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January 20, 2026, 5:45 AM
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memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Anthropic: |
Anthropic details the “Assistant Axis”, a pattern of neural activity in language models that governs their default identity and helpful behavior — Read the full paper — When you talk to a large language model, you can think of yourself as talking to a character.
More: eWeek, Digit, Implicator.ai, Matt Mullenweg, and arXiv.org
X: @enscion25, @anthropicai, @anthropicai, @gallabytes, @jack_w_lindsey, @anthropicai, @anthropicai, @tessera_antra, @anthropicai, @anthropicai, @peterwildeford, @anthropicai, and @thebasepoint
Bluesky: @emollick and @tachikoma.elsewhereunbound …
Forums: Hacker News, r/claudexplorers, and r/singularity
| Simon Willison / Simon Willison's Weblog: |
Cursor's recent experiment involved running hundreds of AI agents for nearly a week to build a web browser, writing 1M+ lines of code across 1,000 files — Scaling long-running autonomous coding. Wilson Lin at Cursor has been doing some experiments to see how far you can push a large fleet of “autonomous” coding agents:
More: Cursor and Digit
| Yoolim Lee / Bloomberg: |
A look at South Korea's Independent AI Foundation Model competition, which aims to find the best homegrown AI models, in a bid to compete with the US and China — The state-backed survival contest aims to find the best indigenous AI models. — Late last year, more than a thousand people converged … | Yazhou Sun / Bloomberg: |
French accounting software startup Pennylane raised $204M led by TCV, a source says at a ~$4.25B valuation, with participation from Blackstone, DST, and others — Pennylane, a French startup that sells accounting software, has raised €175 million ($204 million) in a funding round led by growth equity investor TCV.
More: Tech.eu, EU-Startups, and Tech Funding News
| Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg: |
xAI faces a growing outcry from global regulators over Grok's generation of nonconsensual explicit photos, but has faced little regulatory action in the US — Despite global uproar over the generation of non-consensual explicit photos, Elon Musk has continued to downplay the issue.| Kiran Stacey / The Guardian: |
The UK launches a consultation on whether to ban under-16s from using social media, alongside restrictions on addictive app features like infinite scrolling — Move comes as peers prepare to vote on an amendment to a bill that would enact a ban within a year of the bill passing
More: Silicon Republic, Financial Times, The Guardian, BusinessCloud, Reuters, GB News, Global Banking …, The Times, Sky News, GOV.UK, Telegraph, BBC, Al Jazeera, and Reclaim The Net
X: @bambosmp, @togetherdec, @anglofuturist, @lukeaaronmoore, @lukeaaronmoore, @prestonjbyrne, @defossardf, @samanthataghoy, @astor_charlie, @jackguyanderton, @mavenpolitic, @russellquirk, @ellymelly, @tomhfh, @fredthomasuk, @mollyroseorg, @kemibadenoch, @sophielouisecc, @alanvibe, @charleshymas, @richardwellings, @landeur, @douglascarswell, @lauratrottmp, @davidghfrost, @kemibadenoch, @rupertlowe10, and @richardwellings. LinkedIn: Andy Burrows
Bluesky: @k2mey, @goodlawproject.org, @katebevan.com, @goodlawproject.org, @dorianlynskey, and @sophiasgaler
Forums: r/LabourUK and r/technology
| Anjali Jain / Inc42 Media: |
Pune-based supply chain robotics startup Unbox Robotics raised a $28M Series B in a mix of primary and secondary capital, after raising $15M in earlier rounds — Deeptech startup Unbox Robotics has raised $28 Mn (about INR 243 Cr) in its Series B round in a mix of primary and secondary capital.
More: Entrackr, DealStreetAsia, The Economic Times, and VCCircle
| Eleanor Olcott / Financial Times: |
Sources: ByteDance boosts its cloud via more sales hires and lower prices; IDC: ByteDance had 13% of China's AI cloud market in H1 2025, behind Alibaba's 23% — Deep discounts, vast data and bespoke AI agents fuel new challenge in China's multibillion-dollar enterprise market
More: Benzinga
| Kalyeena Makortoff / The Guardian: |
The UK Treasury committee says the government and Bank of England's “wait-and-see approach” to AI risks in the financial sector poses “serious harm” to the UK — Government, Bank of England and FCA criticised for taking ‘wait-and-see’ approach to AI use in financial sector
More: Telecompaper, Reuters, The Standard, Bloomberg, Financial Times, and The UK Treasury Committee
| Ryan Vlastelica / Bloomberg: |
Anthropic's Claude Cowork launch revives investor fears about disruption that weighed on SaaS stocks in 2025; Morgan Stanley's SaaS index is down 15% YTD — The new year was supposed to bring opportunities for beaten-down software stocks. Instead, the group is off to its worst start in years.
