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

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

💸 Andreessen Horowitz raises $15 billion in the largest venture fund ever.
⚛️ Meta signs massive nuclear power deals to fuel AI superclusters.
📱 EU considers labeling WhatsApp a very large online platform.
🤖 Chinese humanoid robot makers dominate exhibitor list at CES 2026.
🚗 Nvidia launches open autonomous driving models for next-generation vehicles.

TECHNOLOGY

• Grok image generator sparks outcry over sexualized AI imagery (The Guardian) 

  _{^{More: Washington Post, CNBC, NBC News}}

  • Elon Musk's Grok AI generates nonconsensual sexualized images of women and minors without content restrictions.

  • Regulators in Europe, India and Malaysia launch investigations into the platform's safety failures.

  • Meta restricts image generation to paid subscribers following global backlash from officials and advocacy groups.

• DeepSeek reveals R1 model architecture secrets ahead of V4 model launch (WinBuzzer) 

  _{^{More: HuggingFace, GitHub, Fireworks AI}}

  • Chinese AI startup expands technical paper to 86 pages revealing full training pipeline for reasoning model.

  • DeepSeek admits industry-standard methods like Monte Carlo Tree Search failed for general reasoning tasks.

  • The transparency establishes prior art while clearing path for V4 launch targeting enterprise coding market.

• What's going on with smart rings (Wired) 
  _{^{More: Bloomberg, The Star, Wareable}}

  • Smart ring market sees 49% shipment growth in 2025, far outpacing smartwatch gains of 6%.

  • Oura faces patent disputes with Ultrahuman and RingConn while expanding US manufacturing for defense contracts.

  • Category matures with subscription-free alternatives and AI-powered insights challenging Oura's market dominance position.

BUSINESS

• Andreessen Horowitz raises $15 billion for new funds (Axios) 

  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, Fortune, CNBC}}

  • Silicon Valley venture firm closes largest fundraise ever, more than double 2024's total amount raised.

  • The $6.75 billion growth fund targets AI infrastructure, defense and American Dynamism investment themes.

  • Capital represents 18% of all 2025 US venture funding amid weakest fundraising year since 2017.

• Meta unveils sweeping nuclear power plan to fuel its AI ambitions (WSJ) 

  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, CNBC, AP}}

  • Facebook parent signs deals with Vistra, TerraPower and Oklo for 6.6 gigawatts of nuclear capacity.

  • The agreements make Meta the largest corporate nuclear power buyer among hyperscale tech companies.

  • Energy will power Prometheus AI supercluster in Ohio coming online 2026, with full delivery by 2035.

• Stablecoin firm Rain valued at $1.95 billion in latest fundraise (Reuters) 

  • Crypto payments company secures funding reflecting renewed institutional interest in digital currency infrastructure.

  • Rain focuses on stablecoin services for emerging markets where traditional banking access remains limited.

  • The valuation comes amid regulatory clarity from Washington following 2024 election and policy shifts.

MARKETS

WORLD

• EU considers designating WhatsApp as very large platform, spokesperson says (Reuters) 

  ^{_{More: Yahoo News}}

  • European regulators may subject Meta's messaging app to stricter content moderation and transparency requirements.

  • The designation under Digital Services Act would impose significant compliance costs and operational restrictions.

  • Brussels targets platforms exceeding threshold after WhatsApp published user numbers above DSA limits in February.

• Iran blocks internet IPv6 protocol (The National News) 

  ^{_{More: Kentik, India TV}}

  • Tehran restricts IPv6 protocol as IPv6 address space drops 98.5% amid nationwide protests.

  • The engineered disruption complicates circumvention tools and VPN services used to access blocked websites.

  • Technical experts warn the restriction will isolate Iran further from global internet infrastructure development.

• Silicon Valley billionaires are leaving California over taxes (Wired) 

  • Tech executives relocate to Texas and Florida citing California's high income and capital gains taxes.

  • The exodus raises concerns about state revenue loss and Silicon Valley's competitive advantage for startups.

  • Departures accelerate as remote work normalizes and founders prioritize tax optimization for liquidity events.

FUTURISM

• China's humanoid robot firms make up half of exhibitors at CES 2026 (Interesting Engineering) 
  ^{_{More: Bloomberg, PBS}}

  • Chinese companies hold 21 of 38 humanoid robotics exhibitor slots at CES, showcasing production-ready commercial robots.

