Oct 28, 2025 5 min read Daily Rundown

⛵ Big Pharma’s Survival Rule

Plus: Amazon’s 30,000 Purge, First Yen Stablecoin

Good Morning, Early Adopters!

Across sectors, the same story unfolds as reinvention is no longer optional but has become a matter of survival.

ACQUIRE

Novartis Bets $12B on Avidity Ahead of the Patent Cliff

👀 What’s the move: Swiss pharma giant Novartis is acquiring Avidity Biosciences for $12 billion in cash, paying a 46% premium and marking one of its biggest biotech acquisitions of the decade. Avidity, a San Diego–based RNA therapeutics firm, specializes in drugs targeting rare neuromuscular disorders like Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Under the deal, Avidity will spin off its early cardiology programs into a new public company called Spinco, while Novartis absorbs its lead assets and delivery tech for muscle-targeted RNA drugs.

💡 Why it’s not boring: This isn’t just a science bet; it’s defensive medicine for Novartis’ balance sheet. With patents expiring soon on multi-billion-dollar drugs like Entresto and Cosentyx, the company is racing to rebuild its pipeline with rare-disease therapies that are harder to copy and command premium pricing. It also doubles as a geopolitical hedge, tightening Novartis’ U.S. footprint amid Trump’s tariff push against Swiss exports. After buying Anthos, Regulus, and Kate Therapeutics, Novartis is clearly re-architecting itself as an RNA-gene therapy house rather than a traditional small-molecule player.

⛵ Key takeaway: Big Pharma’s new survival rule is to buy biology when patents die.

TOGETHER WITH INCOGNI

Unknown number calling? It’s not random…

The BBC caught scam call center workers on hidden cameras as they laughed at the people they were tricking.

One worker bragged about making a quarter of a million dollars from victims in the US and UK. Another admitted to targeting seniors on purpose, forcing one woman to give up her last $100 on Christmas Day.

And here’s the disturbing truth: scammers don’t pick phone numbers at random. They buy your personal data from data brokers—your phone number, your email, even details about your lifestyle. That’s how they know exactly who to target.

Once your data is out there, it’s not just spam calls. It’s phishing, impersonation, and even identity theft.

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LAYOFF

Amazon’s 30,000-Person Purge Begins

👀 What’s the move: Amazon is preparing to lay off up to 30,000 employees starting this week — its largest round ever, hitting nearly every division from AWS to ads. The timing lands just days before its Q3 earnings on Oct 30, with early notices already going out. Officially, it’s a “cost-efficiency correction” after pandemic overhiring. Unofficially, it’s Jassy syncing workforce reduction with the rollout of AI-driven automation, which includes Blue Jay robotic warehouses, predictive retail systems, and AI agents across ops.

💡 Why it’s not boring: This isn’t a cyclical belt-tightening; it’s a structural reset. Amazon’s headcount is being algorithmically pruned to make room for AI and robotics. The layoff map mirrors where generative systems and warehouse robots are gaining traction. Every “cost cut” is also a signal of where human labor has become redundant. Investors see discipline; the market should see a full-stack automation pivot disguised as austerity.

⛵ Key takeaway: Amazon isn’t trimming fat; it’s swapping flesh for code.

STABLECOIN

Japan Launches Its First Yen Stablecoin

👀 What’s the move: Tokyo-based startup JPYC has launched the world’s first yen-pegged stablecoin, fully backed by Japanese government bonds (JGBs) and domestic deposits. Each JPYC token can be redeemed one-to-one for yen, and the company plans to issue up to ¥10 trillion (about $66 billion) within three years. Instead of charging transaction fees, JPYC’s business model relies on earning yield from the JGBs that back its tokens, effectively turning the product into a digital money-market fund built on blockchain infrastructure.

💡 Why it’s not boring: This move positions JPYC less as a typical crypto startup and more as a quasi-financial institution that monetizes Japan’s bond market through programmable money. It directly challenges the traditional roles of banks and payment networks by offering startups cheaper and faster settlement rails while keeping collateral within Japan’s regulated financial system. If the model succeeds, JPYC could help restore global liquidity for the yen by transforming government debt into digital liquidity rather than relying on central bank policy.

⛵ Key takeaway: JPYC’s stablecoin marks Japan’s quiet fintech revolution, proving that code can achieve what banks hesitate to attempt.

STARTUP SPOT

🧠 Mercor
“AI’s human intelligence layer.”
Connects vetted experts to train, test, and fine-tune frontier models for top AI labs through a global data-work marketplace.
→ Founded 2023 by Thiel Fellows Brendan Foody, Adarsh Hiremath & Surya Midha; raised $100 M Series B; nearing $450 M run rate with rumored $10 B valuation.

🧾 Coverbase
“AI that audits your supply chain.”
Aggregates contracts, disclosures, and external data to automate third-party risk and compliance checks for enterprises.
→ Founded 2024 in San Francisco by ex-fintech compliance leads; early traction in banking and defense sectors; backed by top SaaS angels from Stripe and Palantir.

🎮 Wolf Games
“AI turns crime drama into gameplay.”
Creates daily generative murder mysteries where players investigate AI-written cases with evolving clues and suspects.
→ Founded by Elliot Wolf (son of Law & Order creator Dick Wolf) with Andrew Adashek & Noah Rosenberg; raised $4 M seed in 2025; debut title Public Eye launching this year.

BAY AREA MEMOS

IBM partners with Dfns to launch “Digital Asset Haven,” enabling banks and governments to securely manage crypto and blockchain assets.
Australia’s regulator sued Microsoft for misleading millions by hiding cheaper non-Copilot plans in its 365 subscription upgrade.
Mercor raised $350 million at a $10 billion valuation to expand its expert-driven AI training and recruiting platform.
Foxconn will invest about $1.37 billion to build an AI compute cluster and supercomputing center to strengthen its manufacturing strategy.
Apple supplier Skyworks reportedly held talks to acquire $8 billion rival Qorvo, a deal that could reshape the RF chip industry.

TOGETHER WITH US

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