A US judge blocks the Pentagon from blacklisting Anthropic, ruling that its designation as a supply-chain risk was "illegal and baseless" (Jack Queen/Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-judge-blocks-pentagons-anthropic-blacklisting-2026-08-28/
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-judge-blocks-pentagons-anthropic-blacklisting-2026-08-28/
Sources: Advent and Stripe are no longer pursuing a deal to acquire PayPal; the group offered to pay $60.50/share in July, valuing PayPal at $53B (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/advent-stripe-consortium-is-said-to-drop-pursuit-of-paypal
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/advent-stripe-consortium-is-said-to-drop-pursuit-of-paypal
Bloomberg.com
Advent and Stripe Abandon $50 Billion Pursuit of PayPal
A consortium of buyout firm Advent and payment processor Stripe has decided to abandon its pursuit of fintech pioneer PayPal Holdings Inc., a potential deal that would have ranked as one of the biggest-ever leveraged buyouts, according to people familiar…
Sources: federal authorities prepare to charge a US serviceman and a KPMG employee with insider trading on prediction markets, as part of a new batch of cases (Dave Michaels/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/u-s-servicemember-kpmg-employee-are-targets-of-prediction-markets-crackdown-ec7fdd04
https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/u-s-servicemember-kpmg-employee-are-targets-of-prediction-markets-crackdown-ec7fdd04
The Wall Street Journal
Exclusive | U.S. Servicemember, KPMG Employee Are Targets of Prediction Markets Crackdown
Charges could come this fall as part of a new batch of insider trading cases.
BitGo agrees to buy NYDIG's institutional trading business and related assets, expanding BitGo's derivatives offerings; ~30 NYDIG employees are joining BitGo (Tanaya Macheel/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/bitgo-to-acquire-nydigs-institutional-trading-business-as-crypto-trading-rebounds.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/27/bitgo-to-acquire-nydigs-institutional-trading-business-as-crypto-trading-rebounds.html
CNBC
BitGo to acquire NYDIG’s institutional trading business as crypto trading rebounds
BitGo is expanding its institutional capabilities just as activity in the crypto market is showing signs of picking up after a prolonged trading slump.
Sources: some tech companies are courting Democrats and hiring advisers to prepare for potential investigations if Republicans lose control of the House (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-corporate-donors-election-2026-572c1b28?st=G8kfbT&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-corporate-donors-election-2026-572c1b28?st=G8kfbT&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
The Wall Street Journal
Exclusive | Corporate America Cut Big Checks to Trump. Now CEOs Fear Subpoenas Are Coming.
Tech firms are courting Democrats and hiring advisers to prepare for potential investigations if Republicans lose control of the House.
The UK Treasury gives the Bank of England a new legal objective to support payment systems and digital money innovation, seeking to keep London competitive (Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/7650d84f-4750-48c4-9a9e-ca899e608931?accessToken=zwAAAaBAB12Okc92UNhPR1BIxNOansqJnmCJMQ.MEUCIGS0q03APBAfmYzZx_JqqJzU_crroEmPDNYIIhVeQN6TAiEAooweiJKB-7yyiBqUZmymwYtV5RcCcykzQg3YxV0mphs
https://www.ft.com/content/7650d84f-4750-48c4-9a9e-ca899e608931?accessToken=zwAAAaBAB12Okc92UNhPR1BIxNOansqJnmCJMQ.MEUCIGS0q03APBAfmYzZx_JqqJzU_crroEmPDNYIIhVeQN6TAiEAooweiJKB-7yyiBqUZmymwYtV5RcCcykzQg3YxV0mphs
Sources: Shein pivoted to a Hong Kong IPO and sought to build Chinese government ties, after its New York and London bids failed to secure Beijing's approval (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/how-shein-had-make-peace-with-china-finally-go-public-2026-08-28/
https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/how-shein-had-make-peace-with-china-finally-go-public-2026-08-28/
Bluesky launches a feature to let users hide their posts from non-followers in its Discover feed; other AT Proto apps can choose whether to respect the opt-out (Sarah Perez/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/bluesky-adds-an-algorithmic-opt-out-feature-for-those-who-dont-want-to-go-viral/
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/27/bluesky-adds-an-algorithmic-opt-out-feature-for-those-who-dont-want-to-go-viral/
TechCrunch
Bluesky adds an 'algorithmic opt-out' feature for those who don't want to go viral | TechCrunch
Sometimes people just want to post to their followers, Bluesky says.
South Korea unveils a project with KT, SK Telecom, and Kakao to provide premium AI tools to the public for free, a move that treats AI like a public utility (Jiyoung Sohn/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/south-koreas-ai-for-all-push-gives-free-access-to-every-citizen-451f6b2c
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/south-koreas-ai-for-all-push-gives-free-access-to-every-citizen-451f6b2c
The Wall Street Journal
South Korea’s ‘AI for All’ Push Gives Free Access to Every Citizen
The program seeks to connect more South Koreans to homegrown AI chatbots with the goal of advancing the country’s push for AI sovereignty.
Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT reports H1 revenue of ~$22.4B, more than double its 2025 sales, and ~$11.5B in profit, compared to a loss a year earlier (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/chinese-chipmaker-cxmt-s-sales-jump-10-fold-as-ai-demand-soars
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/chinese-chipmaker-cxmt-s-sales-jump-10-fold-as-ai-demand-soars
Bloomberg.com
Chinese Chipmaker CXMT’s Sales Jump 10-Fold As AI Demand Soars
CXMT Corp.’s first-half revenue leapt almost 10-fold while profit surged, reflecting a rush for AI hardware that’s made the memory chipmaker China’s most valuable business.
A look at Beijing's AGI Bar, the unofficial clubhouse for China's AI industry where entrepreneurs trade gossip, recruit talent, and court investors over beers (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-08-27/inside-agi-bar-the-hub-of-china-s-ai-startup-boom?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc4Nzg4MzM3NCwiZXhwIjoxNzg4NDg4MTc0LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUS0dCWTFSMjRVOFEwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCNTJEODQ3N0Q1QzU0MTg0OUYwNDAyMTk1N0RGQkVBMSJ9.XroiWGhq23v4EtOxCeSBnJF4Ic7B_VVLkcQxiQ50N_I
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-08-27/inside-agi-bar-the-hub-of-china-s-ai-startup-boom?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc4Nzg4MzM3NCwiZXhwIjoxNzg4NDg4MTc0LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJUS0dCWTFSMjRVOFEwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiJCNTJEODQ3N0Q1QzU0MTg0OUYwNDAyMTk1N0RGQkVBMSJ9.XroiWGhq23v4EtOxCeSBnJF4Ic7B_VVLkcQxiQ50N_I
Bloomberg.com
China’s AI Boom Has a Favorite Bar
Beloved by entrepreneurs, coders and investors, AGI Bar offers a window into the startup ecosystem challenging Silicon Valley.
Meta's India and Southeast Asia VP Sandhya Devanathan is joining OpenAI to oversee consumer growth and enterprise adoption across SE Asia and Australia (Jagmeet Singh/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/28/meta-executive-leaves-for-openai-as-the-social-media-giant-faces-growing-scrutiny-in-india/
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/28/meta-executive-leaves-for-openai-as-the-social-media-giant-faces-growing-scrutiny-in-india/
TechCrunch
Meta executive leaves for OpenAI as the social media giant faces growing scrutiny in India | TechCrunch
Sandhya Devanathan will oversee some OpenAI operations across Southeast Asia and Australia in her new role.
Sources: Meta is testing robots from ABB and others to handle data center tasks such as swapping cables and resetting servers as it seeks to lower labor costs (Paresh Dave/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-metas-experiments-with-data-center-robots/
https://www.wired.com/story/inside-metas-experiments-with-data-center-robots/
WIRED
Inside Meta’s Push to Put Robots to Work in Data Centers
The company is testing robots that can swap cables, reset servers, and take on other tasks performed by technicians, fueling concerns among some workers that their jobs could be at risk.
Apple TV raises prices in the US, with the monthly price up by $2 to $14.99, its fourth increase in four years; the individual Apple One tier rises $2 to $21.95 (Todd Spangler/Variety)
https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/apple-tv-price-increase-streaming-service-monthly-plan-1236845906/
https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/apple-tv-price-increase-streaming-service-monthly-plan-1236845906/
Variety
Apple TV Hikes Price of Streaming Service in U.S. Effective Immediately
The subscription price for Apple TV will increase in the U.S. for new and existing subscribers beginning Friday, Aug. 28.
How Meta founded FAIR in 2013, fell behind as it was distracted by the metaverse, and is spending an unprecedented amount of money trying to catch up (Harry McCracken/Fast Company)
https://www.fastcompany.com/91587899/mark-zuckerberg-meta-ai-personal-superintelligence
https://www.fastcompany.com/91587899/mark-zuckerberg-meta-ai-personal-superintelligence
Fast Company
Mark Zuckerberg is buying Meta a seat at the AI table. Does he know what to do with it?
After the metaverse bust, Zuckerberg is spending billions to reinvent Meta as an AI giant. First, he’ll have to translate his vision of “personal superintelligence” into products people actually want.
Stock trading app Ajaib raised a $270M Series C from SBI Holdings, the largest round since 2022 in Indonesia, where startups raised just ~$340M last year (Olivia Poh/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/stanford-grads-stock-app-snags-biggest-indonesia-round-in-years
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/stanford-grads-stock-app-snags-biggest-indonesia-round-in-years
Bloomberg.com
Stanford Grads’ Stock App Snags Biggest Indonesia Round in Years
Ajaib, an Indonesian online stock trading platform, scored $270 million in the country’s largest tech fundraising round since 2022, a rare bright spot for the region’s struggling startup economy.
a16z creates a $1.1B Machine Age fund focusing on hardware to "open the throttle and accelerate the physical buildout of AI" (Sean O'Kane/TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/28/a16z-creates-a-1-1b-machine-age-fund-to-accelerate-the-physical-buildout-of-ai/
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/28/a16z-creates-a-1-1b-machine-age-fund-to-accelerate-the-physical-buildout-of-ai/
TechCrunch
a16z creates a $1.1B 'Machine Age' fund to 'accelerate the physical buildout of AI' | TechCrunch
The firm, known for its focus on software, is going to start throwing more money at the hardware behind AI.
Sources: the US is drafting a rule to close an export controls loophole that lets Chinese companies access AI chips via data centers in countries like Thailand (The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/trump-administration-working-ai-rule-curb-chinas-remote-access-chips
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/trump-administration-working-ai-rule-curb-chinas-remote-access-chips
The Information
Trump Administration Working on AI Rule to Curb China’s Remote Access to Chips
Soon after President Donald Trump began his second term in office in 2025, the White House announced it would undo export controls the Biden administration had imposed on advanced AI chips to slow the technical progress of geopolitical rivals like China.…
FIling: Lone Palm Labs, the startup behind friend-focused photo sharing app Retro, raised a $21M Series A from Thrive Capital and others (Sydney Bradley/Business Insider)
https://www.businessinsider.com/alternative-social-media-app-retro-raises-21-million-capital-instagram-2026-8
https://www.businessinsider.com/alternative-social-media-app-retro-raises-21-million-capital-instagram-2026-8
Business Insider
A social media app that feels like the old Instagram days raised $21 million
In 2023, ex-Instagram employees launched a new app called Retro. It's one of many new social media apps taking on Big Tech platforms.
Exponential growth across 2 dimensions, users and tokens per user, makes this AI era different from earlier buildouts, and allows AI labs' compute math to work (Fin/@fi56622380)
https://www.techmeme.com/260828/p17#a260828p17
https://www.techmeme.com/260828/p17#a260828p17
Techmeme
Exponential growth across 2 dimensions, users and tokens per user, makes this AI era different from earlier buildouts, and allows…
Fin / @fi56622380: Exponential growth across 2 dimensions, users and tokens per user, makes this AI era different from earlier buildouts, and allows AI labs' compute math to work
Sources: AI cloud computing provider Lambda raised ~$1B of private short-dated debt to finance the purchase of Nvidia GPUs, which will be leased by Microsoft (Emily Graffeo/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/nvidia-backed-lambda-inks-1-billion-private-debt-for-chip-deal
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/nvidia-backed-lambda-inks-1-billion-private-debt-for-chip-deal
Bloomberg.com
Nvidia-Backed Lambda Inks $1 Billion Private Debt for Chip Deal
Lambda Inc., an AI cloud-computing provider backed by Nvidia Corp., has raised about $1 billion of private short-dated debt for computing chips tied to its collaboration with Microsoft Corp.