Techmeme
January 19, 2026, 12:30 PM

Top News

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.
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 …
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.
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.
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 …
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
Financial Times:
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,” …
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.
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.
Yoolim Lee / Bloomberg:
Sources: Seoul-based AI chip designer FuriosaAI seeks to raise a $300M-$500M Series D to fund mass production of its 2nd-gen RNGD chip and is eyeing a 2027 IPO  —  Artificial intelligence chip designer FuriosaAI is seeking to raise as much as $500 million in a funding round …

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Featured Podcasts

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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.
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More News

Earlier Picks

Bradley Olson / Wall Street Journal:
More: Telegraph and Anthropic
Bluesky: @andytseng and @markkamstra.comForums: Hacker News