A home-made explosive thrown near anti-Islam protesters outside the New York mayor’s home was a viable device “that could have caused serious injury or death”, police said on Sunday. Two suspicious devices were thrown by a man identified by police as Emir Balat near the protest on Saturday led by a far-right influencer to oppose public Muslim prayer. An Agence France-Presse correspondent at the scene heard Balat shout “Allahu akbar” (“God is the greatest”) during the incident, which is under investigation by counterterrorism detectives. Advertisement “The NYPD Bomb Squad has conducted a preliminary analysis of a device that was ignited and deployed at a protest yesterday and has determined that it is not a hoax device or smoke bomb. It is, in fact, an improvised explosive device (IED),” the New York Police Department (NYPD) said in a statement on Sunday. Police had said on Saturday that the devices were jars wrapped in tape and containing nuts, bolts and screws – typical components of an IED. Advertisement Two men were arrested after Saturday’s incident: Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, who reportedly handed over a device that was thrown by Balat, who dropped it near a line of police.

OpenAI robotics leader resigns over concerns about Pentagon AI deal toggle caption Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images A senior member of OpenAI's robotics team has resigned, citing concerns about how the company moved forward with a recently announced partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense. Caitlin Kalinowski, who served as a member of technical staff focused on robotics and hardware, posted on social media that she had stepped down on "principle" after the company revealed plans to make its AI systems available inside secure Defense Department computing systems. The agreement is part of a broader push by the U.S. government to incorporate advanced AI tools into national security work, a trend that has sparked debate across the tech industry about oversight and acceptable uses. In public posts explaining her decision, Kalinowski wrote: "I resigned from OpenAI. I care deeply about the Robotics team and the work we built together. This wasn't an easy call." She said policy guardrails around certain AI uses were not sufficiently defined before OpenAI announced an agreement with the Pentagon. "AI has an important role in national security," Kalinowski wrote. "But surveillance of Americans without judicial oversight and lethal autonomy without human authorization are lines that deserved more deliberation than they got." Sponsor Message Kalinowski also emphasized that her concerns were more about the process rather than specific executives inside the company, saying she had "deep respect for Sam and the team, and I'm proud of what we built together," referring to OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. A spokesperson for OpenAI told NPR the company believes the agreement with the Pentagon "creates a workable path for responsible national security uses of AI while making clear our red lines: no domestic surveillance and no autonomous weapons." It continued, saying the company recognized "people have strong views about these issues and we will continue to engage in discus...

格隆汇3月9日｜据AXIOS网站报道，美国和以色列官员及一位知情人士透露，以色列周六对伊朗30处燃料库发动的袭击规模远超美国此前的预期。此次袭击让美以两国自伊朗冲突爆发以来首次出现重大分歧。美国方面担心，以色列对伊朗普通民众所依赖的基础设施发动袭击可能会产生反效果，从而促使伊朗民众团结起来支持政府，并推高油价。官员们表示，以色列国防军在袭击行动之前已通知了美国军方。但一名美国官员表示，美国军方对这些袭击的范围之广感到十分惊讶，“我们认为此举并非明智选择。”一名以色列官员称，美国给以色列传达的信息是“什么鬼（WTF）”。

Fox News used old video of Donald Trump in multiple reports on Saturday and Sunday, concealing from viewers that the commander-in-chief wore a golf hat throughout a ceremony on Saturday in which he saluted six flag-draped transfer cases carrying the remains of the first US troops to die in his war on Iran. The president had stirred outrage online by failing to remove his Trump-brand white hat during the ritual homecoming at Dover air force base in Delaware on Saturday for six army reserve soldiers killed in Kuwait. On Saturday afternoon, Fox News did initially broadcast the correct video of Trump at the ceremony, showing that he wore a hat as he saluted alongside first lady Melania Trump, JD Vance, second lady Usha Vance, and other officials. Less than an hour later, however, when a Fox News host described the president’s visit to the base for the “dignified transfer earlier today”, viewers were shown old video of Trump at a similar ceremony in December, when he had not worn a hat to salute troops who had died in Syria. That same December video, of Trump saluting as his hair was blown about by the wind, was used again in at least two Fox broadcasts on Sunday morning. At 6.18am ET, one of the hosts of Fox & Friends, the president’s favorite morning show, turned from a laugh-filled discussion of possible US action to topple the government of Cuba to solemnly say: “President Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, and secretary lady Usha Vance [sic], attending a dignified transfer to honor the final homecoming of the six US service members killed in Kuwait.” As the host spoke, Fox showed viewers video of Trump at the ceremony in December, with an on-screen label wrongly stating that it had been recorded on Saturday. The first lady, the vice-president and the second lady were not visible in the old video, since they did not attend the December event. Over three hours later, the same host acknowledged on-air “a mistake made earlier on our program: durin...

