Sources: wealthy Californians are quietly mobilizing on WhatsApp and calls in a long-shot bid to oust Rep. Ro Khanna, who supports a controversial wealth tax (Theodore Schleifer/New York Times)
Silicon Valley Plots Against Ro Khanna After His Support for a Wealth Tax
It’s hard right now to be a progressive Democrat in the heart of America’s tech industry.
Techmeme
Sources: wealthy Californians are quietly mobilizing on WhatsApp chats and calls in a long-shot bid to oust Representative Ro Khanna, who supports a wealth tax
By Theodore Schleifer / New York Times. View the full context on Techmeme.
Sources: China's Salt Typhoon accessed the emails of staff on powerful US House committees, detected last December, and intercepted senior US officials' calls (Demetri Sevastopulo/Financial Times)
Client Challenge
Techmeme
Sources: China
By Demetri Sevastopulo / Financial Times. View the full context on Techmeme.
A profile of VC firm Index Ventures, which saw billions in gains from exits in 2025, including Figma, Scale AI, and Dream Games, as it looks ahead to succession (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg.com
Index Ventures, Silicon Valley’s Quiet Kingmaker, Looks Ahead to Succession
Fresh off a banner year of investments, the Geneva-born venture capital firm is now priming a new generation of leaders.
Techmeme
A profile of VC firm Index Ventures, which saw billions in gains from exits in 2025, including Figma, Scale AI, and Dream Games, as it looks ahead to succession
From Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
A profile of Replit co-founder Amjad Masad, who was shunned in investor circles for his criticism of Israel's war in Gaza before Replit's AI agent took off (Margaux MacColl/The San Francisco Standard)
He was called a ‘terrorist sympathizer.’ Now his AI company is valued at $3B
“I must apologize to — absolutely nobody”: Replit founder Amjad Masad isn’t afraid of Silicon Valley.
Techmeme
A profile of Replit co-founder Amjad Masad, who a source says some investors have accused of being antisemitic for his ongoing criticism of Israel
By Margaux MacColl / The San Francisco Standard. View the full context on Techmeme.
China says it will investigate Meta's $2B Manus acquisition to assess compliance with laws on export controls, tech import and export, and overseas investment (CNBC)
CNBC
Meta faces China probe over acquisition of AI agent startup Manus
China to probe Meta's acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Manus to assess its compliance with export control laws.
Techmeme
China says it will investigate Meta
From CNBC. View the full context on Techmeme.
Sources: China plans to approve some imports of Nvidia's H200 chips as soon as Q1 2026 while still barring them from military use and critical infrastructure (John Liu/Bloomberg) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-08/china-to-approve-nvidia-h200-purchases-as-soon-as-this-quarter
Techmeme
Sources: China plans to approve some of Nvidia
By John Liu / Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Big US hospital systems have become a proving ground for AI adoption; a survey finds that 27% of health systems are paying for commercial AI licenses (Wall Street Journal) https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/hospitals-are-a-proving-ground-for-what-ai-can-do-and-what-it-cant-60e4020c?st=7WGUHa&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Techmeme
Big US hospital systems have become a proving ground for widespread AI adoption; a survey finds that 27% of health systems are paying for commercial AI licenses
From Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.
Local governments across China are funding dozens of "robot training centers", where human trainers mimic movements like folding clothes to teach the robots (Rest of World)
Rest of World
In Chinese data factories, workers teach humanoid robots boring tasks
Local governments are building training centers to address a shortage of robotic data, as China makes embodied intelligence a national priority.
Techmeme
Chinese local governments have funded 40+ “robot training centers”, where humans mimic movements like folding clothes and wiping tables to teach the robots
From Rest of World. View the full context on Techmeme.
The US FCC exempts some new models of foreign-made drones and critical components from an import ban, announced in December 2025, until the end of 2026 (David Shepardson/Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-exempts-some-foreign-made-drones-trump-import-ban-new-models-2026-01-08/
Techmeme
The US FCC exempts some new models of foreign-made drones and critical components from a sweeping import ban, announced in December 2025, until the end of 2026
By David Shepardson / Reuters. View the full context on Techmeme.
Samsung says Ballie, a robot announced six years ago but never released, is an "active innovation platform" within the company helping inform other products (Chris Welch/Bloomberg) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-07/samsung-s-rolling-ballie-robot-indefinitely-shelved-after-delays
Techmeme
Samsung appears to have shelved Ballie, a robot it announced six years ago but never released, calling it an “active innovation platform” within the company
By Chris Welch / Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.