Every month we recap the top startup, tech, and innovation news from around the world. Here are the stories that made headlines in January.
#1 OpenAI Signed Multi-billion Investment Deal with Microsoft
23 January – Microsoft announced a new phase of its partnership with OpenAI with a multiyear, multibillion-dollar investment to accelerate AI breakthroughs. The goal of the partnership is to ensure these benefits are broadly shared with the world. The agreement includes scaling supercomputers for OpenAI’s research, deploying OpenAI’s models across all Microsoft products, and integrating Azure into OpenAI’s work.
#2 Sweden Discovers Rare Earth Metals – Could Change Europe’s Tech Ecosystem
13 January – The discovery of what’s considered the biggest deposit of rare earth metals in Europe might change its relationship and dependence on China. Rare earth metals are a group of 17 chemical elements that are crucial for building components in EVs and wind turbines. Today, Europe imports about 98% of these rare metals from China.
It might be a few years before Europe can close the door on China’s imports though. LKAB, the Swedish company that discovered the deposit, said it will take 10 to 15 years of research and assessment before mining can begin.
#3 Boston Dynamics’ Atlas Robot Can Grab, Toss, and Throw Objects in Latest Demo
18 January – Boston Dynamics’ humanoid robot Atlas was already able to run and jump, but with improved functionality (aka hands), the robot is now able to pick up and drop off objects just like humans. A real helping hand for when you forget your tool kit on the ground.
#4 Bitcoin Surpassed Both Meta and Mastercard in Market Capitalization
13 January – Bitcoin tops Mastercard and Meta in market value, crossing 10B in market capitalization – a 23% rise in 7 days. 2022 was a rough year for the cryptocurrency, but the outlook for the following year might just be looking up.
#5 FTX Claimed $415M of Crypto Was Hacked
19 January – FTX claimed that roughly $415M of crypto was stolen by hackers. This amount is included in the .5B worth of digital assets recovered since the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy.
Co-founder and ex-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who is accused of stealing billions of dollars from FTX’s users, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges.
#6 Google, Scared by ChatGPT, Declared ‘Code Red’ for AI Development
24 January – When ChatGPT wowed the world with its ability to answer questions conversationally, the biggest search engine in the world got scared. Founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, were brought into several emergency meetings concerning ChatGPT last month. Many have noted that the large language model might threaten Google Search’s 49B business.
In the aim to stay ahead of this new competition, CEO Sundar Pichai declared a “code red” to spur new AI development and hopes to reveal 20 new products within the year.
