Feta, Pepperjack, Burrata & Grok 3 🧀
This Week in Review☕: The Smartest AI on Earth | People love cheese this year | Vegan alternatives are leaving supermarket shelves | Gen Z drives stuffed toy sales | Younger workers want to return to
Quick Bites:
Artificial Intelligence📲: Elon Musk launches new chatbot called "Grok 3", hyping the new product as the “smartest AI on Earth".
Umm seems like Musk is so determined to dominate the AI race, we half expect Tesla’s next model to self-drive, self-tweet, and try to fire its own CEO 🤖🚗💨
FYI:
Berkshire is sitting on a record $300 billion cash pile, Musk is releasing a new ‘Grok’ AI to fight ChatGPT, Jack Dorsey is taking a more hands-on approach at Block again, Washington Post is projected to lose $100 million this year, Tesla is raising wages for German workers, and bankers are looking for legal cover after backing $1.5 trillion of ESG debt
And its just February 🤯
The launch of Grok 3 comes at a time of intense competition in the AI race with players like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
In addition, Chinese startup "DeepSeek" just released a lower-cost version which has stunned the world, Bloomberg reports.
Key Highlights, reported by Bloomberg:
💡Grok 3 has been built in just 8 months, and is being called "scary smart"
💡The system is powered by 100,000 Nvidia GPU hours for training
💡Billed as a more efficient successor to Grok 2, the new version has self-correction mechanisms and reinforcement learning, per Forbes
💡These integrations will help reduce incorrect responses
💡Grok AI is available for free as a chatbot on X
In other news, Bloomberg reported on Saturday that:
xAI is raising $10 billion in funding, with Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Valor Equity Partners participating in the round.
This will bump the American startup company’s valuation to $75 billion.
Food🧀: Parmesan, Feta, Ricotta, Mozzarella, Pepperjack, Burrata.. People LOVE cheese in 2025.
The average American eats 42 pounds of cheese every year- more than double what they did in the 1970s, Bloomberg reports.
Gouda news! Infact this is Grate news! We would go emMENTAL without cheese and We don't give EDAM who knows it either
The cheese market size has grown strongly in recent years. It is predicted to grow from $296 billion in 2024 to $320.15 billion in 2025 itself.
This is a compound annual growth rate of a whopping 8%.
Umm they say cheese makes you fat but the only thing we're cutting for lunch today is another slice.. God bless Cheddar 🙌🏻
Background💡: Sales of butter and yoghurt have sustained the dairy market despite the vegan industry's massive PR machine that attacks ANYONE not living off soy and seitan.
Also, let's be honest- alternatives like margarine are ONE molecule away from tasting like acrylic..
However, the main driver of dairy's survival is Cheese. The per capita cheese consumption has more than doubled since the government began keeping track in 1975- more than all the butter, ice cream and yogurt combined.
Dairy producers are betting as much as $4 billion on this growing trend.
Cheese manufacturers account for more than half of the $8 billion in US dairy-product projects scheduled to come online from 2023 to 2026, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.
The cheese investments have been a huge relief to a dairy sector that has been struggling with a sharp decline in demand for plain old cows milk.
However, despite plant-based cheeses still being sold on supermarket shelves, they haven't really taken off because they can’t match the texture, consistency and taste of the real thing, Bloomberg reports.
Our Thoughts💡: Writing about all this deliciousness.. Got us craving a classic grilled cheese with buttered Texas toast, mild provolone and cheddar 🤤
PS. We know cheese isn’t great for our waistline, but honestly, if loving Red Apple Smoked Gruyère is wrong, we don’t wanna be right 👋
Culture 🧸 : Gen Z drives stuffed toy boom.
We all need a bit of squishiness in uncertain times. For many, that means going back to the comforts of childhood- extra cuddly toys.
Escapism, happiness, mental therapy- whatever you want to call it, Gen Z has embraced the stuffed animal boom.
