Techmeme: Alphabet surpassed Apple in market cap for the first time since 2019 after its shares closed up 2.5% on January 7, valuing it at $3.89T, above Apple's $3.85T (Barron's Online)

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January 8, 2026, 4:23 AM

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Ina Fried / Axios:

OpenAI unveils ChatGPT Health, which lets users import medical records and other data from health apps into ChatGPT, available to a small group via a waitlist — OpenAI is expanding its capabilities by adding a dedicated health tab to ChatGPT, allowing people to bring in electronic medical records …

More: The Verge, OpenAI, OpenAI, Business Today, Bloomberg, Fidji Simo, Moneycontrol, Digit, The Mac Observer, Fortune India, b.well Connected Health, Neowin, iPhone in Canada, Tech in Asia, Android Authority, Gizmodo, GSMArena.com, BleepingComputer, The Indian Express, Cult of Mac, PYMNTS.com, iClarified, Decrypt, Fast Company, WinBuzzer, ZDNET, HIT Consultant, Baller Alert, SiliconANGLE, Implicator.ai, MedCity News, Tom's Guide, Wccftech, Digital Trends, Business Insider, Becker's Hospital Review, Thurrott, TechCrunch, Notebookcheck, CNBC, Channel NewsAsia, MobiHealthNews, Engadget, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, MacRumors, and The Information

X: @openai, @fidjissimo, @tomwarren, @thekaransinghal, @borismpower, @johnonolan, @slow_developer, @_danielsinclair, @kimmonismus, @nickaturley, @andrewcurran_, @daveshapi, @peterwildeford, @omooretweets, @raizamrtn, @nickadobos, @shakeelhashim, and @gdb. LinkedIn: Olivia Deitcher

Bluesky: @janerosenzweig and @anildash.com. Threads: @carnage4life

Forums: r/technology, r/BetterOffline, and r/singularity

Wall Street Journal:

Apple says JPMorgan will issue Apple Card, replacing Goldman, with an expected two-year transition; sources: Goldman is offloading ~$20B in outstanding balances — Goldman Sachs is offloading the credit-card balances at a more than $1 billion discount — JPMorgan Chase has reached a deal …

More: Apple, Apple, The Verge, TechCrunch, Financial Times, AppleInsider, iClarified, The Mac Observer, The Information, MarketWatch, iPhone in Canada, PYMNTS.com, Engadget, Macworld, AppleInsider, American Banker, 9to5Mac, Cult of Mac, Appleosophy, Wccftech, 9to5Mac on YouTube, Daily Mail, Bloomberg, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, and CNBC

X: @iphoneincanada, @snazzylabs, @tatchero, @fttechnews, @matthewkeyslive, @aaronp613, @paytondev, and @bzamayo. Threads: @chancehmiller

Forums: r/apple, r/AppleCard, r/apple, r/AppleCard, Slashdot, and MacRumors Forums

Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer:

Cyera researchers detail Ni8mare, a critical RCE flaw that lets hackers access local instances of the n8n workflow automation platform, impacting ~100K servers — A maximum severity vulnerability dubbed “Ni8mare” allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to take control over locally deployed instances …

More: Cyera, GitHub, Cyber Security News, The Hacker News, CyberScoop, Security Affairs, SiliconANGLE, CSO, and Cyber Security News

X: @cyera_io. Forums: r/cybersecurity and r/netsec

Vicky Ge Huang / Wall Street Journal:

The Trump family's World Liberty Financial says its entity World Liberty Trust applied for a US banking license, which would let it issue the USD1 stablecoin — Critics have said World Liberty and its stablecoin pose a major conflict of interest for President Trump

Kate Clark / Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Anthropic plans to raise $10B led by Singapore's GIC and Coatue at a $350B valuation before the new investment, up from $183B in September 2025 — The startup behind chatbot Claude is raising money from investors including GIC and Coatue Management

More: New York Times, CNBC, Bloomberg, Cointelegraph, SiliconANGLE, PYMNTS.com, Forbes Middle East, The Information, TechCrunch, and Reuters

X: @mashadrokova, @zephyr_z9, @lessin, @lessin, @andrewcurran_, @alex, @samsolid57, @danprimack, @tszzl, and @deredleritt3r. LinkedIn: Kate Clark

Barron's Online:

Alphabet surpassed Apple in market cap for the first time since 2019 after its shares closed up 2.5% on January 7, valuing it at $3.89T, above Apple's $3.85T — So long, Apple . There's a new No. 2 in the market-capitalization rankings. Alphabet surpassed Apple in market cap on Wednesday …

More: Moneycontrol, CNBC, The Economic Times, Tech in Asia, Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, NDTV Profit, Benzinga, and Wall Street Journal

Forums: r/stocks and r/StockMarket

John Liu / Bloomberg:

Sources: China plans to approve some imports of Nvidia's H200 chips as soon as Q1 2026 while still barring them from military use and critical infrastructure — China plans to approve some imports of Nvidia Corp.'s H200 chips as soon as this quarter, according to people familiar with the situation …