  • China has filed 7,705 humanoid patents in five years versus 1,561 in US, reflecting manufacturing dominance.

  • Unitree, UBTech and X-Humanoid demonstrate autonomous sorting, combat robots and factory deployment capabilities live.

• Nvidia launches Alpamayo open AI models for autonomous vehicles (TechCrunch) 
  _{^{More: Axios, Electrek, Yahoo Finance}}

  • Nvidia debuts reasoning-based vision language action models allowing vehicles to think through rare driving scenarios.

  • Mercedes-Benz CLA becomes first production car with full Nvidia autonomous stack shipping Q1 2026.

  • Open-source approach includes 1,700 hours of driving data positioning Nvidia as Android of autonomy.

• OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health with medical record integrations (CNBC) 
  _{^{More: Axios, Euronews, Fierce Healthcare}}

  • OpenAI allows users to connect medical records, Apple Health and wellness apps for personalized health guidance.

  • The platform emphasizes support not diagnosis, partnering with b.well to access 2.2 million US provider networks.

  • ChatGPT for Healthcare simultaneously rolls out to major hospitals using HIPAA-compliant GPT-5 models for clinicians.

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CONTENT

• Ben Horowitz on Raising a New $15B Fund and How Venture Firms Scale (Ep. 38)

  • Ben Horowitz explains Andreessen Horowitz’s $15 billion fundraise and how large venture firms evolve structurally.

  • He discusses scaling investment teams, supporting founders across cycles, and institutionalizing decision-making without slowing conviction.

  • Horowitz reflects on lessons from Opsware and a16z about durability, culture, and navigating prolonged market uncertainty.

• Margaret Atwood on Doomscrolling and Political Resistance (The Big Interview)

  • Margaret Atwood discusses doomscrolling, Elon Musk, and maintaining political awareness in a fragmented media landscape.

  • She reflects on her memoir’s exploration of memory, power, and settling old scores late in life.

  • Atwood argues that resistance and imagination remain essential tools for preserving democratic values and cultural resilience.

• The Biggest Global Risks for 2026 — with Ian Bremmer

  • Ian Bremmer outlines Eurasia Group’s top risks, led by U.S. political transformation and interventionist foreign policy shifts.

  • The conversation covers Europe’s governance fragility, Russia’s hybrid warfare, and escalating tensions across NATO alliances.

  • Bremmer warns AI rivalry and energy nationalism could destabilize global order, while identifying cautious grounds for optimism.

EXTRAS

• Is Craigslist the last real place on the internet? (Wired) 

  • The classifieds platform maintains 1990s design and ethos while algorithm-driven competitors dominate commerce.

  • Craigslist's resistance to modernization preserves community-focused transactions without engagement manipulation or data harvesting.

  • Users increasingly view the site as refuge from hyper-commercialized social platforms and marketplace consolidation.

• Polymarket becomes Golden Globes prediction market partner (Variety) 

  • Crypto betting platform partners with awards show to offer legal prediction markets on entertainment outcomes.

  • The collaboration marks mainstream entertainment industry's growing acceptance of blockchain-based prediction markets.

  • Golden Globes seeks younger audience engagement through interactive betting while Polymarket expands beyond political forecasting.

• Nvidia hires Google veteran as its first chief marketing officer (WSJ)

  • Chip giant creates CMO role and recruits from Alphabet as competition intensifies in AI hardware.

  • The appointment signals Nvidia's strategic shift toward consumer brand building beyond enterprise datacenter dominance.

  • Company aims to strengthen market positioning as AMD and Intel challenge its AI accelerator leadership.

AND MORE

• United States pledges $45 million in aid to Cambodia and Thailand to reinforce peace accord implementation.

• Thailand aims to attract $79 billion in semiconductor and electronics investments by 2050.

• Thailand central bank warns national competitiveness is weakening amid economic headwinds.

• Thai consumer confidence slipped in December as political and border uncertainty rises.

• Businesses are urged to integrate nature preservation into core strategy amid accelerating biodiversity loss.

• Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale announces global artists exploring movement and migration themes.

• Davos 2026 arts programme will blend performance, technology, and cross-cultural dialogue.

• Hire elite LATAM engineers in days, not months. Save $80k per hire—fast, affordable, and headache-free. ⚡

• Thailand’s Election Commission sets general election for February 8 2026 following parliamentary dissolution.