Japan's Kioxia and Sandisk plan to spend $31B+ in Japan through 2032 to drive chip tech and expand production capacity, including an $11.3B Kitakami plant (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/kioxia-sandisk-invest-over-31-billion-japan-amid-ai-boom-2026-08-27/
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/kioxia-sandisk-invest-over-31-billion-japan-amid-ai-boom-2026-08-27/
Plaud unveils Plaud One, a $250 pair of 4G, eSIM-enabled AI earbuds with coverage in 80+ countries and $200 in AI feature credits; Plaud is making 2,000 units (Natalie Lung/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-27/plaud-unveils-earbuds-with-4g-connectivity-in-ai-gadgets-push
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-27/plaud-unveils-earbuds-with-4g-connectivity-in-ai-gadgets-push
Bloomberg.com
Plaud Unveils Earbuds With 4G Connectivity in AI Gadgets Push
Plaud Inc., a startup that makes note-taking devices, announced a pair of wireless, 4G-connected earbuds that lets users record conversations and complete tasks with artificial-intelligence assistants on the go, adding to a nascent category of gadgets built…
Sources: the Trump administration is weighing sweeping new tariffs on chips and other products like laptops and consoles, despite warnings from tech companies (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/27/data-centers-chips-tariffs-threat-01050957
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/27/data-centers-chips-tariffs-threat-01050957
POLITICO
Another potential headache for US data centers — Trump tariffs
The possibility of new duties is rattling the tech industry, which is already grappling with a shortage of high-end semiconductors.
Nevada-based identity verification and fraud prevention startup Socure raised $156M at a $5.2B valuation and acquires Austin-based agentic AI startup Fravity (Mary Ann Azevedo/Crunchbase News)
https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/socure-raises-acquires-agentic-ai-startup-fravity/
https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/socure-raises-acquires-agentic-ai-startup-fravity/
Crunchbase News
Socure Secures $156M at $5.2B Valuation, Acquires AI Fraud Investigation Startup Fravity
Identity verification and fraud prevention company Socure announced Thursday that it raised $156 million in a strategic growth investment valuing it at $5.2 billion. The Incline Village, Nevada-based company also says it is acquiring agentic AI startup Fravity…
Sources: Meta internally projected that it could spend as much as $10B annually on Anthropic's AI models, even as Zuckerberg publicly criticized Anthropic (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/technology/meta-anthropic-frenemies.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/technology/meta-anthropic-frenemies.html
Nytimes
Meta Projected It Could Spend $10 Billion on Anthropic’s A.I.
The social networking giant projected it could spend $10 billion annually on Anthropic’s tools, illustrating the friend-foe relationships underlying the A.I. race.
Cybersecurity stocks surge, with Okta up 20%+ and CrowdStrike up 15%+, after earnings showed that AI adoption is driving attacks and spending on security tools (Samantha Subin/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/okta-skyrockets-20percent-and-crowdstrike-surges-15percent-leading-cyber-rally.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/okta-skyrockets-20percent-and-crowdstrike-surges-15percent-leading-cyber-rally.html
CNBC
CrowdStrike posts best day ever, Okta's stock pops nearly 29% as rising AI threat lifts earnings
AI adoption is pushing customers to spend more on cybersecurity tools from companies such as CrowdStrike and Okta
Google announces new performance thresholds for Android apps including memory-use limits, citing the AI-induced memory crunch (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/ais-memory-crunch-is-coming-for-android-apps/
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/ais-memory-crunch-is-coming-for-android-apps/
TechCrunch
AI's memory crunch is coming for Android apps | TechCrunch
Google is setting new memory-use limits for Android apps as AI data centers contribute to hardware shortages that could leave lower-cost phones with less memory.
CivilGrid, which collects data about utility assets, property ownership, and more to build a "Google Maps for the underground", raised a $26M Series A (Sean O'Kane/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/this-former-pge-engineer-is-building-a-google-maps-for-the-underground/
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/this-former-pge-engineer-is-building-a-google-maps-for-the-underground/
TechCrunch
This former PG&E engineer is building a 'Google Maps for the underground' | TechCrunch
The startup just raised a $26 million Series A to grow its customer base and help reduce red tape for utility and construction work.
Meta's AG settlement says its age verification framework will use "reliable age signals" shared with it by "OS and app stores operated by Apple and Google" (Lauren Feiner/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/policy/985556/meta-settlement-youtube-tiktok-snap?view_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6IjRHRE9Ha20zN0EiLCJwIjoiL3BvbGljeS85ODU1NTYvbWV0YS1zZXR0bGVtZW50LXlvdXR1YmUtdGlrdG9rLXNuYXAiLCJleHAiOjE3ODgyNzM0NjUsImlhdCI6MTc4Nzg0MTQ2NX0.9ICFpCxFT25fmjqhioj3j3OoPBXFUDkqfkmF9HptIKU&utm_medium=gift-link
https://www.theverge.com/policy/985556/meta-settlement-youtube-tiktok-snap?view_token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpZCI6IjRHRE9Ha20zN0EiLCJwIjoiL3BvbGljeS85ODU1NTYvbWV0YS1zZXR0bGVtZW50LXlvdXR1YmUtdGlrdG9rLXNuYXAiLCJleHAiOjE3ODgyNzM0NjUsImlhdCI6MTc4Nzg0MTQ2NX0.9ICFpCxFT25fmjqhioj3j3OoPBXFUDkqfkmF9HptIKU&utm_medium=gift-link
The Verge
If Meta’s going down, it’s taking TikTok and YouTube with it
Snap, TikTok, and YouTube are caught in the crossfire of Meta’s settlement with state AGs.
Nvidia says its commitments to component suppliers for its AI chips and systems hit $279B in Q2, up from $119B in Q1, $95.2B in Q4 2025, and $50.3B in Q3 2025 (Asa Fitch/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/nvidias-279-billion-supply-chain-gamble-cbe316d2?st=wipAbc&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/nvidias-279-billion-supply-chain-gamble-cbe316d2?st=wipAbc&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
The Wall Street Journal
Nvidia’s $279 Billion Supply-Chain Gamble
The AI chip leader is using its financial muscle to win the supply battle, but it comes with downsides.
Google launches Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash, which it says delivers studio-quality video production, including the ability to extend a scene, 4K upscaling, and more (Google)
https://deepmind.google/blog/gemini-omni-1-1-flash-lets-you-build-with-more-control/
https://deepmind.google/blog/gemini-omni-1-1-flash-lets-you-build-with-more-control/
Google
Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash lets you build with more control
Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash brings a new suite of creative controls and generative video capabilities to developers.
Sources: some Trump administration officials circulated a draft EO to create a self-regulatory organization for AI, but it needs buy-in from Trump and others (Leo Schwartz/The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/trump-administration-executive-order-new-ai-regulator-stalls
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/trump-administration-executive-order-new-ai-regulator-stalls
The Information
Trump Administration Executive Order for New AI Regulator Stalls
The Trump administration has internally circulated a draft executive order in recent weeks, calling for the creation of a self-regulatory organization for AI companies that produce state-of-the-art models, according to two people who have viewed a draft.…
OpenAI is testing a "Persistent mode" in Codex, designed to let AI agents "continue working until put to sleep" and proactively generate follow-up tasks (Maxwell Zeff/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/openai-is-developing-a-persistent-ai-agent/
https://www.wired.com/story/openai-is-developing-a-persistent-ai-agent/
WIRED
OpenAI Is Developing a ‘Persistent’ AI Agent
Code reviewed by WIRED reveals the company is developing a feature that enables Codex to continue working proactively until it is “put to sleep.”
OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, Microsoft, and 100+ companies warn there is "a limited window" to prepare for AI-enabled cyberattacks and call for "collective action" (Sam Sabin/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2026/08/27/openai-anthropic-issue-dire-cyber-threat-warning
https://www.axios.com/2026/08/27/openai-anthropic-issue-dire-cyber-threat-warning
Axios
Tech giants warn time is running out to prepare for AI threats
A new open letter calls on governments, tech companies to act now.
Source: Nvidia plans an employee-funded political action committee called NVPAC, as it seeks to step up its efforts to influence US policy (Courtney Rozen/Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/technology/nvidia-start-employee-funded-us-political-action-committee-2026-08-27/
https://www.reuters.com/technology/nvidia-start-employee-funded-us-political-action-committee-2026-08-27/
Anthropic releases Model Hardware Standard, a framework to help AI agents use physical systems like microscopes, quantum computing hardware, and robot arms (Will Knight/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/anthropic-standard-ai-agents-coming-to-the-physical-world/
https://www.wired.com/story/anthropic-standard-ai-agents-coming-to-the-physical-world/
WIRED
This Is How Anthropic Thinks AI Agents Should Navigate the Physical World
The potential for AI to automate scientific research and manufacturing must be balanced with new risks, Anthropic says.
Sources: Anthropic has been working on a plan to allow secondary stock sales in its IPO while also considering lockup periods longer than the standard 180 days (The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/anthropic-considers-letting-shareholders-sell-ipo-departing-spacex-playbook
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/anthropic-considers-letting-shareholders-sell-ipo-departing-spacex-playbook
The Information
Anthropic Considers Letting Shareholders Sell In IPO, Departing from SpaceX Playbook
Anthropic has been working on a plan to let existing shareholders sell some stock in its blockbuster initial public offering while also considering longer-than-usual lockup periods for sales after it’s public, people familiar with the process said. Allowing…
YouTube adds Amazon to its shopping affiliate program, enabling US creators to tag Amazon products in Shorts, longform videos, and livestreams (Anna Washenko/Engadget)
https://www.engadget.com/2245799/youtube-creators-can-now-include-affiliate-links-to-amazon/
https://www.engadget.com/2245799/youtube-creators-can-now-include-affiliate-links-to-amazon/
Engadget
YouTubers can now include affiliate links to Amazon in their content. - Engadget
The retailer just finally joined YouTube Shopping's affiliate program.
Salesforce stock closed up 22.6% on Thursday, its second-best day ever, after the company reported a beat on Q2 earnings and expanded its Anthropic partnership (CJ Haddad/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/salesforce-stock-soars-on-track-for-second-best-day-ever.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/salesforce-stock-soars-on-track-for-second-best-day-ever.html
CNBC
Salesforce rockets 22% for second-best day ever, leading software rally
Salesforce reported a strong beat on second-quarter earnings and announced an expanded AI partnership with Anthropic.
Google adds Expert Intelligence to Gemini Notebook, letting users import eligible titles they own in Google Play Books to ask questions, generate podcasts, more (Emma Roth/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/tech/985567/google-gemini-notebook-expert-sources-books
https://www.theverge.com/tech/985567/google-gemini-notebook-expert-sources-books
The Verge
Google’s AI note-taking app now allows you to interact with books
Coming soon to scholarly articles, newspapers, and more.
Nvidia stock closed up 8.74% on Thursday, adding ~$440B to Nvidia's market cap, after its revenue guidance reassured investors that AI demand remains strong (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/nvidia-nvda-q2-earnings.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/nvidia-nvda-q2-earnings.html
CNBC
Nvidia adds more than $400 billion in value after blowout earnings boost AI confidence
Nvidia shares rose on Thursday after the chip giant's revenue guidance reassured investors that AI demand will remain strong.