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January 2, 2026, 7:15 AM
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| Stephanie Palazzolo / The Information: |
Sources: OpenAI is taking steps to improve its audio AI models, in preparation for its AI-powered personal device, which is expected to be largely audio-based — OpenAI is taking steps to improve its audio AI models, in preparation for its eventual release of an AI-powered personal device, said a person with knowledge of the effort.
More: TechCrunch, Tech in Asia, Benzinga, SiliconANGLE, Digit, Implicator.ai, and The Decoder
X: @zhihuipikachu, @gregkamradt, @keytryer, @mark_k, @andrewcurran_, @jukan05, @beffjezos, @jukan05, @kimmonismus, @steph_palazzolo, @kylebrussell, and @btibor91
Bluesky: @druce.ai and @carnage4life
Forums: r/singularity and r/OpenAI
| Rishabh Jaiswal / Reuters: |
SpaceX plans to lower its Starlink satellites from orbiting at ~550km to ~480km in 2026 to improve space safety and reduce the likelihood of debris collisions — Starlink will begin a reconfiguration of its satellite constellation by lowering all of its satellites orbiting at around 550 km …
More: Business Insider, The Verge, Computerworld, Interesting Engineering, Digit, Moneycontrol, Tech in Asia, Channels Television, Analytics India Magazine, Neowin, Nairametrics, Engadget, and Hürriyet Daily News
X: @michaelnicollsx, @wagamemnonglenn, @marcushouse, @philipjohnston, @bassonbrain, @iniallanderson, @justin_je_mabie, @teslatino, @yrouel86, @blaze_r935, and @seattle_rt. Bluesky: @fack
Mastodon: @jknodlseder@mastodon.social and @hannorein@mastodon.social
| Vincent Chow / South China Morning Post: |
DeepSeek researchers detail mHC, a new architecture they used to train 3B, 9B, and 27B models, finding it scaled without adding significant computational burden — DeepSeek has published a technical paper co-authored by founder Liang Wenfeng proposing a rethink of its core deep learning architecture
More: arXiv.org, Computerworld, The Economic Times, Business Insider, Implicator.ai, SiliconANGLE, Blockonomi, and Pandaily
| Philosopher Count: |
How AI automation can fulfill Thomas Piketty's predictions on rising economic inequality, and why highly progressive taxes on capital can help slow the spiral — Piketty was wrong about the past. He's probably right about the future. — 1. Introduction
X: @elocinationn, @erikbryn, @saikatc, @pawtrammell, @tszzl, @garrytan, @besttrousers, @harryh, @dwarkesh_sp, @pawtrammell, @jankulveit, @yonashav, @stevehou, @jackwiseman_, @deepdishenjoyer, @t_holden, @alltheyud, @garrytan, @daniel_271828, @krishnanrohit, @briancalbrecht, @briancalbrecht, @digeconlab, @jsevillamol, @daveg, @mylesudland, @ks_kulk, @robinhanson, @mortenstostad, @alltheyud, @garrytan, @drydenwtbrown, @dwarkesh_sp, @dwarkesh_sp, and @dwarkesh_sp. LinkedIn: Viktor Shvets
| C.J. Chivers / New York Times: |
Ukraine has become a live-fire test range for AI drones like the Bumblebee, provided by a secretive Eric Schmidt-led venture, raising alarms in Kremlin circles — As the war grinds on, sophisticated Russian defenses have pushed Ukraine to develop a frightening new weapon: semiautonomous killing machines.| Rachel Clun / BBC: |
UK crypto buyers are required to share their account details with tax officials starting January 1 or face penalties, as the UK seeks to collect unpaid taxes — People buying cryptocurrency in the UK now need to share their account details or face penalties, in changes that came into effect on 1 January.| Sneha Kumar / Reuters: |
Baidu says its AI chip unit Kunlunxin has confidentially filed for a Hong Kong IPO, aiming for a spin-off; a December fundraising reportedly valued it at ~$3B — Chinese internet search giant Baidu (9888.HK) said on Friday its AI chip unit Kunlunxin has confidentially filed a listing application … | Meghan Bobrowsky / Wall Street Journal: |
How Meta's Reels became a hit, with a $50B+ annual run rate; Sensor Tower: users spend 27 minutes/day on Instagram Reels, 21 on YouTube Shorts, and 44 on TikTok — Once a TikTok wannabe, Instagram's video feature is now a hit with users and advertisers. Can it make the leap to television?| Bloomberg: |
Chinese AI chip startup Biren surged as much as 119% in its Hong Kong debut, after raising ~$717M in an IPO priced at ~$2.52 per share — Shares of Shanghai Biren Technology Co. surged nearly 119% in their trading debut, on track for the best first-day performance since 2021 among Hong Kong listings that raised at least $700 million.
More: Fortune, Reuters, Nikkei Asia, South China Morning Post, Reuters, The Information, and SiliconANGLE
| Kieran Smith / Financial Times: |
How Nokia has reinvented itself for the AI revolution by expanding into cloud services, data centers, and optical networks, and by partnering with Nvidia — Finnish company that brought the world the 3310 has reinvented itself for the AI revolution — Few digital sounds have burrowed into the human brain like the Nokia ringtone.
More: COINOTAG. LinkedIn: Gennaro Cuofano, Dr Marko Sjoblom, and Robert Byggmästar. Bluesky: @robertscotthorton
| Nikkei Asia: |
How Arizona is training talent for its growing chip industry as suppliers fear tighter US immigration policy; Arizona has drawn $200B+ in investments since 2020 — PHOENIX, Arizona — On a late afternoon in autumn at Mesa Community College, a diverse group had gathered for their “Quick Start” …
Bluesky: @whortana
| Financial Times: |
A look at the rise of AI companionship apps; a researcher found 206 on Apple's App Store and 253 on Google Play, with a total of 220M+ downloads as of July 2025 — The technology is changing the way many people meet and form relationships but some experts believe it may do more harm than good| Miles Kruppa / The Information: |
Brookfield is starting cloud company Radiant and a new $10B AI fund, after saying it plans to acquire up to $100B in land, data centers, and power assets for AI — Private-equity firm Brookfield is starting its own cloud business, going up against tech giants like Amazon by arguing it can bring down the costs of developing AI.
More: SiliconANGLE, Yahoo Finance, and Reuters
| Angel Au-Yeung / Wall Street Journal: |
Startups have started to offer free nicotine pouches as a perk, as some employees claim the products help them focus during the workday, despite health hazards — A nicotine replacement for smokers has started popping up in offices in the tech industry, despite health hazardsSponsor Posts
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Zoho:
Zoho RPA named a Leader in the 2026 RPA Technology Value Matrix by Nucleus Research — Zoho RPA has been named a Leader in the 2026 RPA Technology Value Matrix, published by Nucleus Research …
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