In today’s edition we discuss Sam Bankman-Fried is going to prison for 25 years, FTX sells Anthropic equity for $884 million dollars, Brad Pitt wants to appear in the new Peaky Blinders movie, Amazon invests $4 billion in Anthropic, and Patrick and Brittany Mahomes hope to lure Taylor Swift to one of their Kansas City Current soccer matches. 

YouTube

NBC's Paris Summer Olympic Open Ceremony Is Going To Be Star Studded!

Business

I know you might be expecting me to write a long article about my thoughts on Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX, but for me this is an easy one.

Sam Bankman-Fried committed fraud, and now he’s going away for 25 years.

Good!

No one is above the law. He knew what he was doing was wrong, and he did it anyway for whatever reasons. People lost their investments, even if the majority will be made whole again thanks to the rise in Bitcoin and the liquidation of investments FTX made in AI that have paid off handsomely. None of that negates the fraud Sam Bankman-Fried committed.

Full stop.

Sam Bankman-Fried showed such ingenuity and brilliance, and I WAS a fan of what he built, but it turns out he’s no role model. Reminds me of another genius who I thought could do no wrong, until he bought a social media company and proceeded to exert his right to free speech - turns out I just don’t agree with everything he says with that microphone so I’m not as big of a fan anymore.

I guess that’s the risk we take in admiring geniuses.

There’s a saying I love that goes something like “you should never meet your heroes”, because when you actually meet them IRL they’ll usually disappoint you

So best of luck Sam Bankman-Fried in federal prison. See you in 25 years!

Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

Crypto

It turns out some good has actually come out of the whole Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX drama over the last few years.

The valuation of AI companies has skyrocketed, and so has the investment FTX made in AI startup Anthropic.

Now FTX has struck a deal to sell off their investment in Anthropic for $884 million dollars.

The largest buyer of this equity sale is ATIC Third International Investment Co., a company associated with the sovereign wealth fund Mubadalam which is owned by the United Arab Emirates. That group is purchasing nearly $500 million worth of Anthropic shares.

The remaining $384 million dollars in equity is being purchased by Jane Street, the quantitative trading firm where both FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and his ex-girlfriend Caroline Ellison , who was the CEO of FTX’s sister company Alameda Research, both worked at Jane Street before starting FTX. Other buyers include the venture fund HOF Capital, the Ford Foundation, funds managed by Fidelity Management, and nearly two dozen other buyers.

FTX estate selling majority stake in AI startup Anthropic for $884 million

Entertainment

Is Brad Pitt about to start in the new Peaky Blinders film alongside Cillian Murphy?

That’s the rumor that’s going around, and if I had the power to make that happen I would!

Steven Knight, the creator of the Netflix series Peaky Blinders, announced that the Peaky Blinders movie will start shooting in September, with a release date in 2025.

The  Peaky Blinders story was supposed to be told over the course of 7 seasons, but due to Covid they had to cut it down to 6 seasons. This new movie will continue telling the story in the place of the 7th season, with Cillian Murphy reprise his role as Thomas Shelby.

It’s understood that Brad Pitt pitched himself to become part of the Peaky Blinders series years before the announcement of the upcoming movie.

So could we see Brad Putt wearing a Baker Boy Cap delivering his lines standing next to Cillian Murphy?

There’s nothing official, but there have been a number of other celebrities, including Snoop Dogg and A$AP Rocky, who’ve also tried to get a role in the Peaky Blinders series.

I personally think Brad Pitt could definitely rock one of those Baker Boy Caps that Peaky Blinders has helped make popular again.

The Baker Boy Caps, which are often confused for flat caps, but gangs adapted them by sewing razor blades into the peak of their flat caps for use as a weapon to blind their enemies.

That’s just the sort of ruthlessness that Brad Pitt’s character would crush if he were cast in the new Peaky Blinders movie!

Brad Pitt to star in Peaky Blinders film alongside Cillian Murphy?

AI

Amazon is doubling down, literally, on their investment in AI startup Anthropic, but investing another $2.75 billion dollars in the company, in addition to their original investment of $1.25 billion dollars they invested back in September of 2023.

This brings Amazon’s investment in Anthropic to $4 billion dollars!

No word yet on what type of swag Amazon is getting from Anthropic after investing this much dough.

Amazon spends $2.75B on AI startup Anthropic in its largest venture investment

Sports

Brittany and Patrick Mahomes just tease the world that Taylor Swift might drop by and make an appearance this summer at the Kansas City Current women's soccer team that they are investors in.

The Kansas City Chiefs lured Taylor Swift over the NFL season, so the Mahomes figure they stand a better than 50% chance in getting Taylor Swift to come visit one of their Kansas City Current women's soccer matches.

When Patrick Mahomes was asked about the likelihood of inviting Taylor Swift to a game he said "We might get her here at some point, she's a busy woman and Travis is a busy guy."

So here’s to hoping!

Patrick and Brittany Mahomes hoping to tempt Taylor Swift into watching another sport with them

Have you ever thought “I have a strong opinion and I love to write - I should start my own newsletter!”? Well there’s no better time than today to sign up with beehiiv and get started.

 Sign up for a free account with beehiiv and launch your own newsletter!

So much news, so little time. Until tomorrow we’re signing out.

— Chris Thompson