Techmeme
February 3, 2025, 4:25 AM

Top News

Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
A look at six engineers with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel ties, between 19 and 24 years old, playing key DOGE roles, as Musk seizes control of US infrastructure  —  Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.
More: New York Times, Wired, CNN, New York Times, TechCrunch, Forbes, Fortune, Palo Alto Online, Digby's Hullabaloo, TweakTown, Mashable, The Guardian, SiliconANGLE, The Indian Express, Civil Discourse …, Breitbart, Wait - what ?, i shall wear …, Feminist Space, New Republic, Gwen Tolios, and Associated Press
Anthony Ha / TechCrunch:
OpenAI unveils Deep Research, an AI agent for creating in-depth reports, available to $200/month ChatGPT Pro subscribers and limited to 100 queries per month  —  OpenAI is announcing a new AI “agent” designed to help people conduct in-depth, complex research using ChatGPT, the company's AI-powered chatbot platform.
Kevin Roose / New York Times:
OpenAI's Operator is currently more an intriguing demo than a product most people need to spend $200/month on, but it points to a future of powerful AI agents  —  In the past week, OpenAI's Operator has done the following things for me:  — Ordered me a new ice cream scoop on Amazon.
More: The Decoder and Futurism
Mastodon: @glenngabe@mas.toX: @kevinroose, @jeffjarvis, and @jeffjarvisLinkedIn: Alex Doyle
Bloomberg:
Donald Trump's EO for levies on China says the “de minimis” exemption for items under $800 no longer applies, affecting Alibaba, JD.com, Shein, Temu, and others  —  - President could block tariff exemption for packages under $800  — Change could affect online retailers such as Shein and Temu
Tage Kene-Okafor / TechCrunch:
Stablecoins are becoming a core part of financial infrastructure in emerging markets, expanding beyond cross-border payments into consumer finance and more  —  Five years ago, SpaceX launched Starlink, which has since grown into its biggest revenue driver, expanding to more than 100 countries.
More: Finextra
Bloomberg:
Some parents say they are eschewing 529 college savings plans and other traditional investments to invest in cryptocurrency to build wealth for their children  —  Despite the risks and volatility, some families are investing in cryptocurrency to build wealth for their children.
Hayden Field / CNBC:
SoftBank commits $3B annually for itself and subsidiaries to use OpenAI's tech, and launches SB OpenAI Japan to market OpenAI's enterprise tech in Japan  —  SoftBank has committed to spending $3 billion per year for itself and its subsidiaries to use OpenAI's tech, according to a joint announcement on Monday.

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Featured Podcasts

Hard Fork:
OpenAI Calls a 'Code Red' + Which Model Should I Use? + The Hard Fork Review of Slop
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Access:
Is Roblox making the internet better or worse? We asked the CEO
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Lenny's Podcast:
Why LinkedIn is turning PMs into AI-powered "full stack builders" | Tomer Cohen (LinkedIn CPO)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
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Great Chat:
Code red: our favorite tech rivalries
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
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Big Technology Podcast:
How An AI Model Learned To Be Bad — With Evan Hubinger And Monte MacDiarmid
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
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More News

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Sima Kotecha / BBC:

Earlier Picks

Matthew Keys / The Desk:
Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: