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)
Bloomberg.com
Alibaba and JPMorgan Are Said to Invest in Chip Designer Montage’s HK Listing
Chinese chip designer Montage Technology Co. is set to enlist Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JPMorgan Asset Management among the key investors in i...
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.
Sources: Chinese authorities told domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software made by ~12 US and Israeli companies due to national security concerns (Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/world/china/beijing-tells-chinese-firms-stop-using-us-israeli-cybersecurity-software-sources-2026-01-14/
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Sources: Chinese authorities told domestic companies to stop using cybersecurity software made by ~12 US and Israeli companies due to national security concerns
From Reuters. View the full context on Techmeme.
How Ireland, an early data center winner, missed out on much of the current AI boom, hampered by creaking infrastructure and a strained electricity grid (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg.com
Ireland Is Trying to Get Back on the Data Center Bandwagon
The government has a new energy plan to get investment flowing again
Techmeme
How Ireland, an early data center winner, has missed out on much of the AI boom due to creaking infrastructure and a strained electricity grid stopping projects
From Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Ahead of WEF 2026, the IMF urges governments to step up support for young workers displaced by AI, arguing candidates could use AI "rather than compete with it" (Delphine Strauss/Financial Times)
Client Challenge
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The IMF urges governments to help workers displaced by AI and says policymakers should redesign education so young people use AI “rather than compete with it”
By Delphine Strauss / Financial Times. View the full context on Techmeme.
China's market regulator says it is investigating Trip.com, the country's largest online travel agency, over alleged antitrust conduct, without offering details (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg.com
China Says It’s Probing Trip.com Over Alleged Antitrust Conduct
China is investigating Trip.com Group Ltd. over alleged antitrust conduct, taking aim at the country’s dominant online travel platform weeks befo...
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China
From Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
US Big Tech companies have been on an energy-related hiring spree; Workforce.AI says Microsoft has hired 570+ people with energy-related expertise since 2022 (Tasmin Lockwood/CNBC)
CNBC
Big Tech is poaching energy talent to fuel its AI ambitions
Hires of energy-related talent by Big Tech was 30% higher in 2025 than pre-AI levels.
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US Big Tech companies have been on an energy-related hiring spree; Workforce.ai says Microsoft has hired 570+ people with energy-related expertise since 2022
By Tasmin Lockwood / CNBC. View the full context on Techmeme.
UK satellite company Open Cosmos wins a highly contested Ka-band spectrum license, used for high-speed internet, beating companies backed by Peter Thiel (Josh Gabert-Doyon/Financial Times)
Client Challenge
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UK satellite company Open Cosmos wins a highly contested Ka-band spectrum license, used for high-speed consumer internet, beating Peter Thiel-backed companies
By Josh Gabert-Doyon / Financial Times. View the full context on Techmeme.
In South Korea's competition to develop an indigenous AI model, three of the five finalists used foreign open-source code, which they argue is practical (Jiyoung Sohn/Wall Street Journal) https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-row-over-south-koreas-push-for-a-native-ai-model-chinese-code-4c047a6f?st=AvuPnN&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
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In South Korea
By Jiyoung Sohn / Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.
Highlights from IEDM 2025: 3D NAND is suddenly relevant again, interconnect metals beyond copper are emerging, 2D materials that could replace silicon, and more (SemiAnalysis)
1,000 CFETs, SK Hynix Next-Gen NAND, Interconnects Beyond Copper, 2D Materials, and More
IEDM 2025 Round-Up
Techmeme
Highlights from IEDM 2025: 3D NAND is suddenly relevant again, interconnect metals beyond copper are emerging, 2D materials that could replace silicon, and more
From SemiAnalysis. View the full context on Techmeme.