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

First, the US labor market is shrinking in ways that feel more structural than cyclical, with a declining employment-population ratio and businesses seeking “headcount-less growth.” So far it’s mostly “small cracks” but between immigration policy and automation, we’re looking at a labor market in transition – and the landing may not be soft.

Next, Meta just bet $14.3B on data-labeling startup Scale AI and its CEO Alexandr Wang, securing a 49% stake. With 240K+ taskers and 100K+ domain experts churning out training data, Scale AI has become the go-to vendor for many leading AI players – and now, potentially, Meta’s competitive advantage.

Finally, deep-sea desalination is getting real – and may be the most energy-efficient way to turn the ocean into drinking water. By using natural deep-sea pressure to drive reverse osmosis, startups are aiming for automated “water farms” that use less energy, require less shoreline, and disperse brine with less environmental damage.

Enjoy.

Tam

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