On January 26 2026, reports indicated that Masayoshi Son has halted SoftBank’s planned $50 billion acquisition of U.S. data center operator Switch, a deal meant to underpin the $500 billion Stargate AI infrastructure initiative. SoftBank instead completed a $3 billion purchase of DigitalBridge and is now exploring smaller investment or partnership structures with Switch, while its aggressive AI spending and use of Arm shares for margin loans draw fresh scrutiny from credit rating agencies. The shelved buyout leaves Stargate’s data center strategy unresolved as Switch’s backers weigh a potential IPO valuing the company at about $60 billion including debt.

Synthesia has raised $200 million at a $4 billion valuation to develop interactive AI video avatars focused on sales training, recruitment, and internal HR use. The London startup, backed in this round by GV, Nvidia, Accel, Hedosophia, and Evantic Capital, is shifting away from consumer-facing media toward enterprise training and communications. Led by CEO Victor Riparbelli, the company reports annual recurring revenue exceeding $100 million and is testing new question-answering avatars with clients including Microsoft, UBS, and Ford.

Major software names have slumped: Salesforce, Adobe and ServiceNow have each fallen more than 30% since early last year, and an index of smaller software firms is down over 20%. The selloff intensified this month after Anthropic launched Claude Code, fueling concerns about AI-driven "vibe coding" and shifting investor attention toward AI infrastructure and power providers.

On January 14, Korea's KMCC demanded stronger youth protections from X and set a two‑week deadline with a possible fine of up to 10 million won. Electronic Times reported the PIPC has opened a preliminary fact‑finding review into xAI's Grok over deepfake allegations. The Center for Countering Digital Hate estimates Grok produced more than three million explicit images, including 23,000 involving minors, between December 29, 2025 and January 8, 2026.

North Korean hacking group Konni is deploying AI-generated PowerShell malware to attack blockchain developers and engineers, with activity observed in the Asia-Pacific region. The campaign uses Discord-delivered ZIP files carrying a PDF lure and malicious shortcuts to install a PowerShell backdoor that can access sensitive infrastructure, API keys, wallets, and digital assets. Researchers have linked this malware to previous Konni operations and note clear signs of AI-assisted code generation in its documentation and structure.

Virtuals Protocol VIRTUAL has maintained its early January breakout above $0.73 and $1.05 despite a 15.71% weekly slide amid broader AI-token losses. Price sits below the 20- and 50-day moving averages and CMF is under -0.05, with the $0.758 78.6% retracement and the $0.73–$0.76 demand zone pivotal. Upside reference levels include $1.19 and $1.33.

Updated January 24, 2026, the report details that Intel acknowledged on its earnings call it could not meet surging demand, and the shares fell 17%, erasing over $46 billion in value. This followed nearly $9 billion in backing and a 120% five‑month rally, but earlier capacity cuts left it short of needed CPUs.

Ahead of Nepal's snap election scheduled for March 5, AI-generated deepfakes and fabricated audio targeting leading political figures are spreading online. A fully synthetic video showing Balendra Shah, Kulman Ghising, and Rabi Lamichhane together, along with fake audio of Swarnim Wagle, has fueled confusion among voters. Authorities and experts are urging stricter rules, coordinated fact-checking, and public caution as the Nepal Police Cyber Bureau prepares for more sophisticated AI-driven threats.