AI Race Gets Political: China Reacts to Meta’s $2B Manus AI Buy
Manus AI to shut its operations in China. China isn’t letting its AI talent slip away without a fight. An investigation is underway, and founders are asked not to leave the country.
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Manus AI to shut its operations in China. China isn’t letting its AI talent slip away without a fight. An investigation is underway, and founders are asked not to leave the country.
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- OpenAI may hire 12 employees per day. - New roles are now open in Product, Engineering, Research, Sales and Investigation. - New customers are choosing Anthropic 3x as often as OpenAI.
- The transactions are linked to a terrorist group. - Binance fires employees (investigators) who whistleblowed and face backlash. - Binance says it had to fire them for breaking company protocol.
- Oncology takes centre stage in Gilead’s new acquisition deal. - Gilead doubles down on CAR-T Therapy with Arcellx purchase, offering 79% higher on its shares. - Gilead Sciences is apparently dealing with declining sales for its COVID drug Veklury.
- Sam Altman called Peter Steinberger "a genius" in the announcement post on 'X.' - Peter Steinberger will be part of OpenAI's future core products. - The goal is to strengthen OpenAI's AI agents and multi-agent systems.
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- A year-long search for a CEO comes to a halt right at Greg Foran. - Kroger shares jumped 6% in premarket trade after the news made headlines. - The company is hoping to compete with Walmart under his leadership.
- Meta is facing multiple lawsuits in the U.S. for its failure to protect children. - The cases could force major changes in social media. - YouTube, TikTok, and Snap are involved in similar cases.
- Global turmoil and delayed U.S. data pushed Bitcoin lower by 6%. - The Bitcoin price drop on Tuesday nearly touched its lowest ($72,884.38 in 2024, November). - Experts characterise the dip as normal and express long-term optimism.
- The middle class and upper middle class get tax relief, as 30% tax only starts after INR 24 lakh. - The new tax regime is automatic, and if one wants the old one, they must actively choose it.
- UPS to Drop Amazon Deliveries by 1 million packages per day. - There could be additional layoffs as the company plans to close another 24 facilities in 2026. - The company is doing well financially, yet wants to let people go.
- Bluesky acknowledges core flaws as daily user activity drops 40% compared to last year. - Makers missed core basics such as post drafts, private accounts, slow video uploads, and more. - A better Bluesky algorithm is coming soon, says Head of Product, Alex Benzer.
- Chinese companies can now get U.S. chips, but with tight restrictions. - ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent get the green light to import chips from Nvidia. - Other companies are in line for approval.
- Silicon Valley turns loud with a political feud between tech billionaires. - Indian-American billionaire Vinod Khosla accused Elon Musk of racism on 'X.' - Khosla urged Elon Musk's employees to join companies backed by Khosla Ventures.
- Nike is set to cut overstaffed warehouses in Tennessee and Mississippi. - Nike’s sales have been weak for two years, and the company wants to align with its profits again. - The recent data breach is also putting pressure on the company.
- Meta will keep the core features free for its users. - Content creators and power users are put in the spotlight for the new paid version. - Meta plans to roll out testing of subscription features soon.
- Geopolitical shock (Greenland issue) sends the dollar lower despite strong U.S. Investments. - Markets ignore Fed drama, but sell the Dollar on geopolitical tensions. - The dollar weakens as the U.S. angers allies, echoing the 2025 tariff crash all over again.
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- Trump accuses JPMorgan of politically “Debanking” him and his family. - Trump's personal lawyer, Alejandro Brito, filed the case in Miami. - JPMorgan denies the allegations, yet some claims remain unclear.
- Silver jumped to INR 3.34 lakh/kg on MCX, but fell 4% after global tensions eased. - ETF prices crashed because Indian silver had become overhyped due to Budget rumors. - Long-term demand will still remain strong for silver, say experts.
- The crash continues, hitting a 19-month low and dropping 25% in two weeks. - The price fell below key support at INR 394–INR 398, and market experts are overall negative. - Kalyan's revenue numbers have remained strong over the last few quarters, giving it a breather.
- OpenAI announces that age protection systems in ChatGPT will likely launch in a few weeks. - The update will apply to ChatGPT users worldwide. - Additionally, parental controls will be added to the tool to give parents more control over the safety.
