Business 23 January 2026 - 28 January 2026

LegalZoom Drops Ahead of Shareholder Meeting as AI Fight Hangs Over Stock
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LegalZoom Drops Ahead of Shareholder Meeting as AI Fight Hangs Over Stock

LegalZoom.com traded lower in premarket Wednesday, with the stock near $6.53 as investors prepared for the company’s annual meeting. Shares have had trouble translating stronger sales into better numbers on the bottom line. The latest price was off 14.5 cents from Tuesday’s close, giving LegalZoom a market cap near $1.16 billion. The timing sets the scene. U.S. markets are open as usual, and Nasdaq’s 2026 holiday list shows the next full day off is Juneteenth, June 19. LegalZoom’s shareholder meeting is scheduled for later in the day, not on a weekend or holiday.
June 3, 2026
Snap creates “Specs Inc” to lure investors and take on Meta’s AI smart glasses
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Snap creates “Specs Inc” to lure investors and take on Meta’s AI smart glasses

Snap Inc announced Wednesday that it has spun off Specs Inc into a separate, wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to its augmented reality smart glasses. The shift is designed to provide sharper focus and greater “capital flexibility” as the company pushes toward a public launch later this year. The timing highlights just how fast eyewear is turning into a hotspot for artificial intelligence — software that responds to spoken commands and handles tasks. Earlier this month, Meta put a hold on rolling out its Ray-Ban Display glasses beyond the U.S., pointing to tight inventory and waitlists stretching “well into 2026.”
January 28, 2026
SoftBank’s Next OpenAI Move: Talks Circle Another $30 Billion as $100 Billion Round Takes Shape
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SoftBank’s Next OpenAI Move: Talks Circle Another $30 Billion as $100 Billion Round Takes Shape

SoftBank Group is in talks to invest as much as an additional $30 billion in OpenAI, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, as the Japanese group presses deeper into the race to fund the most expensive parts of artificial intelligence. The timing is about money and speed. OpenAI is burning cash to train and run AI models, and rivals have pushed the pace, with Alphabet’s Google stepping up pressure in consumer and enterprise tools. Reuters has reported OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees the company had entered a “code red” phase to improve ChatGPT.
January 28, 2026
Texas Instruments stock jumps on AI data-center boom — and a Q1 forecast it hasn’t made since 2010
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Texas Instruments stock jumps on AI data-center boom — and a Q1 forecast it hasn’t made since 2010

Texas Instruments shares surged about 7% in premarket trading Wednesday after the chipmaker’s first-quarter forecast pointed to strong demand fueled by AI data centers. Reuters This forecast matters because it shows AI growth depends on more than just high-end processors from companies like Nvidia. TI supplies analog chips—those crucial power-management and signal-conversion parts that support the “brains” of a data center, keeping systems stable.
January 28, 2026
Pinterest layoffs: up to 15% jobs cut as AI pivot rattles investors
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Pinterest layoffs: up to 15% jobs cut as AI pivot rattles investors

Pinterest announced Tuesday it plans to cut under 15% of its staff and reduce office space to focus more on artificial intelligence, causing its shares to drop almost 10%. This shift highlights a fresh challenge for ad-driven tech companies: while they’re pouring big bucks into AI, investors are demanding clearer revenue connections. Analysts caution that “AI” alone won’t convince the market.
January 27, 2026
Meta locks in up to $6 billion Corning fiber deal as AI data-center build bites
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Meta locks in up to $6 billion Corning fiber deal as AI data-center build bites

Meta Platforms will shell out as much as $6 billion to Corning over the coming years for fiber-optic cables and connectivity gear to support its AI data centers, the companies announced Tuesday. According to CNBC, the deal stretches through 2030. This deal highlights the shift in AI development from just software to the physical infrastructure — cables, switches, power, and floor space. Fiber-optic cables, transmitting data as light, play a crucial role in quickly moving information within massive data centers.
January 27, 2026
Texas bans Temu and Shein on state devices as Abbott expands China tech blacklist to 26 firms
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Texas bans Temu and Shein on state devices as Abbott expands China tech blacklist to 26 firms

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan 27, 2026, 09:23 CST Texas Governor Greg Abbott has broadened the state’s banned technologies list—a roster of companies barred from government devices and networks—by including 26 new firms like Alibaba, Temu’s parent company PDD, Shein, and router manufacturer TP-Link, his office announced. The latest revision also covers AI-related products and various other software.
January 27, 2026
SK Hynix eyes US AI investment unit to steer $6.9 billion in SK Group bets
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SK Hynix eyes US AI investment unit to steer $6.9 billion in SK Group bets

SK Hynix confirmed it’s weighing the launch of a U.S. subsidiary dedicated to AI investments, following reports from local media about the company's plans to set up such a unit. According to Maeil Business Newspaper, this new entity might oversee roughly 10 trillion won in AI-related assets currently held overseas by SK Group affiliates. Memory is becoming a critical choke point in the AI hardware race. High-bandwidth memory — a stacked DRAM placed close to AI chips — speeds up data transfer while cutting power consumption. According to Macquarie Equity Research, SK Hynix held a 61% share of the HBM market last year, outpacing Samsung Electronics and Micron, Reuters reported earlier this month.
January 27, 2026
Fritz-Kola Says “No Price Hike” as Regenerative Sugar Beet Pilot Cuts CO2 — FritzBox Maker Faces Fibre Shift
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Fritz-Kola Says “No Price Hike” as Regenerative Sugar Beet Pilot Cuts CO2 — FritzBox Maker Faces Fibre Shift

