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January 15, 2026, 5:05 AM

Top News

Kylie Robison / @kyliebytes:

Thinking Machines parts ways with CTO Barret Zoph, with Soumith Chintala taking over the role; sources say the termination is due to “unethical conduct” — BREAKING: Thinking Machines has terminated its CTO, Barret Zoph, due to unethical conduct according to two sources familiar with the matter. CEO Mira Murati announced the news at an all-hands with employees today. Soumith Chintala will be taking over as CTO.

More: TechCrunch, Spyglass, The Economic Times, Digit, The Information, and Implicator.ai

X: @miramurati, @harrystebbings, @suchenzang, @kyliebytes, @_arohan_, @tszzl, @miles_brundage, @benjamindekr, @alexeheath, @daniel_mac8, and @paularambles. Bluesky: @carnage4life. Forums: r/technology

Maxwell Zeff / Wired:

A source close to Thinking Machines alleged that ex-CTO Barret Zoph, who is returning to OpenAI, had shared confidential company information with competitors — The departures are a blow for Thinking Machines Lab. Two narratives are already emerging about why they happened.

More: Benzinga and Analytics India Magazine. Bluesky: @mzeff

Fidji Simo / @fidjissimo:

Fidji Simo says Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz are returning to OpenAI from Thinking Machines and the move “has been in the works for several weeks” — Excited to welcome Barret Zoph, Luke Metz, and Sam Schoenholz back to OpenAI! This has been in the works for several weeks, and we're thrilled to have them join the team. Barret will report to me; Luke and Sam will report into Barret. More to come on what they'll focus on soon!

More: Bloomberg. X: @shaneguml, @petergostev, @joannejang, @luke_metro, @yuchenj_uw, @ns123abc, @gavinpurcell, @elenarunsnyc, @barret_zoph, @polynoamial, @signulll, and @miyahedge

Karissa Bell / Engadget:

X updates Grok to prevent the “editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis” and geoblocks it for all users “where it's illegal” — The company is also blocking image generation entirely from non-subscribers.

More: The Verge, 9to5Mac, BBC, WebProNews, Reuters, MediaNama, Sky News, Deadline, The Independent, Decrypt, SFist, Ars Technica, The Guardian, and Bloomberg

X: @safety, @theobertram, @yacinemtb, @adrianweckler, @helios_movement, @lyeuhm, @loudmouthjulia, @jdpoc, @digiphile, and @mweinbach

Bluesky: @davidho, @tatumhunter, and @parismarx.com. Mastodon: @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social

Politico:

California AG Rob Bonta opens an investigation into xAI over the proliferation of nonconsensual, sexualized images generated by Grok, and urges xAI to act — California Attorney General Rob Bonta is investigating Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI over the proliferation of nonconsensual …

Financial Times:

UK PM Keir Starmer says X indicated to government officials it was acting to comply with UK laws by restricting the generation of nonconsensual sexual images — UK prime minister says xAI will restrict the image generator as billionaire pledges to follow laws in all markets

More: The Verge, BBC, The Irish Times, The Indian Express, ABC, Telegraph, France 24, The Independent, HuffPost, and Reuters

Raphael Satter / Reuters:

Elon Musk claims he's “not aware of any naked underage images generated by Grok” and that Grok's operating principle is to “obey the laws of any given country”

More: The Atlantic, The Guardian, Associated Press, The Indian Express, Politico, Implicator.ai, Hindustan Times, Le Monde, RTÉ, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, The Hill, CBS News, San Francisco Business Times, New York Post, Reuters, Digit, The Times, The Record, Tom's Guide, Euractiv, and Reuters

X: @elonmusk, @elonmusk, @cb_doge, and @elonmusk. Bluesky: @sundersays. Mastodon: @harrymccracken@mastodon …

Forums: r/technology, r/news, r/EnoughMuskSpam, r/technology, r/europe, and r/ukpolitics

Wall Street Journal:

OpenAI strikes a multibillion-dollar agreement to buy 750 MW of computing capacity from Cerebras over three years; sources say the deal is worth more than $10B — The ChatGPT-maker is racing to secure more computing power, especially for responding to user queries

More: OpenAI, CNBC, Silicon Republic, TechCrunch, Reuters, Cerebras, New York Times, WebProNews, PYMNTS.com, SiliconANGLE, The Information, InsideHPC, Financial Times, Pulse 2.0, Bloomberg, and DatacenterDynamics

X: @cerebras, @draecomino, @scaling01, @ericvishria, @mweinbach, @theo, @benbajarin, @yuchenj_uw, @kakashiii111, @matthewberman, and @ericvishria. LinkedIn: Dhiraj Mallick

Forums: r/hardware, r/CerebrasSystems, and Slashdot

Reuters:

TSMC reports Q4 net profit up 35% YoY to a record ~$16B, above $15.17B est., as it benefited from surging demand for AI chips and hit $100B in 2025 revenue — TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, posted a 35% jump in fourth-quarter net profit on Thursday, beating market forecasts …

More: Financial Times, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Daily Sabah, and Associated Press. X: @pelstrom

Bloomberg:

TSMC projects capital spending in 2026 at between $52B and $56B, up 25%+ from 2025, and forecasts ~30% YoY revenue growth in 2026, both above analyst estimates

More: TSMC

Sabrina Ortiz / ZDNET:

Google launches Personal Intelligence, a Gemini feature that links to Gmail, Google Photos, Search, and YouTube history to tailor answers, for paid subscribers — ZDNET's key takeaways — Personal Intelligence scans your apps to improve Gemini answers. — The feature is off by default and won't train on sensitive data.

