Today’s tech landscape highlights significant developments: cloud disruptions caused by Red Sea cable outages, Alibaba-led $100M funding for humanoid robots, and OpenAI-backed AI film ‘Critterz’ set for Cannes. Meanwhile, European investments aim to boost AI sovereignty, and Salesforce CEO emphasizes AI’s disruptive potential amid ongoing job cuts.
▶️ Internet Infrastructure
ServerlessHorrors Exposes Risks of Billing and Security Failures in Serverless Platforms
“ServerlessHorrors” is a blog showcasing serverless platform billing and security failures, emphasizing risks like unexpected charges and operational issues, with detailed real-world incident reports.
- “ServerlessHorrors” is a blog documenting negative experiences with serverless platforms, created by Andras, who is developing an open-source alternative called Coolify
- The site features user-submitted horror stories about unexpected or excessive billing, security issues, and operational failures across various providers
- Recent posts include billing incidents such as a $1189.42 charge from Webflow, a $100,000.42 Firebase bill after a DoS attack, and a $96,280.69 Vercel bill, highlighting risks of misconfigured or malicious usage
Cloud Service Delays Expected as Red Sea Cable Outages Disrupt Azure and Linode
Microsoft and Linode warn of cloud latency spikes caused by submarine cable faults in the Red Sea, affecting Azure and Linode services, with no estimated repair timeline.
- Microsoft and Linode warn of increased latency in Azure and Linode cloud services due to submarine cable outages in the Red Sea.
- Microsoft reports network traffic may experience higher latency starting from 05:45 UTC on 6 September 2025, with rerouted traffic over alternative paths.
- Undersea fiber cuts are linked to the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, with no estimated resolution time provided by cable operators.
▶️ Open Source
X Square Robot Secures $100M Led by Alibaba Cloud to Develop Robotic Butlers
X Square Robot raised $100 million led by Alibaba Cloud, developed open-source embodied AI Wall-OSS, and plans IPO in 2024, targeting robotic butlers and cost reduction for consumer markets.
- Chinese humanoid startup X Square Robot secured approximately $100 million in funding led by Alibaba Cloud, totaling around 2 billion yuan ($280 million) since December 2023.
- HongShan (formerly Sequoia Capital China), Meituan, Legend Star, Legend Capital, and INCE Capital participated; valuation undisclosed.
- The startup released an open-source embodied AI foundation model, Wall-OSS, aimed at robotics, with expectations of robotic butlers within five years.
- X Square Robot’s Quanta X2 robot can attach mop heads for 360-degree cleaning and has hands capable of perceiving subtle pressure changes.
- The company plans an IPO next year, with revenue from sales to schools, hotels, and retirement homes, and aims to reduce robot costs to around $10,000 within 3-5 years for mass consumer adoption.
OpenAI-Backed ‘Critterz’ AI Animated Film Seeks Cannes 2025 Debut
OpenAI backs ‘Critterz,’ an AI-generated animated film set for Cannes 2025, using GPT-5 and image models, with a sub-$30 million budget, aiming to demonstrate AI’s efficiency in filmmaking.
- OpenAI funds and supports the development of ‘Critterz,’ an animated feature film primarily created using AI tools, aiming for a debut at Cannes 2025.
- The film is produced by Vertigo Films and Native Foreign, with a budget under $30 million, significantly lower than typical animated movies.
- The project leverages OpenAI’s GPT-5 and image-generation models, with production expected to take about nine months, compared to the usual three years.
▶️ Management and Leadership
Pylon to Host $170K Hawaii Off-Site for 50 Staff to Boost Recruitment and Team Unity
Pylon plans a $170,000 week-long Hawaii off-site for 50 staff, aiming to boost recruitment, team bonding, and company branding, justified by high engineering salaries and competitive hiring.
- Pylon CEO Marty Kausas spent $42,000 on a nine-day Seoul off-site for 14 team members, covering flights, stay, activities, and food.
- The upcoming Hawaii trip will cost approximately $150,000 to $170,000 for about 50 attendees, booking out all available hotel rooms.
- Off-sites are used to recruit talent, reward employees, and differentiate from larger companies, with the CEO emphasizing their value for team cohesion and branding.
ASML Invests €1.3B in Mistral to Boost European AI Sovereignty
ASML becomes Mistral AI’s top shareholder with a €1.3 billion investment in its €1.7 billion Series C, boosting Mistral’s valuation to €10 billion and supporting European AI independence.
- ASML invests €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) in Mistral’s €1.7 billion ($2 billion) Series C funding round
- Mistral to reach €10 billion ($11.7 billion) pre-money valuation, becoming Europe’s most valuable AI company
- The investment aims to enhance European tech sovereignty and reduce reliance on U.S. and Chinese AI models
Salesforce CEO Advocates AI Disruption Amid Job Cuts
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff promotes AI’s disruptive potential while reducing staff, reflecting ongoing concerns about AI-driven automation’s impact on job security in the tech sector.
- Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff advocates for AI’s potential to disrupt work and automation, while simultaneously implementing layoffs.
- The article discusses AI’s impact on tech jobs, highlighting concerns over job security amid increased automation.
- The report is dated September 6, 2025, and emphasizes Salesforce’s role as a leader in AI-driven automation in the tech industry.
▶️ Technology
Elon Musk’s $44B Twitter Buyout Sparks Mass Changes and Global Conflicts
Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022 led to mass layoffs, platform rebranding to X, new AI projects like Grok and xAI, API monetization, and legal and geopolitical conflicts impacting operations and policies.
- Elon Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022, following a legal battle, and took it private, delisting from NYSE.
- Musk implemented mass layoffs, overhauled verification, introduced paid API tiers, and renamed Twitter to X, with significant platform and policy changes.
- In 2023-2025, Musk launched AI initiatives including Grok chatbot, xAI acquisition, encrypted DM feature XChat, and faced legal, regulatory, and geopolitical conflicts, including Brazil ban and SEC investigation.
AI Critique Sparks Breakup: Geoffrey Hinton’s Ex Uses ChatGPT for Personal Insights
Geoffrey Hinton revealed his ex-partner used ChatGPT to critique him during their breakup, highlighting AI’s growing role in personal interactions and its potential to affect emotional well-being.
- Geoffrey Hinton’s ex-partner used ChatGPT to critique him during their breakup, delivering an AI-generated explanation of his alleged “awful behavior.”
- Hinton stated the chatbot explained his behavior as “rat,” influencing the breakup decision.
- Research from OpenAI and MIT Media Lab indicates ChatGPT may increase loneliness among “power users” by analyzing millions of conversations for emotional cues.
Gartner predicts AI will augment 75% of IT work by 2030 amid implementation challenges
Gartner forecasts AI will augment 75% of IT work by 2030, emphasizing increased labor capacity, but warns of high costs, implementation difficulties, and limited enterprise readiness of vendors like OpenAI.
- Gartner predicts all IT work will involve AI by 2030, with 75% augmented by AI and 25% performed solely by bots
- Currently, 81% of IT work is done by humans without AI assistance
- Gartner does not rate OpenAI as enterprise-ready; highlights high costs, implementation challenges, and vendor limitations