News'n'Clues - TECHNOLOGY Article Summaries

Super Bowl tech ad roundup: Al can kill you — or help find your lost dog

Source: {'href': 'https://www.geekwire.com', 'title': 'GeekWire'} Published: 2026-02-07 18:03:11

Microsoft purges Windows 11 printer drivers, putting millions of devices on borrowed time — legacy printers face extinction as Microsoft stops distributing V3 and V4 drivers

Source: {'href': 'https://www.tomshardware.com', 'title': "Tom's Hardware"} Published: 2026-02-07 17:20:57

Microsoft cuts off new third-party print driver releases via Windows Update. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Microsoft is preparing a major change to how printers are supported in Windows 11, pulling the plug on drivers that primarily support older hardware. Beginning with a non-security update that was released on January 15, Microsoft will no longer support legacy V3 and V4 printer drivers, which were announced as deprecated in September 2023. As of January 15, new print driver submissions are being blocked by default and routed through a manual review workflow that requires explicit justification for why a legacy driver should still be serviced. For those who do run into problems, Microsoft recommends that users contact their printer manufacturer and update to a supported driver or upgrade to a more modern printing solution. By narrowing what can be distributed via Windows Update, Microsoft is putting responsibility for legacy hardware support back in the hands of manufacturers. From July 1, 2026, Windows will change its internal driver ranking order rules to “prefer” the built-in Microsoft IPP class driver when multiple options are available. A year later, on July 1, 2027, third-party printer driver updates delivered via Windows Update will be restricted to security-related fixes only. With these changes, Microsoft also appears to be laying the groundwork for a harder lean on Windows Protected Print Mode, which was introduced with recent Windows 11 24H2 releases. While this is an optional feature for now, it hints at where Microsoft intends for the platform to go in the future. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds. Luke James is a freelance writer and journalist. Although his background is in legal, he has a personal interest in all things tech, especially hardware and microelectronics, and anything regulatory. Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher.

Amazon's big bet, a ‘MySpace for bots', and a conversation with AI veteran Oren Etzioni

Source: {'href': 'https://www.geekwire.com', 'title': 'GeekWire'} Published: 2026-02-07 16:52:15

Crypto disaster sends $44 billion in bitcoins to random users — exchange accidentally makes funds vanish thanks to a typo

Source: {'href': 'https://www.tomshardware.com', 'title': "Tom's Hardware"} Published: 2026-02-07 14:04:46

Minisforum MS-02 Ultra mini workstation hands-on — can it replace my hulking desktop PC that is 11 times larger?

Source: {'href': 'https://www.tomshardware.com', 'title': "Tom's Hardware"} Published: 2026-02-07 14:00:00

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Minisforum let me go hands-on with its CES 2026 Innovation Award-winning Mini Workstation, so to get a grasp of what the diminutive new Minisforum MS-02 Ultra could offer, I decided to see if it could replace my aging but capable desktop PC. This is a true David vs Goliath battle, at least in terms of physical presence. The sub-5-liter MS-02 Ultra battles with my much larger desktop system packed into a 55-liter Fractal Define S PC case. However, the result of the clash wasn't as clear-cut as I expected, making me wonder what kind of PC I should be using daily in 2026. Before we get into a specifications table, where you can see exactly how these two systems compare feature-by-feature, it is important to highlight the physical differences. The MS-02 Ultra is an incredible 11 times smaller than my Define S-desktop system. Obviously, such a small size means there are sacrifices to be made in terms of expandability, configurability, thermals, and noise. Dare I say, the Minisforum is kind of portable, and even cute, which is not something I could say about the Define S PC. Arrow Lake chip with 24C/24T runs at up to 5.5 GHz. Rear: HDMI 2.1, USB4 Type-C with DP-Alt and PD, 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2. It tempts with the advantages of its modern Intel architecture, higher clock boost, and easily outguns my Raptor Lake Refresh chip on core count. Moreover, the new platform brings quite a lot of modern niceties. Particularly welcome, from my perspective, are the trio of really fast USB4 (including 2x USB4 v2) ports, all with DisplayPort capabilities. A distinct advantage I expected in moving to the MS-02 Ultra was from the increased core count using Intel's more modern architecture. Indeed, CPU-heavy benchmarks would show the new chip could convincingly eclipse the old mid-range Core i5-14400F in both single- and multicore workloads, given sufficient power supply and cooling capacity. But, we'll see how that translates to ‘Mark's world' of computing in the benchmarks section, below. I'll stress again that a brief check of the specs, ahead of any actual comparison testing, may suggest the little Minisforum would win hands-down in CPU-focused processing tasks, but the best consumer-grade GPU I could get to fit inside its sub-5-liter chassis would be crushed by the triple-fan behemoth in my ATX desktop. There are nuances, though, especially as I don't really play any AAA or eSports PC games that launched in the 2020s, or dabble in local AI. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. But thanks to this mini workstation allowing for GPU upgrades, perhaps the RTX 6060 or RTX 7060 will arrive one day with more than 8GB of VRAM on board, and in a low-profile form factor. Or maybe AMD will make a performant LP form factor card in the meantime. I chose my Fractal Define S-housed desktop's motherboard as it was one of the few B760 chipset boards with a USB-C 20 Gbps port as standard at the price point. So, getting three times more USB-C ports, with two of them supporting up to 80 Gbps as standard, on the compact MS-02 Ultra was a welcome platform boost. I'm sure there is potential here for some very useful docking or even eGPU use-cases. I have a pair of Crucial X10 Pro 4TB devices for keeping games, TV, and movie libraries portable. Some USB4 controllers surprisingly don't support Gen 2x2 and would fall back to 10 Gbps mode. My X10 Pros run about a third of the speed of the built-in M.2 SSD provided by Minisforum, but I feel they are good for external, highly portable units. An extra two 25 GbE network ports and two of the available M.2 SSD slots are provided by a pre-installed low-profile card in the MS-02 Ultra's PCIe 4.0 x16 slot. However, I chose to replace that with a cheap USB Type-A 3.0 card with four ports, as I really like to have lots of USB ports. My old desktop used a USB adaptor for Wi-Fi 6 and didn't have Bluetooth. That compares poorly with my Define S desktop, which has five slots. With a bulky GPU fitted in that ATX system, it was still possible to add another three single-slot PCIe cards. Again, I have one installed in there, bristling with extra USB ports. The Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark is just there for an added reference point, (I bought it, but I've not actually got around to