1. A District Court Ruling Is Disrupting Apple’s App Store Policies
On April 30, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple willfully violated a 2021 injunction by restricting developers from directing users to alternative payment methods and then imposing a 27% fee on purchases external to the Apple app ecosystem.
The ruling prohibits1 Apple from:
- Imposing any commission or fee on purchases made outside an app;
- Restricting developer style, formatting, or placement of links for external purchases;
- Blocking or limiting the use of buttons or other calls to action;
- Interfering with consumer choice to leave an app, except for a neutral message to users that they are being directed to a third-party site.
In response, Spotify swiftly submitted an iOS app update2 allowing US users to view pricing and bypass Apple fees by accessing external payment links. In a significant shift in its App Store policy, Apple approved the update.
Though complying with the injunction, Apple also filed an emergency motion to pause the court-ordered changes, arguing that the ruling could cause "serious and irreparable harm" to its business model. The company is appealing the decision so that it can maintain control over its App Store operations.
Concurrently, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney announced plans to reintroduce Fortnite to the US iOS App Store, highlighting the broader impact of the ruling on digital commerce and developer rights.
Judge Rogers’ ruling is imposing increased competition and transparency on the App Store ecosystem, which could reshape the digital marketplace for both developers and consumers.
2. Waymo Has Unveiled An Autonomous Vehicle Factory
Last week, Waymo unveiled an autonomous vehicle factory in the Phoenix metro and disclosed that its fleet has increased from ~700 to ~1,500 vehicles since last June.3 The facility will integrate the 6th-generation Waymo Driver, beginning with the Zeekr RT this year, and build ~2,000 fully autonomous Jaguar I-PACEs through 2026. With automation and other efficiencies, the company expects to produce tens of thousands of fully autonomous Waymo vehicles per year at full capacity.4
For perspective, Tesla’s current production capacity is ~45,000 vehicles per week, excluding the Cybercab which should begin volume production next year.5 Our research suggests that at scale, without LiDAR and other unnecessary hardware, Tesla’s cost per mile could be 30-40% lower than Waymo’s, thanks to its vertically integrated manufacturing, as shown below.
Note: “Early launch” assumes ten cars per remote operator with utilization rates roughly equivalent to ride-hail today. “At scale” assumes 100 cars per remote operator with an improved autonomous operation utilization rate. Source: ARK Investment Management LLC, 2025. This ARK analysis draws on a range of external data sources as of December 31, 2024, which may be provided upon request. For informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any particular security. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Forecasts are inherently limited and cannot be relied upon.
Tesla’s data and cost advantages should enable it to scale more quickly and efficiently than competitors. We’ll be watching Waymo’s progress and Tesla’s robotaxi launch next month. Clearly, 2025 is shaping up to be the year of the robotaxi.
3. To Capitalize On The Movement To Vibe-Coding, OpenAI Is Buying Windsurf
Reportedly, OpenAI has agreed to acquire AI-native development platform Windsurf for $3 billion.6 If true, the purchase would be its first major acquisition and should accelerate its move into agentic coding.
Since September 2022, when Microsoft demonstrated that GitHub Copilot could complete tasks in half the time of traditional coding,7 software development has been one of the most compelling use cases for generative AI. Since then, coding assistants have become more “intelligent,” more capable, and more autonomous, completing end-to-end coding tasks and sometimes building full applications in a single prompt.
OpenAI’s acquisition of Windsurf is coincident with the surge of rapid coding through natural language prompts—so-called “vibe coding”—especially among inexperienced knowledge workers who are creating novel applications for the first time. Windsurf is one of the major players in the AI-native coding space. Its competitors, Cursor and Replit, recently did funding rounds at valuations of $9 billion8 and $3 billion,9 respectively.
Clearly, OpenAI is hoping to accelerate its vertical integration at the application layer using new sources of data and user feedback to improve its core models. Directed to improve AI systems themselves, autonomous software development could be a crucial step10 on the road to Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI), accelerating model improvement beyond the rate of human progress.
4. All Paths Lead To Reimagining The FDA
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is entering a new era—data-driven, faster, and more demanding. With Dr. Vinat Prasad, the new Director at the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) known for his contrarian stance and scientific rigor,11 the agency is shifting from passive oversight to active engagement with industry to deliver meaningful breakthroughs, putting patients first by demanding better–not just more—health care solutions.
Meanwhile, by appointing its first Chief AI Officer, the FDA is signaling a commitment to internal transformation. Already, its first generative AI pilot test cut the review of regulatory documents from three days to six minutes,12 previewing a radically more efficient future. The FDA’s goal is to integrate generative AI into all its divisions by the end of June.13
These moves should reinvent the FDA as a catalyst for curative, not just palliative, medicine, setting the foundation for faster approvals, more standardization, and higher standards for innovation that impacts patients.