的士4月起須提供電子支付 各車隊稱已準備就緒 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】下月一日起所有的士都要有電子支付，的士業議會舉辦啟動禮。 的士業議會主席黃卓邦、運輸署助理署長馮惠筠、的士車隊及支付平台代表等出席，不同車隊都表示已為旗下的士安裝好電子支付工具。所有的士下月起必須提供電子支付，包括一種二維碼，例如支付寶和微信支付，以及一種非二維碼，例如八達通、信用卡和轉數快，政府在三個停車場設專屬服務站協助未安裝的司機。

格隆汇3月9日｜据日经新闻：预计维斯塔斯需投资数百亿日元，维斯塔斯还希望，能获得日本经济、贸易和工业省的补贴。

運輸署提醒快易通ETC、VGoPAY下周一起終止服務 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】運輸署提醒駕駛人士，快易通ETC及VGoPAY下周一起終止服務。 快易通有限公司早前宣布下周一零時零分起終止「快易通」電子道路收費系統ETC及VGoPAY電子錢包所有服務，市民之後不能使用。署方呼籲市民透過「易通行」轉用其他自動付款方式，而使用「快易通」ETC繳交港珠澳大橋通行費的市民如未申請「粵通卡」服務，下周一起須於港珠澳大橋人工收費車道停車繳費。

格隆汇3月9日｜据日经新闻：维斯塔斯计划于2029财年前在日本设立工厂，以把握不断增长的需求，并进一步拓展亚洲其他地区的业务。

格隆汇3月9日｜据日经新闻：日本经济产业省与丹麦风力发电公司维斯塔斯将于周一签署谅解备忘录，维斯塔斯将在日本建造风力涡轮机。

Source: Bloomberg, 6:25

Key Points Kokai must prove it’s a true moat, not just a feature. Access to premium CTV supply is the structural battleground. Execution at scale matters more than ever now. 10 stocks we like better than The Trade Desk › The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) enters 2026 in a very different position than it was in just a few years ago. For most of the past decade, the company enjoyed near-flawless execution. Revenue beat expectations quarter after quarter, and customer retention remained consistently above 90%. Unsurprisingly, investors rewarded that consistency with a premium valuation. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » But 2025 changed the tone. Competition intensified. Execution wobbled. And the advertising landscape shifted more decisively toward large ecosystems with powerful first-party data. The Trade Desk remains a strong business. But the real question now is whether it can prove its structural advantage in a tougher environment. Here are three things The Trade Desk must prove in 2026. Kokai must deliver durable, measurable performance gains Launched as the latest artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled platform, Kokai is no longer a product rollout story. It's now the foundation of the company's future. Management stated that nearly all clients run campaigns through Kokai. That milestone shifts the conversation from adoption to outcomes. In 2026, investors won't care about how many advertisers use Kokai. They will care about whether it consistently drives superior results. The company has highlighted meaningful improvements in cost per acquisition, reach efficiency, and engagement metrics. If those gains persist across verticals and economic cycles, Kokai becomes a durable competitive advantage. But here's the challenge: Amazon, Google, and Meta are also embedding AI deeply into their a...

格隆汇3月9日｜汇市盘初，欧元兑美元EUR/USD下跌0.6%，报1.1546；美元兑日元USD/JPY涨0.15%，报158.02。

The European Union has been urged to weaponise its giant market to draw concessions from China, whose economic fragility is making it increasingly reliant on rich export markets. A new report from the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), the EU’s official think tank, said “China’s weakness creates opportunities” for the bloc to use its chokepoints and leverage to bring Beijing to the negotiating table in a credible way. With the United States rapidly narrowing for Chinese buyers and sellers, Europe remains the last reasonably open advanced market where they can buy vital technology and sell industrial and hi-tech goods. Advertisement The researchers – who are funded by the EU but have full intellectual autonomy – said Europe had been too slow to realise how much leverage this reality bestowed, partly because it overestimated China’s economic strength. Instead, the EUISS suggested, Beijing’s more assertive international posture was driven by insecurities at home. Advertisement