playing it yet.) I also like playing in Borderlands GOTY Enhanced Edition, Command & Conquer Generals, and Amiga Forever – but those are so old and lightweight they weren't worth testing for this performance comparison. Also, Photoshop has recently been replaced by the Affinity suite. So, without further ado, let's get into those benchmarks, which unashamedly revolve around my personal general-purpose computer use, with a few gaming classics thrown in. I've also included a ‘tweener' system, where my large desktop was fitted with the incongruously tiny RTX 5060 LP card. The MS-02 Ultra with Intel's Core Ultra 9 285HX does exceedingly well in CPU-intensive tests, particularly those that take advantage of the abundance of available threads. We see the 285HX is a star performer in Cinebench R23, with single-thread scores similar to desktop processors like the Core i9-14900K and Ryzen 9 9950X. Handbrake 4K transcoding wasn't much better compared with my old 14400F, though. Meanwhile, PassMark Performance Test, a mix of CPU, graphics, memory, and disk tests, showed some worthwhile performance benefits from the Minisforum – when the RTX 5060 was installed. It is almost moot to highlight that the Define S desktop with Radeon RX 9070 would dominate in 3D games and 3D benchmarks. Nevertheless, there were some interesting results showing that the Ultra 9 285HX / RTX 5060 didn't always beat the i5-14400F / RTX 5060 due to titles simply being ‘GPU-limited.' All the games were tested in 1440p, with no upscaling or frame-gen tech applied. Now we move into an area of both strength and weakness for the Minisforum MS-02 Ultra. In my benchmarks table, above, I also included power and noise readings. It also uses about 120W less when gaming, and all the titles I enjoy play smoothly enough on the RTX 5060 system at high to ultra settings at 1440p without the use of any scaling or frame gen tech. Some bad news for the mini workstation is that it is more audible when idling and under load, in my experience. Initially, I measured both systems from about arm's length distance. It is necessary to bend quite low from the chair to reach the power button and front I/O, which isn't convenient. That's why I decided to keep it on the desk. I also note that the Minisforum BIOS has various fan modes (quiet, balanced, and performance) and manual tweaking of the trio of system fans. I ran it at ‘Balanced,' so there's probably some tuning that could be done for better noise performance. In some many ways, the Minisforum MS-02 Ultra held its own against my old home-built Goliath.. The pint-sized challenger does everything I need, and some more. There are clear advantages to be had in CPU-heavy workloads. In GPU-heavy tasks and gaming, there's clearly enough juice for my particular needs today. If you think about the future, then unlike many other mini PCs, this one can get upgraded with a faster next-generation low-profile graphics card (and other compact PCIe cards) if and when they arrive at an affordable price. As of the this writing, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX model with 2x 25 GbE PCIe SFP+ NIC, 32GB DDR5, plus a 1TB M.2 PCIe4x4 SSD, and Windows 11 Pro is priced at $1,583.90 from Amazon.com. You can also go barebone (no RAM, SSD, or OS) for $1,229.90 using a $300 discount coupon on the page, which could be a great option if you have a spare DDR5 SO-DIMM, M.2 SSD, and can source your own OS. As with all PCs at this time, prices are very volatile. The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5060 OC LP 8G I bought to go in this system's PCIe 5.0 x16 slot is currently $359 at Newegg. Thus, for the Minisforum MS-02 Ultra 32GB/1TB with RTX 5060 LP graphics card installed, as tested, today's total price would be $1,942.90. Things have gotten a little pricier since I began my tests in early January, but that's the way the PC market is going. However, getting something this performant yet compact, with this level of I/O spec and expandability, is going to be impossible with off-the-shelf parts. In this way, and especially for those with a use for the 2x 25 GbE PCIe SFP+ NIC, this mini workstation is a uniquely attractive package. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds. Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason. Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher.

