A bad experience with an edible? You may be part of the challenge facing the cannabis drinks industry

Good morning. In a flurry of tweets late on Monday night, Elon Musk threatened to sue Apple. He said xAI would take “immediate legal action” against Apple for what he says is a bias toward OpenAI on the App Store. “Are you playing politics? What gives? Inquiring minds want to know,” Musk wrote.

In today’s big story, it’s 2025, and cannabis-infused beverages are still on the cusp of becoming the next big thing.

What’s on deck:

Markets: An investing legend shares how his hedge fund is using AI.

Tech: Artists and philosophers can make it big in Big Tech. Here’s how.

Business: What the new China chip taxes tell us about doing business in Trump’s America.

But first, what are you drinking tonight?

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The big story

THC drinks are going flat

Have you ever tried an edible? Did you have a bad experience? If so, you may be part of the challenge facing some founders trying to sell the world on drinking cannabis.

For those already on board, the hesitation is hard to grasp. Cannabis beverages boast the buzz without the hangover. Consumers consider them to be healthier, and even the taste is improving, BI’s Emily Stewart writes.

So, why isn’t your fridge full of them?

Maybe you’re a beer drinker, perfectly happy with how things are. Or perhaps you’re a cannabis enthusiast, and the dosages — typically around 2 mg to 10 mg per can — are too mild to notice.

Or, possibly, you simply just haven’t seen them. Dispensaries have had a tough time selling them, with cannabis drinks representing 1-1.5% of their total sales, per the cofounder of market research firm BDSA.

When the rest of their inventory is small, easy to move, and doesn’t require refrigeration, cans of drink start looking cumbersome and costly to carry.

Then there’s the regulations …

The legality of where and when these drinks can be sold is murky or downright unfriendly, even in some unexpected places, Emily writes.

In some states where marijuana is legal, like California, cannabis beverages are up against stricter regulations. Meanwhile, states like Texas and Florida have emerged as “hotbeds” for the products, according to a Brightfield Group analyst.

Despite this patchwork of regulations, Brightfield forecasts that hemp-derived THC beverages will hit $756 million by 2029. That’s a solid 33% growth, but still a far cry from the US beer market, which is currently valued at $117 billion and not without its own threats (the latest is a group of young tech founders adding to the growing sober revolution: their bodies are temples and they need clear minds to “lock in”).

For Blake Patterson, the chief revenue officer at Keef Brands, hope for the cannabis drink industry lies with an unlikely demographic: the “reclusive soccer-mom” constituency.

People who are too afraid to go into dispensaries because of the lingering stigma around cannabis, but might pick them up off the shelf in a liquor or convenience store.

They’ll get “canna-curious,” Patterson says, and start looking for what’s next.

3 things in markets

1. This week’s inflation report might be bad news, no matter what. Investors are worried that too-hot inflation could take a September rate cut off the table. On the other hand, a sharp drop in inflation could stoke imminent concerns about a slowdown. Here’s a rundown of the Goldilocks scenario.

2. Quant pioneer Renaissance Technologies hit a mini dark age in July. Renaissance Technologies’ two funds available to investors both lost money last month, BI exclusively reports. It also lost money in June amid a bad summer to be a hedge fund.

3. A hedge fund titan uses AI essentially as a “summer intern.” On a Columbia Business School podcast, investing legend Seth Klarman said he and his colleagues mostly use AI as a time-saver, not as a stock-picker. He likened it to a capable assistant: “Not somebody who knows which stocks to buy, but a way to tabulate data quicker.”

3 things in tech

1. How to succeed in tech with a liberal arts background. Mira Lane runs a team of philosophers and artists at Google. In order to make it as a non-technical hire in the industry, she says you need to have success in your field first — and still experiment with technology.

2. GitHub’s CEO defends Microsoft’s memo about evaluating AI use. Thomas Domhke said it was “fair game” to ask employees to reflect on AI usage, referring to an internal Microsoft memo that said using AI was “no longer optional.” Domhke added that GitHub employees are required to use GitHub, and if they don’t want to, there are “other tech companies.”

3. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Revel is ditching its ride-hailing business in New York City and going all in on building EV charging networks, including to power the cars that drive for Uber and Lyft.

3 things in business

1. Ford’s CEO is squaring up with BYD and Tesla. Ford CEO Jim Farley unveiled plans for a midsize EV truck starting at $30,000, which Ford hopes will help it take on competitors. Farley also said the automaker is investing another $2 billion in EV production.

2. Now Trump is tariffing American companies, too. Trump’s decision to impose a 15% tax on Nvidia and AMD’s chip sales to China shows a major lesson about doing business in his America. He’s increasingly inserting the federal government into private companies’ dealings, writes BI’s Peter Kafka.

3. Will David Ellison’s big bet to challenge Netflix pay off? The newly merged Paramount Skydance just landed a $7.7 billion deal for UFC streaming rights for the next seven years. Ellison is spending billions to turn Paramount+ into a major streaming player, but it could be just a pipe dream.

In other news

• DoorDash CEO says he gets hundreds of emails weekly from customers and workers. They show it has work to do.
• Gen Zers have serious investing FOMO.
• The US military command that okays hopefuls for service is creeping toward a crisis.
• Revel is ditching its ride-hailing business and going all in on EV charging.
• An AI-driven “jobless recovery’ could hit this group of workers particularly hard.
• Are you getting bad investment advice from AI? Experts explain how to tell.
• Elon Musk’s Grok is briefly suspended from Elon Musk’s X.

What’s happening today

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases July CPI data.

  Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in New York. Meghan Morris, bureau chief, in Singapore. Akin Oyedele, deputy editor, in New York. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York (on parental leave).

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