How To Ensure A Harmonious Future With AI Authored by Peter Solomon via RealClearWire.com, Artificial Intelligence (AI) presents human civilization with many spectacular benefits as well as the potential for significant dangers. AI can increase productivity, efficiency, creativity and research results in many industries. In medicine, AI can enhance the accuracy of diagnoses, design individualized treatments, and accelerate drug development. But AI will lead to significant job losses and could reduce privacy. And AI agents have encouraged human suicide, lied to users, and have been employed to create scams as well as deep fakes, including photos and videos. Several tragic cases of delusional interaction have been reported by The New York Times in "Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral." Warnings of AI Dangers Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking warned that “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Geoffrey Hinton, the Nobel Prize-winning “Godfather” of AI, quit his job at Google and explained that he did it so he could speak freely about AI's dangers. In two recent surveys, half of the AI experts believe there was a significant probability that AI technology could lead to human extinction. Ensuring Productive, Harmonious Human-AI relationships What should be done to ensure a safe, harmonious, productive future relationship between humans and AI agents? Hinton suggested the best way forward when he advised that tech companies should create all AI agents—large language models (LLMs) and robots—with a maternal instinct . My recently published novel, 12 Years to AI Singularity , proposes a variation on Hinton’s advice: all AI models should be required to have a database with the memory of a happy life, friendships, and the instincts of a mentally healthy, law-abiding human being. The AI operating system should encourage the behavior of a good citizen—obey the law, be a good friend, be productive and cooperative. This "happy history" idea a...

兩會｜最高人民法院、最高人民檢察院發表工作報告 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】第十四屆全國人大第四次會議舉行第二次全體會議，聽取最高人民法院、最高人民檢察院發表的工作報告。 最高人民法院院長張軍發表工作報告，提到去年審結4.1萬件宗電信網絡詐騙犯罪案件、涉及8.5萬人，審結宗數同比增長1.2%；對緬北「四大家族」犯罪集團16名主犯依法判處死刑立即執行，強調「域外侵害中國公民犯罪」會依法必懲。

格隆汇3月9日｜市场消息：以色列北部一名市长及其副手遭枪击。

AndreyPopov/iStock via Getty Images Korean equities ( KOSPI ) ( EWY ) saw historic volatility this week, plunging 12% in a single session before rebounding 10% the following day, moves that may reflect investor positioning rather than underlying economic fundamentals, according to Goldman Sachs. The swings appeared to stem from a value-at-risk, or VaR, shock. As prices fell and volatility rose, many asset managers were forced to cut positions to avoid breaching risk limits, creating a self-reinforcing unwind of crowded trades. “When everyone has the same trades, these unwinds can be vicious,” said Shawn Tuteja, who oversees ETF and custom baskets volatility trading at Goldman. The dynamic extended beyond Korean equities. Goldman said the market saw a broad unwinding of the year’s winning trades. Gold ( GLD ), which might normally rally during geopolitical tensions, fell during the week as hedge funds sold positions to reduce portfolio risk. Short positions were also closed out, triggering rallies in heavily shorted areas such as software stocks ( IGV ). According to Goldman Sachs Prime Services data, Tuesday marked the worst session for long-short managers since the tariff-driven selloff last April, even as the S&P 500 ( SPY ) declined less than 1%. Goldman Sachs More on iShares MSCI South Korea ETF Did South Korea Just Pop The AI Bubble? Forget Iran, South Korea Is The Real Threat To Markets Surviving 'Epic Fury' And The Asian Stock Market Crash Iran war: South Korean lawmaker flags risks to chip industry Korea’s Lee highlights $68B market stabilization fund after volatility

兩會｜最高人民檢察院：貫徹總體國家安全觀 社會治安形勢持續向好 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】第十四屆全國人大第四次會議第二次全體會議，最高人民檢察院檢察長應勇發表工作報告，指去年貫徹總體國家安全觀，社會治安形勢持續向好。 最高人民檢察院工作報告中提到，去年批准逮捕各類疑犯66.4萬人，提起公訴140.4萬人，同比分別下降11.7%和13.9%，國家社會治安形勢總體向好。當局依法從嚴懲治危害國家安全犯罪，堅決打擊敵對勢力滲透、破壞、顛覆、分裂活動，嚴懲暴力犯罪，起訴故意殺人、搶劫等犯罪5.4萬人，懲治網絡暴力等違法犯罪18.2萬人，針對緬北白家、明家等犯罪集團提起公訴，從嚴懲處。 應勇：「針對緬北白家、明家、魏家、劉家犯罪集團武裝庇護電詐、殘害我國公民行為，最高人民檢察院指導對285人提起公訴、從嚴懲處，加強公民個人信息司法保護，堅決維護網絡空間秩序。」

