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January 29, 2026, 4:10 PM
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| Financial Times: |
Apple acquires Q.ai, whose tech can analyze facial expressions and could enable non-verbal discussions with AI assistants; sources: the deal values Q.ai at ~$2B — iPhone-maker strikes deal for secretive group that creates technology that analyses facial expressions
More: Reuters, MacRumors, 9to5Mac, PYMNTS.com, AppleInsider, CTech, The Information, The Verge, Engadget, TechCrunch, Thurrott, GV, CNBC, Bloomberg, The Mac Observer, Stocktwits, Philip Elmer‑DeWitt, Benzinga, iPhone in Canada, iClarified, and MacTech.com
X: @parkerortolani, @munster_gene, @yuchenj_uw, @scobleizer, @sadlyitsbradley, @thulme, @stocksavvyshay, @nabeel, @mikeeisenberg, and @tim
LinkedIn: Avi Barliya, Haomiao Huang, PhD, Yonatan Wexler, and Tom Hulme. Bluesky: @arik.org. Mastodon: @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org
Forums: r/apple, Slashdot, and MacRumors Forums
| Reuters: |
Source: SpaceX and xAI are in talks to merge ahead of a planned IPO this year; under the proposed deal, shares of xAI would be exchanged for shares in SpaceX — Elon Musk's SpaceX and xAI are in discussions to merge ahead of a blockbuster public offering planned for later this year.
More: Bloomberg, CNBC, TechCrunch, The Verge, San Francisco Business Times, Scientific American, Watcher Guru, Futurism, Forbes, Sherwood News, and The Irish Times
X: @scobleizer, @mgsiegler, @wholemars, @justjake, and @eastdakota
Bluesky: @prietschka, @bmcdev, @petertl, @stevekovach, @stevenjcbuckley, @ampallanguk, @mktsutherland, @tcarmody, @stephenjudkins, @dweeze, @acombites, @ariehkovler.com, and @caseynewton. Mastodon: @Barredo@mastodon.social
Forums: Hacker News, r/spacex, r/StockMarket, r/SpaceXLounge, and r/wallstreetbets
| Jay Peters / The Verge: |
Google launches Project Genie, which lets users create interactive worlds using Genie 3, Nano Banana Pro, and Gemini, for Google AI Ultra subscribers in the US — It's what I had the most fun using Google's Project Genie for, at least right now. … This week, a new generative AI tool …
More: The Keyword, 9to5Google, Engadget, TechCrunch, Kotaku, Mashable, Android Authority, and The Decoder
X: @jparkerholder, @googledeepmind, @googledeepmind, @demishassabis, @andrewcurran_, @emollick, @itspaulai, @raiahadsell, @mreflow, @theomediaai, @mark_k, @diegocabezas01, @kimmonismus, @joshwoodward, @legit_api, @elonmusk, @scobleizer, and @venturetwins
Bluesky: @parismarx.com, @bottleofstars, @prietschka, and @pekka. Mastodon: @mttaggart@infosec.exchange. Forums: Hacker News
| Wall Street Journal: |
Sources: Amazon is in talks to invest up to $50B in OpenAI, which is seeking up to $100B in new capital, a round that could value it at as much as $830B — CEO Andy Jassy is leading the e-commerce giant's negotiations with the startup — Amazon.com is in talks to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI …
More: Bloomberg, Reuters, Benzinga, Techstrong.ai, Proactive, and Tech Funding News
Bluesky: @moreandagain.me, @bacongawd.blacksky.app, and @peark.es
| Sri Muppidi / The Information: |
Sources: OpenAI is in talks to raise up to $30B from Nvidia and less than $10B from Microsoft, as part of a $100B funding round — OpenAI is lining up huge checks from some of its biggest tech partners, as it seeks to raise up to $100 billion to fund growing demand for its AI.| Sean O'Kane / TechCrunch: |
Waymo says a robotaxi struck a child at 6 mph near an elementary school in Santa Monica on January 23, resulting in minor injuries; the NHTSA opens a probe — A Waymo robotaxi struck a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica on January 23, according to the company.
