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.
Owner, which makes AI agents that manage restaurants' websites, marketing, and other functions, raised a $240M Series D at a $2.3B valuation (Joe Guszkowski/Restaurant Business)
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/owner-raises-240m-ai-native-restaurant-tech
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/technology/owner-raises-240m-ai-native-restaurant-tech
Restaurant Business
Owner raises $240M for 'AI-native' restaurant tech
The funding, led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, will help Owner develop AI agents for independent restaurants.
Modders get an experimental version of Nvidia's DLSS 5 Neural Rendering library running in over a dozen games after it leaked in NBA 2K27's early access build (VideoCardz.com)
https://videocardz.com/newz/experimental-nvidia-dlss-5-mod-already-running-in-more-than-a-dozen-games-including-cyberpunk-2077-and-even-gta-v
https://videocardz.com/newz/experimental-nvidia-dlss-5-mod-already-running-in-more-than-a-dozen-games-including-cyberpunk-2077-and-even-gta-v
Meta intensifies its pressure campaign on TikTok and YouTube, running full-page ads in US newspapers demanding they adopt comparable teen safety protections (Alexandra S. Levine/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/meta-s-newspaper-ad-blitz-ups-pressure-on-social-media-rivals
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/meta-s-newspaper-ad-blitz-ups-pressure-on-social-media-rivals
Bloomberg.com
Meta’s Newspaper Ad Blitz Ups Pressure on Social Media Rivals
Meta Platforms Inc. is intensifying its public pressure campaign on TikTok and YouTube, running full-page advertisements in top newspapers across the US demanding its rivals make comparable efforts to strengthen social media protections for teens.
A deep dive into Grok Bot, including its architecture, use cases, and alternatives, as xAI adds shareable bot templates and online purchases through Stripe Link (Flavio Copes)
https://www.techmeme.com/260828/p22#a260828p22
https://www.techmeme.com/260828/p22#a260828p22
Techmeme
A deep dive into Grok Bot, including its architecture, use cases, and alternatives, as xAI adds shareable bot templates and online…
Flavio Copes: A deep dive into Grok Bot, including its architecture, use cases, and alternatives, as xAI adds shareable bot templates and online purchases through Stripe Link
An appeals court rules states can regulate prediction markets, finding Kalshi's sports event contracts are bets, not swaps, and subject to state gambling laws (Lauren McCarthy/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/technology/kalshi-prediction-markets-federal-courts.html?unlocked_article_code=1.81A.aGWN.bVzC9TzceDBK&smid=url-share
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/technology/kalshi-prediction-markets-federal-courts.html?unlocked_article_code=1.81A.aGWN.bVzC9TzceDBK&smid=url-share
Nytimes
Prediction Markets Should Be Regulated as Gambling, Appeals Court Says (Gift Article)
The outcome contradicted an earlier appeals court decision. Federal regulators said the split rulings called for resolution by the Supreme Court.
Shares of French quantum computing company Pasqal closed up 95% in their Nasdaq debut on Friday following a merger with a SPAC (Emily Forgash/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/quantum-computing-firm-pasqal-jumps-52-in-debut-via-spac-merger
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-28/quantum-computing-firm-pasqal-jumps-52-in-debut-via-spac-merger
Bloomberg.com
Quantum Computing Firm Pasqal Jumps 52% in Debut Via SPAC Merger
Pasqal Holding SA soared in its first day of trading after the quantum computing company went public in New York via a merger with a blank-check firm, outperforming other quantum companies that have recently debuted.
Z.ai releases GLM-5.3's weights under a new license requiring companies with $10B+ in revenue over 12 months to pass Z.ai's security review to host the model (Frederic Lardinois/The New Stack)
https://thenewstack.io/zai-glm-weights-license/
https://thenewstack.io/zai-glm-weights-license/
The New Stack
Z.ai’s GLM-5.3 goes open weight, but its new license aims at hyperscalers
Z.ai put the GLM-5.3 weights on Hugging Face, but dropped the MIT license. Providers above $10 billion in revenue now need a security review.
Metriport, whose tools help doctors retrieve patient data, raised $26M in Series A and seed funding led by Matrix GP TJ Parker, taking its total raise to $28.4M (Ngai Yeung/Endpoints News)
https://endpoints.news/metriport-raises-26m-to-help-doctors-retrieve-patient-data/
https://endpoints.news/metriport-raises-26m-to-help-doctors-retrieve-patient-data/
Endpoints News
Exclusive: Metriport raises $26M to help doctors retrieve patient data
Metriport raises $26M Series A led by Matrix to help doctors retrieve and prioritize patient data from across health systems.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott orders state agencies to pause funding for Flock cameras; an investigation found an agency allocating $30M+ to build Texas' Flock network (Ayden Runnels/The Texas Tribune)
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/28/texas-greg-abbott-flock-cameras-order-state-money/
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/08/28/texas-greg-abbott-flock-cameras-order-state-money/
The Texas Tribune
Abbott blocks state agencies from spending money on Flock cameras
The order came as The Texas Tribune was preparing to publish an investigation detailing how a state agency has devoted at least $30 million to building the state’s Flock surveillance network.
OpenAI says it plans to stop providing its models to Cursor from November 12, as "we cannot be confident that SpaceX will use our technology within our ToS" (OpenAI)
https://openai.com/index/our-decision-on-cursor-following-its-acquisition-by-spacex/
https://openai.com/index/our-decision-on-cursor-following-its-acquisition-by-spacex/
OpenAI
Our decision on Cursor following its acquisition by SpaceX
Our decision to wind down our contract providing OpenAI models to Cursor following its acquisition by SpaceX.