🚀 Sequoia's breaking VC taboos by backing Anthropic while already invested in OpenAI and xAI, Musk wants up to $134B from OpenAI, and JPMorgan's treating AI spending as core infrastructure. Meanwhile, X restricted Grok from undressing images after global backlash.
Industry moves
Sequoia to invest in Anthropic, breaking VC taboo on backing rivals
Sequoia Capital is joining a funding round for Anthropic, the AI startup behind Claude, according to TechCrunch. It's a move sure to turn heads in Silicon Valley.
Why this matters: Venture capital firms have historically avoided backing competing companies in the same sector, preferring to place their bets on a single winner. Yet here's Sequoia, already invested in both OpenAI and Elon Musk's xAI, now throwing its weight behind Anthropic, too.
Musk wants up to $134B in OpenAI lawsuit, despite $700B fortune
According to TechCrunch, Elon Musk wants a jaw-dropping $79 billion to $134 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming the AI company defrauded him by jettisoning its nonprofit mission.
The figure comes from expert witness C. Paul Wazzan, who determined that Musk is entitled to a hefty portion of OpenAI's current $500 billion valuation based on his $38 million seed donation when he co-founded the startup in 2015. That would mean a 3,500-fold return on Musk's investment.
The claim: Musk argues OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission to become a for-profit company, and he deserves compensation for his early investment and contributions.
Oleksandr Koshytskyi, Lead Designer at Lazarev.agency: "Musk's $134B lawsuit is strategic warfare disguised as financial damages. He's suing to distract OpenAI, tie up resources, and create negative headlines during fundraising."
JPMorgan Chase treats AI spending as core infrastructure
Inside large banks, artificial intelligence has moved into a category once reserved for payment systems, data centers, and core risk controls. At JPMorgan Chase, AI is framed as infrastructure the bank believes it cannot afford to neglect.
What CEO Jamie Dimon said: Dimon defended the bank's rising technology budget and warned that institutions that fall behind on AI risk losing ground to competitors. The argument was not about replacing people but about staying functional in an industry where speed, scale, and cost discipline matter every day.
Danylo Dubrovsky, Senior UX/UI designer at Lazarev.agency: "When AI becomes baseline operating costs, it's mission-critical. If AI is infrastructure, it needs infrastructure-level reliability, security, and UX quality. Users expect it to work perfectly."
McKinsey tests AI chatbot in early stages of graduate recruitment
McKinsey is using an AI chatbot during the initial stages of recruitment, where applicants are asked to interact with it as part of their assessment. Rather than replacing interviews or final hiring decisions, the tool is intended to support screening and evaluation earlier in the process.
Kirill Lazarev, CEO and Founder at Lazarev.agency: "McKinsey using AI for recruitment screening is high-stakes automation. Hiring decisions shape company culture and performance. If the chatbot screens out strong candidates because they don't fit AI-identified patterns, McKinsey loses talent."
X to stop Grok AI from undressing images of real people after backlash
Grok will no longer be able to edit photos of real people to show them in revealing clothing in jurisdictions where it is illegal, after widespread concern over sexualized AI deepfakes.
"We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing," reads an announcement on X. The UK government called it "vindication" for calling on X to control Grok, while regulator Ofcom said it was a "welcome development" but noted its investigation "remains ongoing."
Oleksandr Koshytskyi, Lead Designer at Lazarev.agency: "X restricting Grok's image editing only where illegal is reactive compliance. When you build AI that can create non-consensual sexualized images, you've failed at safety design before launch."
Andreessen Horowitz makes a $3 billion bet against the AI bubble
According to Yahoo Finance, a newer fund run by an unconventional team at the venture firm is finding success focusing on infrastructure. While everyone else chases AI models, a16z's infrastructure fund is betting that picks and shovels win during gold rushes.
Danylo Dubrovsky, Senior UX/UI designer at Lazarev.agency: "a16z's $3B infrastructure bet is smart contrarian investing. AI models will commoditize, but infrastructure, compute, data pipelines, security, observability, stays valuable. For product teams, this validates that investing in AI infrastructure pays off long-term, even if individual AI features become commodities. Build on solid foundations."