Hamburg’s fritz-kola doesn’t expect price hikes following a pilot that shifted sugar beet farming to “regenerative” techniques, which just yielded its first crop. One of the farms involved reported producing 1,449 tonnes of sugar while slashing emissions by 1,534 tonnes of CO2. Price remains a sharp hurdle for brands pushing climate-friendly products in a market wary of steeper costs. In beverages, sugar is a key ingredient—and its farming generates unavoidable emissions.
January 26, 2026
US set for $1.6 billion USA Rare Earth stake deal as Washington chases homegrown magnets
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US set for $1.6 billion USA Rare Earth stake deal as Washington chases homegrown magnets

The Trump administration is set to take a 10% stake in USA Rare Earth as part of a $1.6 billion debt-and-equity deal designed to develop a domestic rare earth mine and magnet factory, according to two sources who spoke to Reuters. Alongside this, a separate $1 billion private investment is also expected to be announced Monday, with USA Rare Earth planning an investor call that morning, one source said. The White House didn’t immediately comment, and USA Rare Earth declined to respond. Rare earths comprise 17 minerals essential to various electronics and military gear. China dominates global processing, while U.S. production remains minimal. Washington has been pushing to narrow this gap by funding new domestic projects.
January 25, 2026
Pegatron’s Texas factory deadline: Apple supplier targets end-March finish as AI server push heats up
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Pegatron’s Texas factory deadline: Apple supplier targets end-March finish as AI server push heats up

TAIPEI, Jan 24, 2026, 03:17 Pegatron’s first factory in the U.S., located in Texas, is set to be finished by the end of March, the company’s CEO said Friday. Trial production — test runs before full-scale manufacturing — should kick off in late March or April. The facility will focus on AI server products, including systems powered by Nvidia chips.
January 23, 2026
Taiwan’s president to Arizona senator: Expect more TSMC chip investment after tariff cut
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Taiwan’s president to Arizona senator: Expect more TSMC chip investment after tariff cut

Taipei, Jan 24, 2026, 03:22 Taiwan President Lai Ching-te told Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego on Friday he expects more chip investment in the Phoenix area, building on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s $165 billion plan in the state. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/taiwan-looks-forward-more-chip-investment-arizona-president-says-2026-01-23/
January 23, 2026
Lenovo wants more AI model partners than Apple as it rolls out Qira, CFO says
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Lenovo wants more AI model partners than Apple as it rolls out Qira, CFO says

DAVOS, Switzerland, January 23, 2026, 18:23 CET Lenovo is hunting partnerships with multiple large language models around the world to power its devices as it tries to position itself as a global AI player, chief financial officer Winston Cheng said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Cheng also said he sees an AI bubble in private and public market valuations and urged investors to watch operating costs, not just spending plans.
January 23, 2026
Ofcom probes Meta over WhatsApp Business data — why the UK is digging in now
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Ofcom probes Meta over WhatsApp Business data — why the UK is digging in now

On Friday, Britain’s communications watchdog Ofcom announced it has launched an investigation into Meta Platforms regarding the data the company submitted about WhatsApp Business. This case is crucial because Ofcom relies on statutory data requests to support its analysis of the business messaging sector, including a wholesale market review for bulk business texts. If the data is off, the regulator’s entire view of that market could be skewed.
January 23, 2026
Trump administration pushes out Liz Cannon, Commerce official behind Chinese car curb, sources say
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Trump administration pushes out Liz Cannon, Commerce official behind Chinese car curb, sources say

The Trump administration has ousted Elizabeth “Liz” Cannon, who led the Commerce Department’s Information and Communications Technology and Services program set up in 2022 to tackle supply-chain risks from foreign foes, sources told Reuters on Friday. Cannon’s team helped finalize Biden-era rules that effectively banned almost all Chinese passenger vehicles from entering the U.S. market. She’s expected to depart on Feb. 20, according to two insiders. The Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees the program, said staff changes will bolster the office. Sources also revealed the administration intends to replace Cannon with a political appointee. This personnel shift hits a small corner of Commerce with outsized impact. It’s one of the rare spots in government where everyday tech—software, chips,
January 23, 2026
Sberbank jumps into Russia’s chip race with Element stake — and Rostec won’t sell
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Sberbank jumps into Russia’s chip race with Element stake — and Rostec won’t sell

Sberbank snapped up a 41.9% stake in Russia’s microelectronics firm Element for 27 billion roubles, the bank announced late Thursday. This move marks a significant step as Sberbank shifts focus from traditional lending toward technology. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russias-sberbank-takes-stake-element-102049191.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com This buy comes as Russia pushes to ramp up its own semiconductor production — those tiny chips powering everything from smartphones to missile guidance — following Western limits that tightened access to key tech amid the Ukraine conflict.
January 23, 2026
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