|
August 12, 2026, 9:50 AM
|
Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Will Knight / Wired: |
Researchers find that feeding a frontier model's encrypted reasoning traces to a weaker model from the same provider can make it output the traces in plaintext — Researchers devised a way to extract “reasoning traces” from Claude, GPT, and Gemini. What they found, they say …
More: Simon Willison's Weblog, arXiv.org, The American Bazaar, The Hacker News, Digit, Latent.Space, The Neuron, Wccftech, RuntimeWire, The Decoder, and Cyber Security News
| Rebecca Torrence / Bloomberg: |
Sources: AI coding startup Cognition is in early talks with investors to raise $1B+ at a $40B+ valuation, after raising $1B at a $26B valuation in May — Cognition AI is in early talks with investors for a new funding round that may boost the coding startup's valuation by more than 50% …
More: Tech Funding News, Silicon Republic, RuntimeWire, and Tech in Asia
| Sherry Qin / Wall Street Journal: |
Foxconn reports Q2 revenue up 41% YoY to ~$78.4B, with cloud and networking products contributing 50%+ for the first time, and net profit up 35% YoY to ~$1.86B — Net profit for the three months ended June rose 35% from a year earlier — Foxconn Technology Group reported another strong quarter … | Bloomberg: |
Tencent reports Q2 revenue up 11% YoY to ~$30.4B, above ~$30B est., driven by surging WeChat advertising and resilient game spending, and net income of ~$8.3B — Tencent Holdings Ltd. more than doubled spending on AI projects and computing to about $7.8 billion last quarter … | Wall Street Journal: |
Some health and fitness obsessives are using AI for hyperpersonalized training, building dashboards and tools to analyze their sleep, workouts, diet, and more — From marathon training to tracking office angst, health obsessives are linking their data to chatbots to build hyperpersonalized coaches| Zac Hall / 9to5Mac: |
SpaceXAI rolls out AI agent app Grok Bot in beta on macOS, iOS, Windows, and Linux, initially for SuperGrok Heavy, Cursor Ultra, and Cursor Teams Premium users — SpaceXAI and Cursor are in the process of becoming a single company, but first, the two firms are releasing an all-new iPhone and Mac app called Grok Bot.
More: xAI, SpaceXAI, The Verge, Financial Express, Bloomberg, Moneycontrol, Business Today, Constellation Research, Mashable, Neowin, RuntimeWire, Implicator.ai, Advanced Television, CNBC, VentureBeat, MacRumors, Digital Trends, Unite.AI, Motley Fool, Tech in Asia, and The Information
X: @bot, @mattshumer_, @lennysan, @elonmusk, @martin_casado, @medjedowo, @kunchenguid, @hnshah, @mikepat711, @dedene, @eliebakouch, @benjitaylor, @sullyomarr, @altryne, @ericzakariasson, @altryne, @furqanr, @wesbos, @prasenx, @mvanhorn, @notjazii, @egavrilenko11, @xfreeze, @xfreeze, @andrewcurran_, @davep, @shaneapollo, @alexfinn, @rdoar4, @poteto, @krawec39, @cb_doge, @tdoggyholhol, @parkersmith, @milichab, @kristaletz, @benjitaylor, @benln, and @cb_doge
| Tom Wilson / Financial Times: |
Researchers say suspected Chinese hackers used open-source AI agents to build an autonomous hacking tool that compromised Taiwanese government websites in July — AI agents ran simultaneous reconnaissance and break-ins in display of new phase of cyberwarfare.
More: CNBC and Insurance Business
| Juro Osawa / The Information: |
Former Alibaba star researcher Junyang Lin launches Shanghai-based Pragmatik Labs to build digital and physical AI agents; Pragmatik hit a $2B valuation in June — Former Alibaba star researcher Junyang Lin announced that he had started a new AI company, confirming The Information's earlier reports.
More: Pragmatik Labs, Bloomberg, and RuntimeWire
| Kate Knibbs / Wired: |
A look at AI news website RuntimeWire, which costs $100/day to run and “beat” human reporters to OpenAI's Black Hat disclosure, favoring quantity over quality — Last week, an AI newsroom beat mainstream journalists—including WIRED—to a story about OpenAI and hacking. It's just the beginning.
