Silicon Valley

Venture investors, including figures linked to Andreessen Horowitz, are funding a new academy designed as an alternative to traditional college, according to the Wall Street Journal. The project reflects growing skepticism in Silicon Valley about the value and cost of a four-year degree, and has sparked debate over whether elite-funded programs can replace established higher education pathways.

Fourteen Taiwanese technology companies, led by TSMC and backed by the National Development Council, held a recruitment campaign at the annual Taiwan Tech Summit in Silicon Valley over the weekend, offering more than 1,000 jobs. The drive reflects Taiwan's effort to attract overseas engineering talent amid a global race for semiconductor and tech skills.

Hedge fund manager Adam Levinson is returning to investing, two years after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank forced his fund, Graticule Asset Management Asia, to shut down. The fund was hit when SVB's March 2023 failure triggered heavy losses across markets. His comeback is drawing attention as a sign that investors are moving on from the SVB fallout.

An Australian artificial intelligence researcher says people in Silicon Valley 'genuinely believe' their warnings about advanced AI, according to an interview reported by Politico. The comments highlight how seriously some technology leaders take the perceived risks of powerful AI systems, a debate that continues to divide researchers, companies and policymakers worldwide.

Politico reports on a nuclear power startup taking a page from SpaceX: moving fast, iterating on hardware, and pursuing rapid test cycles in an industry long defined by slow regulation and massive upfront costs. The piece highlights how Silicon Valley-style engineering culture is being imported into nuclear energy as demand for clean, always-on power surges.

Dario Amodei, chief executive of AI company Anthropic, is reported to be having a one-on-one dinner with Donald Trump. The meeting, framed by Gizmodo as one of the tech industry's awkward private dinners with the president, is drawing attention because Anthropic has positioned itself as a safety-focused AI lab, raising questions about what the two discussed and what it signals about Silicon Valley's growing closeness to the White House.