🚀 24 top AI companies join the US Genesis Mission

Advertise | Sign Up | Upgrade

Greetings! Your latest quick tech update is here:

☀️ On this day: On December 19, 1974, the Altair 8800 microcomputer kit began selling in the United States. Built by Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), the Altair is widely regarded as the first commercially successful personal computer, inspiring hobbyists and future tech pioneers.

What’s happening:

• 🚀 24 top AI companies join the US Genesis Mission

• 📜 New AI guidelines focus on teen protection

• 🧩 Google brings its vibe-coding tool Opal to Gemini

• 📱 The TikTok US sale is finally happening on January 22

• 🎮 Gamers are pushing back hard against AI in games

• 🛰️ A Starlink satellite exploded and created trackable debris

• + 📊 Daily poll and results

• + 📈 Trending tools and resources

AI Report

The Future of AI in Marketing. Your Shortcut to Smarter, Faster Marketing.

Unlock a focused set of AI strategies built to streamline your work and maximize impact. This guide delivers the practical tactics and tools marketers need to start seeing results right away:

• 7 high-impact AI strategies to accelerate your marketing performance

• Practical use cases for content creation, lead gen, and personalization

• Expert insights into how top marketers are using AI today

• A framework to evaluate and implement AI tools efficiently

Stay ahead of the curve with these top strategies AI helped develop for marketers, built for real-world results.

Download the Free Report

Hand-picked news:

🚀 24 top AI companies join the US Genesis Mission ↗️LINK

• Twenty-four leading AI companies — including OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Palantir, Accenture, and AWS — have officially joined the federal government’s Genesis Mission to accelerate scientific discovery.

• The initiative combines cutting-edge AI models with the government’s vast federal datasets, aiming to speed breakthroughs in energy, drug discovery, biology, and the physical sciences.

• Backed by a recent $320 million Energy Department investment, the effort relies on close public-private collaboration to move fast, strengthen U.S. competitiveness, and turn AI-driven research into real-world results.

📜 New AI guidelines focus on teen protection ↗️LINK

• OpenAI is updating ChatGPT’s Model Spec with four new principles for users aged 13–17, prioritizing teen safety even when it conflicts with goals like maximum intellectual freedom, while Anthropic is developing methods to identify and remove users under 18.

• The new guidelines say ChatGPT should “treat teens like teens” by using warmth and respect, setting clear expectations, guiding them toward safer choices, and encouraging real-world relationships and offline support.

• These changes come amid increased pressure from lawmakers and lawsuits over AI’s mental-health impact, with OpenAI emphasizing stronger guardrails, safer alternatives, and encouragement to seek trusted or emergency support when conversations become high risk.

🧩 Google brings its vibe-coding tool to Gemini ↗️LINK

• Google is integrating Opal into the Gemini web app, letting users create AI-powered mini apps—called Gems—directly inside Gemini using natural language instead of code.

• Opal includes a visual editor that turns prompts into step-by-step workflows, allowing users to rearrange and connect actions to build apps more easily.

• The move reflects the rapid rise of “vibe-coding,” as Google joins startups and rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic in making AI-driven app creation accessible to more people.

📱 The TikTok US sale is finally happening ↗️LINK

• TikTok has agreed to sell its U.S. business to a new joint venture led by Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi–based MGX, with the deal expected to close on January 22.

• The sale would end a years-long saga that began under Trump in 2020, turned into a divest-or-ban law under Biden in 2024, and dragged through 2025 with multiple enforcement delays.

• Under the new structure, U.S. investors will control 50% of the company, ByteDance will keep a minority stake, TikTok’s algorithm will be retrained using U.S. data, and Oracle will oversee data security.

🎮 Gamers push back against AI in games ↗️LINK

• Gamers are pushing back hard against AI in games, with players criticizing studios for using AI-made art, voices, or assets, leading to boycotts, canceled projects, and new disclosure rules on platforms like Steam.

• Developers worry AI will be used to justify layoffs and worse working conditions, while players feel cheated when games use AI instead of human creators but still charge full price.

• AI is now making gaming more expensive: demand for AI data centers is driving up memory and GPU prices, shrinking PC supply, and making it harder and costlier to build or buy a gaming PC.

🛰️ A Starlink satellite exploded and created trackable debris ↗️LINK

• SpaceX says a Starlink satellite suffered an internal anomaly likely caused by a small explosion, venting its propulsion tank and releasing a few pieces of slow-moving, trackable debris.

• The satellite is mostly intact, tumbling in orbit, and expected to reenter Earth’s atmosphere and burn up within weeks; its path is well below the ISS and poses no danger to astronauts.

• The incident follows a near-collision with a Chinese satellite days earlier and highlights growing congestion concerns, as Starlink now operates nearly 9,300 active satellites — about 65% of all spacecraft in orbit.

Today’s Poll:

Vote and find out about the result tomorrow.

Yesterday’s Poll Result:

Do you think China’s lead in solar, wind, and EVs will grow over time?

• A: Yes, significantly - 54% 🏆

• B: Yes, but only slightly - 25%

• C: No, others will catch up - 21%

Reader’s opinions:

From our partner:

Make Newsletter Magic in Just Minutes

Your readers want great content. You want growth and revenue. beehiiv gives you both. With stunning posts, a website that actually converts, and every monetization tool already baked in, beehiiv is the all-in-one platform for builders. Get started for free, no credit card required.

AI for All by Nvidia (free course): This introductory course provides invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of AI. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just beginning your journey into AI, this course is essential for staying ahead in today's rapidly evolving technological landscape. 

Meco: Meco is a distraction-free space for reading and discovering newsletters, separate from the inbox. Add your newsletters in seconds and liberate your inbox today!

Gamma: Create unlimited presentations, websites, and more—in seconds. Everything you need to quickly create and refine content with advanced AI.

Typefully: Best social media tool for creators & businesses. Create, schedule, and publish social media posts on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and more.