Consumer Tech News (Jan 5-9): Semiconductors Steal CES 2026 Spotlight, AI Regulation Tightens As Governments Crack Down & More

The U.S.'s capture of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Jan. 3, triggered a massive rally in drone stocks as markets opened on Monday. 

In a recent disclosure, a super Political Action Committee (PAC) aligned with President Donald Trump has amassed a significant amount of over $304 million, a move that could majorly influence the upcoming midterm elections.

Britain is forcing technology companies to proactively block unsolicited sexual images, marking a major escalation in how governments hold platforms accountable for online abuse fueled by artificial intelligence.

Iran entered a 12th consecutive night of widespread anti-government protests as authorities imposed a nationwide internet shutdown, drawing international attention and sharp criticism from exiled opposition figure Reza Pahlavi.

Earnings Results

Applied Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:APLD) reported second-quarter earnings of zero cents per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate for a loss of 10 cents. Quarterly revenue came in at $126.59 million, which beat the Street estimate of $89.76 million.

Software & Semiconductors

The U.S. Department of Commerce approved the license for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE:TSM)'s Nanjing fabrication plant, enabling U.S.-controlled tools to ship without case-by-case vendor approvals.

Taiwan Semiconductor generated about 1.05 trillion New Taiwanese dollars ($33.1 billion) in revenue during the October–December period, marking roughly 20.5% growth from a year earlier and surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of 1.02 trillion New Taiwanese dollars.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) and GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC) unveiled a medical technology collaboration driven by edge artificial intelligence.

Infosys Limited (NYSE:INFY) on Wednesday disclosed a strategic collaboration with Amazon.com Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMZN) cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services (AWS), to accelerate enterprise adoption of generative AI.

Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang is reportedly expected to visit Taiwan this month, where he may formally announce plans for a new Taipei headquarters as surging AI chip demand — particularly from China — tightens pressure on the global semiconductor supply chain.

Nvidia is tightening its terms for selling H200 artificial intelligence chips to China as it tries to reopen a key market while navigating shifting regulatory signals in both Washington and Beijing.

At CES 2026, NVIDIA unveiled a shift in autonomous vehicle (AV) development with the release of the open-source Alpamayo family. 

Also,  CEO Jensen Huang outlined a sweeping vision for AI’s next computing cycle, confirming that the company’s next-generation Vera Rubin platform is already in full production.

CEO Jensen Huang said Chinese government approval for importing the company’s H200 AI chips will become evident through customer orders rather than any formal public announcement.

Also, Jensen Huang said the chipmaker’s $500 billion AI demand outlook won’t be revised quarter by quarter, even as new developments continue to push expectations higher.

SKYX Platforms Corp. (NASDAQ:SKYX) announced a strategic move into Nvidia Corporation's (NASDAQ:NVDA) artificial intelligence ecosystem.

Mobileye Global Inc. (NASDAQ:MBLY) announced that a U.S.-based automaker has selected the Mobileye EyeQ6H to enable advanced driver assistance systems with hands-free driving capabilities on select highways across millions of vehicles worldwide.

Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) used the CES 2026 stage to showcase Panther Lake, its next-generation AI laptop processor, as CEO Lip-Bu Tan said the company has not only met but exceeded its long-promised 18A manufacturing milestone.

At CES 2026, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) CEO Lisa Su laid out a sweeping vision for the next phase of artificial intelligence, offering a clear and much-needed signal that the global demand for new compute resources is only set to accelerate going forward.

CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) on Monday disclosed plans to integrate Nvidia Rubin technology into its AI cloud platform.

D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) announced a deal to acquire Quantum Circuits Inc. for $550 million.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is delaying its planned international rollout of the Ray-Ban Display smart glasses as demand in the U.S. has rapidly outpaced supply, forcing the company to rethink its global launch timeline.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has shared that the automaker will be developing its own 2nm chip amid a push towards in-house chip-making.

Tesla sold 93,843 vehicles in China during December, recording a 13.2% YoY growth in December from the same period in 2024, as well as a 31.2% QoQ growth for Tesla.

Broadline Retail & Entertainment

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) is expanding the use of artificial intelligence across its local services ecosystem as it seeks to enhance its moat in China's competitive food and dining market.

Amazon.com is expanding Alexa+ to the web as it ramps up competition with leading artificial intelligence chatbots.