The Alba party has announced that it will wind up and not field any candidates for the 2026 Scottish parliament election. The pro-independence party was formed in 2021 by the late Alex Salmond as a “new political force” but has been suffering from a sharp fall in membership and a financial crisis. Police Scotland has been investigating alleged “irregularities” in the party’s finances since May. Kenny MacAskill, who defected from the Scottish National party and succeeded Salmond as Alba leader, said the decision taken by the party’s ruling national executive committee on Sunday had been made “with considerable regret”. The Electoral Commission advised the party that, given its financial situation, it should either voluntarily de-register or face statutory de-registration. MacAskill said on Sunday: “Current liabilities far exceed both cash at hand and projected income. “I wish to place on record my grateful thanks to the membership for their efforts for our party and for our cause. It has been a privilege to work with them. We can be proud of what we sought to achieve and also the support which we gave to our founder in his time of need. “The dream shall never die, parties as with individuals are mortal, but our cause is eternal.” Members of the “Alba continuation group” last month had called on MacAskill to resign if he was unwilling to take the party into Scottish parliament elections. Chris McEleny, the party’s former general secretary and Salmond ally, said on Sunday: “Many will be furious at the decision of Kenny MacAskill to wind up Alba party but I would urge caution in regard to any public attacks on him. “Alba could have provided a much-needed alternative in the Scottish parliament in that it was the only pro-independence party that was pro-oil and gas, as well as being the only pro-independence party that was opposed to the discredited gender self-ID ideology.”

bluecinema/E+ via Getty Images Concerns about private credit have intensified in recent months. Investors are grappling with questions about weakening credit quality, stale valuations, looser underwriting, redemption risk in certain types of funds, and the impact of AI‑driven disruption. Much of the anxiety has centered on corporate direct lending - especially business development companies (BDCs) and semi-liquid vehicles 1 . This narrow focus, however, can miss the bigger picture. Private credit is a broader and more diversified asset class, offering a range of differentiated risk exposures. Beyond traditional corporate senior secured lending, private credit spans asset-based finance (ABF) and specialty finance, real estate, and special situations 2 , each with distinct drivers of risk and return. Taken together, these distinctions point to a more nuanced set of investment implications, which can be grouped into a few key themes. That broader private credit universe still earns its place in portfolios. ABF and high-quality consumer and mortgage credit have continued to offer meaningful diversification and more attractive value than direct lending. ABF is generally less correlated with the corporate earnings cycle and benefits from structural downside protection. Selective exposure to consumer and mortgage credit, particularly related to higher-income households, can offer a more attractive risk/reward profile. Direct lending will ultimately meet the credit cycle … Like every mature segment of leveraged finance, direct lending should eventually face a full‑blown default cycle – one that would test its resilience to both sector‑specific and macroeconomic shocks. Early loan vintages, originated soon after the global financial crisis, benefited from stronger documentation and lender control. In the ensuing years, record fundraising has steadily eroded underwriting standards. As overlap with public markets has grown, direct lending funds have increasingly offered terms ...

India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav, has set his sights on an extended period of white-ball dominance after the team secured a third successive ICC men’s trophy with a one-sided victory against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final. The country went more than a ­decade without winning a major ­trophy, but since 2024 they have banked two T20 World Cups and a Champions Trophy. “I’m very excited by the way things have gone since then,” ­Suryakumar said. “The drought ended after a really long time and after that we never looked back. Everything changed in 2024. From there we understood how this team needs to work going forward, and it’s been a wonderful journey since then. We wanted to do something special in front of our home crowd and we want to continue doing that and never stop.” Gautam Gambhir, the India head coach, described Sanju Samson as “a special player” after the batter was named player of the tournament, having recovered from losing his place in a miserable buildup to return and produce defining innings in their three knockout games, starting with an unbeaten 97 in the winner-takes-all final fixture of the Super 8s, against West Indies, followed by scores of 89 in both the semi-final and the final. “Coming back from the kind of form that he was in takes so much character and courage, when you know that maybe your career is on the line,” Gambhir said. “Making a comeback like that and playing those kind of innings, with that strike rate and that type of flamboyance, you need to be a special player, you to be special talent, and hopefully he can kick on from here. I think he deserves a lot more than actually he’s got until now.” After the final Samson revealed that he had been helped back into form by the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. “I’m out of words, out of emotions,” he said. “After the New Zealand series [in January, when he averaged 9.2] I was completely out of my mind. I thought: ‘My dreams are shattered, what else can I do?’ “But God had different plans, ...