More: The Keyword, The Verge, Times of India, AppleInsider, Ghacks, CNET, Engadget, TechCrunch, Livemint, Digit, The Economic Times, Financial Times, GSMArena.com, eWeek, MobileSyrup, SiliconANGLE, Analytics India Magazine, BleepingComputer, Implicator.ai, Pocket-lint, PPC Land, PYMNTS.com, WebProNews, Phandroid, Daring Fireball, SammyGuru, PCWorld, YouTube, 9to5Google on YouTube, Neowin, Android Central, Gizmodo, Crypto Briefing, The Decoder, Thurrott, The Information, Moneycontrol, Lifehacker, Search Engine Land, Yahoo Tech, Tom's Guide, TechRadar, Fortune, Digital Trends, Bloomberg, 9to5Google, Business Insider, and Android Police

X: @google, @sundarpichai, @dudewhoinvests, @dflieb, @geminiapp, @google, @glenngabe, @ai_for_success, @joshwoodward, @varunkinsights, @omooretweets, @royalhansen, @matthewberman, @thisiskp_, @ai_for_success, @rihardjarc, @demishassabis, and @teksedge

LinkedIn: Chris Struhar, Srinivasan Venkatachary, Oliver Bethell, Alex Joseph, and Aybuke. Bluesky: @scottstein

Forums: r/accelerate, r/singularity, and r/Bard

Adamya Sharma / Android Authority:

OpenAI quietly rolls out ChatGPT Translate, a standalone website that currently supports plain text translations across 50+ languages — OpenAI's new standalone translation tool supports over 50 languages and features AI-powered prompt customization. — • — TL;DR

More: ChatGPT Translate, Moneycontrol, BleepingComputer, Digit, and BleepingComputer

Financial Times:

Source: Apple's Gemini deal is a cloud contract where it pays Google several billion dollars; a source says OpenAI declined to be Apple's custom model provider — Multibillion-dollar deal to secure Gemini models reflects cautious approach to infrastructure spending

More: The Verge, Marketing Week, Fierce Network, and Techstrong.ai

X: @markgurman. Forums: r/artificial

Nikhilesh De / CoinDesk:

Coinbase pulls support from the US Senate's crypto market structure bill ahead of a key vote; CEO Brian Armstrong says there are “too many issues” with the bill — CEO Brian Armstrong said there were “too many issues” with the bill. — Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the exchange …

Jacob Krol / TechRadar:

Verizon resolves “an issue impacting wireless voice and data services” that caused 100,000+ customers to lose reception for 10+ hours on Wednesday — The carrier says the outage is now resolved — While Verizon had a good few months, with the last major outage occurring in October 2024 …

More: AppleInsider, NBC News, Reuters, Time, Engadget, WJXX-TV, New York Times, MacRumors, Mashable, 9to5Google, USA Today, New York Post, CNET, NBC Bay Area, FOX 13 Tampa Bay, PCMag, Engadget, Forbes, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, MacRumors, Associated Press, Technical.ly, XDA Developers, UPI, Screen Rant, Barron's Online, The Mac Observer, Benzinga, The Mendocino Voice, The Gateway Pundit, WebProNews, GV Wire, Hollywood Life, Pocket-lint, CNN, SammyGuru, Android Authority, Business Insider, Mediaite, Droid Life, Wall Street Journal, Android Central, PCMag, The Verge, PhoneArena, BleepingComputer, TechRadar, KARE-TV, Bloomberg, 9to5Mac, and Fierce Network

X: @verizonnews, @verizonnews, @verizonnews, @att, @0xgaut, @alexrkonrad, @morningbrew, @pcmag, and @joannastern

Forums: r/verizon, r/conspiracy, r/PrepperIntel, r/hudsonvalley, r/technology, and r/news

Josh Wingrove / Bloomberg:

President Trump signs an order to impose a 25% tariff on chips “transshipped through the US to other foreign countries”, as part of the Nvidia H200 export deal — The US imposed a 25% tariff on imports of certain semiconductors, a key step in an agreement blessed …

Nikkei Asia:

Sources: China is drafting rules for Nvidia H200 purchases, limiting how many chips local companies can buy and requiring them to justify the need

More: Reuters, WebProNews, Motley Fool, The American Bazaar, and Benzinga

Stevie Bonifield / The Verge:

YouTube now lets parents set time limits on their kids' YouTube Shorts feed, ranging from 15 minutes to two hours, with an option for zero minutes coming soon — Parents will also be able to manually create and adjust child and teen accounts on YouTube.

