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Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom.
Defense is no longer a bogeyman in the tech industry. Google, which once pledged not to use AI for weapons, has done more than ramp up contracts with the DoD, DHS, and governments of US allies: It’s grown more militant toward internal dissent.
The company has clamped down on the use of certain words and topics among its workforce, such as “ICE” and “genocide.” Employees say town halls are now more sanitized and filled with corporate speak. Several told BI they’re now relying on news reporting to learn about internal projects.
The housing market’s frigid forecast
For the second year in a row, sellers, agents, and analysts are mourning a spring bump. The Iran war has sent borrowing rates sky high and made everyday items more expensive. Real estate agents aren’t throwing in the towel just yet. Buyers will have more leverage than in recent years — but it’s going to take a lot more than wishful thinking to jolt the housing market back to life.
My kingdom for Anthropic shares
Would you bet your house on Anthropic’s eventual IPO? One banker offered to sell his $4.8 million Marin County mansion for a slice of the AI company — and that isn’t even the most outlandish offer.
The privileged few who own Anthropic shares are being swarmed by buyers desperate to get in on the action. One large VC firm offered to make a shareholder partner in exchange for his stake. Some investors offered to wire millions within 48 hours.
Private credit’s growing problem
Retail investors, largely viewed as less sophisticated than big institutions, initially shouldered the blame for the large redemptions private credit funds faced.
A Business Insider investigation found that a wave of those redemption requests includes smaller institutions. It reflects a change in how some institutions are investing in private credit.
If both groups start to pull back, even slightly, it could further strain a market that depends on fresh capital to fund loans.
More of this week’s top reads:
Curated by Jamie Heller and edited by Lisa Ryan, Akin Oyedele, Grace Lett, and Amanda Yen.
This is a shorter version of our flagship newsletter, which brings you in-depth analysis and summaries of the top stories from Wall Street to Silicon Valley.