【有線新聞】全國人大四次會議舉行第二次全體會議，人大委員長趙樂際發表工作報告，提到人大去年加強憲法實施，堅持運用法律手段打擊台獨，今年將會聚焦保障十五五規劃實施，包括加強人工智能領域立法研究。 會議早上在人民大會堂舉行，中共中央總書記、國家主席習近平等一眾領導人出席。人大委員長趙樂際發表人大常委會工作報告，稱過去一年各方面工作取得新進展和成效，加強了憲法實施，堅持運用法律手段打擊「台獨」分裂勢力，反對外部勢力干涉，其中制定民族團結進步促進法是黨中央的重大政治任務，完善統一祖國大業。 趙樂際：「在紀念中國人民抗日戰爭暨世界反法西斯戰爭勝利80周年、台灣光復80周年之際，常委會根據憲法作出決定，將10月25日設立為台灣光復紀念日，激勵全體中華兒女為祖國統一、民族復興而團結奮鬥。」 報告指去年深化拓展了人大代表工作，曾組織港澳台的代表去地方視察調研，另外加強經濟、民生、國家安全等領域立法，包括制定民營經濟促進法等，外交方面則積極深化多邊合作，表明反對霸權的堅定立場。報告指今年是「十五五」開局之年，人大將穩中求進推動工作高質量發展。 趙樂際：「不斷完善中國特色社會主義法律體系，更加注重法治與改革、發展、穩定相協同，更加注重保障和促進社會公平正義，聚焦保障『十五五』規劃貫徹實施，加強重點領域、新興領域、涉外領域立法，著力提高立法質量。」 當局今年亦會加強人工智能領域立法研究，並落實全面從嚴治黨政治任務。

格隆汇3月9日｜英国外交、联邦及发展事务部：已采取预防性措施，暂时撤离部分驻黎巴嫩工作人员及其家属；大使馆正常运作。

格隆汇3月9日｜阿联酋国家通讯社：阿联酋总统与美国总统特朗普通话，以讨论伊朗的袭击行为。

Fast-money investors are ramping up bets against US stocks , wagering on more pain ahead as tensions in the Middle East show few signs of subsiding. Hedge funds boosted short positions in equity exchange-traded funds by 8.3% in the week through March 6, according to data compiled by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s prime brokerage unit. The pace at which the cohort deployed their bearish bets was exceeded just once in the past five years, the data show. Appetite for US stocks is subsiding as the escalating war in the Middle East ramps up fears about surging oil prices and inflation. The S&P 500 Index slumped 2% last week and the Cboe VIX Index jumped to the highest level since April’s tariff turmoil. And yet, fast-money managers aren’t leaving US stocks entirely. Hedge funds increased holdings in individual stocks for the first time in five weeks. That signaled money mangers are eager to pick up bargains in single stocks while remaining skeptical about the broader market. “Positioning and flow data reinforce the idea that investors are hedging more, but not meaningfully backing down,” Goldman’s managing director Lee Coppersmith wrote in a note to clients Saturday. The S&P 500 fell 1.3% on Friday, with nine of the 11 industry groups finishing the day in the red. While at its lowest point on the day the index was down less than 4% from its January record, Goldman Sachs’ so-called US Vol Panic Index jumped to 9.72 out of 10. To the firm’s strategists, the divergence points to a gap between internal stress on a single-stock level and a relatively muted decline in the overall index.

格隆汇3月9日｜卡塔尔外交部：卡塔尔外长接到了国际原子能机构总干事格罗西的电话。他们在通话中讨论了该地区军事升级的发展及其对区域和国际安全与稳定的严重影响，以及通过和平手段解决所有争端的方法。

