AI Will Generate $2.5 Trillion in 2026. Telcos Will Get Crumbs. sebastianbarros.substack.com Feb. 2, 2026, 2:42 p.m.
The AI value chain economics at this stage is focused on infrastructure. AI value creation is concentrated upstream, where capital intensity is highest and scale advantages compound most rapidly. The market rewards balance sheets, not clever prompts. Training and inference workloads demand dense compute, high-bandwidth memory, optical interconnects, and ample power. Those inputs scale poorly for small players and extremely well for incumbents.Gartner frames 2026 as the Trough of Disillusionment. Enterprises prioritize predictable ROI over experimentation. AI gets sold by incumbent vendors and bundled into existing contracts rather than procured as standalone moonshots. That behavior reinforces concentration. Buyers choose suppliers already embedded in their infrastructure stack.
Moins de dossiers, moins de levées : la préoccupante baisse du deal flow dans la French tech www.journaldunet.com Feb. 1, 2026, 12:08 p.m.
Des jeunes pousses aux scale-up plus matures, un nombre croissant de start-up se détournent des investisseurs, par choix stratégique ou parce que les conditions ne s'y prêtent plus.
Supramolecular Ionic Polymerization: Cellulose-Based Supramolecular Plastics with Broadly Tunable Mechanical Properties pubs.acs.org Jan. 31, 2026, 11:52 a.m.
Developing mechanically tough and sustainable plastics from renewable resources such as biomass may certainly give a promising solution to the replacement of petroleum-based plastics and eliminate microplastics. Here, we report a cellulose-based supramolecular plastic (CMCSP) synthesized by supramolecular “ionic” polymerization of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as an oxyanionic monomer and a hyperbranched polyguanidinium ion (PEIGu) as a cationic monomer. CMCSP is mechanically strong but inherently brittle. However, as highlighted in the present paper, we could overcome the brittleness issue by adding (2-hydroxyethyl)trimethylammonium chloride (choline chloride, ChCl) to CMCSP. This FDA-approved, biodegradable ionic human nutrient served as a particular plasticizer, enabling broad modulation of stiff, glassy CMCSP to a tough, flexible material and further to a soft, elastic material. We demonstrated that plasticized CMCSPChCl could be processed into a flexible plastic bag, which was mechanically tough but perfectly dissociable in seawater and closed-loop recyclable with electrolytes. Hence, CMCSPChCl never generates microplastics.
La menace quantique se précise, les entreprises regardent ailleurs www.capgemini.com Jan. 31, 2026, 11:51 a.m.
96 $, c’est ce que coûte aujourd’hui la minute de calcul quantique chez un grand cloud provider. Le quantique n’est plus un fantasme de laboratoire : les machines sont disponibles, les tarifs clairs, les capacités démontrées. En d’autres termes, il suffit à un acteur malveillant, étatique ou criminel, d’estimer ce qu’il lui en coûterait de déchiffrer des données en sa possession et le bénéfice qu’il pourrait en tirer.
« La technologie la plus avancée de l'industrie des semi-conducteurs » : TSMC lance la production massive de puces 2 nanomètres www.lesechos.fr Jan. 31, 2026, 11:50 a.m.
Le géant taïwanais maintient son avance sur ses concurrents dans le secteur stratégique des semi-conducteurs avec une nouvelle génération de puces idéales pour les serveurs et l'intelligence artificielle embarquée.
Increasing the dimensionality of transistors with hydrogels www.science.org Jan. 31, 2026, 11:45 a.m.
With the development of organic bioelectronics, there has been interest in making stretchable semiconductors with acceptable performance. Most approaches to date rely on blending a semiconductor with an elastomer and perform well electronically, but they have a modulus much higher than biological tissue and cannot be modulated through the insertion of ions. Liu et al. created a secondary hydrogel network that facilitated the formation of a continuous phase of a primary redox-active polymer. This composition makes it possible to produce millimeter-thick semiconducting layers with biological compatibility. By controlling the hydrogel’s porosity, the researchers optimized ionic and electronic mobility and demonstrated electrochemical transistors with a high on/off switching ratio.
Prodrug activation by 4,4’-bipyridine-mediated aromatic nitro reduction  www.nature.com Jan. 31, 2026, 11:36 a.m.
