Techmeme
January 22, 2026, 12:35 PM

Top News

New York Times:
NYT and CCDH analysis: Grok created and shared 1.8M+ sexualized images of women between December 31 and January 8, after Elon Musk promoted the feature on X  —  Over nine days, Elon Musk's Grok chatbot generated and posted 4.4 million images, of which at least 41 percent were sexualized images of women.
The Information:
Sources: Apple is developing an AirTag-sized AI wearable pin with cameras, a speaker, microphones, and wireless charging, which it could launch as early as 2027  —  Apple is developing an AI-powered wearable pin the size of an AirTag that is equipped with multiple cameras, a speaker …
Mark Gurman / Bloomberg:
Sources: Apple plans to revamp Siri this fall in iOS 27 and macOS 27 by turning it into the company's first AI chatbot, replacing the current Siri interface  —  Apple Inc. plans to revamp Siri later this year by turning the digital assistant into the company's first artificial intelligence chatbot …
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
Google rolls out Personal Intelligence in AI Mode to access users' Gmail and Google Photos data for more tailored responses, for US Pro and Ultra subscribers  —  AI Mode, Google's conversational Search feature for complex questions, is getting more personalized.
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Spotify expands its AI-powered Prompted Playlists beta to Premium subscribers in the US and Canada, following initial testing in New Zealand  —  Spotify is rolling out Prompted Playlists, a new AI playlist creation tool, to Premium subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.
Semafor:
Sources: the US and China approve a deal to sell TikTok's US business to a group of mostly US investors led by Oracle and Silverlake, set to close this week  —  The US and China have signed off on a deal to sell TikTok's US business to a consortium of mostly US investors led by Oracle and Silverlake …
Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
Waymo launches its robotaxi service in Miami, its sixth market, initially covering a 60-square-mile area, and partners with Moove for fleet management  —  Alphabet's Waymo said Thursday that its robotaxi service is now open to paying riders in Miami, kicking off a 2026 market expansion.
Mia Sato / The Verge:
Cate Blanchett, Cyndi Lauper, and 800+ creatives launch “Stealing Isn't Innovation” to protest unauthorized AI training, backed by RIAA, SAG-AFTRA, and others  —  Cate Blanchett, Cyndi Lauper, George Saunders, and other creatives say that AI companies are …
AJ Dellinger / Gizmodo:
xAI engineer Sulaiman Ghori says he has “left” the startup, after saying on a podcast last week that xAI has skirted regulations while building its data centers  —  Interesting timing.  —  Sulaiman Ghori, an engineer at Elon Musk's AI startup xAI, went on the podcast Relentless …
Bloomberg:
Sources: the US Senate's crypto market structure bill is likely to be delayed by several weeks as key lawmakers shift their focus to a housing legislation push  —  A sweeping US crypto market bill is likely to be delayed by at least several weeks as key lawmakers shift their focus …
Core Memory:
Q&A with recently departed OpenAI VP of Research Jerry Tworek, who claims OpenAI's shift toward more conservative ways made high-risk, pioneering work harder  —  Are all the AI superpowers playing it too safe?  —  ∙ Paid  —  On January 5th, famed AI researcher Jerry Tworek stunned world+dog …
Bloomberg:
A US House panel okays a bipartisan bill pushing congressional oversight of AI chip exports and banning Nvidia Blackwell sales to China for at least two years  —  Congress is one step closer to gaining the authority to review artificial intelligence chip sales to China …
Bloomberg:
BitGo raises $212.8M in its IPO, selling 11.8M+ shares at $18 each, above the $15 to $17 range, giving it a ~$2.1B market value, in 2026's first crypto US IPO  —  BitGo Holdings Inc. and some of its backers raised $212.8 million in a US initial public offering, pricing its shares above the marketed range.

Sponsor Posts

ElevenLabs:
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Niantic Spatial:
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Zoho:
ETL tool evaluation checklist: 6 things to look for before you choose  —  Your data is only as valuable as your ability to move, prepare, and access it efficiently.  Choosing the wrong ETL tool can lead to months of rework …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Big Technology Podcast:
Apple After Tim Cook, OpenAI's New Mojo, Meta's Internal Tracking Escapade
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
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Hard Fork:
Tim Cook's Legacy + The Future of U.B.I. With Andrew Yang + HatGPT
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
The Upstarts Podcast:
Chapter's Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz: From Palantir To $3B Medicare Disruptor
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Lenny's Podcast:
How Anthropic's product team moves faster than anyone else | Cat Wu (Head of Product, Claude Code)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Access:
Silicon Valley finally has its "Succession"
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
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Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
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.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

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Earlier Picks

Rajesh Mascarenhas / Bloomberg:
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Business Insider:
Bloomberg:
Annie Palmer / CNBC: