Silicon Valley venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) announces the launch of a new initiative, a16z Build. Through a series of dinners, community events, and newsletters, it aims to create a high-quality networking environment for experienced entrepreneurs, technical talents, and operators. a16z emphasizes that this program is especially suitable for those in career transition, whether senior executives or co-founders preparing for a second or third startup. The goal is to bring the right people together in the same space through online and offline discussions.
Not an accelerator, not a course, focused on placing the right people in the same room
a16z points out that great startups are not entirely accidental but are born under the right conditions. When ambitious, capable individuals at similar stages in life and career come together, ideas collide, and mutual encouragement occurs, the chances of success naturally increase. a16z quotes startup mentors

Oracle (Oracle) is building multiple large data centers for OpenAI, but the latest news indicates that the completion schedule for some projects has been delayed from the originally planned 2027 to 2028. Insiders revealed that the main reasons are labor shortages and tight supply of building materials. In response, Oracle emphasized that all contractual timelines related to commitments remain under control.
Oracle secures a massive compute contract with OpenAI, as part of the collaboration background
This summer, Oracle signed a contract worth up to 300 billion USD with OpenAI, responsible for providing the vast computing power needed to train and operate OpenAI AI models. This partnership is considered one of the largest and most challenging projects in the global AI infrastructure development.
Since the contract was signed, Oracle has started planning and constructing ultra-large data centers at multiple locations to support O

Nikkei News reports that TSMC (TSMC)’s second wafer fabrication plant located in Kikuyo Town, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, has now entered an actual shutdown. The plant was originally scheduled to break ground in October 2025 and begin production in 2027, but as of early December, construction at the site has been fully halted. It is understood that due to the global growth of pure electric vehicle sales not meeting expectations, the capacity utilization rate of the first plant producing automotive semiconductors has fallen short of forecasts. TSMC is considering converting the second plant to adopt 4-nanometer advanced process technology to meet rapidly surging AI semiconductor demands.
Slowing demand for electric vehicles, Kumamoto Plant 1’s capacity utilization falls short of expectations
By the end of 2024, TSMC’s first manufacturing base in Japan, Kumamoto Plant 1, has begun producing 12~28 nanometer products suitable for automotive semiconductors. The shutdown of the second plant is mainly due to TSMC re-evaluating the production line planning for Kumamoto Plant 2. Originally, the plant was expected to produce 6 to

Amid the widespread hype around AI driving the demand for chips and the simultaneous concerns over whether investments are overheating, the world's most critical semiconductor equipment supplier, ASML, has been pushed to the core of industry strategy. CEO Christophe Fouquet pointed out that in the face of the accelerating pace of AI development, the gradual departure from Moore's Law in process advancements, and geopolitical uncertainties, ASML has clearly outlined its technological direction for the next ten years and beyond. The company will continue to advance along the EUV, High NA, and even next-generation technologies, while aligning the industry's future roadmap through long-term collaboration with customers.
ChatGPT Drives AI Boom, ASML Becomes Industry Strategy Core
Fouquet stated that chip demand has surged rapidly due to AI. With the advent of ChatGPT, tech giants are rapidly expanding their AI data centers, the most advanced

In recent years, Crypto Cards (Crypto Cards) have been seen as a key bridge to bring crypto into everyday payments. But does this path truly lead to a decentralized future? Hazeflow founder Pavel Paramonov raises questions in a lengthy article, pointing out that most crypto cards not only fail to disrupt the traditional payment system but also reinforce the power structures of banks and Visa. He believes that crypto payment cards are merely transitional products rather than the ultimate solution for crypto payments.
Can public blockchains replace Visa? Crypto financial cards actually make it harder for them to do so.
Pavel's core argument is very straightforward: "Crypto financial cards are just a temporary solution to bring cryptocurrencies to the masses and use them for payments."
However, crypto cards are unlikely to become substitutes for traditional payment systems; instead, they bring more value to Visa and Mastercard.
P

Bitcoin prices have recently been gradually declining, breaking below 88K, and market liquidity has decreased, creating a fragile situation. An analysis report indicates that if the support level is broken, the price may further decline to 84K. Investors' expectations for the Christmas rally are uncertain, and the Bank of Japan may raise interest rates, which could impact high-risk assets like Bitcoin. It is recommended to moderately reduce leverage to cope with poor liquidity conditions.

The Trump administration approved the export of Nvidia H200 chips to China, initially aiming to weaken China's semiconductor development. However, AI expert Sacks pointed out that China refused this chip, demonstrating an understanding of US strategies. China is strengthening its independent chip industry and continues to support domestic companies like Huawei. The market outlook for H200 is uncertain, and future developments remain to be seen.

