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

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

🌐 Google adds AI Skills to Chrome to save and reuse favorite prompts.
📡 Amazon acquires Globalstar in an $11.57B deal to challenge Starlink.
🤫 Federal agencies quietly test Anthropic's Mythos despite Trump's active ban.
💼 Republicans push to fund Homeland Security alone after bipartisan talks collapse.
⚓ U.S.-Iran talks show renewed hope as military blockade takes full effect.

TECHNOLOGY

• Google adds AI Skills to Chrome for saving & reusing favorite prompts (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: CNET, Yahoo!, The Verge}}

  • Chrome's new Skills feature lets users save and reuse AI prompts across different web pages.

  • The feature builds on Gemini's existing Chrome integration, which already summarizes and answers page questions.

  • Users can activate saved prompts with a single click, eliminating the need to retype them.

• Amazon acquires Globalstar in an $11.57B deal to challenge Starlink (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: BBC, The Guardian}}

  • Amazon's $11.57B acquisition of Globalstar adds 2 dozen satellites to its existing 200-satellite network.

  • The deal will help Amazon deploy Direct-to-Device satellite connectivity from 2028 onward.

  • Amazon still faces a major challenge matching Starlink's 10,000-satellite network and nine million global users.

• YouTube will pause ads during livestreams at peak audience engagement moments (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, PCMag}}

  • YouTube will automatically hold back ads when livestream chat engagement is at its peak.

  • Viewers who send Super Chats, Super Stickers, or gifts will receive a personal ad-free window.

  • YouTube also expanded gifting eligibility and enabled GIF sending on horizontal mobile livestreams.

BUSINESS

• Federal agencies quietly test Anthropic's Mythos despite Trump's active ban (Politico)
  ^{_{More: CNA, Reuters}}

  • Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark confirmed the company briefed the Trump administration on its Mythos model.

  • Mythos is too dangerous for public release, largely due to its powerful cybersecurity capabilities.

  • Clark said Anthropic's DOD lawsuit is a 'narrow contracting dispute' and won't hinder national security cooperation.

• Republicans push to fund Homeland Security alone after bipartisan talks collapse (AP)
  ^{_{More: Seattle Times, KSAT}}

  • Senate Republicans will pursue a partisan-only strategy to fund ICE and Border Protection agencies.

  • Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Democrats will get 'none' of the immigration restraints they demanded.

  • Republicans plan to use budget reconciliation, which only requires a simple Senate majority to pass.

• FluidStack is raising $1B at an $18B valuation, led by Jane Street (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Yahoo!, MSN}}

  • FluidStack, an AI-focused data center startup, is in talks to raise $1B at a $18B valuation.

  • The new round would more than double its $7.5B valuation from just months ago in December.

  • Anthropic's $50B data center deal with FluidStack has been a major driver of its rapid rise.

MARKETS

WORLD

• U.S.-Iran talks show renewed hope as military blockade takes full effect (AP)
  ^{_{More: ABC, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera}}

  • Trump said a second round of U.S.-Iran talks could happen within the next two days.

  • U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called it 'highly probable' that negotiations would restart imminently.

  • Oil prices fell, and U.S. stocks surged near January records on hopes for a ceasefire.

• Xi calls China-Russia ties 'precious' amid global chaos & uncertainty (Washington Post)
  ^{_{More: AP, Economic Times}}

  • Xi Jinping praised China-Russia relations as particularly 'precious' given the current chaotic international landscape.

  • During talks with Russia's Lavrov, Xi called for stronger strategic communication and closer diplomatic coordination.

  • Xi urged both nations' partnership to stand higher and go further, without specifying the 'chaos' referenced.

• India's RBI consults banks on strategies to attract more stable deposits (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: Economic Times, NDTV}}

  • The RBI is seeking input from commercial banks on how to bring in larger, more stable deposits.

  • Household savings are shifting toward equities and mutual funds, reducing traditional low-cost deposit inflows.

  • Deposits are growing more slowly than loans, pushing up banks' funding costs and credit-to-deposit ratios.

FUTURISM

• Science Corp. recruits Yale neurosurgeon to lead its first human brain trial (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Tech Buzz, TNW}}

  • Yale neurosurgery chair Dr. Murat Günel will place Science Corp.'s first brain sensor surgically.