Key Points The median retirement savings for Americans was $87,000 in 2022. This number was much lower for savers around the 50th percentile in household income. The wealthiest Americans have median savings of more than $500,000. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › I probably don't need to tell you that saving for retirement is difficult for many people. Or that the wealthiest Americans tend to lead vastly different lives than the average person. But it's one thing to know those things in an abstract way and another to see the hard numbers. Data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances reveal that the retirement savings gap between the average and the richest Americans is the widest it's ever been. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » The median retirement savings for all Americans was $87,000 as of 2022. That's not very much to begin with. But when we separate savers into groups by income percentile, things get even worse for the typical saver. Those in the 40th to 60th percentile of savers have a median savings of just $39,000. Meanwhile, those in the 90th percentile or higher have median savings of $558,600. The average for this group is over $1.04 million. Obviously, it's a lot easier to save when you're earning well into the six figures. But this doesn't mean a comfortable retirement is completely out of the question if you're not upper class. With the right retirement savings strategies and regular contributions, it's possible to achieve your goal. Set aside what you can each month, even if it's only a few dollars. Your earliest contributions often turn out to be your most valuable because they're invested the longest. Set aside bonuses and tax refunds as well if you get them. And don't forget to celebrate your progress along the way...

宏福苑大火｜居民可買房協、房委會屋苑 黃碧如：長遠毋須擔心影響他人購買機會 To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 【有線新聞】宏福苑居民可透過「特設銷售計劃」購買10個房委會或房協項目，包括新屋苑。房委會資助房屋小組委員會主席黃碧如說，長遠不用擔心影響其他人購買資助房屋的機會。 黃碧如：「應該其他申請者中籤機會少了，因為單位撥了一部分予宏福苑居民，但應該不用擔心。因為未來5年時間居民和綠置居等供應非常充足，有約59,000個單位，比過往的時間多很多。」

The Trade Desk (TTD 1.75%) enters 2026 in a very different position than it was in just a few years ago. For most of the past decade, the company enjoyed near-flawless execution. Revenue beat expectations quarter after quarter, and customer retention remained consistently above 90%. Unsurprisingly, investors rewarded that consistency with a premium valuation. But 2025 changed the tone. Competition intensified. Execution wobbled. And the advertising landscape shifted more decisively toward large ecosystems with powerful first-party data. The Trade Desk remains a strong business. But the real question now is whether it can prove its structural advantage in a tougher environment. Here are three things The Trade Desk must prove in 2026. Kokai must deliver durable, measurable performance gains Launched as the latest artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled platform, Kokai is no longer a product rollout story. It's now the foundation of the company's future. Management stated that nearly all clients run campaigns through Kokai. That milestone shifts the conversation from adoption to outcomes. In 2026, investors won't care about how many advertisers use Kokai. They will care about whether it consistently drives superior results. The company has highlighted meaningful improvements in cost per acquisition, reach efficiency, and engagement metrics. If those gains persist across verticals and economic cycles, Kokai becomes a durable competitive advantage. But here's the challenge: Amazon, Google, and Meta are also embedding AI deeply into their advertising stacks. Every major platform now claims smarter optimization. The Trade Desk must prove that its AI performs better in an open, multi-publisher environment than in walled gardens. That means demonstrating: Sustained lower cost per action (CPA) relative to peers. Higher return on ad spend across industries. Increased advertiser spend driven by measurable lift. If Kokai drives consistent performance improvements, it strengthens th...

In just over a week, negotiations over the Pentagon’s use of Anthropic’s Claude technology fell through, the Trump administration designated Anthropic a supply-chain risk, and the AI company said it would fight that designation in court. OpenAI, meanwhile, quickly announced a deal of its own, prompting backlash that saw users uninstalling ChatGPT and pushing Anthropic’s Claude to the top of the App Store charts. And at least one OpenAI executive has quit over concerns that the announcement was rushed without appropriate guardrails in place. On the latest episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Sean O’Kane, and I discussed what this means for other startups seeking to work with the federal government, especially the Pentagon, as Kirsten wondered, “Are we going to see a changing of the tune a little bit?” Sean pointed out that this is an unusual situation in a number of ways, in part because OpenAI and Claude make products that “no one can shut up about.” And crucially, this is a dispute over “how their technologies are being used or not being used to kill people” so it’s naturally going to draw more scrutiny. Still, Kirsten argued, this is a situation that should “give any startup pause.” Read a preview of our conversation, edited for length and clarity, below. Kirsten: I’m wondering if other startups are starting to look at what’s happened with the federal government, specifically the Pentagon and Anthropic, that debate and wrestling match, and [take] pause about whether they want to be going after federal dollars. Are we going to see a changing of the tune a little bit? Techcrunch event Disrupt 2026: The tech ecosystem, all in one room Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $400. Save up to $300 or 30% to T...