More: Waymo, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, PCMag, Forbes, Axios, Washington Times, Neowin, CNBC, CNET, The Robot Report, New York Post, The Last Driver License Holder, Dow Jones Newswires, CBT News, Engadget, Futurism, Understanding AI, and The Verge
Forums: Hacker News, r/SantaMonica, r/fuckcars, r/technology, and Slashdot
| Financial Times: |
Tesla plans to scrap its premium S and X models and convert its California factory into an Optimus manufacturing hub, as Elon Musk refocuses on robotics and AI — Elon Musk's electric-car maker invests $2bn in the billionaire's xAI — Tesla plans to scrap two models and invest $2bn in Elon Musk's xAI …
More: Electrek, Ars Technica, Reuters, Bloomberg, TheStreet, Financial Times, BBC, CNBC, InsideEVs, Bloomberg, NBC News, Inc.com, Dallas Business Journal, Carscoops, The Hans India, Benzinga, The Register, Yahoo Finance, Tech Times, Daily Caller News Foundation, Business Insider, New Atlas, The Information, Forbes, Blockonomi, New York Times, and Implicator.ai
X: @tesla, @marionawfal, @zacksjerryrig, @snazzylabs, @dwallacewells, @jasondebolt, @mattlinn01, @sircalebhammer, @mkbhd, @sawyermerritt, @tashaark, @itskyleconner, @jeffskoll, @wr4nygov, @sawyermerritt, @elonmusk, @urgo, @elonmusk, @garyblack00, @sawyermerritt, @elonmusk, @niccruzpatane, @mikekantorski, @hamids, @briandstone, @sawyermerritt, @elonmusk, @bitcodyy, and @tesla_optimus
Bluesky: @norbizness, @karlbode.com, @robertscotthorton, @pickardje, and @mzjacobson. Mastodon: @jbz@indieweb.social
| Connor Jones / The Register: |
Security researchers warn Moltbot, previously Clawdbot, requires a specialist skillset to use safely, as data exposure risks persist even when set up correctly — The massively hyped agentic personal assistant has security experts wondering why anyone would install it
More: VentureBeat, Axios, Tech Brew, ZDNET, Inc.com, Gizmodo, Digit, BleepingComputer, Pivot to AI, Cisco Blogs, The Stack, Implicator.ai, Wired, SOC Prime, and Digital Trends
X: @theonejvo, @theonejvo, @llmjunky, @steipete, @yuchenj_uw, @osmo999, @mattyryze, @antoine_moyroud, @morganlinton, @osmo999, @osmo999, @mattjay, @irl_danb, @theonejvo, @thedevilops, and @theonejvo. Bluesky: @campuscodi.risky.biz
Mastodon: @ai6yr@m.ai6yr.org and @Viss@mastodon.social
| Dominic Preston / The Verge: |
Nothing CEO Carl Pei says the company's flagship Phone 4 won't launch in 2026: “We're not just going to churn out a new flagship every year for the sake of it” — CEO Carl Pei says there's no new flaghip on the way, but teased improvements for the 4A series instead.| Counterpoint Research: |
Apple's iPhone 16 was the world's best-selling smartphone in 2025, followed by the 16 Pro Max and 16 Pro; Apple took 7 of the top 10 spots and Samsung took 3 — - Apple and Samsung continued to capture the Top 10 spots. … - In terms of comparisons with predecessor models …
More: 9to5Mac, iPhone in Canada, SamMobile, Wccftech, iClarified, Android Headlines, Android Authority, MacRumors, Cult of Mac, AppleInsider, The Mac Observer, and MacTech.com
Forums: r/apple, Slashdot, and MacRumors Forums
| Kim Jaewon / Nikkei Asia: |
Samsung and SK Hynix executives say they expect global memory supply shortages will persist until 2027 due to AI demand, after the companies reported earnings — SEOUL — The world's two leading memory chipmakers say the supply crunch in their industry will continue until 2027 as they cannot keep …
More: Taipei Times and Total Telecom
| Dylan Butts / CNBC: |
| Sam Reynolds / CoinDesk: |
The US SEC clarifies its tokenized stock rules, saying they are subject to securities and derivatives rules and issuer approval is required for true ownership — The agency says issuer approval is required for true tokenized ownership, warning that many stock tokens sold to retail investors provide only indirect or synthetic exposure.
