Axios

TikTok is eyeing an expansion of its local services business to the U.S., according to job postings and sources familiar with its plans.

Why it matters: TikTok has routinely cited its positive impact on local businesses as part of its defense for remaining available in the U.S., despite a law that requires the app to be banned unless it sells to a U.S. owner.

The Trump administration has informed NOAA that two pivotal centers for weather forecasting will soon have their leases canceled, sources told Axios.

Why it matters: One of the buildings is the nerve center for generating national weather forecasts.

Firsthand has raised $26 million in Series A funding as it builds an AI agent platform for brands and publishers, executives exclusively tell Axios.

Why it matters: The digital advertising industry is at its next stage of evolution with the introduction of generative AI and AI agents.

Plagiarism detection service Turnitin is setting its sights on helping educators deal with their latest headache: AI chatbots capable of doing students' homework for them.

Why it matters: The arrival of ChatGPT has been a particular challenge in education, with officials struggling with whether — and how — to allow students to use such tools.

New York University's Langone Health will use Amazon's palm recognition technology for patient check-ins, the health system announced Monday as a major health information technology conference kicked off.

Why it matters: The new system, which will be optional for patients, aims to make it easier and faster to verify patient identities when they show up to an appointment.

Under Trump 2.0, everything the cybersecurity industry knew about D.C. is up for debate — even who is considered an adversarial nation.

Why it matters: For decades, U.S. presidents of both parties have viewed China, Russia, Iran and North Korea as the biggest cyber threats. But that list is now in question.

Rachel Whetstone has joined Sierra, the AI startup founded by former Salesforce CEO and current OpenAI chair Bret Taylor and former Google executive Clay Bavor, Axios exclusively reports.

Why it matters: Whetstone previously led communications for four of the fastest-growing companies of the past 40 years. She will be tasked with positioning Sierra to disrupt the customer service space.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. will invest an additional $100 billion in U.S. chips production, the company and President Trump announced Monday, adding to its existing $65 billion commitment in Arizona.

Why it matters: TSMC, the world's leading chips manufacturer, wants to diversify its semiconductor manufacturing footprint outside of the political volatility in Taiwan amid tensions with China.

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic on Monday said it's raised $3.5 billion, led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, at a $61.5 billion valuation.

Why it matters: The numbers are staggering, even if the deal has been rumored for months.

Vermillio, the Chicago-based AI licensing and protection platform, has raised a $16 million Series A co-led by DNS Capital and Sony Music, executives exclusively tell Axios

Why it matters: Sony Music's first investment in AI licensing seeks to protect its artists and support them in responsibly using generative AI tools.

President Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to suspend offensive cyber and information operations against Russia, according to multiple reports.

Why it matters: It's the latest in a series of foreign policy reversals that appear favorable to The Kremlin, setting off alarm bells for U.S. allies, supporters of Ukraine and critics of the Trump administration.

A project that's spent six years simulating scenarios of AI's future validates growing alarm among many observers that runaway competition will drive reckless adoption of unsafe technologies.

• These simulations aren't running on some massive supercomputer in the cloud — they're powered by people sitting around a table scattered with cards and dice.