Breaking: Trump Administration Extends TikTok Deadline—What This Means for Users

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Hey everyone,

Just a quick heads-up: Trump put a pause on the TikTok ban Here’s what we know so far:

What’s inside today’s newsletter:

• 🌐 Tech Pulse: Perplexity AI submits bid to merge with TikTok

• 📁 Unfold AI Tricks: Turn your voice messages into perfect text with Whisper Notes

• 5 New Tools on the Block

• 🔎 Spotlight: Trump Administration Extends TikTok Deadline—What This Means for Users

• 🤝 Who is getting funded?

• ✅ To-dos

🌐 Tech Pulse

• Perplexity AI submits bid to merge with TikTok

  • Perplexity AI has offered to merge with TikTok US, creating a new entity with equity partners. This merger aims to integrate more video content into Perplexity's AI search engine.

  • The offer comes as TikTok faces a potential ban in the US, with a law requiring ByteDance to sell the app or face a ban set to take effect.

  • ByteDance has repeatedly stated it does not intend to sell TikTok. Perplexity hopes its merger proposal, rather than an outright sale, may be more appealing to ByteDance.

• DeepSeek claims its reasoning model beats OpenAI’s o1 on certain benchmarks

  • DeepSeek-R1 is a new open-source reasoning model from a Chinese AI lab, performing similarly to OpenAI's model on some benchmarks.

  • While R1 is available for commercial use, it is subject to Chinese internet regulations and avoids sensitive topics.

📁 Unfold AI Tricks: Turn your voice messages into perfect text with Whisper Notes

Overview: This offline AI transcription tool works in 100+ languages and even translates them instantly!

Duration: 2 minutes

Skill Level: Beginner

Steps:

1. Record & Transcribe:

   • Open the Whisper Notes app

   • Record your voice or upload audio

   • Select target language

   • Watch real-time transcription

2. Smart Features:

   • Add punctuation automatically

   • Format paragraphs

   • Identify different speakers

   • Export to markdown or doc

Pro Tip: Use the "TimeSync" feature to click any word and jump to that exact moment in the audio—perfect for reviewing important meetings or lectures!

Note: Unlike cloud services, everything happens on your device, making it perfect for private or sensitive conversations.

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🔧 New Tools on the Block

1. Outrank: Keyword research and blogging on auto-pilot for growth

2. Milestone Content Studio: AI-powered automation platform for marketing teams

3. Spellar for iOS: AI Conversation companion and note taker in your pocket

4. Vellum: Build and ship AI products on a single, collaborative platform

5. Kloki: Time-tracking for teams and freelancers

Note: Want to sponsor your tool in our newsletter? CLICK HERE

🔎 Spotlight: Trump Administration Extends TikTok Deadline—What This Means for Users

Summary:

President Trump issued an executive order temporarily suspending the enforcement of a law banning TikTok in the U.S. This 75-day delay allows the government to find a solution that balances national security concerns with preserving TikTok's operation in the country. The order specifically instructs the Department of Justice to refrain from taking any action against TikTok for non-compliance during this period. This action follows a Supreme Court decision upholding the ban, highlighting the political complexities and ongoing battle surrounding the app's presence in the U.S.

Why it matters:

• President Trump signed an executive order to delay the enforcement of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) for 75 days.

• The order directs the U.S. Attorney General to refrain from imposing penalties on any entity for noncompliance with the act during this period.

• PAFACA, which effectively banned TikTok in the U.S., passed with bipartisan support during former President Joe Biden's term and was recently upheld by the Supreme Court.

Source: TechCrunch

🤝 Who is getting funded?

1. AI startup Sereact lands €25M to give dumb robots better brains (TheNextWeb)

2. Confirmed: AI vision startup Metropolis acquires Oosto (formerly known as AnyVision) for just $125M. (TechCrunch)

 😂 Tech Memes

✅ To-dos

Do you have a topic in mind? We’re always open to suggestions—let us know what you want to learn next!

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That’s a wrap! Catch you in tomorrow’s edition. 👋

—Harman