Welcome back to your daily memorandum talking tech, business, AI, markets, and more. 🗞️

In today’s edition, we are tackling the following:

🤖 Samsung targets 800 million Gemini-powered devices, expanding Google’s AI reach.
📺 Amazon launches framed Artline TVs to challenge Samsung’s living room dominance.
🏭 Foxconn reports record quarterly revenue driven by surging AI server demand.
🌍 Denmark rebukes U.S. threats over Greenland after the intervention in Venezuela.
🏫 Tech giants push AI into classrooms, raising concerns over student learning.

TECHNOLOGY

• Samsung to double mobile devices powered by Google’s Gemini to 800 million units this year (Reuters) 

  ^{_{More: Yahoo Finance, SamMobile}}

  • Samsung plans to reach 800 million Gemini-powered devices in 2026, doubling from 400 million in 2025.

  • The expansion gives Google a significant advantage over OpenAI in the global AI race through device integration.

  • Memory chip shortages may affect product pricing, though Samsung is pursuing long-term strategies to minimize consumer impact.

• Amazon revamps Fire TV, launches its own ‘Artline’ televisions with frames (TechCrunch) 
  ^{_{More: 9to5Toys, Variety, Tom’s Guide}}

  • Amazon debuts Ember Artline TVs at $899 with 10 magnetic frames, competing directly with Samsung’s Frame.

  • The 4K QLED displays include AI-powered art recommendations, 2,000 free artworks, and integrated support for Amazon Photos.

  • The Fire TV interface redesign launches in February, promising 20-30 percent speed improvements and enhanced content discovery features.

• Google introduces new Gemini for Google TV features (The Verge) 
  _{^{More: 9to5Google, BGR, Engadget}}

  • Google TV adds Gemini-powered voice control to adjust picture and sound settings without leaving the content.

  • Nano Banana and Veo integration enables on-TV photo editing and video generation from uploaded images.

  • Google Photos search arrives on TCL devices first, offering natural language queries and AI-generated slideshows.

BUSINESS

• MiniMax Is Said to Plan Pricing Hong Kong IPO at Top on AI Fervor (Bloomberg) 

  _{^{More: Reuters, SCMP, Tech Startups}}

  • Chinese AI startup MiniMax plans to price its IPO at the top of the range, raising $538 million at a $6.5 billion valuation.

  • Books oversubscribed multiple times, with retail margin financing reaching nearly 800 times the subscription, totaling HK$162 billion.

  • Six Chinese tech companies debut this week, signaling strong investor appetite for AI and semiconductor stocks.

• Foxconn’s Q4 revenue surges 22.07% from a year earlier on AI demand (Reuters) 

  _{^{More: CNBC, Invezz, Yahoo Finance}}

  • Foxconn posts record Q4 revenue of NT$2.6 trillion, driven by strong AI server demand for Nvidia.

  • The 22 percent year-over-year growth exceeded analysts’ NT$2.4 trillion quarterly expectations.

  • The cloud and networking products division delivered strong performance amid accelerated global AI infrastructure buildouts.

• Flutterwave buys Nigeria’s Mono in rare African fintech exit (TechCrunch) 

  _{^{More: Yahoo Finance, Businessday NG, Nairametrics}}

  • Flutterwave acquires Nigerian open banking startup Mono for $25-40 million in an all-stock transaction.

  • Early investors achieved returns up to 20x, marking a rare successful exit in the African fintech sector.

  • The combined entity deepens vertical integration, offering payments, identity verification, data access, and bank verification.

MARKETS

WORLD

• Maduro says ‘I was kidnapped’ as he pleads not guilty in U.S. court (Al Jazeera) 

  _{^{More: Washington Post, NBC News, ABC News}}

  • Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro pleads not guilty to narco-terrorism charges, declaring himself still president.

  • Trump states the U.S. will “run” Venezuela temporarily, with acting president Rodriguez calling for a balanced relationship.

  • Over 150 aircraft used in Saturday raid; Maduro and wife face drug trafficking conspiracy charges.

• Palestinian boy drowns in muddy water flooding Gaza tent camp, U.N. says (NBC News) 

  _{^{More: ABC News, Washington Post, Katu 2 (ABC News)}}

  • Seven-year-old Ata Mai drowned Saturday in severe flooding that engulfed his Gaza City tent camp.

  • UNICEF reports that at least six children have died from weather-related causes, including hypothermia and building collapses.

  • Over 2 million displaced Gazans live in squalid tent camps with minimal protection from winter.

• Denmark PM urges Trump to ‘stop the threats’ of annexing Greenland (NBC News) 

  _{^{More: NPR, Bloomberg, Euronews}}

  • Danish PM Frederiksen demands the U.S. stop threatening to annex Greenland following Venezuela’s military operation.

  • Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s wife posted an image of the U.S. flag over Greenland hours after Maduro’s capture.

  • Denmark invokes NATO membership protections, calling for respect of territorial integrity from a historic ally.

