Good morning. It’s Friday, June 06. Today we are covering:
Google rolling out upgraded Gemini 2.5 Pro preview
How the Maker of the ‘Most Complex Machine Humans Ever Created’ Is Navigating Trade Fights
Which tech mogul will replace Elon Musk as Trump's new tech industry BFF?
Wing and Walmart are bringing drone delivery to 100 new stores
China will drop the Great Firewall for some users, but only in southern Hainan
Let’s dive in
Google rolling out upgraded Gemini 2.5 Pro preview
By Abner Li via 9to5Google
Google has released a new preview of Gemini 2.5 Pro, building on the I/O Edition (05-06) with enhanced coding capabilities and top-tier results on benchmarks like AIDER Polyglot, GPQA, and HLE.
The 06-05 update delivers significant performance gains, including a 24-point Elo boost on LMArena (1470) and 35-point jump to lead on WebDevArena (1443), while improving style and response formatting based on previous feedback.
Now available via Google AI Studio, Vertex AI, and the Gemini app, this version introduces developer features like thinking budgets for better control over cost and latency, with general availability expected within weeks.
𝕏: Our latest Gemini 2.5 Pro update is now in preview.It’s better at coding, reasoning, science + math, shows improved performance across key benchmarks (AIDER Polyglot, GPQA, HLE to name a few), and leads @lmarena_ai with a 24pt Elo score jump since the previous version. - Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai)
How the Maker of the ‘Most Complex Machine Humans Ever Created’ Is Navigating Trade Fights
By Adam Satariano via The New York Times
ASML CEO Christophe Fouquet is confronting mounting geopolitical turmoil, including Trump’s fluctuating tariffs, collapsed Dutch trade talks, and export restrictions, all threatening the company’s position as the sole maker of $400M+ advanced lithography machines vital to chipmaking.
Fouquet warns that Western trade policies could disrupt global supply chains, fuel China’s homegrown semiconductor push, and undermine ASML’s dominance, echoing criticism from industry leaders like Nvidia’s Jensen Huang that such restrictions ultimately weaken Western tech leadership.
Despite record 2024 revenues (€28.3B) and optimism about the AI-driven chip boom, ASML faces uncertainty: China now accounts for just 25% of sales due to export bans, its stock has dropped 25% in a year, and Fouquet is pushing for stronger EU protection and supply chain unity amid strategic tensions.
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Which tech mogul will replace Elon Musk as Trump's new tech industry BFF?
By Alexei Oreskovic via Fortune
Donald Trump is distancing himself from Elon Musk, once his preferred tech ally, amid growing tensions and divergent interests between the two.
As the 2024 election looms, Trump appears to be courting Silicon Valley billionaires who oppose President Biden’s policies, potentially seeking a new tech mogul confidant.
Speculation surrounds who might replace Musk as Trump’s favored tech ally, with figures like David Sacks, Marc Andreessen, and Vivek Ramaswamy emerging as possible contenders.
Wing and Walmart are bringing drone delivery to 100 new stores
By Andrew J. Hawkins via The Verge
Walmart and Alphabet’s Wing are expanding their drone delivery partnership to 100 additional stores across five cities: Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Orlando, and Tampa, building on existing operations in Arkansas and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Wing’s drones can deliver orders under five pounds within a six-mile radius under FAA rules, offering fast drop-offs—sometimes within 30 minutes—for goods like groceries and health items; Walmart has already completed 150,000 drone deliveries since 2021.
Wing’s drones cruise at 65 mph, can cover 12-mile round trips, and utilize Autoloader stations to streamline pickups, aiming to reduce reliance on gas-powered trucks and make last-mile delivery more efficient and sustainable.
China will drop the Great Firewall for some users, but only in southern Hainan
By Ben Jiang via South China Morning Post
China’s Hainan province is launching a pilot program called “Global Connect” that allows select corporate users access to the uncensored global internet, bypassing the country’s Great Firewall.
The service is available to employees of companies registered in Hainan, who must apply through the Hainan International Data Comprehensive Service Centre and use a 5G plan from China Mobile, China Unicom, or China Telecom.
Approved users—regardless of company size or business scope—can access blocked sites like Google and Wikipedia at no extra cost, with the approval process taking up to five months.
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