Techmeme
January 5, 2026, 9:20 AM

Top News

Hyunjoo Jin / Reuters:
Samsung co-CEO TM Roh says the company rolled out Gemini AI features to ~400M mobile devices so far and aims to hit 800M in 2026; Samsung's stock jumps 5%+  —  Samsung Electronics plans to double this year the number of its mobile devices with “Galaxy AI” features largely powered by Google's Gemini …
Chris Welch / Bloomberg:
Samsung updates its TVs to add new AI features, including a Sound Controller feature to independently adjust the volume of dialogue, music, or sound effects  —  Samsung Electronics Co. unveiled its 2026 home theater lineup, aiming to cement its position as the leading TV maker amid intensifying competition …
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge:
Samsung upgrades its Family Hub refrigerators with AI features, such as voice control to open and close the door and Gemini-powered AI Vision to track inventory  —  Voice control opening and closing comes to Samsung's Family Hub smart fridges. … Samsung's latest update …
Satya Nadella / sn scratchpad:
Satya Nadella says the tech industry needs to move past “slop vs sophistication” arguments and view AI as a “cognitive amplifier”, not a human substitute  —  As I reflect on the past year and look toward the one ahead, there's no question 2026 will be a pivotal year for AI.
Stephen Foley / Financial Times:
PwC US Senior Partner Paul Griggs says PwC decided to “lean in” to crypto work after years of taking a more cautious stance, following Trump's crypto embrace  —  Big Four firm has made strategic pivot towards digital assets, says US boss  —  PwC decided to “lean in” …
Wall Street Journal:
A profile of Max Tegmark, the physicist pushing to halt AGI development, who was subpoenaed by OpenAI over the Future of Life Institute's past ties to Elon Musk  —  Max Tegmark wants to halt development of artificial superintelligence—and has Steve Bannon, Meghan Markle and will.i.am as supporters
Megan Morrone / Axios:
OpenAI says 40M+ Americans turn to ChatGPT daily for health information, per an analysis of anonymized interactions, seeing it as an “ally” for health care  —  More than 40 million Americans turn to ChatGPT daily for health information, according to a report OpenAI has shared exclusively with Axios
Dylan Butts / CNBC:
Starlink says it is providing free broadband service to new and existing customers in Venezuela through February 3, 2026  —  Elon Musk's Starlink is offering free broadband internet service to users in Venezuela through Feb. 3, following U.S. airstrikes and the capture of ousted leader Nicolas Maduro.
New York Times:
A Chinese hospital says Alibaba's PANDA AI tool has analyzed 180,000 CT scans and detected ~24 pancreatic cancer cases since its deployment in November 2024  —  A tool for spotting pancreatic cancer in routine CT scans has had promising results, one example of how China is racing to apply A.I. to medicine's tough problems.
Samantha Kelly / Bloomberg:
Lyte, founded by ex-Apple Face ID engineers, emerges from stealth and raised ~$107M to develop tech to help robots see better and move more safely in the world  —  Top members of the team behind Apple Inc.'s Face ID are launching a startup to develop technology to help robots see better and move more safely in the world around them.
Debby Wu / Bloomberg:
Sources: Alibaba's Amap will soon launch an AI tool to let restaurants render 3D images by just uploading videos or photos, in a bid to compete with Meituan  —  Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is launching a service to help restaurants use AI to showcase interiors, part of a broader effort …
More: Benzinga
Austin Carr / Bloomberg:
How a crew of crypto-focused criminals moved from SIM swap attacks to coordinated, violent home invasions and kidnappings, targeting small-time crypto investors  —  The pecking at the sliding glass door awoke Julia Goodwin shortly before midnight.  She and her husband, Glenn, retirees in their 60s …

Sponsor Posts

ElevenLabs:
ElevenAgents by ElevenLabs  —  You know us for voice.  Now meet ElevenAgents — featuring Expressive Mode, our most human-sounding AI voice technology in 70+ languages with ultra-low latency.  Hear it for yourself.
Intel:
5G's most deployed platform  —  Powering live networks with built-in Inference across Core and RAN.  That's the power of Intel Inside®
Zoho:
Zoho Analytics - Q1 2026 Product Update  —  We've started 2026 with a strong set of updates to Zoho Analytics, focused on one goal: helping you get more value from your data with greater efficiency.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
More OpenAI Executive Drama, Is Siri Seriously Broken?, Meta's Elusive Next Hit
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Grit:
How Kevin Mandia Built the Most Trusted Name in Cybersecurity
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
Head of Growth (Anthropic): "Claude is growing itself at this point" | Amol Avasare
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Hard Fork:
The Future of Addictive Design + Going Deep at DeepMind + HatGPT
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
Great Chat:
Go touch some grass (but don't tweet about it)
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 9:20 AM ET, January 5, 2026.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Dominic Preston / The Verge:
Ian Hodgson / Financial Times: