TikTok goes American

Together with

Happy Monday! President Trump just signed a landmark $14B deal that keeps TikTok operating in America while transferring majority control to US investors, with Oracle handling all security monitoring.

Will this model become the standard template for foreign tech companies seeking to operate on American soil?

In today's recap:

• Trump signed $14B TikTok deal giving US investors control

• Auterion secures $130M for military drone operating system

• Amazon pays $2.5B to settle FTC case, refunding 35M Prime users

• Cloudflare launches unified email platform for developers

• Toyota's Woven City welcomes first smart-city residents

TIKTOK

Trump inks $14B TikTok deal

Recaply: President Trump just signed an executive order that keeps TikTok alive in America. The deal values the US operation at $14 billion and hands majority control to American investors. ByteDance drops to less than 20% ownership while tech giant Oracle steps in as the security watchdog.

Key notes:

• Trump approves deal valuing TikTok's US business at $14 billion, with ByteDance keeping under 20% stake.

• American investors including Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Dell CEO Michael Dell take majority control.

• Oracle handles all security monitoring and stores US user data on domestic servers.

• Deal transfers the famous content algorithm to American oversight, addressing national security concerns.

• Agreement covers TikTok plus Lemon8 and CapCut apps, pending Chinese regulatory approval.

Impact: This deal rewrites the playbook for foreign-owned social apps operating in America. Trump avoided a ban while satisfying security hawks. The 170 million US users keep their favorite platform, but now American companies control the data and algorithms. The question is whether China signs off on letting its tech jewel go.

TOGETHER WITH KEEPCART

Protect your checkout from coupon plug-ins. Boost your margin today.

KeepCart: Coupon Protection partners with DTC brands like Quince, Blueland, Vessi and more to protect your checkout from plug-ins like Honey, CapitalOne, RetailMeNot, and more to boost your DTC margins

Overpaid commissions to affiliates and influencers add up fast – Get rid of the headache and revenue losses with KeepCart.

After months of using KeepCart, Mando says “It has paid for itself multiple times over.”

Now it’s your turn to see how much more profit you can keep.

Try it 2 months free, only in September (email us SEPTMARGIN) – No risk, Cancel anytime.

CLOUDFLARE

Cloudflare unifies email platform

Recaply: Cloudflare just made sending emails from apps way easier. The company launched Email Service in private beta this November, letting developers send transactional emails straight from Cloudflare Workers with just a few lines of code. No more juggling API keys or managing email servers across regions.

Key notes:

• Email Sending joins the existing free Email Routing feature to create a complete email solution for developers.

• The service handles all the technical setup automatically, including DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC that help emails land in inboxes.

• Developers can test emails locally with wrangler and use popular frameworks like React Email without changing their workflow.

• The global service delivers emails with low latency anywhere in the world, focusing on speed and inbox delivery rates.

• Email Routing lets apps receive and process incoming emails using Workers, enabling automated support tickets and AI-powered responses.

Impact: Email remains a critical connection between apps and users, but managing it has always been a headache for development teams. By bringing email directly into the Cloudflare Workers platform, the company tackles a pain point that affects password resets, purchase receipts, and user onboarding. The timing matters too as AI agents increasingly rely on email for automated workflows. This unified approach could reshape how developers think about email in modern applications.

TOYOTA

Toyota's smart city opens its doors

Recaply: Toyota's futuristic smart city in Japan officially launched September 25, 2025. Woven City transforms Susono City into a living laboratory where residents test tomorrow's mobility solutions today.

Key notes:

• First residents moved in September 2025, growing to 300 people in Phase 1.

• Twenty partner companies testing products from pollen-free spaces to smart vending machines.

• Features three road types plus underground network for all-weather testing.

• Singer-songwriter Naoto Inti Raymi created the city's anthem as first artist Inventor.

• General visitors welcomed starting 2026.

Impact: Toyota is ditching sterile labs for real communities. By embedding innovation where people actually live, they're discovering what works when technology meets everyday life.

AUTERION

Defense tech startup wants to be 'Microsoft for drones'

Recaply: Defense tech startup Auterion just landed $130 million to build what they call the operating system for military drones. Think of it like Microsoft Windows, but for autonomous aircraft working together on the battlefield. The company wants to change how modern warfare works by making drone swarms smarter and more coordinated.

Key notes:

• Secured $130 million with $25 million coming directly from the US Department of Defense.

• Creates AuterionOS, an operating system that lets different drone brands work together as one coordinated fleet.

• Already deploying tens of thousands of AI strike kits to Ukraine under Pentagon contract.

• Partners with major defense contractors including Rheinmetall and Lockheed Martin.

• Aims to make advanced drone technology affordable at consumer electronics prices.

Impact: Auterion is betting that future conflicts will be won by whoever controls the most autonomous systems, not the biggest weapons. By creating a universal software platform, they are making it easier for democratic nations to deploy coordinated drone defenses quickly and affordably.

AMAZON

Amazon's "dark patterns" cost $2.5B

Recaply: Amazon reached a historic settlement with the Federal Trade Commission this week, agreed to pay $2.5 billion after accusations it misled millions of consumers into Prime subscriptions they didn't want. The deal puts money back in shoppers' pockets and forces changes to how Amazon signs people up for its popular membership program.

Key notes:

• Amazon will pay $1 billion in civil penalties plus $1.5 billion in customer refunds to 35 million affected users.

• Eligible customers who used Prime three times or less per year between mid-2019 and mid-2025 will receive up to $51 automatically.

• The settlement ends allegations that Amazon used confusing checkout buttons and made cancellation unnecessarily difficult.

• Amazon must eliminate misleading buttons like "No, I don't want Free Shipping" and simplify cancellation processes.

• The company admits no wrongdoing but agrees to maintain clearer enrollment disclosures going forward.

Impact: This settlement marks a significant win for consumer protection in the subscription economy. With streaming services and memberships becoming daily fixtures, clearer cancellation options benefit everyone navigating digital commerce.

NEWS

📰 What matters in Tech right now?

• Microsoft tested microfluidics cooling for AI chips that removes heat three times better than traditional cold plates and reduces silicon temperature rise by 65%.

• Meta launched Metabot, developing an Android-style robotics software platform to license to robot manufacturers, focusing on dexterous manipulation over hardware.

• Cloudflare introduced Content Signals Policy, allowing websites to specify in robots.txt whether their content can be used for search, AI input, or AI training.

• China launched the K visa for STEM professionals aged 18-25 with no employer sponsorship required, as the U.S. raised H-1B visa fees to $100,000.

• Anthropic plans to triple its international workforce and expand its applied AI team fivefold in 2025, now serving over 300,000 enterprise customers globally.

• Apple is building a ChatGPT-like iPhone app for internal testing of a revamped Siri with capabilities including email search and in-app photo editing tasks.

• Accenture cut over 11,000 staff in three months as part of an $865 million restructuring, exiting employees who cannot be reskilled for AI-related roles.

EVENTS

• Seattle AI Week 2025: Oct 27 – Oct 31, 2025 · Seattle, USA

• CES Unveiled Europe 2025: Oct 28, 2025 · Amsterdam, Netherlands

• Tech Week 2025: Oct 06 – Oct 12, 2025 · San Francisco, California, USA

• Oracle AI World 2025: Oct 13 – Oct 16, 2025 · Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

• OCP Global Summit 2025: Oct 13 – Oct 16, 2025 · San Jose, California, USA

• GITEX GLOBAL 2025: Oct 13 – Oct 17, 2025 · Dubai, UAE

🧡 Enjoyed this issue?

🤝 Recommend our newsletter or leave a feedback.

Cheers, Jason

Connect on LinkedIn, & Twitter.