Daily TEA – AI Workflows, Stablecoins, and Meta’s New Paywall?
Bytedance scale, Manus agents, DeepMind film, Tether USAT, Meta subscriptions
Hello, dear TEA-mates, here’s what you need to know today.
1.🧮 Bytedance Surges Past Google and OpenAI in Daily AI Token Usage
Bytedance’s Doubao models, served through its Volcano Engine cloud, now process more than 50 trillion tokens per day, up from 4 trillion a year earlier, making it one of the highest-volume AI platforms globally and the clear leader in China. By comparison, Google processes around 43 trillion tokens per day across its AI services, while Microsoft handles about 50 trillion tokens per month—roughly 30 times less than Bytedance’s daily volume. OpenAI’s entire API averaged about 8.6 trillion tokens per day in October, according to Andreessen Horowitz’s State of AI study, underscoring how much consumer traffic and enterprise workloads Doubao has captured. Read More
🫖 TEA For Thought: They now process over 50 trillion tokens a day, and those tokens are nearly free—so the real puzzle is how they generate enough revenue to sustain this level of usage.
2. 🧩 Manus AI Launches Open “Agent Skills” Standard for AI Workflows
Manus AI has rolled out full support for an open “Agent Skills” standard that lets AI agents load modular, reusable files bundling domain expertise, workflows, and scripts, now available across its web and desktop apps with early access libraries for team plans. The system supports Python and Bash, splits content into metadata, instructions, and resources, and only loads what is needed, cutting context costs while enabling precise activation via slash commands. Unlike proprietary plugin systems, Manus positions Agent Skills as an interoperable standard that can codify expert knowledge, speed onboarding, and boost productivity across teams. Read More
🫖 TEA For Thought: Shared skills across teams feel like manuals or onboarding guides for new hires—but this time, the “new employees” are AI agents instead of humans.
3. 🎬 Google DeepMind Debuts “Dear Upstairs Neighbors” AI-Assisted Short Film
Google DeepMind has unveiled “Dear Upstairs Neighbors,” an animated short premiering at Sundance that blends traditional animation with generative AI tools such as Imagen and Veo to achieve complex, expressionistic visual styles. The film, directed by Connie He, follows a woman named Ada whose sleep-deprived frustration with noisy neighbors spirals into surreal hallucinations, using AI-generated imagery to heighten mood and visual metaphor while animators retain control over performance and timing. DeepMind developed a bespoke video-to-video pipeline that lets artists start from rough animation or live-action reference and then stylize scenes with AI, pitching the project as an example of how custom GenAI workflows can expand filmmakers’ visual options without replacing human creativity. Read More
🫖 TEA For Thought: The full film at the end is beautiful, and you can see artists and researchers learning by experimenting with the model—if you are not doing deep research, one path is to use these tools heavily and become an expert user.
4. 💵 Tether Launches USAT to Break into U.S. Stablecoin Market
Tether is launching USAT, a new U.S.-compliant stablecoin issued via federally chartered bank Anchorage and structured under the Genius Act, aiming squarely at the American market where Circle’s USDC has led. The company, which reported $15 billion in profits last year and controls over 60% of the global stablecoin market, sees USAT as a way to overcome its historical weakness of not issuing within the U.S., though it still faces skepticism due to past regulatory settlements and scrutiny over alleged illicit use of its tokens. USAT’s reserves are overseen by Cantor Fitzgerald, whose former CEO now serves as Trump’s commerce secretary, and USAT’s CEO Bo Hines previously advised Trump on crypto, signaling close political ties as Tether seeks to challenge Circle on U.S. turf. Read More
🫖 TEA For Thought: If USDT’s reputation is dented by compliance concerns, can USAT—still created by Tether—really win user trust, or does it risk becoming another Terra–Luna in disguise?
5. 📲 Meta Tests Premium AI Subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp
Meta is preparing to test premium subscription plans across Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp that will give paying users access to enhanced features and advanced AI capabilities. The offerings will integrate Manus-derived AI agents and may include expanded access to Meta’s AI video platform Vibes, which currently has a free tier but could gain paid upgrades under the new model. Regulators in China are reviewing Meta’s acquisition of Manus for potential tech-control issues, and Meta appears to be using subscriptions to recoup heavy AI investments while keeping its Llama models open-source and free, distinct from its Meta Verified program launched in 2023. Read More
🫖 TEA For Thought: This looks like Meta’s big push into monetized AI across its social apps—but it’s still unclear how many users will pay for these services; personally, I definitely wouldn’t.
Prompt Tip of the Day: Tell AI the goal before anything else
“Here’s my goal: [X]. Ask me a series of 10+ questions to figure out exactly what you need from me to complete this goal end to end.“TEAHEE Moment
Stay sharp, stay informed. See you tomorrow.
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