More: Talking Biz News. X: @stokel and @nxthompson
Bluesky: @amymaxmen, @knibbs, @jeffgreene, and @davidgilbert. Mastodon: @dsilverman@mastodon.social. Forums: r/Journalism
| Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk: |
The US CFTC uses its “emergency authority” to order Kalshi to continue operating in New York after the state filed a lawsuit in July seeking to shutter Kalshi — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced it had ordered prediction market operator Kalshi to continue operating …
More: CFTC, Decrypt, Unchained, Gizmodo, The Crypto Times, Cointelegraph, Blockonomi, CoinGape, crypto.news, Protos, Bitcoin News, Bloomberg, The Block, and Blockchain.News
X: @chairmanselig, @iohk_charles, @quinnypig, and @mollyisonchain
| Frederic Lardinois / The New Stack: |
OpenAI launches a ChatGPT desktop app for Linux in preview, supporting ChatGPT Work, Codex, and more; Computer Use outside the in-app browser is not available — On Tuesday, OpenAI launched its ChatGPT desktop for Linux. — Now in preview, the app, which combines ChatGPT, ChatGPT Work …
More: TechCrunch, Business Today, OMG! Ubuntu, The Decoder, Neowin, Implicator.ai, Linuxiac, RuntimeWire, The Verge, Thurrott, SQ Magazine, and Tech in Asia
X: @openai, @theo, @i2cjak, @boazbaraktcs, @giffmana, @nickbaumann_, @thsottiaux, @jameszmsun, @openai, and @btibor91. Forums: r/linux
| Kai Nicol-Schwarz / CNBC: |
A look at the challenges facing incoming Google DeepMind head Koray Kavukcuoglu, who joined DeepMind in 2012 and will oversee Gemini and frontier AI research — DeepMind's new boss is set to face intense pressure to close the AI performance gap with OpenAI and Anthropic.
Forums: r/technology
| Michael Nuñez / VentureBeat: |
Skan AI, which is building a “context graph of work” by observing staff using enterprise software, raised a $63M Series C co-led by Cathay Innovation and Dell — Skan AI, a startup that builds what it calls a “context graph of work” by observing how employees actually perform …
More: FinSMEs, Unite.AI, and RuntimeWire
| Prakhar Srivastava / Reuters: |
AI code review startup CodeRabbit raised a $143M Series C co-led by Atomico and Smash at a $1.5B valuation, after raising a $60M Series B in September 2025 — AI code review startup CodeRabbit said on Wednesday it had raised $143 million in a funding round that valued it at $1.5 billion.
More: SiliconANGLE, Bloomberg, Axios, and Fidelity Investments
| Belle Lin / Wall Street Journal: |
AT&T says open models currently account for ~25% of its AI usage, and it targets 70% to 80% over time; AT&T uses an average of 45B AI tokens per day — The telecom company is staking its future on open models, both to control token cost and protect its proprietary data
More: Forbes
| Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch: |
Bengaluru-based Yulu, which gets ~95% of its revenue from renting e-bikes to gig workers, raised a $93M Series C, sources say at a ~$170M post-money valuation — As India's quick-commerce platforms race to deliver everything from groceries to smartphones in minutes, electric mobility startup Yulu … | Dwarkesh Patel / Dwarkesh Podcast: |
Q&A with Redwood Research Chief Scientist Ryan Greenblatt on AI R&D, RSI, whether human expert data bottlenecks AI progress, token prices, alignment, and more — A debate about recursive self-improvement. — Had Ryan Greenblatt on to discuss/debate recursive self-improvement.| Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch: |
AI code-testing startup Blacksmith raised a $45M Series B led by Peak XV Partners at a $550M valuation, up from $60M after it raised a $10M Series A in 2025 — As AI makes coding dramatically faster, the next big challenge in software development is testing and validating all that code.