More: US Securities …, Inside Bitcoins, CryptoPotato, The Coin Republic, Coinspeaker, Unchained, The Crypto Times, Blockhead, Blockonomi, Coinpedia Fintech News, BeInCrypto, CoinGape, Cointelegraph, Cryptonews, and The Block. LinkedIn: Rani Doyle
| New York Times: |
Amazon's $35M marketing campaign for Melania is ~10x the budget for similar documentaries like CNN's RBG; some suggest Amazon is currying favor with Trump — The tech giant is spending $35 million to promote its film about the first lady, far more than is typical for documentaries.
More: Al Jazeera, New York Times, The Boston Globe, NBC News, New Republic, Dexerto, New York Post, The Hollywood Reporter, and The Wrap
X: @repjackkimble, @bruce_arthur, @jayblackisfunny, @bmeiselas, @travisakers, @oldfriend99, @tomsteyer, @ronfilipkowski, @covie_93, @nategilbert, @bmeiselas, @sundaedivine, @glen_mcgregor, @hearinladotcom, and @jeff__benjamin. Bluesky: @bmeiselas
Forums: r/USNEWS, r/StrangeAndFunny, r/entertainment, and r/boxoffice
| Bloomberg: |
Amazon reported hundreds of thousands of pieces of potential CSAM in AI training data to NCMEC in 2025; child safety officials say Amazon didn't give the source — The tech giant reported hundreds of thousands of cases of suspected child sexual abuse material, but won't say where it came from
More: WinBuzzer. LinkedIn: Kurt Wagner. Mastodon: @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social. Forums: r/technology
| Koh Ewe / BBC: |
Chinese media: China executed 11 members of the Ming mafia family that ran online scam centres in Myanmar; five Bai family members are also sentenced to death — China has executed 11 members of a notorious mafia family that ran scam centres in Myanmar along its north-eastern border, state media report.
More: Bloomberg, Decrypt, New York Post, Beyond Search, Protos, Associated Press, Metro.co.uk, OCCRP, Al Jazeera, and Le Monde
| Murray Stassen / Music Business Worldwide: |
A coalition of music publishers, including UMG, filed a second lawsuit against Anthropic, seeking $3B over allegations of copyright infringement of 20k+ songs — A coalition of music publishers has filed a second copyright infringement lawsuit against AI company Anthropic, and it's a big one.| Ben Wilson / Windows Central: |
Nvidia launches a native GeForce NOW app for Linux, starting with Debian-based Ubuntu, after releasing a Steam Deck app in 2025; in a hands-on, it works well — GeForce NOW cloud gaming expands to desktops and other Ubuntu devices, with Bazzite tested and the Steam Deck thriving.
More: NVIDIA, Thurrott, XDA Developers, Android Headlines, PCMag, VideoCardz.com, HotHardware, Phoronix, Linuxiac, Neowin, KitGuru, PC Guide, PC Gamer, and PCWorld
| Robert McMillan / Wall Street Journal: |
Google says it took legal action to take down dozens of domains and disrupt the residential proxy network of Chinese company Ipidea, widely used by bad actors — Company targets global network employed by hackers that often use devices running in homes of everyday Americans
More: Google Cloud Blog, iTnews, BleepingComputer, The Register, Help Net Security, Infosecurity, Yahoo Finance, Cyber Security News, eSecurity Planet, Security Affairs, CyberInsider, Android Authority, The Hacker News, and Reuters
X: @mandiant, @googlecloudsec, and @denisewu. LinkedIn: Chris Cornillie. Mastodon: @briankrebs@infosec.exchange
| Isaiah Poritz / Bloomberg Law: |
A San Francisco jury finds former Google engineer Linwei Ding guilty of stealing trade secrets related to AI chip technology to build a startup in China — A former Google engineer was convicted Thursday of economic espionage and trade secrets theft for taking hundreds of the company's confidential documents …
More: Courthouse News Service and DataBreaches.Net
| Aisha Malik / TechCrunch: |
Google expands Gemini's hands-free conversational capabilities to walking and cycling modes in Google Maps, available on iOS and rolling out on Android — Google announced on Thursday that Google Maps users can now access Gemini hands-free while walking and cycling.
