Techmeme
January 1, 2026, 10:30 PM

Top News

Stephanie Palazzolo / The Information:
Sources: OpenAI is taking steps to improve its audio AI models, in preparation for its AI-powered personal device, which is expected to be largely audio-based  —  OpenAI is taking steps to improve its audio AI models, in preparation for its eventual release of an AI-powered personal device, said a person with knowledge of the effort.
Vincent Chow / South China Morning Post:
DeepSeek researchers detail mHC, a new architecture they used to train 3B, 9B, and 27B models, finding it scaled without adding significant computational burden  —  DeepSeek has published a technical paper co-authored by founder Liang Wenfeng proposing a rethink of its core deep learning architecture
Philosopher Count:
How AI automation can fulfill Thomas Piketty's predictions on rising economic inequality, and why highly progressive taxes on capital can help slow the spiral  —  Piketty was wrong about the past.  He's probably right about the future.  —  1. Introduction
Simon Willison / Simon Willison's Weblog:
Some LLM takeaways for 2025: reasoning as a signature feature, coding agents were useful, subscriptions hit $200/month, and Chinese open-weight models impressed  —  This is the third in my annual series reviewing everything that happened in the LLM space over the past 12 months.
Rishabh Jaiswal / Reuters:
SpaceX plans to lower its Starlink satellites from orbiting at ~550km to ~480km in 2026 to improve space safety and reduce the likelihood of debris collisions  —  Starlink will begin a reconfiguration of its satellite constellation by lowering all of its satellites orbiting at around 550 km …
Angel Au-Yeung / Wall Street Journal:
Startups have started to offer free nicotine pouches as a perk, as some employees claim the products help them focus during the workday, despite health hazards  —  A nicotine replacement for smokers has started popping up in offices in the tech industry, despite health hazards
Reuters:
Elon Musk says that Neuralink plans to start “high-volume production” of its BCI devices and move to an “almost entirely automated surgical procedure in 2026”  —  Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink will start “high-volume production” of brain-computer interface devices …
Nikkei Asia:
How Arizona is training talent for its growing chip industry as suppliers fear tighter US immigration policy; Arizona has drawn $200B+ in investments since 2020  —  PHOENIX, Arizona — On a late afternoon in autumn at Mesa Community College, a diverse group had gathered for their “Quick Start” …
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
A look at US tech laws coming in 2026, like California's SB 53 AI transparency law and Virginia's new social media limits for minors, effective from January 1  —  As usual, 2025 was a year of deep congressional dysfunction in the US.  But state legislatures were passing laws that govern everything …
Sneha Kumar / Reuters:
Baidu's AI chip unit Kunlunxin confidentially files for a Hong Kong IPO, paving the way for a spin-off; a recent fundraising reportedly valued it at ~$3B  —  Chinese internet search giant Baidu (9888.HK) said on Friday its AI chip unit Kunlunxin has confidentially filed a listing application …
More: Bloomberg and Reuters

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More News

Iris Deng / South China Morning Post:
Michael Acton / Financial Times:

Earlier Picks

Karissa Bell / Engadget:
Biz Carson / Bloomberg:
Jeff Horwitz / Reuters: