spending bill is reportedly set to impact millions of workers in industries like hospitality, food and beverage and personal services. The Trump Administration has yet to confirm the exact list of professions: |
|
Up to $25,000 | The amount the provision allows certain workers to deduct in tip income from their federal taxes | |
| Around 4 million | The number of Americans who worked in tipped occupations as of 2023, according to Yale University’s Budget Lab | |
| $40 billion | The approximate cost of the program to the government through 2028, according to an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office |
|
| Many workers looking to make a career change feel stymied by financial concerns, but you can start working toward your desired career on the side without quitting your current gig. To build up knowledge in your new field, start with no- or low-cost resources like library books or courses. And before you make any switch, run the numbers on expected salary, earnings growth and the job market. |
|
| GAMES | | QUIZ | | A famously expensive California grocery store may be coming to New York City, a blueprint for a development shows. Which store is it? | | A. | Sprouts Farmers Market | | B. | Erewhon Market | | C. | ACME Markets | | D. | Gelson’s Markets |
| |
|
|
|