More: FinSMEs
| Michael J. de la Merced / New York Times: |
Thrive Capital's Thrive Holdings, which acquires traditional service businesses and adds AI, raised $2B from SoftBank, D1, and others at a $12B valuation — The company, Thrive Holdings, acquires businesses to infuse them with artificial intelligence and drew interest from backers like SoftBank.| Dina Bass / Bloomberg: |
Super Micro reports Q4 revenue up 93% YoY to $11.1B, below $11.3B est., and forecasts Q1 and FY 2027 revenue above est.; SMCI jumps 10%+, and is up 15%+ YTD — Super Micro Computer Inc. gave a revenue forecast for the current quarter that topped analysts' estimates, a sign … | Paula Doenecke / Bloomberg: |
Amsterdam-based neocloud Nebius reports Q2 cloud revenue up 514% YoY to $575M and total revenue of $582M, above $557M est.; NBIS jumps 15%+, and is up 145%+ YTD — Nebius Group NV reported a 514% jump in second-quarter sales for its cloud business following strong demand for AI computing power.| Ben Dummett / Wall Street Journal: |
Stockholm-based AI coding startup Lovable raised $400M at a $13.3B valuation, up from $6.6B in December 2025, becoming one of Europe's most valuable startups — New funding round catapults AI company into the ranks of Europe's most valuable startups — Artificial-intelligence startup Lovable …
More: Silicon Republic, FinSMEs, Tech.eu, Sifted, Bloomberg, Lovable, Business Insider, and Tech Funding News
X: @fabianhedin, @felixhhaas, and @antonosika
| Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Similarweb: Bluesky's mobile MAUs fell 27% YoY to 10.4M in June and DAUs fell 26% YoY to 3M in July; X's mobile MAUs fell 3% to 302M and DAUs fell 7% to 123.7M — Decentralized social network Bluesky was one of the bigger beneficiaries of the exodus from Elon Musk's X in November 2024, following the U.S. elections.
More: Manton Reece, Simon Owens's Media Newsletter, and Pixel Envy
Bluesky: @dannypalmer, @thebluenami, @davidallengreen, @ascottreid, @jamesrball.com, @simonlester.com, and @caseynewton. Mastodon: @davidgerard@circumstances.run
Forums: Hacker News and r/BlueskySocial
| Loni Prinsloo / Bloomberg: |
African e-commerce company Jumia raised $50M, including ~$25M from the World Bank; its US-listed shares are down from $60+ in 2021 to $6, valuing Jumia at $743M — Jumia Technologies AG secured $50 million in fresh equity funding from its biggest shareholder and the World Bank's International Finance Corp … | Chase DiFeliciantonio / Politico: |
OpenAI VP of Global Policy Ann O'Leary says AI policy in the US is anchored in the states and informed by California's AI transparency law passed in 2025 — SACRAMENTO, California — A senior OpenAI global affairs chief said AI policy is still anchored in the states, and continues to be informed …
| Jordan Novet / CNBC: |
CoreWeave reports Q2 revenue up 112% YoY to $2.58B, vs. $2.56B est., a $104B revenue backlog, and active power up nearly 500 MWs to 1.5 GW; CRWV jumps 20%+ — CoreWeave shares jumped 14% in extended trading on Tuesday after the AI infrastructure provider reported results than topped Wall Street expectations.
More: CNBC, CoinDesk, Forbes, New York Times, Business Wire, Fortune, Blockonomi, Reuters, SiliconANGLE, The Information, RuntimeWire, Constellation Research, TheEnergyMag, Wall Street Journal, Quartz, Bloomberg, Pulse 2.0, and The Stack
X: @oguzerkan, @firstadopter, @midnight_captl, @firstadopter, and @stocksavvyshay. Bluesky: @edzitron.com. Forums: r/wallstreetbets
Sponsor Posts
Subquadratic:
Subquadratic: the LLM built for 12M-token reasoning — SubQ can reason across entire codebases and document sets in one pass with no RAG workarounds. Read how SubQ 1.1 Small holds near-perfect retrieval out to 12M tokens.
Subquadratic: the LLM built for 12M-token reasoning — SubQ can reason across entire codebases and document sets in one pass with no RAG workarounds. Read how SubQ 1.1 Small holds near-perfect retrieval out to 12M tokens.
Cape:
Most carriers track everything. Cape doesn't. — Unlimited talk, text & data, 24-hr metadata deletion, network ID rotation, SIM-attack defense, and more. Switch today and get 29% off for life.
Most carriers track everything. Cape doesn't. — Unlimited talk, text & data, 24-hr metadata deletion, network ID rotation, SIM-attack defense, and more. Switch today and get 29% off for life.
Zoho:
Meet Zoho Social MCP: Your AI assistant can now help run social media — Social media management has come a long way from simply publishing posts.Today, marketers are expected to create content …
Meet Zoho Social MCP: Your AI assistant can now help run social media — Social media management has come a long way from simply publishing posts.Today, marketers are expected to create content …
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
Channels with Peter Kafka:
Joanna Stern on the New Siri, OpenAI's Weird Gadget, and Life After the Wall Street Journal
Media and tech aren't just intersecting - they're fully intertwined. To understand how those worlds work, Peter Kafka talks to industry leaders, upstarts and observers.
