Every month we recap the top startup, tech, and innovation news from around the world. Here are the stories that made headlines in January. >>
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#1 OpenAI Signed Multi-billion Investment Deal with Microsoft
23 January. Microsoft announced a new phase of its partnership with OpenAI with a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment to accelerate AI breakthroughs. The goal of the partnership is to ensure these benefits are broadly shared with the world. The agreement includes scaling supercomputers for OpenAI’s research, deploying OpenAI’s models across all Microsoft products, and integrating Azure into OpenAI’s work.
Photo credit: Georgi Gotev
#2 Sweden Discovers Rare Earth Metals – Could Change Europe"e;s Tech Ecosystem
13 January. The discovery of what’s considered the biggest deposit of rare earth metals in Europe might change its relationship and dependence on China. Rare earth metals are a group of 17 chemical elements that are crucial for building components in EVs and wind turbines. Today, Europe imports about 98% of these rare metals from China.
It might be a few years before Europe can close the door on China’s imports thought. LKAB, the Swedish company that discovered the deposit of rare earth metals, said that it will take 10 to 15 years of research and assessment before they can start mining.
Photo credit: Boston Dynamics
#3 Boston Dynamics’ Atlas Robot Can Grab, Toss, and Throw Objects in Latest Demo
18 January. Boston Dynamics"e; humanoid robot Atlas was already able to run and jump, but with an improved functionality (aka hands) the robot is now able to pick up and drop off objects just like humans. A real helping hand for when you forget your tool kit on the ground.
Photo credit: 1538 Mediterranean
#4 Bitcoin Surpassed Both Meta and Mastercard in Market Capitalization
13 January. Bitcoin tops Mastercard and Meta in market value, crossing 10B in market capitalization – a 23% rise in 7 days. 2022 was a rough year for the cryptocurrency, but the outlook for the following year might just be looking up.
Photo credit: CQ-Roll Call, inc.
#5 FTX Claimed $415M of Crypto Was Hacked
19 January. FTX claimed that roughly $415M of crypto was stolen by hackers. This amount is included in the .5B worth of digital assets recovered since the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy.
Co-founder and ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who is accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX’s users, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges.
Photo credit: Benj Edwards / Ars Technica
#6 Google, Scared by ChatGPT, Declared ‘Code Red’ for AI Development
24 January. When ChatGPT wowed the world with its ability to answer questions conversationally, the biggest search engine in the world got scared. Founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, were brought into several emergency meetings concerning ChatGPT last month. Many have noted that the large language model might threaten Google Search’s $149B business.
In the aim to stay ahead of this new competition, CEO Sundar Pichai declared a “code red” to spur new AI development and hopes to reveal 20 new products within the year.
Photo credit: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
#7 EU Voted to Tighten Rules on Banks to Cover Risks from Crypto Assets
24 January. EU lawmakers to require banks to hold a euro of their own capital for every euro they hold in crypto, a "prohibitive" requirement to cover risks from crypto-assets in a vote.
"Such prohibitive capital requirements will help prevent instability in the crypto world from spilling over into the financial system," said Markus Ferber, a German member of the EU parliament.
Photo credit: Search Engine Journal
#8 Meta Fined €390M Over GDPR Breaches
5 January. EU regulators found that the way Meta was using its ad targeting on Facebook and Instagram was illegal under the GDPR. Both platforms were fined a total of €390M. Meta has 3 months to change the way it uses targeted ads in the region.
Photo credit: ARS Technica
#9 Elon Musk’s Tweet Sent Him to the Courts
20 January. In 2018, Musk tweeted that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private and that "investor support is confirmed." These tweets cost some Tesla shareholders to lose millions of dollars, leading to a federal securities fraud trial in January 2023. The case’s main focus is on whether Musk’s tweets were substantial enough for investors to rely on.
Photo credit: Boeing
#10 NASA Working on New, More Fuel-Efficient Aircraft Design with Boeing
18 January. NASA announced that it will be working with Boeing on a new project. The aim is to increase the fuel efficiency of aircraft to cut emissions and decrease the impact on the planet of taking a plane.
“Most of you all think of NASA as a space agency and as an aviation agency. It’s also a climate agency,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. The project is an important initiative, given many people are trying to limit plane travel to avoid emissions.
And for good measure, here are 5 bonus headlines:
- Tim Cook takes a $35 million pay cut that he recommended.
- The month of January 2023 has already seen more tech layoffs than the entire first half of 2022 combined.
- Airbus is testing out autonomous flying tech in some of its planes.
- The Web3 industry lost billions to crypto fraud last year.
- Chinese battery makers CATL and BYD strengthen grip on global supply. With the electric vehicle boom, the 2 Chinese businesses reach a combined 50% share of the market worldwide.
That’s it for this month. We’ll see you in a month for the next roundup!
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