Between Calls #1
This is the first issue of Between Calls. I’ve been posting and sharing what I find all the time and wanted to get it all into one place and spend time actually writing my thoughts on these things. I’ll send this out every couple of weeks. Thanks for following along.
What caught my eye
Jensen Huang wants engineers spending $250K a year on AI tokens
Jensen Huang said at GTC that if a developer makes $500K a year, he’d be “deeply alarmed” if they weren’t spending at least $250K on AI tokens. There’s been a lot of conversation around the cost of a developer specific to their token spend. I’ve read plenty of articles about this cost being significant, but 50% of a salary that large is hard to believe. It makes me curious if it’s sustainable. Eventually these costs will need to adjust.
Nvidia’s Huang pitches AI tokens on top of salary as agents reshape how humans work
White House AI Policy Framework
Something we failed to do well was regulate the early days of social media. I think the government is trying to learn from that. The framework gives large corporations one unified federal policy to navigate, expedites data center permitting, and eases compliance on startups. Most importantly, this legislation calls out that “AI services and platforms must take measures to protect children, while empowering parents to control their children’s digital environment and upbringing.” I’ll be watching this closely to see where it lands for my own family.
President Donald J. Trump Unveils National AI Legislative Framework
Imperative Care raises $100M to automate stroke treatment
I’ve been following the startup space pretty closely with medical devices. This one caught my eye because of the $100M funding round. Approximately 80% of ischemic stroke patients who are candidates for treatment aren’t receiving it, mostly because specialists aren’t available where the patient is. Their Telos robotic system aims to change that by allowing a specialist to use robotics to reach a patient anywhere in the world. What’s most curious to me is that once the robotics are figured out, companies like this will move to letting AI assist and eventually take over these procedures.
Imperative Care Secures $100M to Automate Stroke Treatment
What Microsoft is up to
M365 E7 Frontier Suite at $99/user/month
Microsoft announced new tiered pricing with arguably the most value of any of their licensing structures baked into one fixed cost. The combination of agentic AI tools and A365 governance tools is a good indicator of what organizations are asking Microsoft for.
Introducing the first Frontier Suite built on intelligence and trust
Kids & tech
Australia mandates age verification for AI chatbots
Back to my comment about what governments failed to do globally around social media with minors -- this is a key indication it’s being taken seriously with AI. While this is a messy bill and not formal law yet, it could require risk assessments and even age restrictions for AI tooling, plus a mandate on app stores to restrict these apps to specific age groups. My kids are young enough now that I don’t have to worry day to day, but I think about this a great deal and hope similar legislation hits the US sooner than later.
Australia Set to Block AI Chatbots Without Age Verification
What I’m testing
Automating grocery orders with AI
Every week my wife and I spend 45-60 minutes ordering groceries together, and sometimes longer than that. I used Claude Cowork to do a deep analysis of all our past orders and create a profile on our ordering patterns. Once it did that, I created a scheduled task that goes through and orders the basics for us every Friday at 8 AM. That was easy enough and worked well. After that, I started having it use the HEB ad to suggest purchase changes and meal plans. This took some time to optimize, but it’s now turning into me working with Claude Cowork to complete my grocery order -- saving money and time. It’s been fun to play with.
The short list
All-In Podcast -- Anthropic and OpenAI revenue growth, Claude’s “controversial list,” the SaaS market downturn, rising doomer narratives, and emerging AI job opportunities.
Pivot -- Anthropic suing the Pentagon, a viral memo warning of AI-triggered mass layoffs rattling Wall Street, and Nvidia’s blockbuster earnings.
AI startup funding going parabolic -- March already has more $100M+ AI funding rounds than any comparable period in VC history. AI startups took 41% of the $128B in venture dollars raised on Carta last year.
Meta building its own AI chips -- Four new generations of custom MTIA chips to reduce Nvidia reliance, paired with a $27B infrastructure deal with Nebius Group.
If this was useful, share it with someone who’d find it worth the read.
Only proofread with AI, never written
What do you call a hippy’s wife?
Mississippi