Rain, which helps businesses issue stablecoin-linked Visa cards, raised a $250M Series C led by ICONIQ at a $1.95B valuation, bringing total funding to $338M+ (Pragyan Kalita/Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/technology/stablecoin-firm-rain-valued-195-billion-latest-fundraise-2026-01-09/
Techmeme
Rain, which helps businesses issue stablecoin-linked Visa cards, raised a $250M Series C led by ICONIQ at a $1.95B valuation, taking its total funding to $338M+
By Pragyan Kalita / Reuters. View the full context on Techmeme.
X is restricting Grok's image capabilities via the @grok reply command, but free users can still create sexual deepfakes through the standalone Grok app or site (Robert Hart/The Verge)
The Verge
No, Grok hasn’t paywalled its deepfake image feature
X’s sexual deepfake machine is still running, despite Grok saying otherwise.
Techmeme
X is restricting Grok
By Robert Hart / The Verge. View the full context on Techmeme.
The EU says it is considering designating WhatsApp a "very large platform", after WhatsApp published user numbers above the DSA threshold in February 2025 (Louise Breusch Rasmussen/Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/technology/eu-considers-designating-whatsapp-very-large-platform-spokesperson-says-2026-01-09/
Techmeme
The EU is considering designating WhatsApp as a “very large online platform”, after WhatsApp Channels
From Reuters. View the full context on Techmeme.
a16z raises over $15B across five new funds, including $6.75B for its fifth growth fund and $3B for unspecified "other venture strategies" (Dan Primack/Axios) https://www.axios.com/2026/01/09/andreessen-horowitz-15-billion-for-new-funds
Techmeme
a16z raises $15B+ across five new funds, including $6.75B for its fifth growth fund, the largest sum, and $3B for unspecified “other venture strategies”
By Dan Primack / Axios. View the full context on Techmeme.
Filings: X's UK revenue fell 58.3% YoY from £69.1M in 2023 to £28.9M in 2024; pre-tax profits fell from £2.2M in 2023 to £767,000 in 2024 (Mark Sweney/The Guardian)
the Guardian
X UK revenues drop nearly 60% in a year as content concerns spook advertisers
Elon Musk-owned site reports plunging profits amid outcry over use of AI tool Grok to create sexually explicit imagery
Techmeme
Filings: X
By Mark Sweney / The Guardian. View the full context on Techmeme.
Meta strikes a 20-year deal to buy 2,600+ MW of nuclear power from Vistra, and announces deals to back new reactor projects from TerraPower and Oklo (Jennifer Hiller/Wall Street Journal) https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta-unveils-sweeping-nuclear-power-plan-to-fuel-its-ai-ambitions-65c56aac
Techmeme
Meta signs deals with nuclear power providers Vistra, TerraPower, and Oklo to buy power and support new reactor projects, securing up to 6.6GW of power by 2035
By Jennifer Hiller / Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.
How Craigslist has stayed relevant for users as a place to find jobs, housing, and personal connections without relying on algorithmic feeds or public profiles (Jennifer Swann/Wired)
WIRED
Is Craigslist the Last Real Place on the Internet?
Millennials are still using Craigslist to find jobs, love, and even to cast creative projects—eschewing other AI- and algorithm-dominated online ...
Techmeme
How Craigslist has stayed relevant as a place to find jobs, housing, and personal connections without relying on algorithmic feeds, public profiles, or ratings
By Jennifer Swann / Wired. View the full context on Techmeme.
X limits Grok's image generation and editing to paying subscribers after widespread outcry over its use to create sexually explicit and violent imagery (Helena Horton/The Guardian)
the Guardian
Grok turns off image generator for most users after outcry over sexualised AI imagery
Editing function to be limited to paying subscribers after X threatened with fines and regulatory action
Techmeme
Grok says image generation and editing are now limited to paid subscribers, after outcry over its use to create sexually explicit and violent imagery
By Helena Horton / The Guardian. View the full context on Techmeme.
Omdia: global humanoid robot shipments rose more than 5x YoY in 2025 to ~13K units; China accounted for the vast majority, led by AgiBot shipping ~5,168 units (Bloomberg)
Bloomberg.com
Chinese Firms Dominated Global Humanoid Robot Shipments in 2025
Humanoid robot makers in China accounted for the vast majority of the roughly 13,000 units shipped globally last year, far outstripping US companie...
Techmeme
Omdia: global humanoid robot shipments rose more than 5x YoY in 2025 to ~13K units; China accounted for the vast majority, led by AgiBot shipping ~5,168 units
From Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Chinese humanoid robotics companies dominated CES 2026, but a wide gap remains between choreographed demonstrations and real-world deployment (Saritha Rai/Bloomberg)
Bloomberg.com
China’s Humanoid Bots Were Everywhere at America’s Top Tech Show
One of Elon Musk’s worries was on full display at CES in Las Vegas this week. Chinese-made human-like robots were everywhere across the exhibitio...
Techmeme
Chinese humanoid robotics companies dominated CES 2026, but a wide gap remains between choreographed demonstrations and large-scale, real-world deployment
By Saritha Rai / Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.