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January 19, 2026, 12:55 PM
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| Sarah Friar / OpenAI: |
OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar says compute grew from 0.2 GW in 2023 to 0.6 GW in 2024 to ~1.9 GW in 2025 and ARR grew from $2B in 2023 to $6B in 2024 to $20B+ in 2025 — We launched ChatGPT as a research preview to understand what would happen if we put frontier intelligence directly in people's hands.
More: Reuters, The Information, eWeek, Exponential View, WebProNews, Neowin, Benzinga, Analytics India Magazine, CTech, and Sadagopan's weblog …
X: @ralph_grabowski, @stocksavvyshay, @rohanpaul_ai, @alternatejones, @signulll, @chatgpt21, @benbajarin, @signulll, @firstadopter, @jimcramer, @andrewcurran_, @sundeep, @kimmonismus, @therealadamg, @dr_gingerballs, @bearlyai, @the_ai_investor, @benitoz, @zephyr_z9, and @vraserx. LinkedIn: Sarah Friar
Forums: r/singularity and r/OpenAI
| Katherine Doherty / Bloomberg: |
The NYSE plans to use its tech that matches buyers and sellers, plus blockchain networks, to facilitate the real-time trading of tokenized securities in 2026 — The New York Stock Exchange is building a venue using blockchain technology to allow for trading tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds around the clock.
More: The New York Stock Exchange, Decrypt, The Block, CoinDesk, Barron's Online, Bitcoin Insider, Proactive, The Crypto Times, Coinspeaker, Reuters, Cryptonews, Pulse 2.0, The Defiant, Crypto Briefing, Dow Jones Newswires, Cointelegraph, and Coinpedia Fintech News
X: @reece_merrick, @mollysoshea, @carlosdomingo, @jdorman81, @securitize, @hadickm, @nyse, @ondofinance, and @nategeraci. Forums: r/wallstreetbets
| Jez Corden / Windows Central: |
Sources: Microsoft is preparing to launch a session-based ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming tier in 2026; users note Xbox Cloud Gaming now references “ad support” — Users have been noticing that Xbox Cloud Gaming has begun referencing “ad support” while launching games, confirming our earlier report.
More: Thurrott, 9to5Google, HotHardware, Mashable, Cord Cutters News, GamingBolt, XboxEra, Pure Xbox, Digital Trends, Digit, iPhone in Canada, and Tech4Gamers. Bluesky: @jezcorden.com
| The Information: |
Sources: after five Thinking Machines staff left, investors are rattled, potentially impacting fundraising; two researchers quit via Slack during an all-hands — The timing couldn't have been more awkward for Thinking Machines Lab. — On Wednesday, during an all-hands meeting at the AI startup …
More: The Decoder, WinBuzzer, The Information, and The Indian Express
| Palmer Luckey / @palmerluckey: |
Meta's VR layoffs may help the industry long term, as most of the ~1,500 roles worked on first-party content and games that competed with the broader ecosystem — I have an opinion on the Meta layoffs that is contrary with most of the VR industry and much of the media, but strongly held. This is not a disaster. They still employ the largest team working on VR by about an order of magnitude. Nobody else is even close. The “Meta is
More: Road to VR, Business Insider, TechCentral.ie, The Ghost Howls, Futurism, and GameSpot
X: @asychov, @palmerluckey, @palmerluckey, @ryansprague, @jmdagdelen, and @cixliv. Mastodon: @maxleibman@beige.party
Forums: r/virtualreality and r/antiwork
| Financial Times: |
The IMF says the “surprisingly resilient” global economy is at risk of a sharp AI boom reversal, but “the levels of market frothiness” are below the dotcom bust — Fund's chief economist says there are reasons to be concerned about a potential AI correction
More: Reuters, Taipei Times, Gulf News, Bloomberg, Times of India, The National, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, Blockonomi, Business Today, Forbes Middle East, and Daily Sabah. Forums: Slashdot
| James Peckham / PCMag: |
Taiwanese media: Asus Chair Jonney Shih says the company won't release any new smartphones in 2026, which may signal the brand's exit from the Android market — Asus won't release any new smartphones in 2026, and that may signal the brand's exit from the Android space altogether.