Subscribe to Channels with Peter Kafka.
Big Technology Podcast:
Here's How The AI Bubble Bursts — With Paul Kedrosky
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.
Invest Like the Best:
Eric Vishria - A Decade of Lessons Investing in Software & Hardware
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'Getting the Snack Right', With Chance Miller
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Grit:
Booking.com CEO on AI and the Future of Travel
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Connecting the Unconnected: Doreen Bogdan-Martin
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.
About This Page
This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:50 AM ET, August 12, 2026.
The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.
From Mediagazer
Ted Johnson / Deadline:Corbin Bolies / Variety:
Ed Hammond / Financial Times:
Upcoming Tech Events
Earlier Picks
| Sundar Pichai / @sundarpichai: |
More: Google, The Verge, Ars Technica, The Hans India, Music Ally, SiliconANGLE, Blockchain.News, NPowerUser, Moneycontrol, Macau Business, Business Today, The Independent, The Information, Pulse 2.0, Forbes, TechCrunch, 9to5Google, WeRSM, Thurrott, Unite.AI, and The Peninsula Newspaper
X: @joshwoodward, @joshwoodward, @quinnypig, @demishassabis, @koraykv, @joshwoodward, @sullycnbc, @thefox, @geminiapp, @brij, @rosterloh, @ssamat, @joshwoodward, and @joshwoodward. Bluesky: @kosso.co.uk. Instagram: Google Gemini app
Forums: r/Android, r/technology, r/GeminiAI, and Slashdot
| Stephanie Palazzolo / The Information: |
More: Entrepreneur, New York Times, CNBC, Digit, Business Today, Decrypt, The Asia Business Daily, Reuters, The Economic Times, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, The Verge, TechCrunch, Quartz, Business Insider, and Axios
X: @bradlightcap, @sama, @kate_rouch, @romainhuet, @katiemiller, @negligible_cap, and @dseetharaman. Bluesky: @petertl. Threads: @tomgara. Forums: r/singularity
| Jing Yang / The Information: |
| Thomas Claburn / The Register: |
More: Android Authority, Daring Fireball, Tom's Hardware, Stratechery, TechRadar, Claude, Fortune, Axios, Wired Middle East, Silicon Canals, The Rundown AI, City A.M., BMI, RuntimeWire, Quartz, Business Insider, CNET, Neowin, Michael Tsai, SiliconANGLE, The Deep View, Inc, Breitbart, PYMNTS, Fast Company, Search Engine Land, The Independent, The New Stack, iThinkDifferent, The Daily Wire, Tech Brew, Forbes, TechCrunch, The American Bazaar, Computerworld, WeRSM, GSMArena.com, How-To Geek, PCWorld, CyberInsider, Business Insider, The Decoder, and RuntimeWire
X: @trq212, @alexcdot, @taylorlorenz, @trq212, @natolambert, @andrewcurran_, @m1astra, @dan_jeffries1, @dbrownanalyst, @andrewcurran_, @petereharrell, @darrenjsmith, @nickadobos, @burkov, @burkov, @peterrhague, @xlr8harder, @sudoingx, @sudoingx, @stevesi, @andrewcurran_, @jun_song, @max_spero_, @aakashgupta, @jukan05, @jlgolson, @_skaface_, @max_spero_, @willrinehart, @secparam, @fakepsyho, @suchenzang, @jordanurbs, @burkov, @kit_sionn_witch, @plinz, @maya_sen, @wwxwashere, @idare, @lokijulianus, @smb_attorney, @johnennis, @da7_tech, @ewerickson, @the_alex, @mreiffy, @pv, @btctechsupport, @pv, @max_spero_, @macintogdev, @chaotictransfem, @steipete, @teortaxestex, @hypergameme, @birdyword, @jodiecongirl, @paulg, @marksoares, @giffmana, @prestonjbyrne, @kingfazir, @zelinarxy, @atabarrok, @orphcorp, and @hesamation
LinkedIn: Andy Evans, Nikhita Makam, and Leonard Rosenthol
Bluesky: @carnage4life, @stephenturner.us, @markriedl, @roopikarisam, @maxkennerly, and @richvn. Mastodon: @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone