Holiday Recap, DoorDash Delivery Fake, Nvidia’s 67 Investments, and Tesla Cybercab Testing.
This Week in AI Newsletter: 1/5/2026
Top news from the holidays
Nvidia acquired Groq’s assets for ~$20 billion via a non-exclusive licensing deal, bringing Groq’s CEO and other leaders to Nvidia while allowing the startup to continue operating independently. More here.
Groq CEO Jonathan Ross
SoftBank finalized a historic $40 billion investment in OpenAI to accelerate the development of custom AI silicon and specialized hardware, this investment brings their total ownership to ~11%. More here.
Meta bought AI startup Manus to strengthen automation features across its products and expand its AI capabilities. More here.
SoftBank bought data center investment firm DigitalBridge for $4 billion to support global demand for large-scale AI inference. More here.
Daily News!
Plaud launched their new AI notetaker, Plaud NotePin S, along with a desktop app that can help you take notes for online meetings; the pin launched at $179. More here.
Nvidia participated in 67 VC deals in 2025, on top of the 30+ deals that their VC arm NVentures invested in. See the breakdown here.
OpenAI is betting on audio, upgrading its voice AI models ahead of an expected audio-first device. More here.
A DoorDash driver was found using AI photos to fake a delivery in Austin, Texas, and was quickly banned. More here.
Boston Dynamics’ humanoid, Atlas, has been working at a Hyundai facility in Georgia; Hyundai owns 88% stake in the robot maker. More here.
Seven Tesla Cybercab prototypes are now active on Austin roads, marking a ramp-up in testing ahead of mass production later this April. More here.
Google previewed new Gemini features for Google TV at CES 2026, turning the TV into a voice-first assistant that can help you search, explain and navigate settings. More here.
Cool