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Techmeme
January 17, 2026, 1:35 AM
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Top News

Financial Times:
OpenAI plans to test ads below ChatGPT replies for users of free and Go tiers in the US; source: OpenAI expects to make “low billions” from ads in 2026  —  $500bn start-up seeks ways to fund expansion and fend off competition from rivals Google and Anthropic
Elissa Welle / The Verge:
OpenAI expands its ChatGPT Go tier to the US and the rest of the world, after launching it in India and some other countries; it will cost $8/month in the US  —  'ChatGPT Go' is available worldwide for $8 per month. … OpenAI is expanding a low-cost subscription tier called ChatGPT Go to the US and the rest of the world.
Maxwell Zeff / Wired:
OpenAI will match ads to conversation topics using some personalization data, but says it will not sell user data or expose user conversations to advertisers  —  OpenAI says ads will not influence ChatGPT's responses, and that it won't sell user data to advertisers.
Dara Kerr / The Guardian:
The US EPA rules that xAI acted illegally by using dozens of methane gas turbines to power its Colossus 1 and Colossus 2 data centers in the Memphis area  —  Win for Memphis activists who say ‘Colossus’ facilities add extra pollution to already overburdened communities
Ian Carlos Campbell / Engadget:
Anthropic makes Claude Cowork available to $20/month Pro subscribers, after launching it for Max users, and says Pro users may hit their usage limits sooner  —  Pro subscribers can have Claude can handle simple tasks on their computer.  —  Claude Cowork, Anthropic's AI assistant for taking care …
Julianna Bragg / Axios:
California's AG sends a cease-and-desist letter to xAI, demanding the company halt the generation and distribution of non-consensual intimate images and CSAM  —  California's attorney general on Friday sent a cease and desist letter to xAI, demanding the company immediately halt the creation …
Lauren Feiner / The Verge:
Google says it's appealing the US v. Google ruling that found it has an illegal search monopoly and asks a court to pause some of the remedies during the appeal  —  In the meantime, it's asking a court to pause remedies meant to restore competition.
Reuters:
Grid operator PJM plans to require large data centers to either bring their own power generation or curtail electricity use to prevent a large-scale outage  —  Grid operator PJM Interconnection on Friday unveiled a plan to manage surging power demand from data centers that Big Tech needs …
Barbara Moens / Financial Times:
Sources: the EU's cybersecurity proposal, to be presented on Jan. 20, is expected to phase out vendors such as Huawei from the bloc's critical infrastructure  —  Proposed Cybersecurity Act would phase out groups such as Huawei and ZTE from telecom networks and solar energy systems
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
Anthropic appoints Irina Ghose, a former Microsoft India managing director, to lead its business in India, which has the second-largest user base for Claude  —  Anthropic has appointed Irina Ghose, a former Microsoft India managing director, to lead its India business as the U.S. AI startup prepares to open an office in Bengaluru.

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From Mediagazer

New York Times:
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia was forced out of her role on Friday, after five days on the job and hosting only one press briefing

Page Six:
Sources: Bela Bajaria was “blindsided” by her firing and only found out at 5pm on Wednesday after Netflix had repeatedly reassured her that her job was secure

Washington Post:
Israeli settlers attacked WaPo photographer Heidi Levine, who wore a “PRESS” vest, in the West Bank, kicking her repeatedly and taking her cameras and phone

More News

Glenn Coin / Syracuse Post-Standard:
Micron breaks ground in New York for its memory manufacturing complex, announced in 2022, that it says will be the largest semiconductor facility in the US
Doug OLaughlin / Fabricated Knowledge:
Claude Code represents a “ChatGPT moment repeated” and an “extinction-level event” for horizontal software companies focused on human-oriented consumption
Bloomberg:
Some top California Democrats join Governor Gavin Newsom in opposing a ballot initiative led by a healthcare union seeking a one-time 5% tax on $1B+ in assets
Bloomberg:
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson says the agency is examining Big Tech's acqui-hires to make sure “they are not an attempt to get around” its merger review process

Earlier Picks

Alex Heath / Sources:
Unsealed docs from Elon Musk's OpenAI lawsuit, set for a jury trial on April 27: Sutskever's concerns about treating open-source AI as a “side show”, and more
Dina Bass / Bloomberg:
ClickHouse, a Snowflake challenger that offers an OLAP database management system, raised $400M led by Dragoneer at a $15B valuation, up from $6.35B in May 2025
Davis Giangiulio / CNBC:
Cloudflare acquires AI data marketplace Human Native for an undisclosed sum to help it develop a system where AI developers pay creators for training content
André Beganski / Decrypt:
X revises its developer API policies to “no longer allow apps that reward users for posting on X (aka 'infofi')”, amid a backlash about increasing AI slop on X
Emma Roth / The Verge:
The Wikimedia Foundation says Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Perplexity, and Mistral joined Wikimedia Enterprise to get “tuned” API access; Google is already a member
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