More: The Keyword, Android Police, Thurrott, Neowin, T3, Android Headlines, 9to5Google, Android Authority, CNET, and Tom's Guide
| Zoe Kleinman / BBC: |
Waymo says it hopes to launch its London robotaxi service as soon as September, after an April pilot; the UK government plans to change regulations in H2 2026 — Waymo, the US driverless car firm, said it hopes to be operating a robotaxi service in London as soon as September this year.| Ryan Weeks / Bloomberg: |
Crypto exchange Bybit plans to offer banking services via “MyBank” accounts that can hold USD and other currencies, set to launch in February pending approvals — Crypto exchange Bybit plans to start offering banking services with the launch of accounts that will let customers hold balances … | Connie Loizos / TechCrunch: |
Airtable unveils Superagent, a service that can deploy AI agents in parallel for tasks like market analysis, its first standalone product in its 13-year history — It might sound crazy to some, launching an entirely new product line while your flagship business has shed two-thirds of its paper value.
More: Superagent, Implicator.ai, Airtable, and VentureBeat
| The Information: |
Sources: ByteDance and Alibaba both plan to release flagship AI models around China's mid-February Lunar New Year holiday, including ByteDance's Doubao 2.0 — The battle for AI dominance in China is reaching new heights. Tech giants ByteDance and Alibaba Group are both poised to release …
X: @scaling01
| Kevin McLaughlin / The Information: |
OpenAI has hired 7+ employees from AI coding startup Cline, including Nik Pash, who left Cline after posting “imagine the smell” on X regarding an xAI hackathon — OpenAI has recently hired more than a half dozen employees from Cline, a startup that develops an open-source … | Mark Bergen / Bloomberg: |
Munich-based RobCo, which makes robotic arms and factory automation software, raised $100M led by Lingotto and Lightspeed, a source says at a $500M+ valuation — RobCo, a German startup that makes robots for use in manufacturing, has raised $100 million in financing from investors …
More: SiliconANGLE, The Robot Report, Silicon Republic, RoboticsTomorrow.com, and FinSMEs
| Tom Warren / The Verge: |
Sources: Microsoft is focusing on fixing the core issues of Windows 11 over the coming months after persistent bugs, ads, and bloatware eroded user trust — Engineers are now focusing on performance, reliability, and the overall Windows experience. … Windows is in a weird spot.
More: Tom's Guide, Pureinfotech, Business Standard, and Moneycontrol
Forums: r/pcmasterrace, Slashdot, and Slashdot
| Natalie Lung / Bloomberg: |
Grubhub plans to remove delivery and service fees on restaurant orders over $50 starting Feb. 2; Grubhub's US market share fell to ~4% in 2025 from 10% in 2023 — Grubhub is removing delivery and service fees on all restaurant orders above $50, the latest move by the newly private food-delivery app … | Will Canny / CoinDesk: |
Talos, which develops digital asset trading infrastructure, raised a $45M extension from Robinhood and others to its $105M Series B, at a $1.5B valuation — The $45 million Series B extension also includes participation from new strategic investors Sony Innovation Fund, IMC, QCP and Karatage.| Olivier Acuna / CoinDesk: |
Russia says a crypto regulatory framework will come into force July 1, 2027; it will ban privacy coins like monero and cap retail investor purchases at ~$4K — What to know: … The head of Russia's lower house of the country's parliament on Thursday said crypto market regulations …
More: Cryptonews, Bitcoin Magazine, and The Crypto Times
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More: Arcee AI and Interconnects AI
X: @arcee_ai, @cailen, @latkins, @scaling01, @kalomaze, @beffjezos, @natolambert, @theonejvo, @sasurobert, and @juddrosenblatt. LinkedIn: Mark McQuade. Bluesky: @prietschka
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