Discord, the social chat app with over 200 million monthly users, has reportedly filed paperwork for an initial public offering.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai said Google is ushering Gmail into a new “Gemini era,” using artificial intelligence to help users manage overflowing inboxes more efficiently.

Smartphones & Electronics

Even as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stays silent on its product roadmap, prediction markets are increasingly confident the company will unveil a foldable iPhone before the decade's end.

Apple’s App Store year-on-year net revenue growth decelerated to 5.7% in December from November’s 6.1%, while spending trends were mixed across the company’s top geographies, according to Goldman Sachs.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (OTC:SSNLF) plans to expand the reach of its Galaxy artificial intelligence features, doubling the number of mobile devices powered by AI, intensifying rivalry with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhones.

Automotives, Aerospace & Defence

Chinese autonomous vehicle technology company Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY) is starting to see its Momentum fade in recent weeks, despite a string of favorable developments.

TomTom N.V. (OTC:TMOAF) and Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) on Tuesday announced the renewal of their partnership to enhance Uber’s routing and location services across its global ride-hailing and delivery operations.

Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV) and mobility startup Tensor have jointly created a foldable steering wheel for Tensor's Robocar, designed to free up cabin space and enhance comfort when the vehicle operates autonomously. 

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) has announced it took a $7.1 billion charge related to EVs amid a pivot away from EV efforts. GM had earlier announced a $1.6 billion EV charge.

Elon Musk-owned Starlink said it will provide free satellite internet service across Venezuela for a limited time, citing efforts to preserve connectivity amid extraordinary political upheaval following a U.S. military operation targeting the country’s leadership.

Elon Musk has laid out an ambitious production target for the company’s Starship rocket.

L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) said it will sell a 60% stake in its space and propulsion businesses to private equity firm AE Industrial Partners for $845 million, including debt.

Niu Technologies (NASDAQ:NIU) disclosed that in the fourth quarter of 2025, the company sold 178,702 units, down from 226,634 units a year earlier, spanning its portfolio of e-motorcycles, e-mopeds, e-bicycles, kick scooters, and e-bikes.

Blink Charging Co. (NASDAQ:BLNK) began rolling out cryptocurrency payments at select U.S. fast-charging sites.

Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID) unveiled a prototype of its new Robotaxi built in collaboration with ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) and Nuro Inc.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI) is expanding U.S.-based manufacturing and advanced liquid-cooling capabilities to speed up deployment of next-generation AI data centers built on Nvidia’s upcoming Vera Rubin and Rubin platforms.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The CEO of $2 billion AI training startup, Invisible Technologies, says humans will continue to play a crucial role in training artificial intelligence for decades, despite industry talk of synthetic data replacing human input.

CNBC host Jim Cramer has endorsed a new J.P. Morgan report suggesting that physical and financial limits—not a market crash—will naturally curb the massive spending by tech giants on artificial intelligence (AI).

Datavault AI Inc. (NASDAQ:DVLT) disclosed the plans for a nationwide rollout of its SanQtum platform in partnership with AP Global Holdings LLC, targeting 100 cities across the contiguous U.S.

Datavault AI expanded its collaboration with International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) to deliver enterprise-grade artificial intelligence at the edge in New York and Philadelphia, using its SanQtum AI platform.

Elon Musk’s social media platform X is facing international scrutiny after its Grok AI chatbot allowed users to generate sexually explicit images of women and children.

Elon Musk’s AI venture, xAI, has exceeded expectations by securing $20 billion in a Series E funding round.

Elon Musk’s xAI recently raised $20 billion, valuing the company at more than $200 billion. Among the investors in the company was a sitting member of Congress.

Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman says the next milestone toward artificial general intelligence won’t be about sounding human, but about whether an AI agent can independently and legally create real economic value.

Microsoft launched a suite of “agentic AI” tools aimed at automating key retail tasks, from merchandising and marketing to store operations and fulfillment, positioning the company to help merchants boost efficiency and shopper relevance.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) is moving closer to taking its artificial-intelligence chip unit public, as its Kunlunxin division hires banks to prepare for a Hong Kong IPO that could raise up to $2 billion.

Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ZETA) disclosed a strategic partnership with OpenAI to power its enterprise marketing agent, Athena by Zeta, expanding beta access amid strong demand from brands.

OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT Health, a new AI-powered platform designed to help patients and doctors navigate complex medical information.

Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) is reorganizing its business to create a new “Physical AI” division, signaling a deeper push into robotics and automotive technology as humanoid robots dominate the spotlight at CES 2026.