Hi everyone – welcome to your 3 Shifts Edition [AI-generated audio version].

First, OpenAI is on its way to becoming the next consumer big tech giant, with ChatGPT surging to 800M+ weekly users. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are chasing power users with $200/month tiers but the real story might be what’s happening on the free end of freemium.

Next, manufacturing in certain sectors may be coming back to the US, although numbers are inflated and not every sector will come back easily. Still, some of these investments reflect a new world order where importing to the US has suddenly become much more expensive.

Finally, factory-direct shopping is having a moment, as shoppers flood to Chinese app DHgate to buy directly from Chinese factories, amid tariffs and the de minimis closure. It’s a messy story – full of Hermès-quality products that could be dupes or counterfeits, and viral videos that might be a coordinated China-backed campaign.

Enjoy.

– Tam

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