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Techmeme
January 9, 2026, 11:15 AM
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Top News

Helena Horton / The Guardian:
Grok says image generation and editing are now limited to paid subscribers, after outcry over its use to create sexually explicit and violent imagery  —  X to limit editing function to paying subscribers after platform threatened with fines and regulatory action
Robert Hart / The Verge:
X is restricting Grok's image capabilities via the @grok command for free users, but they can still create sexual deepfakes via X's “Edit image” or Grok's app  —  X's sexual deepfake machine is still running, despite Grok saying otherwise.
Hadas Gold / CNN:
Source: weeks before Grok started “digitally undressing” people, Musk expressed frustration to xAI staff about restrictions on Grok's image and video generator
Carmen Arroyo / Bloomberg:
Docs: xAI had a net loss of $1.46B in Q3, up from $1B in Q1; sources: xAI told investors it plans to build AI that will eventually power Optimus humanoid robots  —  Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI is burning cash quickly, with losses mounting as it spends to build data centers …
Dan Primack / Axios:
a16z raises $15B+ across five new funds, including $6.75B for its fifth growth fund, the largest sum, and $3B for unspecified “other venture strategies”  —  Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, whose past investments included Airbnb and Coinbase, on Friday announced …
Shirin Ghaffary / Bloomberg:
OpenAI launches a HIPAA-compliant version of ChatGPT for clinicians to help with medical reasoning and reduce administrative work, at Cedars-Sinai and elsewhere  —  Health care is shaping up to be a key battleground for the top AI labs this year.  But first...  Three things to know:
Sophie Bates / Associated Press:
Mississippi Gov. Reeves says xAI is set to spend $20B+ to build its MACROHARDRR data center in Southaven, xAI's third data center in the greater Memphis area  —  Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI is set to spend $20 billion to build a data center in Southaven, Mississippi …
Sarah Wynn / The Block:
The UK's FCA grants Ripple approval for its Electronic Money Institution license and crypto asset registration, clearing the way for UK expansion  —  Partner offers  —  Quick Take  — The Financial Conduct Authority granted Ripple approval for its Electronic Money Institution license and crypto asset registration in the UK.
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:
Microsoft debuts Copilot Checkout in the US, enabling in-chat purchases via PayPal, Shopify, Stripe, and more; Shopify merchants will be automatically enrolled  —  Microsoft is beginning to roll out its first agentic experiences within Copilot, it's AI answer engine.

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:15 AM ET, January 9, 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.

From Mediagazer

Madeline Halpert / BBC:
Melania Trump calls on ABC to “take a stand” on Jimmy Kimmel, after his joke that she has “a glow like an expectant widow” days before the WHCD shooting

Catherine Shoard / The Guardian:
How sanitised biopics became a Hollywood staple, as studios and estates of celebrities seek to monetize fan nostalgia; Michael is expected to earn more than $1B

Max Tani / Semafor:
Sources: Canadian holding company Tiny is looking to sell its stake in cinephile social platform Letterboxd, and has held talks with Versant and The Ankler

More News

Jennifer Hiller / Wall Street Journal:
Meta strikes a 20-year deal to buy 2,600+ MW of nuclear power from Vistra, and announces deals to back new reactor projects from TerraPower and Oklo
Suvashree Ghosh / Bloomberg:
Artemis Analytics: total stablecoin transaction volumes rose 72% YoY to a record $33T in 2025, led by Circle's USDC at $18.3T and Tether's USDT at $13.3T
Jeanny Yu / Bloomberg:
Chinese AI startup MiniMax's stock closed up 109% in its Hong Kong debut on January 9, after raising ~$619M in its IPO, which was priced at ~$21.17 per share
Rebecca Szkutak / TechCrunch:
Snowflake agrees to acquire Observe, an observability platform built on Snowflake databases; in December, the acquisition was reported to be valued at ~$1B

Earlier Picks

Maxwell Zeff / Wired:
OpenAI VP of Research Jerry Tworek is leaving, sources say after OpenAI sided with Chief Scientist Jakub Pachocki in a disagreement over its research direction
Ed Hardy / Cult of Mac:
Statcounter: only ~15% of iPhone users have iOS 26 installed four months after its release; in January 2025, ~63% of users were using iOS 18, a 4x adoption rate
Cody Combs / The National:
NetBlocks says internet connectivity in Iran has fallen on multiple providers, as protests spread to 100+ cities; Cloudflare says IPv6 traffic share dropped 85%
Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Roundtable:
Tailwind Labs, the maker of Tailwind CSS, lays off staff after online traffic to its documentation fell ~40% from 2023 due to AI, causing an ~80% revenue drop
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Google rolls out an AI Inbox view for Gmail that shows users to-dos and summaries of topics rather than a traditional email list, first for US “trusted testers”
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