OpenAI is aiming for a late 2026 debut of its first hardware device, said policy chief Christopher Lehane at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos.

Lehane sees AI in devices as a near-future innovation that brings AI into people’s daily tools and gadgets.

“I think maybe towards the latter part of the year, you’ll see AI in devices. It’s well known that we’re working with Jony Ive, the maker of the iPhone, on a device, and there’s a lot more that will be coming on that,” he said, when asked about major developments in AI that the world should be prepared for.

Lehane also predicted that 2026 would be a year in which AI accelerates scientific research, leading to discoveries that impact everyday life. This builds on last year’s advances in agentic AI, which allows even non-coders to create programs, opening the door for everyday users to harness AI in ways that were previously limited to specialists.

Lehane has kept timelines and specifics of the product under wraps.

In a separate interview with Axios’ Ina Fried, he said that devices are among OpenAI’s biggest priorities for 2026 and that updates would come “much later in the year.”

Multiple reports suggest the company is developing small, screen-less devices, possibly wearables, designed around conversational interaction.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman previously described the product as more “peaceful” than a smartphone and simple to use.

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The social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, experienced a major outage, affecting tens of thousands of users.
The disruption occurred on Friday morning and peaked at more than 56,000 reports by 10:12 a.m. ET, according to DownDetector.com.

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Elon Musk’s social platform X returned to service after widespread disruption on Friday morning.

Data from DownDetector.com, which tracks real-time user complaints, shows the outage peaked at more than 56,000 reports around 10:12 a.m. ET. Users reported being unable to load timelines, post updates, or access the core features of the platform.

The majority of complaints were tied to X’s mobile app, which made up 57% of reports, while 33% of users said they had trouble accessing the website. Only 10% cited server connectivity issues.

The disruption appeared to last less than an hour before service was restored.

Musk and X’s engineering team have yet to comment on the temporary outage. At the time of the outage, X’s developer platform status page still listed all systems as operational.

X has seen periodic service disruptions. In March 2025, a major outage led to more than 40,000 user reports of login and service problems, with Musk suggesting the platform may have been targeted by a nation-state or a group with comparable technical expertise.

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BNY Mellon launches tokenized deposit services on its Digital Assets platform, mirroring client deposit balances for real-time transactions.
The initial focus is on collateral and margin workflows using a private blockchain while maintaining traditional record-keeping for regulatory purposes.

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BNY has initiated the tokenization of deposit balances to support near real-time, on-chain settlement between institutional participants, the company announced Friday.

The capability is enabled through tokenized bank deposits. When a client holds cash at BNY, the bank creates a digital version of that deposit on its private blockchain. These “on-chain book entries” mirror the client’s actual balance, ensuring the real deposit stays safely in BNY’s regulated system.

With this structure, clients can move that value across blockchain rails in near real time to meet margin requirements or transfer collateral between institutions.

The initial rollout focuses on collateral and margin workflows and is built on a private, permissioned blockchain integrated with BNY’s existing systems.

Over time, tokenized deposits are expected to support programmable payments, improve liquidity efficiency, and serve as a foundational component of the always-on market infrastructure, BNY Chief Product and Innovation Officer Carolyn Weinberg said in a statement.

“Tokenized deposits provide us with the opportunity to extend our trusted bank deposits onto digital rails — enabling clients to operate with greater speed across collateral, margin, and payments, within a framework built for scale, resilience, and regulatory alignment,” Weinberg stated.

Several industry leaders have participated in the initial launch of BNY’s tokenized deposit service, including Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Anchorage Digital, Citadel Securities, DRW Holdings, Circle, Ripple Prime, Baillie Gifford, WisdomTree, and Zero Hash, to name a few.

Commenting on the launch, Anchorage Digital CEO Nathan McCauley said tokenized deposits will move institutional finance closer to a programmable future by allowing money to move at the speed firms require within a framework they already trust.

Theo Golden, tokenization lead and investment manager at Baillie Gifford, said the tokenization of cash is a critical enabler of broader asset tokenization and a turning point for market infrastructure.