X announces $1 million prize for top X article this month
X announced it will pay out $1 million to the author of the most popular X article posted during the current payout period, which ends on January 30th. The winning article must be original, at least 1,000 words in length, and will be judged "primarily on Verified Home Timeline impressions." Only U.S. users are eligible.
The reality: X is trying to compete with Substack, Medium, and LinkedIn for long-form content. A $1 million prize generates headlines and incentivizes creators, but sustainable creator ecosystems require consistent monetization.
Kirill Lazarev, CEO and Founder at Lazarev.agency: "X's $1M article prize is a publicity stunt masquerading as creator support. One giant prize creates a lottery mentality. Platforms that win creators offer reliable monetization: ad revenue sharing, subscriptions, memberships. One-time prizes attract attention, but consistent income retains creators."
Meta signs content deal with Wikimedia to power AI projects
According to Yahoo! Tech, Wikimedia Foundation announced new access deals with Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral AI, and Perplexity, enabling these AI projects to gain more direct access to Wikipedia info to power their AI systems.
Why this matters: AI projects are only as good as the data sources they can access. As publishers become more aware of licensing opportunities, the race is heating up to secure access contracts and ensure AI bots are more informed and accurate than competitors.
Oleksandr Koshytskyi, Lead Designer at Lazarev.agency: "Wikipedia licensing to major AI companies validates that quality data is worth paying for. For years, AI companies scraped Wikipedia for free. Now Wikimedia's monetizing access, setting a precedent that knowledge providers deserve compensation."
Product reality check
TikTok adds more AI-powered tools to assist TikTok Shop merchants
TikTok announced new AI-powered features for TikTok Shop creators, providing more ways to showcase and highlight products in-stream. With more people using TikTok for discovery and buying on TikTok, it could be worth considering how to align with those behaviors to boost sales.
Why this matters: TikTok's evolving from social media into social commerce. AI tools that help merchants create better product showcases lower the barrier to selling on TikTok, which accelerates commerce growth.
Pinterest launches 2026 planning guide
Pinterest published a new marketing guide, covering all the key moments and celebrations brands need to keep in mind for tie-in opportunities. Given that Pinterest is used by many people for planning, it could be worth setting up campaigns ahead of time.
Meta outlines how it's improved Reels recommendations
Meta published a new overview of how it's working to improve Reels recommendations by using user response surveys to better gauge which elements are driving interest and engagement.
Danylo Dubrovsky, Senior UX/UI designer at Lazarev.agency: "Meta surveying users about Reels shows that engagement metrics alone don't capture satisfaction. Users might watch content they don't enjoy, inflating engagement metrics while satisfaction drops. Surveys reveal the gap between 'watched' and 'wanted to watch.'"
ChatGPT to carry adverts for some users
According to the BBC, adverts will soon appear at the top of ChatGPT for some users. The trial will initially take place in the US and will affect some free-tier users and a new subscription tier called ChatGPT Go, which costs $8 a month. Relevant ads will appear after a prompt for example, asking ChatGPT for places to visit in Mexico could result in holiday ads appearing.
Kirill Lazarev, CEO and Founder at Lazarev.agency: "ChatGPT adding ads is inevitable monetization, but execution matters. If ads feel like sponsored answers instead of helpful suggestions, trust drops. Google succeeded with search ads because they matched intent. ChatGPT needs to match that relevance, or ads become friction instead of value."
Design wins
How Lazarev.agency helped Hedonism Wine boost add-to-basket rate by 65% with a mobile-first redesign
Hedonism Wines, known for curating over 6,500 wines and 3,000 spirits, was struggling to convert its sophisticated clientele from offline to online. While their physical store had earned a reputation as one of London's finest wine boutiques, their website failed to match this excellence, especially for mobile customers.
The challenge: The digital platform couldn't adequately showcase their sommelier expertise or highlight premium wine collections. With mobile users making up the majority of traffic, poor mobile browsing experiences led to high bounce rates and abandoned carts. The platform wasn't catering effectively to both seasoned collectors seeking rare vintages and newcomers looking for guided discovery.
Our approach: We created a mobile-first platform that revolutionized how Hedonism Wines engaged with customers. By creating an intuitive browsing experience, optimizing for mobile, and enhancing the checkout flow, we significantly improved user engagement and conversions.