More: Tech Advisor, 9to5Google, HotHardware, The Verge, Gizmochina, Android Police, PhoneArena, Android Authority, Tech in Asia, Notebookcheck, GSMArena.com, and VideoCardz.com. Forums: r/hardware
| Axios: |
OpenAI executive Chris Lehane says the startup is “on track” to unveil its first device in H2 2026; reports suggest it won't have a screen and may be a wearable — OpenAI is “on track” to unveil its first device in the second half of 2026, the company's policy chief, Chris Lehane, said Monday at Axios House Davos.
More: 9to5Mac, Hindustan Times, and Crypto Briefing
| Erin Woo / The Information: |
Sources: internal Google data shows Gemini API calls surged from ~35B in March 2025 to ~85B in August 2025; Google says Gemini Enterprise has hit 8M subscribers — Google's improvements to its Gemini AI models are boosting the company's top line. — Over the past year …
X: @jessicalessin, @erinkwoo, and @stocksavvyshay
| Alex Isenstadt / Axios: |
Source: Elon Musk donates $10M to boost pro-Trump Senate candidate Nate Morris, who is seeking to replace Mitch McConnell, in Musk's largest-yet Senate donation — Elon Musk has cut a massive $10 million check to bolster Nate Morris, an outsider, pro-Trump candidate running to succeed retiring …
More: New York Times, Fox News, New York Post, and RedState
Forums: r/PoliticalOptimism and r/InterstellarKinetics
| Jack Dunn / Variety: |
On Joe Rogan's JRE, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck discuss Hollywood and AI; Damon says Netflix wants movies to restate the plot because viewers are on their phones — Matt Damon and Ben Affleck recently appeared on the “Joe Rogan Experience” to promote their new Netflix film “The Rip,” …
More: Gizmodo, Spyglass, Breitbart, NME, International Business Times, WCSH, PowerfulJRE on YouTube, Business Insider, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, Just Jared, The Independent, The A.V. Club, primetimer.com, Entertainment Weekly, Benzinga, and The Week
X: @clairlemon, @zymazza, @trungtphan, @pourfairelevide, @forrestpknight, @dead_baseball, @barondestructo, @thecinesthetic, @tom_lsoo, @freightalley, @bearlyai, @lynaldencontact, @andymasley, @lookatmymeat1, @danielrpk, @khuze_elikhulu, @owl_posting, @mattzeitlin, @ross__hendricks, @lthomasnews, @ctachio83984, @andthatsbb, @jackposobiec, @groditid, @jtfoz, @xqc, @robkhenderson, @blackmajikman90, @hdmoviesource, @grummz, @dead_baseball, @colin_gladman, and @dead_baseball. Threads: @carnage4life
Forums: r/nottheonion, r/NewsOfTheStupid, r/entertainment, r/movies, and r/television
| Olivia Solon / Bloomberg: |
The UK Gambling Commission says Meta is letting illegal gambling sites advertise on Facebook and Instagram, calling its ad library a “window into criminality” — Meta Platforms Inc. is turning a blind eye to illegal gambling sites that advertise on Facebook and Instagram, according to the UK's Gambling Commission.| Counterpoint Research: |
Chinese smartphone shipments fell 1.6% YoY in Q4 2025 and 0.6% in 2025 due to weak demand after memory shortages increased prices; iPhone shipments rose 28% YoY — Type: — Insight — Team Counterpoint — Counterpoint research is a young and fast growing research firm covering analysis of the tech industry.
More: Tech in Asia, MacTech.com, and DigiTimes
| John Sakellariadis / Politico: |
Sources: US political appointees at CISA blocked Acting Director Madhu Gottumukkala's attempt to remove the agency's chief information officer, Robert Costello — The personnel spat began late last Thursday afternoon after Costello was given a so-called management-directed reassignment …
Bluesky: @metacurity.com and @laurenmeidasa
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