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Crypto CEO Fires Engineers Who Refused to Use AI

At Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, saying no to AI could cost you your job.

CEO Brian Armstrong revealed that he’s fired engineers who refused to adopt AI coding tools, calling the shift essential for productivity.

On a recent podcast, he explained that after Coinbase bought enterprise licenses for GitHub Copilot and Cursor, which are AI coding assistants, engineers were told to onboard by the end of the week. Those who didn’t had to justify themselves directly to him, even on a Saturday. If their reasons weren’t convincing, they were let go.

The change is deliberate: 33% of Coinbase’s code is already written by AI, with a goal of reaching 50% by the end of September. Coinbase has also built its own chatbot, BaseGPT, to summarize documents, write code, and support research.

Armstrong admits his stance may seem “heavy-handed,” but insists the message is clear: at Coinbase, AI isn’t optional, it’s part of the job description.

Frankly, the approach seems harsh to me. I’m a believer in giving people time and skills to adapt. 🤔

Labubu Craze: Too Cute to Resist?

Meet Labubu, the sharp-toothed plushie turned global fashion icon.

Created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and popularized by Chinese toy giant Pop Mart, Labubu sells for about $30, while rare ones flip for $400+.

Collectors don’t stop at the dolls. Many drop $50 or more on tiny streetwear hoodies, couture gowns, even jewelry, styling their Labubus like pint-sized influencers.

On TikTok, Labubu has become a full-blown obsession, with millions of unboxings and glow-up videos turning the gremlin into the app’s cutest status symbol.

The craze went nuclear in 2024 when K-Pop group Blackpink’s Lisa flaunted a Labubu keychain, and the A-list hasn’t looked back. Dua Lipa, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and David Beckham have all been snapped accessorizing with one.

And this week, Naomi Osaka’s blinged Labubu stole the show at the US Open.

Am I missing something here? Probably it’s my age 😆 What do you think?

Meet Maithra Raghu, CEO of Samaya AI

Celebrating this week’s Woman in Tech 🥳: Meet Maithra Raghu, Co-founder and CEO of Samaya AI, who was just named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI 2025. Her company helps financial professionals cut through the flood of data using powerful AI agents designed for speed and precision.

Born and raised in the UK, Maithra represented her country in mathematics competitions during high school, where her passion for problem-solving began.

She went on to study Mathematics at Cambridge and later earned a PhD in Machine Learning from Cornell University, working closely with Google researchers.

From 2015 to 2022, she served as a Research Scientist at Google Brain, where she studied how deep learning systems learn and represent information.

After a serious skiing accident in 2019, Maithra saw firsthand the shortage of medical professionals and the pressure on triage. The experience led her to study how doctors and AI systems could complement one another, showing that together they achieved far better results than either alone.

Today, she brings that belief in human-AI teamwork to finance. Samaya’s custom AI agents synthesize sector-wide insights, reason over proprietary and real-time data, and deliver auditable, evidence-backed output that fits into an analyst’s toolkit.

Under her leadership, Samaya AI raised $43.5M in Series A funding. The company already counts Morgan Stanley, hedge funds, and leading asset managers among its clients. 😎

AI Around The World:

In Estonia, startup Vocal Image raised $3.6M to help people improve communication with AI. Its app combines exercises like tongue twisters and breathing drills with AI feedback to boost speech, confidence, and presentation skills. It now has 4M downloads and $12M in annual revenue.

In Japan, the government has released AI videos showing what could happen if Mount Fuji erupted, as part of Volcanic Disaster Preparedness Day. The clips show ash blanketing Tokyo, disrupting transport, power, and food supplies. Officials say the video aims to push households to stock essentials like food, water, and first-aid kits.

In Saudi Arabia, Humain, the new AI company backed by the government, is building its first data centers in Riyadh and Dammam set to open in early 2026. These facilities will run on the latest AI chips from US companies like Nvidia, helping process massive amounts of data.