  • Science Corp. raised $230M in a Series C last month, valuing the company at $1.5B.

  • Founder Max Hodak's long-term vision is to build reliable computer-to-brain communication links for human enhancement.

• DEEPX & Hyundai partner to build generative AI-powered robots using new chips (Reuters)
  ^{_{More: Investing.com, NewsBytes}}

  • DEEPX will expand its partnership with Hyundai to develop a generative AI computing platform for robots.

  • The startup is raising over $408M in an ongoing funding round ahead of a potential IPO.

  • DEEPX's second-generation DX-M2 chips, built on Samsung's 2-nanometer technology, will power Hyundai's new robotics platform.

• Waymo begins autonomous testing in London ahead of robotaxi service launch (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: MSN, Tech Buzz}}

  • Waymo has started testing self-driving vehicles on public roads across a 100-square-mile area of London.

  • A fleet of roughly 100 all-electric Jaguar I-Pace vehicles is being tested with human safety operators.

  • Full autonomous operation awaits government finalization of trial regulations before rider-only deployment can begin.

• 2026 Salary Report: U.S. vs Global hiring*

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CONTENT

• Ben Horowitz shares his views on AI, crypto & venture capital's future (a16z)

  • Horowitz argues AI has fundamentally rewritten the rules of software competition for tech companies.

  • He believes crypto infrastructure will become essential as the world becomes increasingly AI-dominated.

  • Horowitz also addressed venture capital's future and America's growing AI infrastructure bottleneck challenges.

• Anthropic's early backer shares how 21 VCs rejected its $300M investment round (20VC)

  • Anjney Midha, a founding Anthropic investor, discusses how 21 out of 22 VCs initially rejected the deal.

  • Midha covers AI bottlenecks, sovereign data, and why compute resources are not interchangeable or fungible.

  • He also addresses China's growing AI advantage and the case for crypto-style compute infrastructure.

• China steps in as Trump's U.S.-Iran ceasefire shows signs of collapse (The Prof G Pod)

  • As the U.S. blockades the Strait of Hormuz, China is quietly positioning itself as a global power broker.

  • Trump has linked Middle East instability directly to U.S.-China tensions through new tariff threats.

  • Analysts also examine China's growing military pressure on Taiwan and risks to the global semiconductor industry.

EXTRAS

• Tesla adds streaks & stats to gamify its Full Self-Driving software experience (TechCrunch)
  ^{_{More: Tech Buzz, Yahoo!}}

  • Tesla's redesigned self-driving app introduces multi-day streaks and usage stats for FSD subscribers.

  • Full Self-Driving costs $99 monthly and handles steering, lane changes, and parking under driver supervision.

  • Musk needs 10M active FSD subscriptions by 2035 to unlock his full $1T pay package.

• Samsung SDS shares jump 20% after KKR's $820M convertible bond deal (CNBC)
  ^{_{More: Reuters, Tech Buzz}}

  • KKR agreed to purchase $820M in newly issued convertible bonds from Samsung SDS on Wednesday.

  • The deal supports Samsung SDS's push into AI infrastructure, digital transformation, and global expansion.

  • KKR will also advise Samsung SDS on mergers, acquisitions, capital allocation, and AI offerings.

• Lululemon faces Chinese backlash after Texas 'forever chemicals' investigation emerges (Bloomberg)
  ^{_{More: WSJ, CNBC, FOX}}

  • A Texas investigation into PFAS 'forever chemicals' in Lululemon's athletic wear sparked widespread Chinese social media debate.

  • Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office announced the probe into Lululemon's clothing earlier this week.

  • The controversy highlights significant risks for Lululemon in one of its most important growth markets.

AND MORE

• Crypto exchange Kraken confirms confidential IPO filing with U.S. regulators.

• Instacart acquires Instaleap to grow its enterprise delivery platform across international markets.

• Explore all the tools and more here to outperform the competition.*

• Adobe patches a PDF zero-day security flaw exploited by hackers for several months.

• Rewards app Freecash allegedly used deceptive tactics to dominate top app store rankings.

• Backdoors were secretly planted in dozens of WordPress plug-ins across thousands of websites.