Ford plans to launch an AI voice assistant on its apps this year before expanding to its vehicles in 2027, and aims to debut Level 3 autonomous driving in 2028 (Andrew J. Hawkins/The Verge)
The Verge
Ford’s AI voice assistant is coming later this year, L3 driving in 2028
Ford is shooting for vertical integration.
Techmeme
Ford plans to add an AI voice assistant to its apps in 2026 before expanding it to its vehicles in 2027, and aims to debut Level 3 autonomous driving in 2028
By Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge. View the full context on Techmeme.
Arm creates a "Physical AI" unit to focus on robotics and automotive sectors, as part of a reorganization that includes "Cloud and AI" and "Edge" business units (Reuters) https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/arm-launches-physical-ai-division-expand-robotics-market-2026-01-07/
Techmeme
Arm forms a Physical AI unit focused on robotics and automotive sectors, as part of a reorganization that also includes “Cloud and AI” and “Edge” business units
From Reuters. View the full context on Techmeme.
Samsung expects Q4 operating profit up 208% YoY to ~$13.8B, vs. ~$12.3B est., and revenue up 23% to ~$64.2B, as demand for AI servers lifted memory chip prices (Yoolim Lee/Bloomberg)
Bloomberg.com
Samsung Posts Record Profit After AI Supercharges Memory Market
Samsung Electronics Co.’s quarterly profit more than tripled to a record high after global demand for AI servers sharply lifted memory chip prices.
Techmeme
Samsung expects Q4 operating profit up 208% YoY to ~$13.8B, vs. ~$12.3B est., and revenue up 23% YoY to ~$64.2B, as AI server demand lifts memory chip prices
By Yoolim Lee / Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Trump family's World Liberty Financial says its entity World Liberty Trust has applied for a US banking license, which would let it issue the USD1 stablecoin (Vicky Ge Huang/Wall Street Journal) https://www.wsj.com/finance/currencies/world-liberty-flagship-in-trumps-crypto-fleet-seeks-a-u-s-banking-license-72cca502
Techmeme
The Trump family
By Vicky Ge Huang / Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.
Apple announces JPMorgan Chase as the new issuer of the Apple Card, taking over from Goldman Sachs, with an expected transition in about 24 months (Wall Street Journal) https://www.wsj.com/finance/banking/jpmorgan-chase-reaches-a-deal-to-take-over-the-apple-credit-card-4e214fb2?st=amhnjV&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Techmeme
Apple says JPMorgan will take over issuing the Apple Card from Goldman, which sources say will offload ~$20B in balances; the banks expect a two-year transition
From Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.
Sources: Larry Page bought two Miami estates in December and January for a combined $173.4M; Sergey Brin is also said to be in discussions to buy a Miami home (Wall Street Journal) https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/luxury-homes/google-co-founder-larry-page-spends-173-4-million-on-two-miami-homes-3553e880
Techmeme
Sources: Larry Page bought two Miami estates in December and January for a combined $173.4M; Sergey Brin is also said to be in discussions to buy a Miami home
From Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.
WhatsApp rolls out new group chat features: member tags that show user roles, text stickers generated from any word, and custom event reminders (Aisha Malik/TechCrunch)
TechCrunch
WhatsApp rolls out new group chat features, including member tags | TechCrunch
You can choose a tag that gives others in the group chat more context about who you are.
Techmeme
WhatsApp rolls out new group chat features: member tags that show user roles, text stickers generated from any word, and custom event reminders
By Aisha Malik / TechCrunch. View the full context on Techmeme.
Alphabet surpassed Apple in market cap for the first time since 2019 after its shares closed up 2.5% on Wednesday, valuing it at $3.89T vs. Apple's $3.85T (Barron's Online) https://www.barrons.com/articles/alphabet-stock-apple-market-cap-625151cc?st=Gfqj5p&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Techmeme
Alphabet surpassed Apple in market cap for the first time since 2019 after its shares closed up 2.5% on January 7, valuing it at $3.89T, above Apple
From Barron
Lux Capital raised $1.5B for its ninth fund, the largest in its history, to back companies focusing on fields like breakthrough science and national security (Lizette Chapman/Bloomberg) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-07/lux-capital-raises-1-5-billion-for-fund-focused-on-new-science-defense
Techmeme
Lux Capital raised $1.5B for its ninth fund, the largest in its history, to back companies focusing on fields like breakthrough science and national security
By Lizette Chapman / Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.
Sources: JPMorgan Chase has reached a deal to take over the Apple credit card program from Goldman Sachs; JPMorgan plans to launch a new Apple savings account (Wall Street Journal) https://www.wsj.com/finance/banking/jpmorgan-chase-reaches-a-deal-to-take-over-the-apple-credit-card-4e214fb2?st=amhnjV&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Techmeme
Apple says JPMorgan will take over issuing the Apple Card from Goldman, which sources say will offload ~$20B in balances; the banks expect a two-year transition
From Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.