Results:
- 45% increase in add-to-basket actions across all devices
- 2.8x more customers progressed from browsing to starting the checkout process
Oleksandr Koshytskyi, Lead Designer at Lazarev.agency: "Hedonism Wines' mobile experience was killing conversions. Wine collectors expect sommelier-level guidance, but the mobile interface couldn't deliver it. We redesigned information architecture to surface expertise: tasting notes, pairing suggestions, collector ratings, without overwhelming mobile screens. The 45% add-to-basket increase came from making discovery feel effortless."
FT campaign makes the case for simplicity in a world of noise
Titled 'For The Why', the new campaign for the Financial Times strips back marketing complexity to sell premium journalism to overwhelmed audiences. In a world drowning in content, FT's positioning simplicity as clarity cuts through.
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines launches industry-first 'Hybrid AI' campaign
According to Creative Boom, this new multi-platform advertising campaign combines live action, CGI, photography, and generative AI, and is claimed to be an industry first for the travel and cruise sector.
Danylo Dubrovsky, Senior UX/UI designer at Lazarev.agency: "Fred. Olsen's hybrid AI campaign is smart cost management. Cruise advertising is expensive: ship shoots, exotic locations, talent. AI reduces costs by generating supplemental visuals. But the test is whether AI-generated content feels authentic or generic. If audiences notice it's AI, trust drops. The goal is seamless integration where viewers can't tell the difference."
Norwex unveils first-ever rebrand as eco pioneer evolves from cleaning cloths to premium personal care
The Norwegian revealed its first full rebrand in more than 30 years, working with London consultancy The Workroom to breathe new life into its Nordic heritage and purpose-led foundations.
Why this works: Norwex built brand equity in cleaning cloths. Expanding into personal care requires rebranding to signal elevated positioning. The Workroom's refresh honors heritage while modernizing for premium categories.
This week's reality check
Banking app UX design explained: market stats, golden design standards, role of AI, and more
You open your banking app. What you get is just a calm screen patiently waiting for your first word (yet it already knows why you are here). "Morning, Aria. Your rent's due tomorrow. Should I schedule it from your cashback balance?" You nod. Done. A moment later, it suggests moving your energy payments to a cheaper plan. Because the app noticed the change before you did.
That's anticipatory design in action. In the text, you’ll find a glimpse of how AI UX slowly changes the banking game.
Key takeaways:
- UX is the new currency of trust. The banks that simplify money management win loyalty and lifetime value.
- AI shifts UX from reactive to predictive. Anticipatory, agentic interfaces forecast needs, automate routine tasks, and surface the right decision at the right moment.
- Golden standards are non-negotiable. Personalization, accessibility, security transparency, smooth money movement, gamification, and clear data visualization now define competitive banking UX.
- Real impact comes from execution. Tratta and EllipX show how strategic, AI-informed UX transforms anxiety into confidence and complexity into clarity.
UX ROI case studies: how decision-makers should read, compare, and verify design impact
When leadership teams review design agencies, the discussion rarely centers on visual quality. What matters is business effect and accountability. Design is approved, paused, or scaled based on one thing: whether it moves outcomes the business actually tracks.
That's why UX ROI case studies matter. Not as showcases, but as proof. The proof is in the text.
Key takeaways:
- UX ROI case studies exist to prove business impact. They help decision-makers evaluate agencies, compare vendors, and reduce hiring risk.
- Strong cases focus on one revenue-critical flow. Clear baselines, one primary KPI, and readable ROI logic matter more than volume.
- ROI clarity beats ROI complexity. Simple assumptions and transparent math are easier to validate than dense models.
- UX ROI includes risk reduction. Prevented rework, faster decisions, and cleaner execution compound into financial return.
- Consistency across a portfolio signals real capability. One good case shows logic; repeated patterns show a reliable partner.
In agency portfolios, UX ROI should read like a cause-and-effect narrative. Not a gallery. Not a metric dump. A credible UX ROI case makes three things explicit: the exact point in the product where value is created or lost, the design intervention applied to that moment, and the measurable business outcome that followed.
What's coming next week
Sequoia's backing three AI rivals. JPMorgan's treating AI as infrastructure. Design for trust when tech moves faster than safety. Stay sharp.
🔥 Stay sharp. Stay with Lazarev.agency, your AI UX design agency.
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