Key Highlights, reported by Fortune:
💡British toy company "Jellycat" has exploded in the stuffed toy industry in recent years
💡They sell everything from stuffed baseballs to fluffy cauliflower- From fruits and veggies, to dragons and dinosaurs, to coffee mugs and espresso cups, Jellycat carries it all- in plushy form
💡Sales in the US grew by 41%, last year
💡In addition, company is raking in minting money from all the world: Annual global income increased 8 times between 2013 to 2022, from $7 million to $57 million
💡Their revenue skyrocketed to $252 million last year, with pre-tax profits up 24%
💡The plush-toy market is estimated to grow to almost $30 billion by 2029
💡Although Jellycat is currently having a moment in America, the company’s toys are long-standing British playroom staples
💡A huge part of the brand’s resurgence "hinges on enthusiastic Gen Z consumers"- especially those who share their toy collections on TikTok
💡TikTok became a staple during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were stuck inside and isolated from others
“A factor to consider is the undoing of the stigma of owning toys past a certain age. We really saw that shift take place during the pandemic, when a lot of people were seeking out that comfort through play,”
-Jennifer Lynch, communications specialist at the Toy Association, told Fortune.
“We’ve kind of taken down those barriers that we imposed upon ourselves in terms of tweens, teens, and grown-ups."
Our Thoughts💡:
We have 3 jellycats on our bedside table as we type this; go on, judge Team TOURISTY... We dare you.
Work 💻 : Also in Gen Z news.. Young workers want more in-person interaction as they feel increased isolation, CNBC reports.
Some 91% of Gen Z workers say it would be nice to have a balance between virtual and in-person opportunities to connect with others at their company and in their industry, according to a recent survey by Harris Poll.
Hmmm.. Yet when we pass our Gen Z mates in the office they do not make eye contact? If they do, they look weird af or won’t even return a greeting or a smile 🤔
PS. Who else hates 20 year olds working remotely who say: ‘I’m so burnt out’- meanwhile, they're replying to emails from bed in pjs with a matcha and banana peanut butter acai bowl in hand.. like get the f**k outta here ☕💻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻
Key Highlights, reported by CNBC:
💡89% of the respondents interviewed agree that relationships built during in-person events are critical to building professional confidence
💡86% feel that attending these events is also key to career development
💡Many of them blame technology for their problems. Over two-thirds of Gen Z say tech has made them feel less connected and more isolated from others at their company and in their industry.
“They’re not looking to hide behind screens; they’re actively seeking opportunities to build interpersonal skills and meaningful professional relationships. This generation has a sophisticated understanding of when technology helps and when it hinders real connection”
Older generations have pinned the rise of remote work on Gen Z professionals, citing a lack of work ethic and discipline
British businessman Lord Alan Sugar 77, recently said that young workers “just want to sit at home,” and that they need to come back to the office.
“It’s small things, like interaction with your more mature colleagues, that will tell you how to do this, how to do that. That is lacking in this work-from-home, zoom culture.”
Aviation ✈️ : BREAKING: Delta Flight 4819 Crashes in Toronto.
A Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis to Toronto “crashed and overturned” while landing at Toronto International Airport today.
Key Highlights, reported by The New York Times:
-The plane flipped upside down on the runway after impact
-80 passengers were onboard
-At least 18 people are injured, with 3 in critical condition- including a child
-The crash happened at 2:45 PM local time, amid strong winds and snow in the area
-The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the cause
The flight was operated by “Endeavor Air”, a Delta subsidiary, which normally handles shorter routes with smaller planes, The NY Times reported.
All arrivals and departures at Toronto Pearson Airport have been suspended as emergency crews respond
Quicker Bites:
Spotify plans new premium service for superfans for $5.99 extra per month.
Trump ‘committed’ to NATO, official says.
Shakira cancels Peru concert after being admitted to hospital.
Mexico prepares to sue Google over name change of Gulf of Mexico on US Maps.
Russia and US begin talks on ending war in Ukraine.
Australia’s Central bank cuts rates for the first time in +4 years, flags economic uncertainties.