What RFK Jr.'s Unproven Autism Treatment Could Mean for Autistic Patients and Their Families

Source: {'href': 'https://gizmodo.com', 'title': 'Gizmodo'} Published: 2026-02-07 12:00:13

Last September, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump made a big announcement: The federal government had supposedly uncovered a clear link between autism and mothers taking acetaminophen (Tylenol) during their pregnancy. That same day, RFK Jr. stated the Food and Drug Administration would soon approve a new treatment for autism, a form of folate (vitamin B9) known as leucovorin. And many experts worry about what could happen to people with autism and their families if the drug starts to become widely taken. “The idea of doing this for everyone—we're going to see side effects, we're going to see negative outcomes,” Audrey Brumback, a pediatric neurologist specializing in autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions at UT Health Austin, told Gizmodo. The latter is why doctors now advise pregnant women to take folic acid (a synthetic form of folate) supplements, since low folate levels raise the risk of children being born with neural tube birth defects. Leucovorin has historically been used to counteract the toxic side effects of certain chemotherapy drugs. But it's also effective at treating a rare condition known as cerebral folate deficiency, or CFD. CFD is characterized by having low folate levels in the brain but normal levels in blood (this distinction also makes it harder to detect). The low brain levels can then lead to neurological symptoms like seizures and intellectual disability, as well as trouble with speech and coordination; these symptoms usually begin to appear around the age of two. The condition is commonly caused by defective antibodies that attack a protein called folate receptor alpha (important for transporting folate across the blood-brain barrier) but can also be tied to rare inherited genetic mutations in the FOLR1 gene, which encodes folate receptor alpha. Leucovorin can be transported through a different delivery method than folate receptor alpha, however, meaning it can raise folate levels in the brains of people with CFD. Some of the symptoms of CFD are similar to those found in severe cases of autism, and some research has suggested people with autism are more likely to have CFD or antibodies to folate receptor alpha. Based on this early research, some scientists are genuinely hopeful about the potential of leucovorin to help children with both autism and CFD. During the September announcement, RFK Jr. claimed leucovorin was an exciting therapy that might benefit “large numbers of children” with autism. Marty Makary, current FDA commissioner, went further, stating that leucovorin could possibly help “hundreds of thousands of kids,” which would represent a substantial portion of U.S. children diagnosed with autism (a 2016 study estimated that at least 1.5 million children in the U.S. had diagnosed autism, though it's a figure that's certainly risen since). And in its own announcement, HHS stated that leucovorin would become the first “FDA-recognized therapeutic for children with cerebral folate deficiency and autistic symptoms.” It's just, what are we basing this recommendation on?” Brumback said. The research supporting leucovorin for treating autism is remarkably thin, and it's gotten even thinner lately. Last week, the European Journal of Pediatrics retracted a trial testing leucovorin supplements in children with autism after outside scientists discovered statistical inconsistencies that cast doubt on the study's results and conclusions (the authors stated they intended to revise and resubmit their study). We're also not sure whether CFD can be reliably detected through screening for antibody levels, a method used in some studies. Autism is a complex condition that can be caused by many different things that happen early on in development, though genetic factors play a major role. So it's possible that some children's autism could be closely tied to CFD or its causes. But that subset, even if it exists, isn't likely to reach into the hundreds of thousands, according to Shafali Jeste, a behavioral child neurologist. So it's very unlikely we're going to have one pill that just ubiquitously addresses a core symptom,” said Jeste, who is chair of pediatrics at the University of California, Los Angeles. “And so that's why I think when medications like leucovorin get touted as this cure or treatment for the core symptoms of autism that works in all kids, it's problematic.” But both Jeste and Brumback have encountered families who have asked about the treatment or who are currently using it for their children. Jeste doesn't prescribe leucovorin herself, while Brumback has stopped issuing new prescriptions since the Trump announcement. So it's very appropriate to wonder about leucovorin and ask,” Jeste said. The AAP notes that it can cause symptoms like vomiting, diarrhea, and alopecia. And there's at least the possibility that it could have more serious complications when used long-term for autism. “This is a very specific population of people who are undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. And so there are side effects of taking the vitamins in high doses that we probably wouldn't notice in that population,” Brumback said, noting that some other forms of vitamin B can cause nerve damage when taken in large doses. That's especially true for the kids who are most severe, who can't communicate if they're in pain or in discomfort; having something that could potentially cause neuropathy is a nonstarter for me.” Brumback and Jeste are also both specialists who tend to see patients with more profound autism. Some people could also turn to leucovorin supplements that are far less regulated and could be less safe to consume than the prescription version. Since taking over HHS, RFK Jr. has promised to deliver new insights into autism while claiming that researchers haven't done enough to find concrete answers. Yet there actually have been genuine strides lately in developing effective behavioral interventions for autism that can improve people's quality of life, Jeste says. Within the next 10 years, she's even hopeful we will start to develop treatments for severe cases of autism strongly linked to specific genetic mutations. He's refused to accept the mainstream consensus that rising rates of reported autism are largely caused by expanded diagnostic criteria and greater awareness, for instance. Last year, he ordered HHS to launch a new study examining the supposed link between vaccines and autism—a link debunked by piles of research conducted over the past several decades. So even if the hype behind leucovorin isn't validated and it never becomes widely used, Kennedy may still succeed in further stoking his anti-science agenda. I mean, that is a really hard message to hear,” Jeste said. “So I'm very sympathetic to the uncertainty and confusion that this has created.” While RFK might profess to have the best interests in mind of people with autism, he seems to have antiquated ideas about the lives they lead. Several children have come down with serious complications like encephalitis and pneumonia, state health officials reported this week. In a WSJ editorial this week, CDC principal deputy director Ralph Abraham tried to push back against criticism. It's the latest research to find no clear link between maternal acetaminophen use and a higher autism risk. The webpage previously noted that there is no cure for autism.

Sandisk's rebranded Optimus SSDs now available at eye-watering $999 for 2TB, $1,799 for 4TB — Optimus brings a 5% MSRP over previous models, but WD Black predecessors can still be found for less

Source: {'href': 'https://www.tomshardware.com', 'title': "Tom's Hardware"} Published: 2026-02-07 11:40:00