More: The Standard and The Information

Reuters:

Sources: to hedge against Beijing approval risk, Nvidia is requiring Chinese customers to pay upfront for H200 chips, with no cancellations, refunds, or changes

More: Investing.com, Nikkei Asia, Channel NewsAsia, Tech in Asia, Investopedia, DigiTimes, Breitbart, Yahoo Finance, China Economic Review, Quartz, Watcher Guru, and Financial Times. Bluesky: @edzitron.com

Qianer Liu / The Information:

Sources: China has told some local tech companies to temporarily halt purchase orders for Nvidia's H200 chips while officials deliberate whether to approve them

More: Reuters, iTnews, The Decoder, Tom's Hardware, Blockonomi, and Investing.com

X: @zephyr_z9. Forums: r/technology

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:

WhatsApp rolls out new group chat features: member tags that show user roles, text stickers generated from any word, and custom event reminders — WhatsApp on Wednesday said it's rolling out new features to group chats, including member tags, text stickers, and event reminders.

Amrith Ramkumar / Wall Street Journal:

Docs: Character.AI and Google agree to settle lawsuits with families of teenagers who killed or harmed themselves after interacting with Character.AI's chatbot — The cases involving Character.AI's virtual companions highlighted concerns about artificial intelligence and mental health

More: Washington Post, CNBC, Axios, Decrypt, Reuters, Business Insider, Implicator.ai, Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Tech in Asia, The Information, New York Times, TechCrunch, Digit, RNZ, CBS News, CNN, Financial Times, RTÉ, Channel NewsAsia, and Engadget

X: @tech_oversight and @tech_oversight. Forums: Slashdot

Reuters:

Arm creates a “Physical AI” unit to focus on robotics and automotive sectors, as part of a reorganization that includes “Cloud and AI” and “Edge” business units — Chip technology company Arm Holdings has reorganized the company to create a Physical AI unit …

More: Arm Newsroom, DigiTimes, SiliconANGLE, Implicator.ai, and Tech in Asia

X: @danielnewmanuv and @arm. Bluesky: @mortenbay

Wired:

Grok's website and app are being used to produce extremely graphic, sometimes violent, sexual imagery of adults that is far more explicit than images on X — A WIRED review of outputs hosted on Grok's official website shows it's being used to create violent sexual images and videos, as well as content that includes apparent minors.

More: The Economic Times and RTÉ

X: @wired. Bluesky: @mattburgess1 and @mattburgess1

Forums: r/grok and r/technews

Cecilia D'Anastasio / Bloomberg:

Researcher: Grok generated ~6,700 sexually suggestive or “nudifying” images per hour on X between January 5 and January 6; 85% of all Grok images are sexualized

More: 404 Media, The Guardian, Reuters, American Prospect, The Guardian, Mashable, BMI, The Economic Times, Baller Alert, Read Max, Digit, Gizmodo, Kotaku, The American Bazaar, and Semafor

X: @stclairashley, @amyklobuchar, @migueldeicaza, @mikeisaac, @drewharwell, @adrianweckler, @ellamaulding, @byzantinespirit, @mikeisaac, @daisyldixon, @unblockmekitten, @tiffanyfong, @ashleyrgold, and @stephenlcasper. LinkedIn: Melissa McKay

Bluesky: @grissallia, @katie-drummond, @sundersays, @brianwernham, @jasonkoebler, @chafkin, @ryanlcooper.com, @ryanlcooper.com, @ddayen, @eliothiggins, @shiraovide, @carnage4life, @thinkorswim, @gsoh31, @ottoenglish, @jamesrball.com, and @bencollins. Mastodon: @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social

Forums: r/ABoringDystopia, r/WomenInNews, r/technology, r/ukpolitics, r/unitedkingdom, and r/LabourUK

Yoolim Lee / Bloomberg:

Samsung expects Q4 operating profit up 208% YoY to ~$13.8B, vs. ~$12.3B est., and revenue up 23% YoY to ~$64.2B, as AI server demand lifts memory chip prices — Samsung Electronics Co.'s quarterly profit more than tripled to a record high after global demand for AI servers sharply lifted memory chip prices.

More: Samsung Newsroom, The Hans India, SiliconANGLE, Yonhap News Agency, CNBC, The Korea Times, Korea Joongang Daily, SamMobile, SammyGuru, and Reuters

Chris Kerr / Game Developer:

Ubisoft closes its mobile-focused Halifax studio weeks after majority of the workers voted to unionize, as CWA Canada says it is “demanding information” — Workers at the Canadian studio voted to unionize in December in search of security in an era of ‘studio closures, layoffs, and increasing instability.’

