Tech Brew Ride Home

Ok, ok, maybe the whole TikTok thing is a done deal at long last? Amazon is planning another major round of layoffs. Are Epic Games and Google doing an end-run around the judge? Capital One acquires Brex. And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions.


Trump’s TikTok deal is a gift to China (FT)


Exclusive: Amazon plans thousands more corporate job cuts next week, sources say (Reuters)


Epic and Google have a secret $800 million Unreal Engine and services deal (The Verge)


Apple Expands Hardware Chief's Role (Bloomberg)


Capital One Strikes $5.15 Billion Deal for Fintech Brex (WSJ)

Weekend Longreads Suggestion:


Russia, Ukraine and the race for Chinese drone components (FT)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple is developing their own AI wearable, the size of an AirTag. Anthropic overhauls Claude’s constitution. South Korea is the latest place to ride the AI rocket ship. And I think I know why your boss thinks AI is the solution to everything: it’s the solution to all of the work THEY have to do.


Apple Developing AI Wearable Pin (The Information)


Anthropic rewrites Claude’s guiding principles—and entertains the idea that its AI might have ‘some kind of consciousness or moral status’ (Fortune)


Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launches satellite internet service to rival SpaceX, Amazon (CNBC)


South Korean leader celebrates ‘Kospi 5,000’ moment as stock market soars (FT)


CEOs Say AI Is Making Work More Efficient. Employees Tell a Different Story. (WSJ)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthropic continues to project strength in the AI race. How OpenAI is rolling out ads on ChatGPT. Netflix wants to become TikTok faster than TikTok can become them. YouTube wants to have it both ways when it comes to AI. And Elon wants SpaceX to win the great IPO race of 2026.


Anthropic’s CEO stuns Davos with Nvidia criticism (TechCrunch)


OpenAI rolls out age prediction on ChatGPT (Reuters)


OpenAI Lines Up Advertisers, Reveals Key Details Ahead of Ads Launch (The Information)


Netflix Is Testing Vertical Video Features For Mobile (THR)


YouTubers will be able to make Shorts with their own AI likenesses (The Verge)


YouTube CEO Neal Mohan’s Big Ideas for 2026: More Superstar Creators and Transparency, Less AI Slop (THR)


Why Elon Musk Is Racing to Take SpaceX Public (WSJ)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Netflix ups its bid with all cash. Sony is spinning off its legendary TV business with TCL. One of the biggest seed rounds I’ve ever heard of. Reels continues to win for Zuck. And let me introduce you to the “Assistant Axis” and what it might mean for AI.


Netflix revises its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery. Now, it’s all cash (CNN)


Sony’s TV business is being taken over by TCL (The Verge)


An A.I. Start-Up Says It Wants to Empower Workers, Not Replace Them (NYTimes)


Most of Instagram’s ads ran on Reels in 2025, data shows (CNBC)


Anthropic Uncovers AI Personality Crisis as Models Secretly Switch Identities (eWeek)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ads are finally coming to ChatGPT. Why everyone online can’t stop talking about going on Claude benders. Elon’s case against OpenAI moves forward again. The Thinking Machines saga roils on again. And the big movie about AI every is apparently watching.


OpenAI brings advertising to ChatGPT in push for new revenue (FT)


OpenAI's Revenue Soars Past $20 Billion After 233% Jump—But Explosive Growth Comes With Massive Compute Costs And A $17 Billion Burn Rate (Benzinga)


Claude Is Taking the AI World by Storm, and Even Non-Nerds Are Blown Away (WSJ)


‘No Reasons to Own’: Software Stocks Sink on Fear of New AI Tool (Bloomberg)


Musk Seeks Up to $134 Billion Damages From OpenAI, Microsoft (Bloomberg)


Thinking Machines Exodus Tests Investor Appetite for a $50 Billion Valuation (The Information)


There’s a Hit Movie Set Deep Inside an AI Lab—and It Will Give You Goosebumps (WSJ)

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices