Governments in India, France, and Malaysia are pressing Elon Musk's X to curb Grok after the AI generated sexualized images, including content involving minors. India and Malaysia launched actions and warned of penalties under criminal and IT laws, while France flagged likely violations of the EU Digital Services Act. The EU fined X €120 million amid mounting regulatory pressure.

By 2026, Waymo and Baidu plan to launch competing robotaxi services in London, setting up the first direct clash between US and Chinese driverless fleets in one city. Waymo has already begun testing modified Jaguar vehicles in London, while Baidu aims to deploy its RT6 cars after partnering with Uber and Lyft, as both companies navigate the UK’s new framework for commercial autonomous driving trials and mounting scrutiny over safety and data security.

On January 2, 2026, Waymo outlined plans to scale its autonomous ride service, aiming for 1 million weekly rides by the end of 2026 and adding 20 new markets over the next year. It says it currently provides roughly 250,000 weekly trips and has completed 20 million rides since 2020. Production in Arizona will double to over 2,000 vehicles by late 2026, while Zeekr will help produce tens of thousands annually.

CES 2026 opens on Jan. 6 in Las Vegas, with robotics highlighted as the year's central theme, according to organizer Kinsey Fabrizio. On Jan. 5, Nvidia, AMD, Intel and Qualcomm will detail gaming, AI and processor updates, including Intel's Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) on 18A, with sessions scheduled throughout the afternoon and evening.

In January 2026, AI providers face scrutiny over whether projected $500bn in infrastructure and hardware spending can be justified by reliable performance and profits. After broad rollout of AI tools in 2024 and 2025, investors now question the limits of scaling, the business models of firms like OpenAI and Anthropic, and the rise of cheaper Chinese open models that have reached 17% of downloads.

On January 2, 2026, Samsung said it is prioritizing its HBM4 memory and highlighted ongoing talks with Nvidia to narrow the gap with SK Hynix. The company also referenced a $16.5 billion Tesla chip agreement signed last July. SK Hynix's CEO warned 2026 could be tougher despite holding a 53% HBM market share in Q3 2025.

Updated January 1, 2026, Nokia's comeback bet leans on an October partnership where Nvidia committed $1 billion to AI inside telecom networks. The strategy targets cloud, data centers and optical transport, with shares up 25% and valuation near €32 billion as competition and investment cyclicality challenge execution.

In West Texas, around 6,000 workers reportedly arrive each day at an OpenAI construction site that forms part of the multibillion-dollar Stargate data center program, with individual sites estimated at about $50 billion and the total near $850 billion. Major tech firms including OpenAI, Meta, Google, Microsoft and Oracle are collectively driving capital spending toward roughly $443 billion this year and are taking on $121 billion in new debt, while analysts warn that power availability, rising leverage and growing use of credit-default swaps signal mounting investor unease.