Oct 20, 2025 4 min read Daily Rundown

⛵ Paramount’s $2B Surgery

Plus: Waymo Returns to Delivery, Trust Crash at NIO

Good Morning, Early Adopters!

Survival now depends less on size, and more on how fast you can rebuild what was once taken for granted.

LAYOFF

Paramount’s $8B Merger Comes With a $2B Bloodletting

👀 What’s the move: Paramount Skydance is preparing to cut around 2,000 jobs starting the week of October 27, marking its largest layoff since the $8 billion merger closed this summer. Under David Ellison’s new leadership, the company aims to remove $2 billion in costs by restructuring its legacy television divisions while investing heavily in streaming and franchise deals such as UFC and Call of Duty.

💡 Why it’s not boring: This is not just a round of post-merger layoffs. It is a studio cutting away its old revenue model to rebuild for the platform era. Ellison is trying to turn Paramount into a vertically integrated content machine powered by Oracle funding, Bain cost models, and a strategy focused on IP scale rather than traditional TV channels. If the plan works, Paramount could stop being a declining broadcaster and become Hollywood’s next true platform company.

⛵ Key takeaway: Paramount is not downsizing; it is rebuilding itself for algorithmic Hollywood, where stories matter less than scale and strategy.

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DELIVERY

Waymo Returns to Delivery with DoorDash

👀 What’s the move: Waymo is stepping back into the delivery business through a multi-year partnership with DoorDash in Phoenix, using its driverless Jaguar I-Pace vehicles to deliver groceries and DashMart orders. Customers will walk outside and collect their items from the car trunk, turning delivery into a semi-self-service experience that trades convenience for autonomy.

💡 Why it’s not boring: Unlike DoorDash’s own Dot robot, which is a small, low-speed courier built for short-range, curb-to-door service, Waymo’s model relies on full-sized autonomous vehicles operating across public roads. The partnership is less about last-mile logistics and more about testing business adaptability: Waymo wants to show its robotaxi technology can extend into new markets, while DoorDash experiments with which form of autonomy actually improves margins. If Dot represents the sidewalk strategy, Waymo represents the citywide strategy.

⛵ Key takeaway: Autonomous delivery is diverging into two paths. Sidewalk robots pursue efficiency, while car fleets pursue scale. The real battle will be decided at the curb, not in the code.

NIO Crashes as Singapore’s GIC Drags It to Court

👀 What’s the move: NIO’s shares plunged nearly 9% after Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC filed a U.S. lawsuit accusing the EV maker of fabricating revenue through an off-balance-sheet battery venture, Wuhan Weineng. The suit claims NIO executives misled investors with false disclosures, echoing a 2022 short-seller report that the company had brushed off as baseless.

💡 Why it’s not boring: It strikes at the core of NIO’s credibility and jolts a sector already wobbling under scrutiny of financial transparency. If proven true, it means one of China’s flagship EV names cooked its numbers in broad daylight and fooled global capital along the way.

⛵ Key takeaway: When a sovereign fund sues you, it’s no longer about profit; it’s about trust breaking at the institutional level.

STARTUP SPOT

🏋️ Tempo
“The AI trainer in your living room.”
Smart home gym using 3D vision and AI feedback to track form, count reps, and personalize strength training in real time.
→ Founded 2015 by Moawia Eldeeb & Josh Augustin; backed by SoftBank and General Catalyst; raised $220M Series C; valued around $1B as it expands into software-only coaching.

🗣️ Second Nature
“AI role-play for real sales.”
Creates lifelike avatars that let sales reps practice conversations, get instant coaching, and improve performance through simulation.
→ Founded 2018 in Tel Aviv by Ariel Hitron & Alon Shalita; raised $22M Series B (2025); now used by Gong, SAP, and ZoomInfo to scale sales training globally.

💼 Jack & Jill
“Two AI agents, one hiring loop.”
‘Jack’ helps candidates refine resumes and interview prep, while ‘Jill’ sources and screens talent for employers—then they meet in the middle.
→ Founded 2025 in London by Matthew Wilson & Saaras Mehan; raised $20M seed led by Creandum; 49K+ job seekers and hundreds of companies already matched.

BAY AREA MEMOS

Apptopia data shows that ChatGPT’s mobile app has seen slowing downloads and usage since April, signaling a shift from explosive growth to a stable phase.
Stellantis is partnering with Pony.ai to develop autonomous robotaxis in Europe, starting with Peugeot e-Traveller models set to launch in 2026.
Apple secured a five-year, $750 million deal to make Apple TV the exclusive U.S. home for all Formula 1 races starting in 2026.
X is launching a marketplace where premium users can buy inactive and rare usernames for prices ranging from $2,500 to over seven figures.
Due to the government shutdown, the U.S. federal courts will begin operating unpaid on October 20, maintaining only essential constitutional functions.

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