A fresh Optimus label slapped onto existing hardware When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Sandisk's rebranded Optimus GX Pro 8100 series has hit Amazon, with starting prices of $499 for the 1TB model. However, substantial price hikes are pushing customers away, and the newly rebranded Optimus lineup launches with slightly higher price tags than its predecessors. Rebranding doesn't have to be harmful; it can breathe new life into an existing product and spark consumer interest. Understandably, Sandisk must invest resources in redesigning and marketing its Optimus drives. Like every company, Sandisk wants to recoup its investments. They are up to 9% more expensive than prices on Sandisk's online store. The Optimus GX Pro 8100 also comes with an optional heatsink, but those SKUs carry a 2% premium on top of the already inflated prices. For now, you can purchase them directly from Sandisk. However, it shouldn't be long before they reach the other U.S. retailers. Sandisk has already started to phase out the WD Black and WD Blue series, so once they go out of stock, you won't have a chance to buy them anymore. Nonetheless, the company will continue to provide product support and warranty for WD-colored models before and after this new chapter in Sandisk's history. Therefore, you aren't losing anything; on the contrary, you could save hundreds of dollars by sticking to the previous versions. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Consumer SSD prices have surged by up to 50% since late 2025. Industry projections imply that NAND pricing will continue to rise throughout the first quarter of this year. The current inventory, with SSDs already overpriced, likely reflects older pricing, so newly manufactured drives will likely carry an even higher price tag. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds. Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom's Hardware. Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York,

Benchmark raises $225M in special funds to double down on Cerebras

Source: {'href': 'https://techcrunch.com', 'title': 'TechCrunch'} Published: 2026-02-07 05:23:04

This week, AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems announced that it raised $1 billion in fresh capital at a valuation of $23 billion — a nearly threefold increase from the $8.1 billion valuation the Nvidia rival had reached just six months earlier. The prominent Silicon Valley firm invested at least $225 million in Cerebras' latest round, according to a person familiar with the deal. Benchmark first bet on 10-year-old Cerebras when it led the startup's $27 million Series A in 2016. Since Benchmark deliberately keeps its funds under $450 million, the firm raised two separate vehicles, both called ‘Benchmark Infrastructure,' according to regulatory filings. What sets Cerebras apart is the sheer physical scale of its processors. The company's Wafer Scale Engine, its flagship chip announced in 2024, measures approximately 8.5 inches on each side and packs 4 trillion transistors into a single piece of silicon. Traditional chips are thumbnail-sized fragments cut from these wafers; Cerebras instead uses almost the whole circle. This architecture delivers 900,000 specialized cores working in parallel, allowing the system to process AI calculations without shuffling data between multiple separate chips (a major bottleneck in conventional GPU clusters). The partnership, which extends through 2028, aims to help OpenAI deliver faster response times for complex AI queries. (OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is also an investor in Cerebras.) G42's historical ties to Chinese technology companies triggered a national security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, bumping back Cerebras' initial IPO plans and even prompting the outfit to withdraw an earlier filing in early 2025. By late last year, G42 had been removed from Cerebras' investor list, clearing the way for a fresh IPO attempt. Cerebras is now preparing for a public debut in the second quarter of 2026, according to Reuters. Marina Temkin is a venture capital and startups reporter at TechCrunch. Prior to joining TechCrunch, she wrote about VC for PitchBook and Venture Capital Journal. Hear from 250+ tech leaders, dive into 200+ sessions, and explore 300+ startups building what's next. Sam Altman got exceptionally testy over Claude Super Bowl ads Fintech CEO and Forbes 30 Under 30 alum has been charged for alleged fraud Notepad++ says Chinese government hackers hijacked its software updates for months

An AI startup founder says he's planning a 'March for Billionaires' in protest of California's wealth tax

Source: {'href': 'https://techcrunch.com', 'title': 'TechCrunch'} Published: 2026-02-07 01:00:52

The war on California's proposed ‘Billionaire's Tax' is getting weird. This week, amid ongoing rancor from tech elites over the much maligned bill, it became apparent that someone was planning a so-called “March for Billionaires” in San Francisco. A website advertising the event popped up online, providing little in the way of context other than a pithy tagline: “Vilifying billionaires is popular. ?” one social media user wrote not long after the news circulated. Kaufmann told the Examiner that the event was not being funded or organized by any outside group, no big monied associations or companies—just him. The policy in question, the Billionaire Tax Act, was introduced last year, and would require Californians worth over $1 billion to pay a one-time 5% tax on their total wealth. Nevertheless, the policy has led to loud protestations from some of the tech industry's most prominent figures, many of whom have either threatened to leave California or have already left. “It hits startup founders whose wealth is only on paper. They would be forced to liquidate shares on potentially unfavorable terms, incurring capital gains taxes and giving up control. “Many founders would be hit with wildly disproportionate tax bills,” Kaufmann continued. “Additionally, there's no precedent for this sort of comprehensive wealth tax in the US. Sweden eliminated theirs 20 years ago to avert capital flight and promote entrepreneurship and now has 50% more billionaires per capital than the US.” Online conversation about Kaufmann's planned event has continued to alternate between incredulity and ridicule. Kaufmann told TC that, so far, he isn't aware of any actual billionaires planning to attend the march that has been organized in their honor. Kaufmann said that the event is likely to include “a few dozen attendees,” although he stressed that he really isn't clear on how many people would show up. Hear from 250+ tech leaders, dive into 200+ sessions, and explore 300+ startups building what's next. Sam Altman got exceptionally testy over Claude Super Bowl ads Fintech CEO and Forbes 30 Under 30 alum has been charged for alleged fraud Notepad++ says Chinese government hackers hijacked its software updates for months

