Techmeme
January 7, 2026, 4:25 AM

Top News

xAI:
xAI raised a $20B Series E, exceeding its $15B targeted round size, with participation from Valor, Nvidia, and others, and says Grok 5 is currently in training  —  xAI is rapidly accelerating its progress in building advanced AI.  —  xAI completed its upsized Series E funding round …
Hugh Langley / Business Insider:
Filing: Larry Page moved assets out of California ahead of the proposed CA wealth tax, meeting an end-of-2025 deadline; a source said he has left the state  —  - Google cofounder Larry Page is cutting ties with California.  — A source said Page had already left the state.
Bloomberg:
Evan Halper / Washington Post:
How the huge data center buildout is heating up local politics in US towns across red and blue states on issues like water, electricity, and noise  —  As the buildout of AI infrastructure alarms communities, it is fast emerging as a potent electoral issue across the political divide.
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority:
Google will now publish new source code to the Android Open Source Project twice per year, down from releasing source code for every quarterly Android release  —  Google has announced that it will publish Android source code to AOSP in Q2 and Q4 of each year.  —  •
Allison Smith / Modern Retail:
Brands complain Amazon's “Buy for Me” AI-powered shopping tool features their products on Amazon without permission and shows descriptions with errors  —  Angie Chua has avoided selling on Amazon since she founded her Palm Springs, California-based stationery brand Bobo Design Studio in 2016.
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
In the first successful US prosecution of a spyware operator in 10+ years, pcTattletale's founder pleads guilty to promoting surveillance apps for unlawful uses  —  The founder of a U.S.-based spyware company, whose surveillance products allowed customers to spy on the phones and computers …
Bloomberg:
A look at Kalshi and Polymarket's lucrative shift toward sports, as high-profile real-world bets raise questions about access, integrity, and US CFTC regulation  —  Prediction platforms pitch themselves as tools for insight, but eye-catching bets on real-world events are raising questions about access, integrity and regulation.
Stu Woo / Wall Street Journal:
GWI: LinkedIn's 2025 revenue rose to $17B from $7B in 2020 as users doubled to 1.3B; 4.7% of US users checked more than once per day in 2025, from 3.9% in 2020  —  Data show people are scrolling longer on the site.  Its secret is a founding principle that curbs toxicity.  —  It isn't just you.
Stevie Bonifield / The Verge:
Meta unveils teleprompter and EMG handwriting features for Meta Ray-Ban Display and expands Pedestrian Navigation for the glasses to four new US cities  —  Ray-Ban Display users will soon be able to reply to texts with hand gestures. … The new EMG handwriting feature …
Steve Dent / Engadget:
Chris Welch / Bloomberg:
Motorola unveils the Razr Fold, its first book-style foldable phone, with a 6.6" front display and an 8.1" 2K LTPO inner screen, expected to launch this summer  —  Lenovo Group Ltd.'s Motorola unveiled its first folding phone that opens like a book or passport, a departure from the string …
Paige Smith / Bloomberg:
Dutch fintech Bunq applies to become a US bank; the OCC conditionally approved national trust bank charters for several crypto firms in 2025, including Circle  —  The Dutch fintech Bunq BV applied to become a US bank two years after rescinding a previous application under former President Joe Biden.
Bloomberg:
China unveils rules banning major platforms like Alibaba from forcing merchants into discounts or practices seen as disrupting market order, effective February  —  China unveiled broad regulations Wednesday that ban major platforms such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. from coercing online merchants …
Duncan Riley / SiliconANGLE:
PitchBook-NVCA: global VC investments hit $512B in 2025 with AI accounting for 50%+; VC fundraising fell to a 10-year low of $118.6B, ~$100B less than in 2024  —  The global venture capital market hit its second-highest annual total on record in 2025, with the year seeing $512 billion in deal value …

Sponsor Posts

Airtable:
The central nervous system of your business  —  Used by 80% of Fortune 100 companies, Airtable combines AI with the scale of an infinitely flexible, no-code system.  With all your data in one place, it's like mission control for your company.
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 MCP: Launching the future of work  —  Picture your SDR's Monday morning.A deal just closed.  Normally that means: update the CRM record, create a Books invoice, open a Desk ticket for onboarding …
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

Cheeky Pint:
Bret Taylor of Sierra on AI agents, outcome-based pricing, and the OpenAI board
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
Subscribe to Cheeky Pint.
Invest Like the Best:
Shyam Sankar - Celebrating Heretics
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Grit:
How Sierra Is Pulling Ahead in the AI Race | Co-founder Bret Taylor
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The most successful AI company you've never heard of | Qasar Younis
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.
Big Technology Podcast:
AI Revenue Explodes, Dario's Memo, McDonald's CEO's Baby Burger Bite
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.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
His Excellency Khaldoon Al Mubarak: Investing in an AI-Driven World
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 4:25 AM ET, January 7, 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

Igor Bonifacic / Engadget:
Marissa Newman / Bloomberg:
Kyle Orland / Ars Technica:
Corey Quinn / The Register:
Sam Rutherford / Engadget:
Sara Fischer / Axios:

Earlier Picks

Dana Wollman / Bloomberg:
Zachary Skidmore / DatacenterDynamics:
Dan Rys / Billboard:
The Information:
Mark Bergen / Bloomberg: