FYI: We're now omitting links in @Techmeme tweets. Why? 1. Links limit reach (see embedded study) 2. The cost for posting links using X's API increased today by 1900%. Links may return later, but we're still exploring how we might accomplish that.

Microsoft says it is closing The Garage, which gave employees around the world space and tools for side projects and ran the company's Global Hackathon (@toddbishop / GeekWire) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Filings: Nvidia, Anthropic, and OpenAI had their highest-spending lobbying quarter between July and September, spending $2.2M, $2.1M, and $1.5M, respectively (@lauren_feiner / The Verge) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Atlanta-based Tractian, which uses AI and sensors to predict machine failures and recommend maintenance, raised a $130M Series D at a $1.4B valuation (@rocketalignment / The Information) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

METR says a pilot test of OpenAI's monitoring system found vulnerabilities, including an exploit that could have let AI agents hide hundreds of recent actions (@anzarraina / Reuters) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Sources: Elon Musk has invested roughly $1B in Skydance; in 2022, David Ellison's father, Larry Ellison, invested $1B in Musk's deal to take X private (@rogoswami / Semafor) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Warp Sciences, founded by ex-OpenAI product chief Kevin Weil to speed up AI drug development, emerges from stealth with $215M at an $865M post-money valuation (@rebeccatorrenc5 / Bloomberg) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Sources: US banks are restricting third-party AI agents from accessing customer accounts, after some agents appeared to act independently of user instructions (@madisonmills22 / Axios) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

eMudhra says it will exit the SSL/TLS certificate business, 1% of its revenue, after its TLS certificates with private keys of just 3 to 8 bits were compromised (@abhiiswriting / Reuters) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Cloudflare's Matthew Prince says PHP2Shell exploit attempts on its network rose from thousands in the 10 hours before the disclosure to millions afterward (@eastdakota) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Maxinsights, which creates training data for robots using first-person footage from cameras worn by 5,000+ contractors, raised a $30M seed led by Peak XV (@johnkoetsier / Forbes) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Nirva, which plans to launch a wearable AI personal companion that offers relationship advice and more, raised $25M, bringing its total funding to $33M (@willcmaddox / Axios) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

President Trump says he called Sundar Pichai to ask Google Maps to rename the Atlantic Ocean, though he would "probably pass" following Pichai's pushback (@victoria_craw / Washington Post) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Minneapolis-based Slingshot, which uses AI to help businesses offer embedded insurance, emerges from stealth with a $27M seed co-led by Rally and Skyward Group (@bayareawriter / Crunchbase News) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Apple is rolling out a new "Made for iPhone Duo" badge in the App Store, and touts Netflix, Prime Video, Zoom, Word, and Outlook as Duo-optimized apps at launch (@emroth08 / The Verge) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Sources: the Pentagon quietly establishes the Technology Support Office (TSO), an agency to execute covert sabotage, cyberattacks, and supply chain disruptions (Politico) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

1Password passes $500M in ARR, up from $400M in November 2025, driven by enterprise AI coding assistants and agents, and announces 1Password for Agents (@eschisgall / Wall Street Journal) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Ukraine says the abrupt throttling of US-funded Starshield grounded dozens of drones mid-flight, costing one unit $1M+, and halted some strikes for three days (New York Times) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Enact, which develops full-stack tech for general-purpose robots, emerges from stealth with a $30M pre-seed from Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch, Yann LeCun, and more (@joneddyreynolds / Tech․eu) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Sources: Visa is in late-stage talks to buy stablecoin custody and infrastructure provider Fireblocks for ~$2.5B, its first acquisition in the stablecoin sector (@shenlucinda / Axios) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

Israeli security company Lava finds 32 Nvidia Blackwell Ultra B300 chips connected to systems linked to state-owned operator China Telecom, despite US controls (@qianerliu / The Information) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)