el producto #441 🚀
From SEO to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), Meta x Oakley smart glasses, Microsoft Vision, Tesla robotaxis, The great distribution shift, Figma MCP & more
Hi friends 👋
Happy weekend, and welcome to a new edition of el producto
🎰 The week in figures
$6B: Whatnot, the livestream shopping app is projected to sell $6B by 2025 via the booming live-streamed commerce trend. Still unprofitable, but has secured substantial vc and ranks among the top U.S. shopping apps
$1B/month: xAI, is reportedly burning through $1B p/m—mainly on AI infrastructure—and will have spent around $13B by end of year, while making just $500M in revenue
$600M: Autonomous vehicle software firm Applied Intuition has raised a massive $600M Series F round, doubling its valuation to $15B just a year after its last raise
$500M: Cohere, the enterprise AI startup founded by ex-Google researchers is raising over $500M, aiming for a valuation of $5.5B-$6.5B. Its ARR has doubled, exceeding $100M, despite stiff competition
$200M: Fintech startup Ramp is raising $200M in a round of funding that will bump its valuation to $16B
$200M: OpenAI secured a $200M contract with the DoD to develop AI for administrative and national security tasks
📰 What’s going on
Microsoft has started to roll out its new Copilot feature, Vision. It’s pitched as an AI companion that “works with you, sees what you see, and helps you get things done”. When you choose to enable it, Copilot Vision can see what you see and talk to you about it in real time. Privacy concerns are a real issue, but OS-level AI assistants like this could become the ultimate version of an AI Assistant
OpenAI has made a breakthrough discovery in how and why AI models, like ChatGPT, learn and deliver their responses (previously a “black box” of unknown), especially misaligned ones. Interesting (read concerning) that they are just finding out now how their product functions, while half of the world happily uses the product
OpenAI released a “customer service agent” software kit for developers
Search Live turns Google Search into a voice conversation where you ask questions out loud and get spoken answers—try it here
Google Search is also trialling Audio Overviews, which gives users an audio version of their search results, “offering a hands-free way to absorb information” to help with multitasking and accessibility
Figma launched a new MCP server for Dev Mode that connects Figma directly to AI coding assistants like Copilot, Cursor and Claude Code. Instead of just giving an AI a screenshot or a vague API response, the MCP server gives it rich, structured data about your Figma designs
Amazon expects AI job loss. Andy Jassy writes that while Amazon expects some cuts and some short-term hiring due to the rise of genAI in the workplace, over time, he anticipates that the company will need fewer humans to operate. The hint the CEO is sending to staff — and he’s far from the first to do so — is that you had best get aboard the AI train, lest you are left at the station
Oakley x Meta smart glasses. New smart glasses were announced on June 20, featuring a central camera for athletes. Pre-orders start on July 11. The first model starts at $499. The full lineup arrives this summer, starting at $399. A Prada range will blend tech with high-fashion
Apple updated iOS 26 to allow users to store and verify passports and IDs in the Wallet app, expanding its digital identity functionality
Reddit has launched two new AI-powered advertising tools:
Reddit Insights: provides real-time insights into trends, discussions, and emerging topics so advertisers can tailor campaigns and refine creatives to align with what people are talking about.
Conversation Summary Add-ons: allows brands to add positive user comments and discussions directly below their promoted posts, to bring authentic social proof to their ads
Tesla’s robotaxi launch is just around the corner. As Waymo preps to launch in new cities next year — even New York City is on the horizon — Tesla is getting its own self-driving service up and running. Details are coming out, as some receive their invites to use it. Tesla is limiting the area of Austin in which its cars will self-drive, and will shut the service off when the weather gets tough
From SEO to GEO. A new report this week showed steep declines for organic traffic across Netflix (down 23%), Trip Advisor (down 34%) and Starbucks (down 41%). And it looks as though “GEO” or generative engine optimization may actually be an official term now. Adobe is using it in the press release for their latest product called LLM Optimizer - designed to help companies boost their GEO performance and one of the startups in the latest YCombinator Batch is designed for the same thing. GEO tools are just getting started
📚 Good reads
The next great distribution shift. Distribution landscapes are evolving, and PMs must adapt fast. Reforge’s Brian Balfour explores how transformative shifts in platforms, channels, and tactics are reshaping growth strategies, urging teams to innovate or risk obsolescence. Stay ahead by understanding the frameworks that can navigate these big changes
When growth plateaus. Casey Winters offers a useful and practical read for teams grappling with plateauing product growth. The post walks through an option–first framework and key questions: Is it time to explore new growth channels, refactor the product concept, or pursue new use cases? He also stresses the importance of timing: understanding where you are in the company lifecycle and what resources are available is critical. Actionable wisdom
Building APIs for super-human agents. As AI transforms the tech landscape, API design must adapt to meet new challenges. This fascinating article explores how AI-first APIs differ from traditional ones, offering insights into non-deterministic behaviour, token efficiency, and self-healing error handling. Things get interesting when you start thinking about using agents on the supply side of the equation—providing non-deterministic APIs. It’s like calling customer support three times and getting three different answers from three different operators. Eventually, you might be happy that one gave you the response you wanted—but then, holding them accountable? That’s a whole different story. A bit technical, but a great read
What Product teams do: Product Principles. Product teams thrive by establishing clear principles that guide their decisions and priorities. These principles act as a north star, helping teams stay aligned and focused on delivering value. Susannah Belcher shares 14 real examples of Product Pricinples from orgs like Airbnb or Gitlab
Anthropic just released a free, 12-lesson course called AI Fluency, and it goes way beyond basic prompting tips (though it has those, too). It’s a full-blown framework for collaborating with AI that could fundamentally change how you work
[Video] OpenAI released a new interview on all the company’s latest interests and issues. CEO Sam Altman laid out a roadmap focused on unifying the user experience, starting with the release of GPT-5 this summer. GPT 5 will basically be a simplification (reunification?) of ChatGPT’s myriad models into one streamlined UI
That’s a wrap for this week! 🌟
I’d love to hear your thoughts—what stood out to you, and how are you thinking about integrating these insights into your Product strategy? Reply to the email or drop a comment on Substack to share your take. And if you found this valuable, forward it to a fellow PM, Product enthusiast, startup founder or entrepreneur who’d enjoy the read
See you next week! 👋
Angel