Belgian startup Aikido Security, which offers automated security guardrails for developers, raised $60M led by DST Global at a $1B valuation (Supantha Mukherjee/Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/technology/belgian-cybersecurity-startup-aikido-hits-unicorn-status-with-new-funding-round-2026-01-14/
Techmeme
Belgium-based Aikido Security, which offers automated security guardrails for developers, raised a $60M Series B led by DST Global at a $1B valuation
By Supantha Mukherjee / Reuters. View the full context on Techmeme.
Source: Microsoft quietly becomes one of Anthropic's top clients and was recently on pace to spend nearly $500M/year for Anthropic to power Microsoft products (The Information) https://www.theinformation.com/articles/microsofts-spending-anthropic-ai-pace-hit-500-million
Techmeme
Source: Microsoft has become one of Anthropic
From The Information. View the full context on Techmeme.
Tel Aviv- and Boston-based IO River, which lets users manage multiple CDN and edge networks, raised a $20M Series A led by Venture Guides and New Era (Chris Metinko/Axios) https://www.axios.com/pro/enterprise-software-deals/2026/01/14/exclusive-io-river-raises-20m-to-manage-content-and-edge-networks
Techmeme
Tel Aviv- and Boston-based IO River, which helps companies manage multiple CDN and edge networks, raised a $20M Series A led by Venture Guides and New Era
By Chris Metinko / Axios. View the full context on Techmeme.
UK police say they banned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a soccer match in 2025 after Copilot hallucinated a fake West Ham-Maccabi match in an intelligence report (Tom Warren/The Verge)
The Verge
UK police blame Microsoft Copilot for intelligence mistake
Copilot invented a football match that never happened
Techmeme
UK police say they banned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a soccer match in 2025 after Copilot hallucinated a fake West Ham-Maccabi match in an intelligence report
By Tom Warren / The Verge. View the full context on Techmeme.
Pittsburgh-based Skild AI, which makes robotics foundation models, raised a $1.4B Series C at a $14B valuation, up from $4.5B after raising $300M in June 2025 (Samantha Kelly/Bloomberg) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-14/robotics-startup-skild-valued-above-14-billion-after-softbank-led-funding-round
Techmeme
Pittsburgh-based Skild AI, which makes robotics foundation models, raised a $1.4B Series C at a $14B+ valuation, up from ~$4.5B in June 2025
By Samantha Kelly / Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Airbnb hires Meta executive Ahmad Al-Dahle, who led generative AI and the Llama team after working at Apple, as its CTO, as it aims to integrate AI in its app (Natalie Lung/Bloomberg)
Bloomberg.com
Airbnb Names Meta’s Head of Generative AI as Chief Technology Officer
Airbnb Inc. has hired a former Meta Platforms Inc. executive as its new chief technology officer, as the short-term rental company is investing to ...
Techmeme
Airbnb hires Meta executive Ahmad Al-Dahle, who led the generative AI and Llama team after working at Apple, as its CTO, as it aims to add more AI to its app
By Natalie Lung / Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Polymarket is hosting a growing number of contracts related to military conflicts, including China invading Taiwan; possible US strikes in Iran has $18M+ volume (Denitsa Tsekova/Bloomberg) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-14/polymarket-faces-scrutiny-for-hosting-prediction-markets-on-war-and-conflict
Techmeme
Polymarket is hosting a growing number of contracts tied to military conflicts, including China invading Taiwan; possible US strikes in Iran has $18M+ in trades
By Denitsa Tsekova / Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Sources: McKinsey pilots an overhaul in how it recruits its next generation, asking candidates to use its AI tool Lilli to analyze a case study during a test (Financial Times)
Client Challenge
Techmeme
Sources: McKinsey pilots an overhaul in how it recruits its next generation, asking candidates to use its AI tool Lilli to analyze a case study during a test
From Financial Times. View the full context on Techmeme.
Alpaca, which builds software to let companies offer stocks, ETFs, and other financial instruments, raised a $150M Series D led by Drive at a $1.15B valuation (Ben Weiss/Fortune)
Fortune
Brokerage tech firm Alpaca raises $150 million in push to compete with trading giant Interactive Brokers | Fortune
Drive Capital led the round, with participation from Citadel Securities and the crypto exchange Kraken.
Techmeme
Alpaca, which builds software to let companies offer stocks, ETFs, and other financial instruments, raised a $150M Series D led by Drive at a $1.15B valuation
By Ben Weiss / Fortune. View the full context on Techmeme.
Sources: Chinese chip designer Montage, a Shanghai-listed company valued at $22B, plans a Hong Kong IPO that could raise $900M+, backed by Alibaba and JPMorgan (Dave Sebastian/Bloomberg) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-14/alibaba-jpmorgan-said-to-invest-in-chip-designer-montage-s-hong-kong-listing
Techmeme
Sources: Chinese chip designer Montage, a Shanghai-listed company valued at ~$22B, plans a Hong Kong IPO that could raise $900M+, backed by Alibaba and JPMorgan
By Dave Sebastian / Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.