Unleashing prodrugs through nitro-reduction is a promising strategy in cancer treatment. In this study, we present a unique bioorthogonal reaction for aromatic nitro reduction, mediated by 4,4‘-bipyridine. The reaction is a rare example of organocatalyst-mediated bioorthogonal reaction. This bioorthogonal reaction demonstrates broad substrate scope and proceeds at low micromolar concentrations under biocompatible conditions. Our mechanistic study reveals that water is essential for the reaction to proceed at biorelevant substrate concentrations. We illustrate the utility of our reaction for controlled prodrug activation in mammalian cells, bacteria, and mouse models. Furthermore, a nitro-reduction-annulation cascade is developed for the synthesis of indole derivatives in living cells.
Meta mise sur 2026 avec un virage historique, loin de la réalité virtuelle. www.servicesmobiles.fr Jan. 31, 2026, 11:04 a.m.
Meta anticipe une transformation majeure du marché en 2026, comparable à l’impact de l’arrivée des smartphones. L’entreprise dévoile ses priorités d’investissement pour les prochaines années, en mettant de côté la réalité virtuelle au profit d’autres axes stratégiques.
OpenAI lance Prism, une application inspirée de Claude Code dédiée à la recherche scientifique www.servicesmobiles.fr Jan. 31, 2026, 11:03 a.m.
OpenAI dévoile Prism, une nouvelle application conçue pour faciliter la recherche scientifique, à l’image de Claude Code. Cette initiative vise à offrir aux chercheurs des outils innovants pour accélérer l’analyse et la compréhension des données scientifiques.
Rapid One-Pot Synthesis of Polydopamine Encapsulated Carbon Anchored with Au Nanoparticles www.mdpi.com Jan. 30, 2026, 7:11 p.m.
Designing and engineering nanocomposites with tailored physiochemical properties through teaming distinct components is a straightforward strategy to yield multifunctional materials. Here, we describe a rapid, economical, and green one-pot microwave synthetic procedure for the preparation of ternary nanocomposites carbon/polydopamine/Au nanoparticles (C/PDA/AuNPs; C = carbon nanotubes (CNTs), reduced graphene oxide (rGO)). No harsh reaction conditions were used in the method, as are used in conventional hydrothermal or high-temperature methods. The PDA unit acts as a non-covalent functionalizing agent for carbon, through π stacking interactions, and also as a stabilizing agent for the formation of AuNPs.
Nucléaire : Meta investit 6,6 GW pour ses data centers IA www.servicesmobiles.fr Jan. 28, 2026, 2:45 p.m.
L’accord noué avec TerraPower, société cofondée par Bill Gates, retient particulièrement l’attention. Il prévoit le financement et le développement de deux réacteurs capables de fournir jusqu’à 690 mégawatts, dès 2032 si tout se déroule comme prévu. Mais ce n’est pas tout : six autres installations pourraient suivre, totalisant potentiellement 2,1 gigawatts supplémentaires d’ici trois ans. Particularité technique : ces sites reposeront sur les réacteurs « Natrium », utilisant le sodium comme fluide caloporteur en lieu et place de l’eau – un choix jugé plus prometteur par certains experts.
Highly Conductive Polydopamine Coatings by Direct Electrochemical Synthesis on Au pubs.acs.org Jan. 23, 2026, 7:09 p.m.
Polydopamine (PDA) is a promising melanin-like material with unique properties such as hybrid electronic–ionic conductivity, UV–vis light absorption, wet adhesion, biocompatibility, anti-inflammation, and metal ion chelation. Despite its versatility, PDA has limited utilization in bioelectronics due to its low electrochemical conductivity. Here, we present an electrochemical synthesis for highly conductive PDA composites directly coated on Au electrodes. PDA was deposited by the confined oxidizing effect of dissolved Au3+ on the electrode, which produced unprecedentedly conductive PDAs.
Telcos Are Dead: Welcome to AICOs sebastianbarros.substack.com Jan. 20, 2026, 11:10 a.m.
Telcos attempted multiple monetization strategies without achieving any change in outcome. Quality tiers, zero rating, sponsored data, and later network slicing promised differentiation but failed to command durable price premiums. Enterprises adopted private networks selectively, yet volumes remained insufficient to move group-level revenue. Latency improvements delivered technical gains but limited willingness to pay, since applications abstracted transport and captured the value layer.Cost per bit continued to fall faster than achievable price increases, driven by silicon scaling, higher-order MIMO, densification, and fiber economics. Transport approached marginal cost behavior while remaining capital-intensive.