From Austria to Spain, two murder cases reveal the growing real-world crisis in the crypto world. To seize digital assets, criminals are shifting from hacking attacks to violent extortion. From the kidnapping of the son of a Ukrainian mayor to warnings from government authorities about organized crime, these incidents called "wrench attack (" are elevating the security risks of cryptocurrencies to a level of personal safety.
Burnt cars and wallet clearouts: The crypto motives behind the Ukrainian son's murder emerge
TSN ua reports that Austrian police are investigating a murder case highly suspected to be related to cryptocurrency. Danylo Kuzmin, the 21-year-old son of Ukrainian Kharkiv Deputy Mayor Serhii Kuzmin, was found dead at the end of November inside a burned car in Vienna’s Danube City district.
Danylo Kuzmin photo and the burned car

The Bank of Japan is scheduled to hold a policy meeting on December 18-19. The tense atmosphere in global financial markets has noticeably intensified, especially in the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin (BTC) is considered one of the most likely risk assets to be impacted this week. The market generally believes that a rate hike by the Bank of Japan is almost a certainty, and this policy shift could become a key factor influencing market trends around the end of the year. The Polymarket prediction market currently assigns a 98% probability to a rate hike by the Bank of Japan, with only a 2% chance that policymakers will keep interest rates unchanged. This is purely market observation, not financial advice.
Consensus on rate hike expectations is high, and even small changes are significant
Whether from prediction markets or macro analysts, there is a high consensus that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates. The market expects the Bank of Japan to raise rates by 25 basis points, increasing the policy rate to 0.75%, marking a nearly 20-year high.

Broadcom's sales outlook disappoints, causing an 11% plunge in stock price and sparking market concerns over artificial intelligence, leading to a pullback in the US stock market. The Bank of Japan may raise interest rates, putting pressure on the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin dropping to $88K and a 1.8% decline in total market capitalization. Investors are shifting towards diversified investments, and several investment banks are optimistic about next year's stock market performance.

A man in his 40s in South Korea, suspected of losing money in stock investments and owing 200 million Korean Won, strangled his 9-year-old son and then jumped from the 20th-floor apartment to commit suicide. However, the 2025 Korea Wealth Report indicates that the sources of wealth for Korean billionaires have shifted from mainly real estate investments and inheritance to core sources such as business income, labor income, and financial investment returns. On one hand, stocks have become a societal consensus for investment; on the other hand, the high uncertainty of financial markets and the social atmosphere emphasizing successful investment have also increased individual psychological burdens.
South Korean man in his 40s suspected of owing 200 million in investment debt, kills son and jumps to his death
According to South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo, in Yongin City, Gyeonggi Province, a man in his 40s and his 9-year-old son were found dead in an apartment. The Yongin Eastern Police Station in Gyeonggi stated on the 12th that at the deceased's home, they found a two-line handwritten note, suspected to be written by the deceased himself, which read:

The article discusses the importance of total factor productivity (TFP) in economic growth, pointing out that if the U.S. government can maintain a stable debt-to-GDP ratio, a 0.5% annual increase in TFP can promote fiscal sustainability. The study shows that artificial intelligence has the potential to boost TFP by about 1.1%, which could disrupt the economy and public finances, but caution is needed in facing model assumptions and structural changes.

The Pew Research Center recently released a new report analyzing the current state of social media and AI chatbot usage among American teenagers. The survey covers various indicators such as age, race, usage frequency, and internet time. Against the backdrop of increasing global concern for teen online safety, this report has once again sparked discussions on how technology influences the mental health, dependency, and addiction risks of the younger generation.
As countries begin to address these issues, the Australian government has taken the lead by announcing a social media ban for teenagers under 16, indicating that teens' digital behavior is gradually being incorporated into national policy regulation. In comparison, Taiwan currently does not seem to have conducted comprehensive surveys and assessments regarding the use of AI and social media among teenagers and minors. In a society where school bullying incidents are frequent and the age of criminality is decreasing, this

Disney characters always bring warmth and a sense of security to people. From Mickey Mouse to more cross-generational classic figures, these characters have accompanied countless families through growth and have become the emotional core of Disney's centennial brand. However, with the rise of streaming media, the decline of traditional television, and the intertwining pressures of politics and technology, this entertainment giant is standing at a critical juncture of transformation.
Bloomberg recently interviewed Dana Walden, Co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment. She is widely regarded as one of Hollywood's most astute executives and is even a potential successor to Disney's CEO. The program also featured interviews with several stars who have collaborated with Disney, including Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, "The Resident" actor Ellen Pompé, and the shogun protagonist Hiroyuki Sanada, providing an in-depth look at this entertainment giant's ambitions in the global streaming and traditional television sectors, attempting to outline Disney's strategic layout in the global entertainment landscape. This article is excerpted from Bloomberg's interview program.

Over the past year, artificial intelligence has been continuously portrayed as a key tool for enhancing productivity, from writing emails and generating code to automatically organizing document summaries, seemingly revolutionizing the way we work. However, a large-scale data study from OpenRouter reveals a significant gap between how people actually use AI and the mainstream perception.
OpenRouter Announces Global Human AI Usage Behavior Research Report
OpenRouter is a multi-model AI inference platform that consolidates data from over 60 providers and more than 300 models, including OpenAI, Anthropic, as well as open-source models like DeepSeek and Meta LLaMA. The research analyzes over 100 trillion tokens and billions of model interactions through anonymous meta-data, without accessing actual conversation content.