FUTURISM

• Tech Giants Pushing AI Into Schools (Futurism) 

  ^{_{More: NewsBytesApp, DNYUZ}}

  • Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic pour $23 million into teacher training to reach millions of students worldwide.

  • Miami-Dade schools deploy Gemini to 100,000+ high schoolers; xAI partners with El Salvador nationwide.

  • Research shows AI may inhibit learning and atrophy critical thinking skills, raising concerns about rushed implementation.

• 40 million Americans turn to ChatGPT for health care (Axios) 

  _{^{More: Becker’s Hospital Review}} 

  • Over 40 million people globally use ChatGPT daily for health information, with 5 percent of messages related to health.

  • Users ask 1.6-1.9 million health insurance questions each week about plan comparisons, claims, and coverage.

  • Rural communities send 600,000 health messages weekly; 70 percent of health conversations occur outside clinic hours.

• Qualcomm announces Dragonwing IQ10 humanoid robotics platform at CES 2026 (CNET) 

  _{^{More: Yahoo Finance, AndroidHeadlines, Business Wire}}

  • Qualcomm debuts Dragonwing IQ10 processor for industrial autonomous robots and full-size humanoid applications.

  • Figure AI partners with VinMotion as a launch collaborator; VinMotion’s Motion 2 humanoid showcased at the CES booth.

  • The platform integrates edge computing, AI models, and mixed-criticality systems for scalable deployment across robot form factors.

• Stay ahead of AI at work*

  • Cut through the hype. Roko’s Basilisk distills the day’s AI breakthroughs, market moves, and workable workflows into a five-minute brief.

  • Get one sharp deep dive, fast Quick Hits, and a witty pro tip, plus links that actually matter.

  • Join 100k+ readers who start decisions here each morning.

CONTENT

• Looking Ahead to 2026 (Stratechery)

  • Ben Thompson outlines the macro forces shaping technology, geopolitics, and platforms as we enter a more fragmented global decade.

  • Discussion covers AI commercialization, U.S.–China decoupling, and why scale advantages may erode for incumbents.

  • Episode frames 2026 as an inflection year demanding a sharper strategy from founders, policymakers, and investors alike.

• The High Growth Handbook with Molly Graham (Lenny’s Podcast)

  • Molly Graham shares lessons from scaling Facebook and Quip through rapid growth and organizational change.

  • Conversation explores hiring inflection points, founder blind spots, and why management systems must evolve continuously.

  • The key takeaway emphasizes intentional leadership as the primary determinant of sustainable, high-growth company outcomes.

• Seven Big Predictions for Tech (Big Technology Podcast)

  • Alex Kantrowitz breaks down seven forecasts reshaping Big Tech, startups, and platform power dynamics.

  • Topics include AI labor disruption, regulatory pressure, and why consumer trust becomes a competitive moat.

  • The episode suggests that winners will balance the pace of innovation with political, cultural, and economic constraints ahead.

EXTRAS

• Alibaba Brings Visual AI Into Food Fight with China’s Meituan (Bloomberg) 

  _{^{More: Yahoo Finance, Benzinga, The Star}}

  • Alibaba’s Amap launches an AI service that enables restaurants to create 3D interiors from simple photos or videos.

  • The Wan model-based tool aims to reduce marketing costs, offered free initially to select businesses.

  • Move signals Alibaba’s push to reclaim market share from Meituan in food delivery and local services.

• Elon Musk’s Starlink offers free internet access in Venezuela (CNBC) _{^{More: Fox Business, The Hill, NewsNation}}

  • Starlink provides free broadband to Venezuela through February 3, following the U.S. military operation and Maduro’s arrest.

  • Service credits automatically applied to active and inactive accounts as power outages hit Caracas.

  • Musk declares support for the Venezuelan people, extending the pattern of crisis-zone connectivity from Ukraine to hurricanes.

• FT-Rated China Focus: How South-East Asia Is Riding Out Trump’s Tariff Storm (Financial Times)

  • South-east Asian economies are benefiting from rerouted goods and from U.S. tariffs affecting China’s export patterns.

  • Strong U.S. demand for technology products underpins regional trade resilience despite broader geopolitical strains.

  • Economies reshape supply chains as export and tariff dynamics shift global manufacturing and trade flows.

AND MORE

• Switzerland freezes Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s assets after his U.S. arrest to block illicit outflows.

• Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is set to appear in U.S. federal court on narco-terrorism charges.

• Deposed Nicolás Maduro pleads not guilty in U.S. drug trafficking case in New York court.

• U.N. Security Council debates U.S. Venezuela intervention as allies and adversaries openly criticize action.

• HP previews tech innovations, including new laptops and gadgets, ahead of CES 2026 in Las Vegas.

• Explore all the tools and more here to outperform the competition.*

• Hisense’s CES 2026 keynote is livestreaming as industry leaders prepare to unveil new consumer tech.

• Global clean energy investments cut emissions but raise social and rights concerns, environmental report says.

• Investors say startup founders must show durable, repeatable business models to attract funding in 2026.