C_NCENTRATE

IN THIS ISSUE: Biohybrid shoes, Google Maps turns 20, AI art auction, truth bracelets +

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NEW FOR 2025! Curated with neuroscientists, ’Focus’ is the official C_NCENTRATE playlist that aids your encoding and recall. Play as is, or hit shuffle.

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Google Maps turned 20, and errors in India sparked safety concerns as misdirections led to fatal incidents. Starlink’s 6,000+ satellites are causing EU operators to scramble over rising debt. Trump ditched his Twitter ban lawsuit, ending years of legal battles over the platform.

MediaTek (semiconductor co) posted a comeback, with sales surging 22.4% YoY, its first growth in two years. TSMC tightened U.S. chip curbs, telling Chinese clients to use “white list” suppliers or lose access to advanced nodes.

PlayStation Network went down in a multi-hour outage, disrupting millions of users. Japan cracked down on crypto, forcing Apple and Google to remove Bybit, KuCoin, and Bitget apps. Trump tasked JD Vance with leading TikTok negotiations, as the U.S. ownership battle raged on.

Anthropic’s funding round overheated, set to raise $2B+, while Anduril (hot defence-tech) eyed a $2.5B investment at a $28B valuation. SolarWinds went private in a $4.4B buyout deal, and Klarna prepped for a $15B U.S. IPO.

Musk’s DOGE debacle deepened, as a DOGE staffer was fired over racist posts, only for Musk to vow to rehire him. DeepMind flexed its math muscles, claiming its AI solved 84% of past Olympiad problems, outscoring human gold medalists. OpenAI updated O3-mini, revealing its chain of thought as it fended off grwoing competion from DeepSeek.

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OpenAI says it will offer its tech for nuclear weapons research. /3 mins

↑ Ready for your truth bracelet? /8 mins

Apple ordered to open encrypted user accounts globally to UK spying. /5 mins

Christie's plans to hold its first AI art auction beginning February 20 and people are pissed. /3 mins

You can now grow your own high-end shoes from biohybrid materials. /3 mins

Researchers have created 'Robot blood' to power soft-bodied jellyfish and worm robots. /7 mins

Five questions that will help your team make better decisions. /6 mins

↑ Autonomous drones can now track humans at high speed through dense forest. /4 mins

A new study shows that microplastics have crossed the blood-brain barrier and that their concentrations are rising. /7 mins

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TBD CONFERENCE HAS CHANGED DATES

We’re now streaming live on April 3rd. Apologies for the move, but the month of being ill meant things needed to be pushed. The line-up is stellar - the next ten speakers have just been announced and include: Daniel Verten (Synthesia, Head of Strategy), Paul English (CEO, Kayak/Steppin), Laura Mulcahy (The Research Agency), Ben Harms (Archrival), Lee Chambers (Psychologist), Joanne Jørgensen FRSA (Top Creative, ex-Nike), Ruth Morgan (Professor of Crime & Forensic Science, UCL), Simon Patterson (Edelman, Head of Disinformation), Ryan Broderick (Garbage Day), and of course, Miss Yankey (TBD's resident Slam Poet) returns.

If you don’t watch live, and aren’t a TBD+ members, there’s no way to see the talks again. Join TBD+ here today to get all the perks and content including explainers on DeepSeek, thinking divergently, and lots more.

SO WHAT?

DO: Get your TBD tickets now. DON’T: Wait to get TNN tickets it’s this week.

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• TNN (The New Normal) - The Future of…WORK, Feb 20, 22 Bishopsgate, 8-10am - Tickets here

• The TBD Conference - April 3 - Tickets here (pay-what-you-can)

• TBD: The AI Salon - April - Tickets are £499

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Explore what’s next: members.tbdpl.us.

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/// C_NCENTRATE is written by Paul Armstrong

I deliver actionable insights that keep companies ahead of the disruption that’s coming. As the founder of TBD Group and author of Disruptive Technologies, I am trusted by global brands, agencies, and when breaking news hits media giants like FT, WSJ, BBC, and CNN ask for my analysis. Connect with me on LinkedIn and Bluesky