More: Video Games Chronicle, GamesIndustry.biz, Nintendo Life, Financial Post, Canadian Press, Windows Central, CWA Canada, GamesBeat, Wccftech, Game Informer, GameSpot, Engadget, and Rock, Paper, Shotgun

LinkedIn: Jordan Long. Bluesky: @kerrblimey, @drgonzo123, and @cwacanada1

Forums: r/Asmongold, r/antiwork, r/fuckubisoft, r/gaming, r/gamingnews, r/Games, r/onguardforthee, r/novascotia_sub, r/NovaScotia, and r/halifax

Wall Street Journal:

Big US hospital systems have become a proving ground for AI adoption; a survey finds that 27% of health systems are paying for commercial AI licenses — Healthcare is going all-in on artificial intelligence, from reading patient scans to fighting insurance denials

Bluesky: @paleofuture and @bachynski

Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:

Ford plans to launch an AI voice assistant on its apps this year before expanding to its vehicles in 2027, and aims to debut Level 3 autonomous driving in 2028 — The automaker is bringing most of the work in house to reduce costs and retain control.

More: Automotive World, TechCrunch, Automotive News, Bloomberg, InsideEVs, CNBC, Carscoops, Reuters, and Ars Technica. X: @jimfarley98

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From Mediagazer

Ted Johnson / Deadline:

ABC sues the FCC, claiming the agency's investigations and regulatory actions are part of a Trump administration “retaliatory campaign” to curb its free speech

Svetlana Shkolnikova / Stars & Stripes:

Longtime Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer announces his retirement, saying his understanding of the outlet's “value and mission” differs from DOD plans

Emma Joyce / The Guardian:

Report: changing viewing habits and reduced commissioning by commercial networks have led to significant drops in TV dramas and children's shows in Australia

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More News

Rest of World:

Chinese local governments are funding dozens of “robot training centers”, where human trainers mimic movements like folding clothes to teach the robots

X: @jchengwsj and @restofworld

Bluesky: @rinachandran, @restofworld.org, and @rinachandran

David Shepardson / Reuters:

The US FCC exempts some new models of foreign-made drones and critical components from an import ban, announced in December 2025, until the end of 2026

Chris Welch / Bloomberg:

Samsung says Ballie, a robot announced six years ago but never released, is an “active innovation platform” within the company helping inform other products

More: The Verge, Ars Technica, SamMobile, and SamMobile. Mastodon: @bradlinder@fosstodon.org

Financial Times:

Microsoft Chief Scientific Officer Eric Horvitz warns that the US' cuts to academic research funding could push talent abroad and hand rivals an edge in AI

More: NDTV Profit

Yantoultra Ngui / Reuters:

Chinese AI company Zhipu opened up 3.3% in its Hong Kong trading debut after raising ~$558M in its IPO at a valuation of about $6.55B

More: Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Nikkei Asia, South China Morning Post, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Reuters, China Money Network, and Caixin Global. Bluesky: @edzitron.com

Sri Muppidi / The Information:

Sources: OpenAI last fall set aside RSUs worth 10% of the company, which was valued in October 2025 at $500B; OpenAI has already awarded ~$80B in vested equity

More: Reuters

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Larry Page bought two Miami estates in December and January for a combined $173.4M; Sergey Brin is also said to be in discussions to buy a Miami home

More: Inc.com and The Real Deal

Lizette Chapman / Bloomberg:

Lux Capital raised $1.5B for its ninth fund, the largest in its history, to back companies focusing on fields like breakthrough science and national security

Earlier Picks

Gabriele Steinhauser / Wall Street Journal:

Cambodia extradites Chen Zhi, the chair of online scam conglomerate Prince Group, to China; in October 2025, the US DOJ seized Chen's bitcoin worth nearly $12B

More: The Record, The Business Times, crypto.news, Cryptonews, Associated Press, New York Post, Decrypt, Coinpedia Fintech News, The Crypto Times, Protos, The Block, Bloomberg, New York Daily News, and DL News

X: @noansereiboth, @jacobincambodia, and @jacobincambodia

Politico:

Utah launches a pilot program with health tech startup Doctronic to let AI systems handle routine prescription renewals for patients with chronic conditions

More: Utah Department of Commerce, PYMNTS.com, GovTech, Ars Technica, People, FOX 13 News Utah, NewsNation, Washington Examiner, Deseret News, and CBS News

X: @andrewcurran_, @doctronic, and @kevintfrazier

LinkedIn: Margaret Busse and Timothy Aungst

Forums: r/singularity, r/medicalschool, r/pharmacy, r/publichealth, r/technology, and Slashdot

Jing Yang / The Information:

Source: Ant Group's Ant International grew revenue by 20% to 25% in 2025 to an estimated $3.7B, or ~10% of Ant's total 2025 revenue, as it competes with Visa

Katherine Doherty / Bloomberg:

Polymarket agrees to supply Dow Jones outlets like the WSJ and Barron's with prediction market trading data for online and in print, its first media partnership

More: Polymarket, Reuters, crypto.news, Benzinga, Cointelegraph, Bitcoin News, Coinspeaker, Bitcoin Magazine, Blockonomi, Watcher Guru, and Bloomberg

X: @polymarket, @polymarket, and @jasonshubnell. Forums: r/TrueAnon