1. Senate passes budget with two more weeks of Homeland Security funding
Source: https://www.theverge.com/policy/870419/senate-passes-budget-with-two-more-weeks-of-homeland-security-funding
Summary: The Senate voted on Friday evening to pass the federal budget, funding everything except for one entity: the Department of Homeland Security, which was given a two-week funding extension in order to negotiate new guardrails around Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). If no agreement is reached, DHS funding will lapse and the department will face […]
2. a16z partner Kofi Ampadu to leave firm after TxO program pause
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/30/a16z-partner-kofi-ampadu-to-leave-firm-after-txo-program-pause/
Summary: Ampadu's departure perhaps signals the end of the TxO chapter. The fund and program focused on supporting underserved founders by providing access to tech networks and investment capital through a donor-advised fund.
3. Jeffrey Epstein was permanently banned from Xbox Live
Source: https://www.theverge.com/tech/871425/jeffrey-epstein-xbox-live-ban-microsoft-sex-offender
Summary: Would it surprise you to learn Microsoft booted Jeffrey Epstein from its online gaming platform? As spotted by XboxEra, the latest batch of Epstein's emails shows that in December 2013, he was "permanently suspended due to harassment, threats, and/or abuse of other players." But it appears the real reason may be simpler: A second email […]
4. Physical Intelligence, Stripe veteran Lachy Groom’s latest bet, is building Silicon Valley’s buzziest robot brains
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/30/physical-intelligence-stripe-veteran-lachy-grooms-latest-bet-is-building-silicon-valleys-buzziest-robot-brains/
Summary: If co-founder Lachy Groom has any doubts, he doesn’t show it. He’s working with people who've been working on this problem for decades and who believe the timing is finally right, which is all he needs to know.
5. OnlyFans considering selling majority stake to Architect Capital
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/30/onlyfans-considering-selling-majority-stake-to-architect-capital/
Summary: This isn't the first time in recent memory that OnlyFans has been in talks to sell off its business.
6. Peloton lays off 11 percent of its staff just a few months after launching its AI hardware
Source: https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/871422/peloton-layoffs-cost-cutting-2026
Summary: Peloton said on Friday that it's cutting around 11 percent of its staff, mostly impacting "engineers working on technology and enterprise-related efforts," reports Bloomberg. Last August, Peloton laid off six percent of its workforce and told investors it would continue layoffs globally in 2026, in an attempt to cut at least $100 million of annual […]
7. OpenClaw’s AI assistants are now building their own social network
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/30/openclaws-ai-assistants-are-now-building-their-own-social-network/
Summary: The viral personal AI assistant formerly known as Clawdbot has a new shell — again. After briefly rebranding as Moltbot, it has now picked OpenClaw as its new name.
8. Video game company stock prices dip after Google introduces an AI world-generation tool
Source: https://www.theverge.com/games/871348/google-project-genie-take-two-roblox-unity
Summary: The stock prices of some major video game companies, including Take-Two Interactive, Roblox, and Unity, had notable declines on Friday, just a day after Google announced its Project Genie tool that lets users prompt AI to generate interactive experiences, Reuters reports. Take-Two's stock price closed at $220.30 (down 7.93 percent from yesterday), Roblox's closed at […]
Automated post via TechCognita Automation Framework
Top comments (0)