He added that the technology has crossed a credibility threshold and that BNY’s role as a regulated institution in bringing tokenized money into the core of the financial system demonstrates how interoperability and efficiency can be achieved at institutional scale.

Key Takeaways

X is developing Smart Cashtags for real-time asset pricing and tracking.
The feature allows users to specify assets or smart contracts when posting tickers.

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Elon Musk’s X plans to introduce Smart Cashtags, a new feature aimed at improving how financial assets such as stocks and cryptocurrencies are referenced on the platform, Nikita Bier, X’s Head of Product, said Sunday.

The feature allows users to specify the exact asset or smart contract when tagging a ticker, reducing ambiguity across crypto, equities, and other financial instruments. Tapping on a Smart Cashtag will show real-time price data alongside posts referencing the same asset.

X is the best source for financial news — and hundreds of billions of dollars are deployed based on things people read here.

We are building Smart Cashtags that allow you to specify the exact asset (or smart contract) when posting a ticker. From Timeline, users will be able to… pic.twitter.com/nFtuA2ISqJ

— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) January 11, 2026

The latest development reflects X’s growing importance as a real-time hub for financial information, with platform activity influencing hundreds of billions of dollars.

X will collect user feedback while testing Smart Cashtags ahead of a wider public rollout expected next month.

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Cloudflare shares dropped over 4% in premarket trading amid technical problems on its global network.
The outage resulted in widespread internet disruptions, with multiple websites and applications affected worldwide.

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Cloudflare shares fell over 4% in premarket trading today as the company’s global network experienced technical problems, causing widespread internet disruptions that affected multiple websites and applications.

Posts on X indicate widespread internet disruptions attributed to Cloudflare’s outage, impacting users globally. The network issues caused parts of the web to stop working and affected services like X itself.

Multiple websites and applications reliant on Cloudflare are experiencing downtime due to network issues. The outage highlights the company’s critical role in internet infrastructure, as many major websites depend on its content delivery and security services.

Key Takeaways

Semrush shares surged around 75% pre-market following reports of a $1.9 billion Adobe acquisition.
Integrating Semrush would enhance Adobe’s AI-driven digital marketing and content optimization offerings.

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Shares of Semrush Holdings jumped around 75% to $11.8 in pre-market trading today after Adobe reached a $1.9 billion agreement to acquire Semrush, a leading software platform for search engine optimization and digital marketing, Yahoo Finance data shows.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal will price Semrush at $12 per share, representing a substantial premium over its Tuesday close of $6.7 and implying a valuation nearly twice its market cap of just over $1 billion.

The acquisition comes as businesses increasingly rely on AI-driven tools for online visibility, advertising, and campaign research, areas where Semrush’s software suite is widely used by clients from Amazon to TikTok.

Key Takeaways

Tesla shares rose 2.2% in premarket trading due to positive analyst sentiment.
Musk said that Tesla is far beyond the idea stage with AI hardware, having already designed and deployed several million of its own AI chips.

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Tesla shares rose 2.2% in premarket trading today after Elon Musk shared fresh insights into its fast-moving internal AI chip efforts.

In a statement on X, the CEO of Tesla said the company has been quietly running an in-house AI chip and board design team for years, already deploying millions of custom AI chips across its cars and data centers to power its real-world AI leadership.

The company is iterating fast, with AI4 in cars today, AI5 nearly ready to tape out, and AI6 in early development, targeting a new high-volume chip every 12 months and ultimately more units than all other AI chips combined.

Musk claimed these chips would save millions of lives via safer driving and enable advanced medical care through Optimus.

Key Takeaways

The US government will allow NVIDIA to export its H200 AI chips to China, shifting from previous restrictive policies.
This decision updates existing US export controls on advanced technologies, balancing security concerns and economic interests.

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The US government will permit NVIDIA, a major AI chip manufacturer, to export its H200 chips to China, marking a shift in tech export policies under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The decision represents an update to existing export controls on advanced technologies as the administration seeks to balance national security concerns with economic interests amid ongoing bilateral discussions with China.

NVIDIA’s CEO has expressed uncertainty about whether China would accept the H200 chips even if US export restrictions are eased, highlighting the complex dynamics surrounding the policy change.