‘Industry' season 4 captures tech fraud better than any show on TV right now

Source: {'href': 'https://techcrunch.com', 'title': 'TechCrunch'} Published: 2026-02-07 00:06:23

HBO's hit financial thriller “Industry” has delivered one of its most compelling storylines yet this season: a hunt to expose a fraudulent fintech company called Tender. The show follows Harper Stern, who's leading her newly launched investment firm and looking for a company to short — essentially, betting that its stock will crash. After a journalist tips her off that something's wrong with Tender, she sends her associates, Sweetpea and Kwabena, to Ghana to investigate. The entire company appears to be built on fabricated numbers. Tender starts as a payment processing platform for adult content. Because of its affiliation with adult content, Tender finds itself at odds with the new government's regulation and must pivot or die, as the saying goes. Its CFO-turned-leader, Whitney, wants the company to pivot into a bank and has a plan to make that happen, including making Tender's CEO, Henry, the face of that transformation. Whitney is the embodiment of every tech baron cliche. Harper, meanwhile, is leading her newly launched firm after feeling undermined at her previous firm and being called a DEI plant by the man who hired her (a nod to the decline of DEI in the past few years). She has teamed up with new friends and old frenemies and is looking for blood — meaning a company on the precipice of crashing. This puts her at odds with her friend Yasmin, who is married to Henry and is crafting communication and lobbying strategies for Tender. Even TechCrunch gets name-checked as part of Tender's media playbook. “My real passion lies with finding dead men walking,” she says at an investor breakfast. She ends up raising millions for her new firm. She is the one character whose existence strains credibility. But would the UK establishment, which is notoriously insular, exclusionary, and white, really let a Black American woman rise through their ranks and beat them at their own game? “Who needs realism when she's such a great character,” one Black British founder told me. “Nepotism and lack of boundaries at work, people sleeping together for trade secrets, is very realistic and common, unfortunately,” one European investor added. Meanwhile, Yasmin is headed down a dark path. Earlier this season, she organized a ménage à trois between her husband, Henry, and Whitney's assistant, Hayley. As the season continues, her behavior becomes so hedonistic that one reviewer has already likened her to Ghislaine Maxwell — perhaps a perfect emblem of what lies at the pits of money and power, and the role some women play in digging those holes. An Icarus moment could be on the way, however, at least for Whitney. It was a tale of complex accounting and legal gray zones — much like the financial fraud depicted in Tender. Short sellers went after Wirecard, too, and one blog dubbed them “alternative whistleblowers” — people who step in when “the market, and the regulator, refuse to see what is right in front of them.” The philosophy is one that one could easily see Harper embracing soon enough, especially after Eric tells her at one point that “short-only work is ugly, hard, investigative,” and that it's “anti-status quo, anti-establishment, anti-power.” Tender's fate remains unrealized until the last few episodes run. One of the best parts about “Industry” is that it moves fast and breaks things. It is so clearly set in our time and so audacious in its demeanor that the audience is forced to pick their favorite anti-hero and go along for the ride. And yet, just like in real life, we can't get enough. Dominic-Madori Davis is a senior venture capital and startup reporter at TechCrunch. Hear from 250+ tech leaders, dive into 200+ sessions, and explore 300+ startups building what's next. Sam Altman got exceptionally testy over Claude Super Bowl ads Fintech CEO and Forbes 30 Under 30 alum has been charged for alleged fraud Notepad++ says Chinese government hackers hijacked its software updates for months