Morning newsletter digest

Stratechery: “Earning & Spending”

• Big Tech earnings were the center of gravity: Apple, Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsoft all reported, with AI capex still running at an enormous pace.
• Stratechery’s key read: the spending looks less irrational when viewed through strategy, especially Amazon’s long history of infrastructure investment and its potential positioning for AI inference.
• Also included: Joanna Stern on writing about fast-moving AI, LLMs in career shifts and medicine, plus a lighter sports detour on the Celtics’ playoff mess.

Why it matters / action: Worth opening if you want the strategic frame on whether Big Tech’s AI spending is disciplined empire-building or expensive theater with better lighting.

Axios Pro Rata: “Playing defense”

• Dan Primack’s lead: billionaires and PE increasingly see sports as a defensive asset class because live human competition is less exposed to AI disruption.
• Seattle Seahawks sale chatter is heating up, with Aditya Mittal reportedly teaming with Wyc Grousbeck on a bid. A non-U.S.-resident NFL control owner would be a notable first.
• Lime filed for an IPO, reporting $887M in 2025 revenue and a $59M net loss. Meanwhile, Moonshot AI reportedly raised about $2B at a $20B valuation, and Ramp is raising at a $40B pre-money valuation.

Why it matters / action: The sports-as-AI-hedge thesis is the sharpest idea here. The Lime IPO is also a useful temperature check on whether old venture darlings can re-enter public markets with a straight face.

Worth opening: Stratechery for Big Tech AI capex strategy, Axios Pro Rata for the sports investment thesis.