More: YouTube Official Blog, Business Standard, TechCrunch, BMI, Mashable, CNN, Thurrott, PCMag, Android Authority, MediaPost, and Moneycontrol

X: @rephouchin, @netchoice, and @nealmohan. LinkedIn: Dave Coleman. Forums: r/NowInTech

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 5:05 AM ET, January 15, 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

Samuel Stolton / Bloomberg:

The EU is reviewing Paramount's WBD takeover under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, probing involvement of Middle Eastern funds; a decision is due by July 14

New York Times:

Lesley Stahl says David Ellison called her and promised to respect editorial independence at 60 Minutes, a sign he is taking steps to calm turmoil at the show

Scott Nover / Washington Post:

Email: the WH press corps won't be allowed on White House grounds Sunday due to the UFC fight; only press poolers will be allowed unless UFC gives credentials

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More News

Bloomberg:

Chinese chipmaker SpacemiT, whose RISC-V-based K1 chip is used in industrial systems, robotics, edge computing, and AI devices, raised an ~$86M Series B

More: South China Morning Post

Reuters:

Microsoft agrees to buy a record 2.85M soil carbon credits from Indigo Carbon linked to regenerative US agriculture; a source values the deal at $171M to $228M

More: TechCrunch

Luz Ding / Bloomberg:

Alibaba links Qwen to its online shopping and travel services, including Taobao, Alipay, Fliggy, and Amap, aiming to build a one-stop AI app for its 100M users

More: The Information, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, AI Proem, and Telecompaper

X: @stevenhigherfun, @kelvinwan8, @gracemzshao, @alibabagroup, @poezhao0605, and @andrewcurran_

Sidhartha Shukla / Bloomberg:

CoinDesk data: Binance's spot crypto trading market share fell to 25% in December 2025, its lowest since 2021, and it is losing ground in derivatives trading

More: Benzinga and BeInCrypto

Yogita Khatri / The Block:

Project Eleven, which builds tools to prepare blockchains for post-quantum threats, raised a $20M Series A led by Castle Island at a $120M post-money valuation

More: Project Eleven, Project 11, VC News Daily, The Quantum Insider, NFTgators, Pulse 2.0, and Axios

Chris Metinko / Axios:

Novee, which utilizes proprietary AI models to perform automated penetration testing, emerges from stealth with a $43M Series A and an $8.5M seed

More: Business Wire and CTech

Naureen S Malik / Bloomberg:

PJM trims summer 2027 peak demand forecast to ~160 GW from ~164 GW because some projects, including data centers, lack firm service or construction commitments

More: Newser and PJM Inside Lines

Reuters:

Bitchat, a P2P messaging app launched by Jack Dorsey, has emerged as a key lifeline for people in Uganda and Iran facing government-imposed internet shutdowns

More: The Indian Express

Earlier Picks

New York Times:

2026 may be the year of the mega IPO, as sources say Anthropic, OpenAI, and SpaceX took early steps to go public, setting up a watershed moment for the AI boom

More: Motley Fool. X: @rohindhar

Lucas Ropek / TechCrunch:

Depthfirst, which provides AI tools for codebase scanning, credential exposure protection, and threat monitoring, raised a $40M Series A led by Accel Partners

More: FinSMEs, Business Wire, SiliconANGLE, and FinSMEs

Adam Sella / New York Times:

Sources: the Trump administration is weighing a substantial shift in its cyberstrategy, including by enlisting private companies to assist with cyberattacks

More: WebProNews. Forums: r/cybersecurity

Bloomberg:

Dutch court hearing: Nexperia claims Chinese owner Wingtech pushed for tech transfers out of Europe and threatened execs; Wingtech attacks Nexperia's management

More: South China Morning Post and Reuters

Supantha Mukherjee / Reuters:

Belgium-based Aikido Security, which offers automated security guardrails for developers, raised a $60M Series B led by DST Global at a $1B valuation

More: Pulse 2.0, SiliconANGLE, Sifted, and The Next Web. LinkedIn: Jos White

The Information:

Source: Microsoft has become one of Anthropic's top clients and was recently on pace to spend nearly $500M/year for Anthropic's AI to power Microsoft products

More: PYMNTS.com. X: @bearlyai and @kylebrussell. LinkedIn: Aaron Holmes

Natalie Lung / Bloomberg:

Airbnb hires Meta executive Ahmad Al-Dahle, who led the generative AI and Llama team after working at Apple, as its CTO, as it aims to add more AI to its app

More: Benzinga, WebProNews, Airbnb Newsroom, Skift, PYMNTS.com, Business Post, The Verge, Analytics India Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Bloomberg

X: @ahmad_al_dahle, @amasad, @markchen90, @alfred_lin, @sama, @rsalakhu, @_arohan_, @garrytan, and @ylecun. LinkedIn: Brian Chesky

Threads: @jjackyliang and @david_j_doherty

Maya Perez / WebProNews:

Bandcamp bans music and audio “generated wholly or in substantial part by AI”, hoping to build trust with fans that the music they find “was created by humans”