NVIDIA designs and manufactures advanced AI chips used in data centers and computing applications, with the H200 representing part of its latest generation of processors for artificial intelligence workloads.

A large-scale investor has offloaded millions of ASTER tokens, absorbing a 22% loss within two weeks.
ASTER price has dropped below key levels, signaling bearish short-term bias.
Aster team calms supply-side worries by confirming no plans to sell unlocked tokens.

The digital assets market remained deteriorated on Wednesday, with the global crypto market capitalization at $2.94 trillion after a 0.65% dip in the past 24 hours.

Also, Bitcoin remained somewhat muted in the last day after the recent decline, changing hands at $86,640 following a mere 0.30% decline on its daily chart.

While most altcoins sought footing after the latest broad-based crash, ASTER is experiencing renewed selling momentum as large-scale players exit.

The digital token has lost nearly 10% of its value in the past 24 hours, underscoring overwhelming downward momentum.

According to Lookonchain, one whale has sold 3 million Aster coins, worth approximately $2.33 million today.

The entity executed the transaction when the alt traded at $0.78 per token.

Notably, the whale accumulated these tokens only two weeks ago and has now suffered a roughly 22% loss (or $667,000).

Such moves are often more than just a trade gone wrong.

Generally, whale investors have high risk tolerance and intend to hold for the long term, possibly until the asset turns bullish.

So, when a large-scale investor surrenders at a loss, it can signal a lack of conviction in short-term price rebounds.

Furthermore, the exit has coincided with ASTER’s significant price decline, magnifying prevailing bearish sentiments.

ASTER price analysis

Aster’s native token is changing hands at $0.7475 after losing more than 8% of its value in the last 24 hours.

The daily trading volume has increased by nearly 45%, signaling increased activity from participants likely exiting before further declines.

Meanwhile, ASTER has breached the crucial support zone at $0.81 – $0.82 and is ready to turn it into an overhead supply region.

That suggests immense bearishness, with any potential rebound to $0.80 likely to encounter heavy selling pressure.

Sellers are targeting the barrier at $0.72, where ASTER briefly paused during the previous dip.

Failure to attract adequate buying activity at this mark could expose the altcoin to further declines to the psychological zone at $0.70 in the near term.

Meanwhile, ASTER should reclaim $0.82 to flip to bullish.

Surpassing $0.85 with massive volumes could support breakouts to $0.90 and clear the path to $1.

Aster team boosts community confidence

Amidst the devastating downward pressure, the DEX has shifted attention to supply dynamics.

Early today, December 17, the team took it to X to address these concerns, confirming the completion of December’s Community & Ecosystem token unlock.

They have moved the unlocked assets to an address that now holds 235.2 million Aster coins after three months of coin releases.

Notably, Aster emphasized that it has no immediate plans to spend the unlocked ASTER and that the team will communicate in advance in case of future deployment plans.

While the announced transfer doesn’t add new supply to the circulating tokens, it comes amid amplified uncertainty, with traders worrying about additional selling pressure as key holders surrender.

 

Key Takeaways

Meta is testing an Instagram TV app for Amazon Fire TV devices in the US, allowing users to watch Reels short-form videos on bigger screens.
The app will initially focus on providing a quality viewing experience and short-form vertical videos, with potential expansion to more devices and eventual monetization.

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Meta is launching its Instagram for TV app on Amazon Fire TV devices in the US, marking the platform’s push to bring Reels to living room screens.

The app will focus on short-form vertical videos under three minutes, featuring algorithmically curated channels based on interests like music, sports, and travel.

Instagram VP of product Tessa Lyons said the company will expand to more devices over time, but is prioritizing user experience over monetization for now. Despite being displayed on TV, Reels will remain vertical, not reformatted for widescreen displays.

The move marks Meta’s latest attempt to challenge TikTok and YouTube as a video platform beyond smartphones. Unlike IGTV, which supported long-form content before shutting down in 2022, the new app sticks to short-form Reels.

Users can link up to five Instagram accounts per TV profile, with Meta applying broad content standards to filter out sensitive material for teen viewers.