À Nice, l’artiste Toolate transforme les mégots de cigarettes en œuvres de "Gros Cons" creapills.com Jan. 19, 2026, 11:18 a.m.
TOOLATE investit les rues de Nice avec “Cent filtres”, une exposition à ciel ouvert composée de 100 œuvres disséminées dans l’espace public jusqu’au 31 janvier 2026, pour interpeller les passants là où ils ne s’y attendent pas. Le mégot comme symbole central : à travers la répétition et un ton volontairement frontal, l’artiste dénonce la pollution massive liée aux mégots, omniprésents sur les trottoirs et les plages, malgré une prise de conscience largement documentée.
Nanoscribe Opens Shanghai Quantum X demolab www.azom.com Jan. 19, 2026, 9:32 a.m.
Nanoscribe, the market leader in high-precision additive manufacturing and a trusted provider of advanced microfabrication solutions for research and industrial production, has officially inaugurated its Shanghai Quantum X demolab. 
Top 10 Telecom Startup Investment Strategies sebastianbarros.substack.com Jan. 17, 2026, 11:25 a.m.
For most of its history, telecom venture capital was symbolic. That changed after 2018 and accelerated sharply after 2022, as tier-one operators and vendors began treating venture investing as a structural tool rather than innovation theater. Competitive pressure, AI-driven compute shifts, and geopolitical risk forced telcos to engage with emerging technology earlier and more deliberately. Today, the ten most relevant telco and vendor-backed venture platforms collectively deploy or manage an estimated $10B to $15B, with annual deployment of roughly $1.5B to $2B. Capital is highly concentrated, and portfolios are tightly scoped around network software, AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, edge compute, silicon adjacencies, private networks, enterprise platforms, and regulated data services rather than consumer growth plays.
AI Agents Are Not Employees! Calling Them That Is Technical Bullcrap. sebastianbarros.substack.com Jan. 16, 2026, 9:51 a.m.
Last week, Bob Sternfels, CEO of McKinsey & Company, stated that the firm has 60,000 employees and that 25,000 of them are AI agents. Not tools or copilots but employees. The wording was deliberate as it places AI agents in the same category as human workers inside an enterprise. That is not a visionary statement; It is a technical bullcrap. Counting AI agents as employees implies equivalence in autonomy, judgment, accountability, and decision ownership. Anyone with a serious background in AI and machine learning knows this equivalence does not exist today, and is not even close to it. What exists are probabilistic systems wrapped in orchestration layers, heavily supervised by humans, brittle under long-horizon execution, and fundamentally incapable of owning outcomes.
Cette sucette diffuse de la musique dans votre tête : l’objet le plus étrange du CES 2026 creapills.com Jan. 12, 2026, 9:49 a.m.
Au CES 2026, Lava Tech Brands lance Lollipop Star : une sucette qui fait écouter de la musique sans écouteurs grâce à la conduction osseuse. Chaque saveur donne accès à des morceaux exclusifs associés à des artistes comme Ice Spice, Akon ou Armani White (8,99$). Une idée fun et très “TikTokable”, mais déjà critiquée car l’objet est jetable et génère des déchets électroniques.
3D-Printed “Light Cages” Could Solve One of Quantum Networking’s Biggest Problems scitechdaily.com Jan. 12, 2026, 9:37 a.m.
Quantum information storage plays a central role in the development of the quantum internet and future quantum computers. Today’s quantum communication systems are limited by signal loss over large distances, which restricts how far quantum information can reliably travel. Quantum memories help address this challenge by making quantum repeaters possible, allowing distant parts of a network to be linked through entanglement swapping.
L’année 2025 résumée dans une puissante vidéo de 4 minutes par l'artiste Cee-Roo creapills.com Jan. 5, 2026, 11:40 a.m.
C’est un rendez-vous que les amateurs de montage, de musique et d’images-clés attendent chaque fin d’année : la rétrospective signée Cyril Käppeli alias Cee-Roo, artiste suisse devenu incontournable avec ses compilations aussi denses que viscérales. Fidèle à son style, il condense en quelques minutes une année entière, comme un concentré de mémoire collective… impossible à regarder distraitement.