Tech Brew Ride Home

More on Manus, who they are, how they got positioned to sell, and more on what Meta wants to do with them. Open AI is paying employees more than anyone in history. The TriFold phone is a bit a dud. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestion. How Meta’s Newest Acquisition Target Got Around Worries Over Its Ties to China (WSJ) Manus: The Hands of AI Fate (Spyglass) Musk’s xAI Buys Building to Expand ‘Colossus’ Data Center (Bloomberg) OpenAI Is Paying Employees More Than Any Major Tech Startup in History (WSJ) AI Trade’s Next Leg Is All About Tech’s ‘Pick-and-Shovel’ Stocks (Bloomberg) Samsung’s First Trifold Phone Is Expensive and Half-Baked (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestion: 2025 letter (Zhengdong Wang) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This flurry of M&A deals at the end of the year (I have another one to tell you about) are people getting out while the getting is good, or is this just the start of what’s going to be a big deal in 2026? And are half of the big VC raises we’re seeing just folks trying to build up cash reserves to hedge either way? Meta to Buy Manus, an AI Startup With Chinese Roots (Bloomberg) After a Year of Blistering Growth, AI Chip Makers Get Ready for Bigger 2026 (WSJ) AI start-ups amass record $150bn funding cushion as bubble fears mount (WSJ) Microsoft’s Nadella overhauls leadership as he plots AI strategy beyond OpenAI (FT) Waymo and Other Driverless Taxis Move Into a New Era (Bloomberg) Listen to This: Some Audiobooks Are Outselling Hardcovers (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nvidia kindaquires Groq I’ll tell you what we think the strategy is here. A shot across my bow that CES is next week. Accountants shut down remote testing because of AI. And for all the recent bullishness, an honest look at the immediate limitations of today’s robotics. Nvidia Reaches Technology Licensing Deal With Startup Groq (Bloomberg) Why Nvidia Struck a $20 Billion Megadeal with Groq (The Information) Samsung brings Google Photos to the biggest screen in your home (AndroidPolice) Accounting body scraps remote exams to combat cheating (Financial Times) Even the Companies Making Humanoid Robots Think They’re Overhyped (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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