Welcome back to your daily memorandum talking tech, business, AI, markets, and more. 🗞️

In today’s edition, we are tackling the following:

🌕 SpaceX prioritizes building a self-growing lunar city over Mars, Musk says.
📺 Netflix–Warner Bros. merger pushes rival streaming platforms into survival mode.
💹 Investors rotate toward cheaper, smaller stocks as risk aversion hits tech.
🕵️ Epstein’s Silicon Valley ties extended far beyond Gates and Musk.
🗾 Takaichi wins Japan’s largest postwar election, cementing her as a dominant leader.

TECHNOLOGY

• SpaceX prioritizes building a self-growing lunar city over Mars, Musk says (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: SCMP, CNN, Yahoo!}}

  • SpaceX will focus on a lunar city first, delaying Mars colonization to secure civilization’s future faster.

  • Musk said an uncrewed Moon landing is planned by March 2027, competing with other nations’ space ambitions.

  • The Moon city project aims to advance technology and space infrastructure more quickly than earlier Mars plans.

• Netflix–Warner Bros. merger pushes rival streaming platforms into survival mode (The Verge)
  ^{_{More: Tech Buzz, TOI}}

  • Netflix’s $82.7B Warner Bros. deal creates a combined streaming audience of 453M subscribers worldwide.

  • Netflix revealed that most HBO Max users already subscribe to Netflix during recent U.S. Senate antitrust hearings.

  • Rivals respond through bundling, mergers, and consolidation, while regulators scrutinize pricing power, competition risks, and potential job losses.

• Czech prime minister supports banning social media use for children under 15 (Tech in Asia)
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, Straits Times}}

  • Prime Minister Andrej Babis backs a social media ban, citing potential harm to minors.

  • The proposal mirrors debates across Europe, including Spain, Greece, Britain, and France, on restricting youth access.

  • Officials say legislation could be introduced this year, following Australia’s under-16 social media ban.

BUSINESS

• Investors rotate toward cheaper, smaller stocks as risk aversion hits tech (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, Economic Times, Business Recorder}}

  • Market rotation boosts smaller companies, dividend growth stocks, and equal-weighted indexes amid sector volatility.

  • Investors grow cautious over AI spending plans and potential disruption to legacy business models.

  • Russell 2000 outperforms as tech falters, while doubts hit big AI hyperscalers’ returns.

• Epstein’s Silicon Valley ties extended far beyond Gates and Musk (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: WSJ, France 24, Mashable}}

  • Newly released Justice Department records reveal Epstein’s extensive communications with prominent U.S. technology executives.

  • Officials emphasize that inclusion in the documents does not imply misconduct or illegal activity.

  • Files detail Epstein’s efforts to build influence through meetings, emails, schedules, and photos before 2019.

• Crypto.com bets $70M on AI.com domain before Super Bowl (Yahoo!)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, AInvest, FindArticles}}

  • Crypto.com founder bought AI.com for $70M in cryptocurrency, setting a record domain sale.

  • The company plans a Super Bowl debut offering a personal AI agent for messaging, apps, and trading.

  • The purchase eclipses past domain records and underscores Crypto.com’s aggressive, long-term bet on artificial intelligence.

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MARKETS

WORLD

• Takaichi wins Japan’s largest postwar election, cementing her as a dominant leader (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: BBC, NY Times, SCMP}}

  • Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a historic landslide, boosting stocks and bond yields.

  • Her Liberal Democratic Party achieved Japan’s biggest single-party postwar general election victory.

  • The result marked a dramatic turnaround after the party's struggles before backing Japan’s first female premier.

• Bangladesh holds historic election shaped by Gen Z voters' influence (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: BBC, Annapurna Express}}

  • Bangladesh's election is the most competitive since 2009, with voters focused on corruption, living costs, and jobs.

  • BNP leads the race against the Jamaat coalition, while Gen Z activism reshapes political dynamics nationwide.

  • Election outcome affects national stability, major industries, and the regional influence of China and India.

• Chinese chip designer Montage Technology jumps over 50% in Hong Kong debut (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, MSN, Bloomberg}}

  • Montage Technology shares surged about 60% in their Hong Kong debut, signaling strong investor demand despite export restrictions.

  • The Shanghai-based chipmaker focuses on AI, cloud computing, and data center semiconductors for global markets.

  • China's push for semiconductor self-sufficiency drives a wave of AI chip IPOs across the nation.

FUTURISM

• Apple aims to make CarPlay compatible with AI chatbots like ChatGPT (MacRumors)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, Bloomberg}}

  • Apple is developing CarPlay support, allowing drivers to interact with AI chatbots hands-free.

  • CarPlay mirrors iPhone apps on vehicle displays, enabling voice control through Siri integration.

  • Future CarPlay Ultra could integrate ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude, potentially sidelining Siri.

• A robot with warm, humanlike facial skin leaves viewers deeply unsettled (Futurism)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!}}

  • DroidUP unveiled Moya, a humanoid robot featuring animated humanlike expressions and temperature-regulated synthetic skin.

  • Moya’s skin maintains humanlike warmth, raising discomfort and questions about the robot’s intended real-world use.

  • Despite lifelike eyes and facial movements, its stiff walking exposes mechanical limits beneath realism.

• Brands from Svedka to Anthropic make bold AI-driven Super Bowl ad plays (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: AOL, FindArticles}}

  • Super Bowl 2026 ads leaned heavily on AI, both creating commercials and promoting AI-powered products.

  • Svedka debuted a mostly AI-generated ad featuring robotic characters trained to mimic human movements.

  • The trend sparked debate over creativity, authenticity, and whether AI threatens traditional creative jobs.

CONTENT

• Lazar Jovanovic explains getting paid to vibe code in the AI era (Lenny's Podcast)

  • Lazar Jovanovic works as a full-time vibe coder, building production tools using AI without coding experience.

  • He argues that planning, design taste, and clear frameworks matter more than prompts or traditional programming skills.

  • The role highlights how AI is merging product, engineering, and design careers.

• OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger shares the breakthrough behind his viral AI agent (Y Combinator)

  • Peter Steinberger explains the “aha” moment that sparked OpenClaw’s rapid rise and widespread adoption.

  • OpenClaw is a local-first, open-source AI agent that executes real tasks across personal workflows.

  • Steinberger argues that personal AI agents could replace many apps, reshaping software, privacy, and ownership.

• Harvard Professor Arthur Brooks shares an extreme protocol for achieving four focused hours (Tim Ferriss)

  • Brooks follows a structured morning routine with caffeine, high-protein nutrition, and no distractions to maximize focus.

  • His method emphasizes optimizing brain chemistry, a quiet workspace, and eliminating interruptions for sustained productivity.

  • The protocol enables unusually long, high-quality writing and work sessions compared to traditional routines.

EXTRAS

• Federal judge orders unsealing of Fulton County, Georgia, election case documents (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: CBS, Politico}}

  • Judge orders documents tied to FBI seizure of Georgia 2020 ballots unsealed by Tuesday.

  • The ruling came from U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee, a judicial appointee of Donald Trump.

  • The Fulton County election facility raid drew scrutiny due to links with Trump’s debunked fraud claims.

• ‘Melania’ viewership drops sharply during Super Bowl weekend at theaters nationwide (Politico)
  ^{_{More: TechCrunch, The Independent}}

  • Super Bowl weekend slowed the box office, with Send Help leading while Melania plunged in its second weekend.

  • Studios shifted focus to Super Bowl advertising, debuting major trailers instead of releasing new films.

  • Melania added theaters but fell 67%, raising flop concerns given high acquisition and marketing costs.

• Australian AI infrastructure firm Firmus secures $10B debt backing (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, Yahoo!}}

  • Firmus secured a $10B debt package from Blackstone and Coatue to fund AI expansion.

  • The project, backed by Nvidia, targets up to 1.6 gigawatts of capacity within three years.

  • Funding supports massive AI infrastructure build-out, positioning Australia as a key global hub.

AND MORE

• I built the Star Trek control panel I always dreamed of.

• New digital car keys now let owners securely text access to others.

• Analysts question whether $16B can build a profitable robotaxi business.

• Roko’s Basilisk skips the buzz words and cuts straight to what moves markets, products, and careers.

• NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo joins Kalshi as a strategic investor.

• Returning to Linux was a mistake; I need an OS, not hobbies.

• Teams picked last in gym class now gear up for Super Bowl.

• Second-gen AirTags are a scatterbrain’s best friend for staying organized.

• Critics are now slightly less upset about the ‘Magnificent Ambersons’ AI project.