More: Semafor. X: @buccocapital, @netcapgirl, @samsolid57, @scottastevenson, @conorsen, and @sergeycyw. Bluesky: @bottleofstars
| Nilay Patel / The Verge: |
Q&A with Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan on the use of AI in game development, the gaming community's pushback against AI, partnering with Grok, and more — We're back to start the year off with a very special live interview with Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan, which we taped in front of a terrific audience … | Katherine Doherty / Bloomberg: |
The NYSE plans to use its tech that matches buyers and sellers, plus blockchain networks, to facilitate the real-time trading of tokenized securities in 2026 — The New York Stock Exchange is building a venue using blockchain technology to allow for trading tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds around the clock.
More: The New York Stock Exchange, Gizmodo, Inside Bitcoins, Blockonomi, Blockhead, SiliconANGLE, Associated Press, crypto.news, BeInCrypto, Bitcoinist.com, The Coin Republic, Benzinga, PYMNTS.com, Ventureburn, DL News, CoinDesk, Wall Street Journal, CoinGape, Bitcoin Insider, Barron's Online, Yahoo Finance, The Crypto Times, The Block, Proactive, Coinspeaker, Reuters, Pulse 2.0, Cryptonews, Crypto Briefing, The Defiant, Dow Jones Newswires, Cointelegraph, and Coinpedia Fintech News
X: @cz_binance, @reece_merrick, @tszzl, @mollysoshea, @jasonyanowitz, @carlosdomingo, @jdorman81, @gaborgurbacs, @securitize, @nyse, @ondofinance, @nategeraci, and @hadickm. LinkedIn: Chris Houston
Forums: r/Superstonk and r/wallstreetbets
| Axios: |
OpenAI executive Chris Lehane says the startup is “on track” to unveil its first device in H2 2026; reports suggest it won't have a screen and may be a wearable — OpenAI is “on track” to unveil its first device in the second half of 2026, the company's policy chief, Chris Lehane, said Monday at Axios House Davos.
More: Silicon Republic, Moneycontrol, 9to5Mac, Android Authority, Digit, Gizmodo, Android Central, The Information, Sources, The Verge, Hindustan Times, WebProNews, and Crypto Briefing
X: @markgurman, @morqon, @signulll, @inafried, and @inafried. Bluesky: @rikferguson.com. Forums: Slashdot
| Olivia Solon / Bloomberg: |
The UK Gambling Commission says Meta is letting illegal gambling sites advertise on Facebook and Instagram, calling its ad library a “window into criminality” — Meta Platforms Inc. is turning a blind eye to illegal gambling sites that advertise on Facebook and Instagram, according to the UK's Gambling Commission.Sponsor Posts
ElevenLabs:
ElevenAgents by ElevenLabs — You know us for voice. Now meet ElevenAgents — featuring Expressive Mode, our most human-sounding AI voice technology in 70+ languages with ultra-low latency. Hear it for yourself.
ElevenAgents by ElevenLabs — You know us for voice. Now meet ElevenAgents — featuring Expressive Mode, our most human-sounding AI voice technology in 70+ languages with ultra-low latency. Hear it for yourself.
Niantic Spatial:
World models need real-world data — Scaniverse is the gateway to spatial services — self-serve and built for AI and robotics. Large-area 3D reconstruction from 360° cameras and precise localization, anywhere machines operate.
World models need real-world data — Scaniverse is the gateway to spatial services — self-serve and built for AI and robotics. Large-area 3D reconstruction from 360° cameras and precise localization, anywhere machines operate.
Zoho:
ETL tool evaluation checklist: 6 things to look for before you choose — Your data is only as valuable as your ability to move, prepare, and access it efficiently. Choosing the wrong ETL tool can lead to months of rework …
ETL tool evaluation checklist: 6 things to look for before you choose — Your data is only as valuable as your ability to move, prepare, and access it efficiently. Choosing the wrong ETL tool can lead to months of rework …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.Featured Podcasts
Lenny's Podcast:
How Anthropic's product team moves faster than anyone else | Cat Wu (Head of Product, Claude Code)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Access:
Silicon Valley finally has its "Succession"
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
The Me, Me, Me Generation w/ Joel Stein
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Invest Like the Best:
Dylan Patel - The Infinite Demand for Tokens, Claude Mythos, and Supply Constraints
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Big Technology Podcast:
Are We Too Obsessed With AI Predictions? — With Carissa Véliz
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
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