- Starting from February 21, Albinder Dhindsa (CEO of Blinkit) will be the new CEO of Eternal. - Deepinder Goyal says he wants to work on his high-risk ideas, and so he is resigning. - Goyal can still be on the board of directors as Vice Chairman, but shareholders' approval is due.
- The initiative is set to help 1,000 African Clinics with AI technology. - The project will start in Rwanda and spread across Africa by 2028. - From recordkeeping to providing reliable medical information, AI will integrate into healthcare at every step.
- Nifty slips below 25,000 and Sensex cracks 1,000 points today. - U.S. vs. Greenland, Denmark & Europe trade tensions, weak domestic performance, and a depreciating rupee value are the reasons. - At 1 PM, the market made a comeback, but experts call it a short-term recovery.
- The U.S. Dollar fell by 0.8% against the Euro, as Trump still pursues his plan to seize Greenland. - Europe stands firm (even after Trump's 10% tariff threat) together with Greenland, and Denmark says "full solidarity."
- Netflix wants to look convincing to WBD's shareholders and is offering to pay in all cash ($27.75 per share for $72 billion). - Paramount is threatening a proxy fight to replace WBD's board with loyalists. - WBD's CEO David Zaslav says that the vote on the deal will likely happen in the spring.
- India tightens diamonds labelling rules to protect buyers; lab-grown diamonds can't be called 'diamonds' alone. - BIS has introduced a new official standard called IS 19469:2025 for diamonds. - Jewellery industry leaders strongly support the new BIS rules and say they build trust.
- Tariffs, trade tensions, and a weak rupee will not slow down the Indian economy. - IMF projects 7.3% growth, lowering inflation to 4%, and improving economic stability.
- The global economy is overly reliant on AI, and if it fails, growth could drop by 0.4 percentage points this year. - The growth forecasts for the U.S., Canada, and China look promising for 2026 and 2027. - Reality check: Only 30% of the increased revenue was due to AI, says a PwC survey.
- Despite tariff tensions, China's $1.19 trillion trade surplus surpasses expectations. - Internal issues such as the housing crisis, 17.2% fall in property investment, and low consumer spending remain. - Experts doubt the 5% and say the number is likely at least 1.5 percentage points lower.
- Deloitte targets Tier II cities in India for their strong talent and real estate. - Mangaluru can become Deloitte's new destination. - Romal Shetty, Deloitte’s CEO for South Asia, at the TiEcon Mangaluru 2026 event, suggested “innovate for Bharat."
- Elon says OpenAI benefited from his reputation and wants his share of the profits. - Elon posts stating, "Can’t wait to start the trial", which will likely start in April 2026. - OpenAI publishes 2 news articles calling Elon's claims baseless and a harassment campaign.
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- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation decides to shut down entirely by 2045. - The foundation wants to redirect (money from the job cuts) to healthcare, education, and women's welfare. - CEO Mark Suzman says the foundation wants "to improve millions more lives over the next 20 years."
- Privacy-first Apple turns to Google Gemini to strengthen Siri in a multiyear deal. - After the deal news broke out, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, crossed $4 trillion in market value for the first time ever. - Elon Musk criticises and calls the deal "an unreasonable concentration of power."
- California is home to 199 billionaires, and many have begun to exit before the tax takes effect in November. - 5% of Larry Page's wealth would exceed $ 12 billion, and he is unwilling to give that up in taxes. - Delaware, Nevada, Florida & Texas have become the new wealth destinations.
- Following a Guardian investigation, Google quietly stopped AI responses for medical test searches. - AI Overviews might be delaying doctor visits by misleading users with oversimplified medical information. - Health advocate Vanessa Hebditch says AI shouldn't be part of health searches at all.
- Google announced its new AI shopping agent tools on January 11. - The new tech has major retailers such as Kroger, Lowe’s, and Papa John's on board. - Google's Agentic commerce tech is ready to compete with OpenAI and Microsoft (new shopping features in ChatGPT and Copilot).
- Emails, phone numbers, and physical addresses of 17.5 million Instagram users leaked on the dark web and BreachForums. - Free scan to check if your data is in the leaked data (by Malwarebytes). - Meta is yet to respond to the data breach. In the meantime, here's how you can protect yourself.
Jerome Powell is accused of misleading Congress on the cost of the Fed's headquarters renovation. Jeanine Pirro will authorise the investigation. President Donald Trump is actively assessing the issue and wants Powell fired, re-igniting the conflict between the two.
- Pramila Srinivasan accuses Sridhar of transferring assets to sister Radha Vembu (owns 47.8% stake in Zoho). - The court froze assets and ordered to pause the major asset transfer. - A court-appointed receiver to assume temporary control on selling and moving assests.
- The U.S. plans to enact legislation to penalise Russian oil buyers. - The agenda is to cut money to Russia and stop the war in Ukraine. - It's a trade dilemma for India, and it must choose.
- ChatGPT Traffic seems to have fallen to 158 million from 200 million Daily Visits in January 2026. - Google puts Gemini everywhere to bridge the gap with ChatGPT, say experts. - The AI tool competition is to blame for this.
- It's the second time in less than a month that Warner Bros said "no" to Paramount. - Paramount's $108 billion deal is clearly risky due to excessive debt and no clear contractual protections. - Netflix now sounds paramount to Warner Bros, and could be it this time around.
- Despite strong financial results, Microsoft may still lay off employees. - Reports suggest that the third week of January may be the week of layoffs at Microsoft. - The Gaming, Azure, and Sales departments are likely to be affected.
- Grok AI is under fire for generating fake, vulgar Images of women and children on X. - India's IT Ministry (MeitY) issued a legal notice to X, setting a deadline to remove the illegal content. - Ashley St. Clair is all set to sue xAI and Grok.
- Rajat Patidar's net worth jumped from INR 16–17 crore to around ₹25 crore. - He earns through multiple sources, including RCB's 11 Crore, brand deals, and BBCI fee. - Born in a business family, still maintains a low-key lifestyle and does not own luxury cars.
- The PMLA court has issued a notice to Raj Kundra for a trial on January 19. - ED alleges Kundra holds 285 Bitcoins worth over INR 150 crore under money laundering. - Raj Kundra claims that he is just a mediator.
- Employees’ 6-hour office shift, 3 days a week, will be strictly monitored by Wipro. - If not followed, it can directly affect the leaves (effective from January 1). - Total working hours remain unchanged at 9.5 hours (be it work from the office or home).
- Trent shares fell over 8% at market open on January 6, 2026. - The fall erased over INR 13,000 crore from Trent's market value. - Radhakishan Damani suffered a ₹162 crore paper loss in just two minutes.
- Senior Google engineer Jaana Dogan says ‘not joking’ in a series of posts on 'X.' - She clarified why big techs like Google take longer to build systems. - Although Claude Code built the systems in an hour, they were not perfect.
- Banking services may be impacted for four days amid the January 27 Strike Call. - UFBU promises bank work hours won’t be reduced after the 5-day workweek. - Employees have agreed to work an additional 40 minutes per day.
- The Indian rupee opened the week at 90.24 (weakened) against the U.S. dollar. - Investors are withdrawing funds from the Indian market out of panic. - All eyes are on the RBI’s $10 billion dollar-rupee swap on January 13.
- The new rules are putting pressure on the Indian IT companies in the U.S., cutting H-1B applications by 30–50%. - More roles are expected to shift from the U.S. to India.
- Warner Bros’ board is set to reject Paramount’s $108.4 billion offer. - Paramount’s deal has weakened after Affinity Partners exited the financing, reports say. - The board will likely recommit to Netflix's $72 billion.
- China, which controls up to 70% of global silver supply, is tightening exports from 2026. - After January 1, the silver shortage could increase to more than 2,500 tonnes annually. - India is aggressively buying physical silver, importing over 1,700 tonnes in October alone.
- It has fallen by more than 5% this year, marking a major psychological and economic milestone. - The government says the situation is under watch but not alarming. - However, foreign investors are withdrawing money from Indian stocks already.
- A rare mega-acquisition signals TCS’s aggressive push into AI, cloud and data centre expansion. - TCS is funding this deal with its $5.49B in free cash flow for FY 2024-25. - The deal is expected to close by 31 January 2026.
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