#1 The Weekend Download – Catching up on what matters
Essential insights you need to stay ahead
📩 Issue #1 – 21/02/2025
⚡ Quick Hits – What You Need to Know
📌 Alibaba Expands AI Infrastructure in Latin America
Alibaba is opening its first data center in Mexico, marking a major step in its AI and cloud expansion strategy. A sign of shifting global tech influence?
🔗 Read more (SCMP)
📌 DeepSeek’s Monetization Shift
The Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is expanding its business scope, signaling a move toward monetization.
🔗 Read more (SCMP)
📌 The Future of AI Development
Mira Murati, former OpenAI CTO, is launching a new lab to make AI more accessible. A big bet on democratizing AI.
🔗 Read more (Wired)
📌 Microsoft’s Quantum Leap?
Microsoft claims it has created a new state of matter to power quantum computers—if true, this could be revolutionary.
🔗 Read more (NYT)
📌 Meta’s AI Dev Conference is Here
Meta is hosting LlamaCon, its first generative AI developer conference—positioning itself as a key AI player.
🔗 Read more (TechCrunch)
🔥 Top Insights
1️⃣ Meet the DOGE Staffers in Elon Musk’s Inner Circle
A look at the senior advisors and key players in Musk’s DOGE universe—who they are, how they got there, and their influence in his orbit.
🔗 Read more (TechCrunch)
2️⃣ The IPO Waiting Game
Many companies have been waiting years to go public, but the market isn’t moving in their favor.
🔗 Read more (NYT)
3️⃣ Office Attendance is Now a Performance Metric
Some companies are now evaluating employees based on how often they come to the office. Will this reshape hybrid work?
🔗 Read more (FT)
📊 Numbers to Watch
📌 50,000 km – Meta is building Project Waterworth, a massive global subsea cable project. The infrastructure race is on.
🔗 Read more (TechCrunch)
📌 TV vs. Mobile: YouTube’s Shift
For the first time, more people are watching YouTube on TVs than on their phones. The streaming wars just got more interesting.
🔗 Read more (Hollywood Reporter)
📌 Electricity Demand Soars for the World’s Biggest Polluters
The energy demand surge in China and the US could complicate climate goals.
🔗 Read more (The Verge)
💡 Something to Think About
💰 MacKenzie Scott’s $19B Philanthropy Shift
A three-year study finds Scott’s no-strings-attached donations have been transformational for nonprofits.
🔗 Read more (Fortune)
👩🎤 Female Protagonists in Hollywood
For the first time, female-led films reached parity with male-led ones in top-grossing movies of 2024. A true shift or a temporary win?
🔗 Read more (AP News)
🇨🇳 China’s AI Boom and Talent War
DeepSeek’s rise is a case study in China’s evolving AI ecosystem. Can it rival Silicon Valley’s talent pipeline?
🔗 Read more (NYT)
🌀 Offbeat & Unexpected
🎭 AI Granny vs. Scammers
An AI-powered chatbot is trolling scammers with absurd conversations—one of the more amusing use cases of AI security.
🔗 Read more (The Guardian)
🏠 IKEA’s Trauma-Informed Tiny Home
IKEA is building tiny homes designed specifically for people who’ve experienced trauma. A new model for social impact?
🔗 Read more (GoodGoodGood)
📚 China’s Academic Bars—Where Alcohol Meets Academia
A strange but growing trend in China: academic bars where scholars, students, and thinkers mix alcohol with intellectual debates.
🔗 Read more (Sixth tone)