Aug 19, 2026 · 6 min listen · Last updated August 19, 2026
From storyflo. This is your daily audio brief. Hey, it's Theo. August 19th. Five things in tech that mattered this morning — let's start with the one that surprised me most. Let's get into it. First, from The Register. Australian hotel chain leaks guests’ PII after breach at third-party database operator.
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Daily Tech Brief · August 19th
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Australian hotel chain leaks guests’ PII after breach at third-party database operator
Australian aparthotel chain Quest has revealed it leaked customer data. A Reg reader kindly shared an email from the chain with the subject line “Important Security Update Regarding Your Quest Data.” That missive opens with unwelcome news that “I am writing to inform you of a recent data security incident involving some of your personal information.” “On Monday, 17 August 2026, we identified unauthorised access to a database system and immediately took steps to contain the incident,” the email continues.
Baidu says Chinese buyers want local AI chips due to ‘supply chain’ issues
Chinese web giant Baidu yesterday told investors it sees good days ahead for its Kunlunxin chip biz, because local buyers won’t have alternatives. Baidu has previously said it plans to spin out and float Kunlunxin, which makes CUDA-compliant inferencing chips that it uses for its own cloud services and has sold to the likes of Huawei and ZTE, who use them in kit they sell to Chinese telcos. Speaking on the company’s Q2 earnings call, Dou Shen, executive veep of Baidu’s AI Cloud Group, said Baidu is working to list Kunlunxin and will have concrete info to share soon.
Graphwise aims to become the semantic layer for AI agents after securing major investment from Oakley Capital
Graph database startup Graphwise said today it has secured a significant investment from the European venture capital firm Oakley Capital as it looks to beef up its go-to-market strategy and expand globally. It will also use the funds to pursue strategic acquisitions, it said. Oakley has acquired a majority stake in the Bulgarian startup from a […] The post Graphwise aims to become the semantic layer for AI agents after securing major investment from Oakley Capital appeared first on SiliconANGLE.
Pixus Releases New MIL Rugged N310 Software Defined Radio With Extended Temperature Options
Pixus Technologies, a provider of embedded computing and chassis solutions, has announced a MIL Ruggedized NI software defined radio (SDR) with extended temperature options. Now a part of Emerson, the NI SDR is based on the family of Ettus brand Universal Software Radio Peripherals (USRPs). Pixus ruggedizes various versions of NI SDRs in IP67 outdoor and full MIL rugged qualified versions. The new RN310 version has options for an external MIL grade fan that pulls air over the conduction-cooled fins on the enclosure as well as an internal heater board.
Rubicon Professional Services Surpasses One Gigawatt Of Battery Energy Storage Capacity As AI Accelerates Data Center Demand
As artificial intelligence (AI) fuels unprecedented demand for data centers and resilient electrical infrastructure, Rubicon Professional Services (RPS), a leading provider of engineering, procurement, and construction services for data centers and critical facilities, today announced it has surpassed one gigawatt (1 GW) of installed battery energy storage capacity across projects nationwide, reinforcing the company’s role as one of the infrastructure firms quietly enabling America’s rapidly expanding AI economy.
Stackpole’s RNCQ Thin Film Resistors Target High-Frequency Communications Infrastructure
Stackpole Electronics’ RNCQ high-frequency thin film chip resistors provide predictable performance for communications infrastructure operating above 1 GHz, where the parasitic effects of conventional resistors can significantly impact circuit performance. The RNCQ Series is designed for RF and microwave applications, with frequency capability up to 70 GHz for the 0201 size and 50 GHz for 0402 and 0603 sizes.
I Built 12 Autonomous Agents in 30 Days. Here's Your Complete Guide to Creating Your First Agent in One Week.
wo months ago, I spent 6 hours manually researching competitors, compiling data into spreadsheets, and writing analysis reports. Every. Single. Week. Last Tuesday, I watched an autonomous agent do the same work in 18 minutes while I was having coffee. Not a simple automation. Not a chatbot with extra steps.
How to Generate Complete Market Research Reports in 2 Hours Using AI
Look, I’ve been there. You need market research for a new project, but hiring an agency costs $5,000+ and takes weeks. DIY research? That’s 40+ hours of googling, spreadsheets, and wanting to pull your hair out. Here’s the thing: AI just changed the game completely. I’m going to show you exactly how I generate professional-grade market research reports in about 2 hours. We’re talking comprehensive industry analysis, competitive intelligence, market sizing, customer insights – the whole package. No fluff. No theory. Just a proven workflow that works.
AI News That Actually Matter + How to Train Claude to Write Like YOU
January 20, 2025, 8:47 AM PST Sam Altman woke up to a nightmare. His iPhone was lighting up with messages. Not the good kind. The “your company just got blindsided” kind. A Chinese AI startup called DeepSeek — a name nobody in Silicon Valley could pronounce 48 hours ago — had just dethroned ChatGPT on the App Store. Overnight. But here’s the kicker: They didn’t just beat OpenAI at their own game. They rewrote the rules entirely.
DeepSeek Opens the Agent Layer — While Agents Get Harder to See Inside
Agents are becoming much more than models connected to a few tools. And this week gives us a pretty good map of what is being built around them. DeepSeek open-sourced the harness layer — tools, memory, execution, sandboxing, storage, and even temporary plugins agents can create when they need a new capability. At the same time, researchers showed that encrypted reasoning passed between agent calls can contain passwords, API keys, personal information, and even instructions that affect later actions. That makes the infrastructure around agents both more powerful and much harder to inspect.