The Download: how the World Cup ball will fly and OpenAI’s “super app”

This is today’s edition of The Download , our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

Much is new about this month’s FIFA World Cup tournament. It hosts more teams than ever before. It’s the first to occur in three different host countries.

And, like every World Cup for over half a century, it will employ a football with a brand-new design.

Through wind-tunnel experiments, researchers found that long-distance kicks with Adidas’s new Trionda ball might not travel as far as they did in the past. The payoff is a more predictable flight path, something players have not always enjoyed from World Cup balls.

Find out how a few grooves and seams can change the way the game is played .

I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.

1 OpenAI plans to turn ChatGPT into a ‘super app’ before its IPO The revamp would combine coding tools and AI agents. ( Financial Times $) + The super app ambitions first emerged last year. ( Fast Company ) + OpenAI is also building a fully automated researcher. ( MIT Technology Review )

2 Trump wants the US government to take a stake in AI companies He will meet AI leaders to discuss the plan. ( BBC ) + Which would create “a partnership with the American public.” ( Reuters $) + He wants a slice of the AI boom. ( Axios )

3 Google has agreed to pay SpaceX $30 billion for AI computing power The $920 million-a-month contract runs through June 2029. ( NYT $) + Google will use about 110,000 Nvidia GPUs owned by SpaceX. ( CNBC ) + It comes days after Anthropic struck a SpaceX data center deal. ( WSJ $)

4 AI is set to make everyday life more expensive Its insatiable thirst for resources is likely to push up inflation. ( WP $) + We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. ( MIT Technology Review )

5 Europe is accelerating its withdrawal from US Big Tech New analysis reveals dozens of moves to alternative providers. ( Wired $) + Last week, the EU launched a “made in Europe” drive. ( Reuters $)

6 ICE plans to give local police a new facial recognition app It would allow them to verify a person’s immigration status. ( 404 Media ) + Is the Pentagon allowed to surveil Americans with AI? ( MIT Technology Review )

7 Silicon Valley’s lure is fading for India’s tech talent Due to Trump’s immigration policies and AI-driven layoffs. ( Rest of World )