• US senators demand answers from X, Meta, Alphabet on sexualized deepfakes

    January 15, 2026

    The tech world’s non-consensual, sexualized deepfake problem is now bigger than just X. In a letter to the leaders of X, Meta, Alphabet, Snap, Reddit and TikTok, several U.S. senators are asking the companies to provide proof that they have “robust protections and policies” in place, and to explain how they plan to curb the rise of sexualized deepfakes on their platforms. The senators also demanded that the companies preserve all documents and information relating to the creation, detection, moderation, and monetization of sexualized, AI-generated images, as well as any related policies. The letter comes hours after X said it…

  • 2026 Toyota HiLux Rogue review

    January 15, 2026

    The new-generation Toyota HiLux has hit Aussie showrooms and streets, and it’s got a big reputation to maintain. With a front- and rear-end redesign that makes it look more macho and modern than before, and an interior overhaul that brings it in line with the best of the rest, the updated HiLux range is more appealing now than it has been for years. But is the range-topping Rogue variant the pick of the pack? With some lifestyle-focused inclusions, it makes a lot of sense – and in fact, it makes some of the alternatives seem a little expensive. So let’s…

  • Near-perfect image quality comes at a price

    January 15, 2026

    After a widely hyped and successful Kickstarter campaign, Valerion’s 4K VisionMaster Max laser projector has finally arrived. It’s the company’s new flagship model in the VisionMaster series, offering better image quality and more convenience than its other models. However, it’s quite expensive and has some stiff competition from Anker’s Nebula X1 and XGIMI’s Horizon 20 Max. I was eager to see how it compared to those models and if it delivers on Valerion’s promise of “pure cinema.” It does offer better image quality, but the difference isn’t quite enough to justify the big jump in price for most users. Valerion…

  • Indian SpaceX rival EtherealX hits 5x valuation as it readies engine tests

    January 15, 2026

    Ethereal Exploration Guild, an Indian space tech better known as EtherealX, has climbed 5.5x in valuation to $80.5 million after its latest funding round. The startup is developing a launch vehicle designed to be fully reusable and is readying engine hot-fire tests ahead of its first technology demonstration flight, planned for 2027. The Bengaluru-based company confirms that it closed an oversubscribed $20.5 million Series A round led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital, as TechCrunch reported earlier. Accel, Prosus, YourNest, BlueHill, Campus Fund, and Riceberg Ventures also participated, EtherealX said. The raise follows a $5 million seed round in August…

  • Get three months of Audible for only $3

    January 15, 2026

    Have a hankering for some audiobooks? Audible is holding one heck of a sale right now, giving users three months of access for $3. That’s a dollar per month. This is something of a winter tradition for the Amazon-owned platform and the promotion ends on January 21. An Audible subscription grants one audiobook per month to keep. This can be selected from a massive catalog of new releases and bestsellers. The collection here has just about everything. Amazon However, it’s easy to plow through a single book in a month. Users also get streaming access to thousands of curated titles.…

  • After Italy, WhatsApp excludes Brazil from rival chatbot ban

    January 15, 2026

    WhatsApp is allowing AI providers to continue offering their chatbots to users with Brazilian phone numbers, days after the country’s competition regulator ordered the company to suspend its new policy that bars third-party, general-purpose chatbots from being offered on the app via its business API. Under the new policy, the company is providing a 90-day grace period starting January 15 to developers and AI providers, mandating them to cease responding to user queries on the chat app, and notify users that their chatbots won’t work on WhatsApp. Now, Meta told developers that they don’t have to notify users with Brazilian…

  • ISS mission splashes down after medical issue

    January 15, 2026

    The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying the Crew-11 astronauts has splashed down into the ocean after they left the ISS a month earlier than planned due a medical issue. It’s the first time NASA cut a mission short due to a medical concern. The agency didn’t name the crew member and their condition but stated that they were stable and that it wasn’t a case of medical evacuation. NASA merely decided to end the mission early out of an abundance of caution, because the ISS didn’t have the tools for a proper diagnosis. NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman, JAXA’s…

  • Robotics software maker Skild AI hits $14B valuation

    January 15, 2026

    Skild AI, which makes foundation models for robots, seems to have more than tripled its valuation in just seven months. The startup has raised a $1.4 billion Series C round that values it at more than $14 billion, Bloomberg reported. The round was led by SoftBank, and Nvidia, Macquarie Group, 1789 Capital, and others also invested. Skild AI last raised funding at a $4.5 billion valuation this prior summer, Bloomberg reported. The company hasn’t disclosed the exact value of that round — it was rumored to be around $500 million — but Skild AI CEO Deepak Pathak told Bloomberg that…

  • The best cheap fitness trackers for 2026

    January 15, 2026

    You don’t need to spend a fortune to stay on top of your health goals while tracking your fitness. These days, even cheap fitness trackers come packed with features that help you monitor your heart rate, track your steps and even analyze your sleep stages. Many budget options now include GPS tracking for those outdoor runs, real-time heart rate tracking to keep you in the right zone during workouts and, thankfully, most work with both iPhone and Android devices. Some even go beyond basic metrics, providing insights on daily readiness to help you decide if you’re up for an intense…

  • Microsoft taps India’s Varaha for durable carbon removal offtake

    January 15, 2026

    Microsoft has signed a deal with Indian startup Varaha to buy more than 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide removal credits over the next three years, through 2029, expanding its portfolio of carbon removal projects as the tech giant scales up AI and cloud operations. The project will turn cotton crop waste, which is often burned after harvest, into biochar — a charcoal-like material that can be added to soil, storing carbon for long periods while also helping reduce air pollution from open-field burning. It will initially focus on the western Indian state of Maharashtra and involve around 40,000–45,000 smallholder farmers.…