xAI announced today on its blog that it raised a $20 billion Series E. Investors included Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity, Qatar Investment Authority, Stepstone Group, MGX, Baron Capital Group, Nvidia, and Cisco Investments. TechCrunch has more here.

Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI assistant platform Manus is unsurprisingly caught in a regulatory tug-of-war — but not because of U.S. regulators. They appear assured that the deal is legitimate despite earlier misgivings about Benchmark’s investment in Manus. China’s regulators, however, are reportedly not quite as sanguine, according to the FT. TechCrunch has more here.

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By Lauren Forristal

While CES 2026 is full of tech giants unveiling their latest innovations, the real excitement comes from discovering unexpected, quirky gadgets that make you ask, “Who thought of this?”

We’re here to spotlight the wildest products we’ve found so far at CES 2026, from an AI-powered panda that responds to your touch, to Razer’s holographic anime assistant, and plenty more weirdness that makes you do a double-take.

Razer’s Project AVA, originally introduced last year as an esports AI coach, has evolved into something new: a 5.5-inch animated holographic desk companion that can assist with gaming strategies, productivity, daily organization, and even personal advice. It’s both a gaming ally and an everyday assistant. Users can choose from different characters, such as the anime girl Kira or the muscular Zane. 

These digital avatars feature lifelike movements, eye-tracking, expressive faces, and lip-syncing for realistic interactions. What really stands out, though, is the constant monitoring — the device watches you and your screen using the built-in camera. It’s a bit unsettling, but since it’s still just a concept, there’s no guarantee it’ll ever become a real product.

An’An, the latest AI pet from Mind with Heart Robotics, combines an adorable design with a meaningful mission: supporting elderly care. 

The panda bot has high-tech sensors all over its body, so it reacts naturally when you touch it. Its emotional AI remembers your voice, how you interact, and what you like, so the longer you spend time with An’An, the more personalized it gets. It provides around-the-clock emotional support to combat loneliness. Additionally, for older adults who might be struggling with memory, An’An helps keep them engaged, reminds them about daily tasks, and keeps caregivers in the loop about their well-being.

Cambium, a seven-year-old startup based in El Segundo, CA, that develops advanced materials for defense and aerospace markets, raised a $100 million Series B round led by 8VC, with MVP Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, GSBackers, Veteran Ventures Capital, J17 Ventures, Vanderbilt University, Alumni Ventures, Gaingels, Inevitable Ventures, and JACS Capital also piling on. Pulse 2.0 has more here.

DayOne Data Centers, a four-year-old Singapore startup that develops and operates hyperscale data centers, raised a $2+ billion Series C round led by Coatue, with the Indonesia Investment Authority also engaging. Data Centre Magazine has more here.

LMArena, a one-year-old San Francisco startup that lets users compare artificial intelligence tools through anonymous evaluations, raised a $150 million round at a $1.7 billion post-money valuation. The deal was co-led by Felicis and UC Investments, with Andreessen Horowitz, The House Fund, LDVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Laude Ventures also participating. TechCrunch has more here.

Photonic, a 10-year-old Vancouver company that develops networked quantum computing technology, has closed on $111.5 million of a potential $250 million round. Planet First Partners was the lead investor, with RBC, and Telus Ventures as well as previous investor Microsoft also digging in. The company has raised a total of $232 million. BetaKit has more here.

Array Labs, a five-year-old Palo Alto startup that develops radar satellites for three-dimensional Earth mapping, raised a $20 million Series A round led by Catapult Ventures, with Washington Harbour Partners, Kompas VC, Y Combinator, Maiora Capital, Animal Capital, Aera VC, Cultivation Capital, and Clearance Ventures also contributing. The company has raised a total of $35 million. SpaceNews has more here.

Interos.ai, a 21-year-old company based in Arlington, VA, that provides supply chain risk intelligence to commercial and federal customers, raised a $20 million round. Investors included Blue Owl Capital and Structural Capital. TipRanks has more here.

Linker Vision, a four-year-old startup based in Taipei and Santa Clara, CA, that develops software for deploying AI in physical environments, raised a $35 million Series A round led by Abico Group, with NVIDIA, Yun-Hsien Enterprise, CIDC Co., Hotung Venture Group, ITIC’s Noah GT Fund, ChangHwa Bank Venture, and Yuanta Venture also taking part. More here.

Filtrabit, a 15-year-old company based in Oulu, Finland, that develops modular dust extraction systems that capture and recycle industrial microparticles from gas streams, raised a $2.3 million round led by Ajanta Innovations. ArcticStartup has more here.

Unusual, a two-year-old San Francisco startup that helps brands influence how AI describes their products and services, raised a $3.6 million round. Investors included BoxGroup, Long Journey Ventures, Y Combinator, and Phosphor Capital. AI Insider has more here.

Arm’s 20 predictions for the future of intelligent computing. 

As AI moves beyond centralized clouds, computing is entering a new era defined by distributed, power-efficient intelligence across cloud, edge, and physical systems. In a new predictions blog, Arm shares 20 technology predictions for 2026 and beyond, from modular chiplet design and secure-by-design silicon to smaller, purpose-built AI models and the rise of physical AI. Together, these predictions highlight why intelligence-per-watt will shape the next wave of innovation.  

Read Arm’s predictions for 2026 

Mobileye, an Israel-based company that supplies chips and software for automotive safety and autonomous driving, agreed to acquire Mentee Robotics, a four-year-old Israeli startup that develops humanoid robots, for $900 million in cash and stock. TechCrunch has more here.

Discord, a 10-year-old San Francisco chat platform, has apparently filed confidentially to go public. Bloomberg has more here.

Ashley St. Clair, a conservative content creator and the mother of one of Elon Musk’s children, says Grok keeps generating sexualized images of her, including from when she was a minor, raising questions about Grok’s controls and governance. NBC News has more here.

Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison has sold his Pacific Heights mansion for $45 million in San Francisco's biggest deal of 2025 — the same Broadway Street home where his daughter Megan once hosted a party that ended with guests vandalizing a neighbor's 10-foot anatomically-correct robot sculpture. The 2006 incident was quietly resolved between neighbors, much like this off-market sale, evidently.

The Energy Department awarded $900 million to General Matter, a Peter Thiel-backed nuclear startup. Gizmodo has more here.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he is perfectly fine with California’s proposed billionaire tax. Bloomberg has more here.

Curtis Joseph Mahoney, a former Trump administration trade official and general counsel at Microsoft, has been appointed chief legal officer at Meta, as the company faces escalating child safety lawsuits and intensifying regulatory pushback. CNBC has more here.

Full-year European registration data show Tesla car sales fell nearly 28% in 2025, with declines across every major market except Norway. Electrek has more here.

A new study from Cornell and the University of Chicago warns that booming demand for health wearables could push annual production to two billion devices by 2050 and generate more than one million tons of e-waste. TechCrunch has more here.

California state senator Steve Padilla has proposed a four-year ban on AI chatbots in kids’ toys, citing child safety risks and recent lawsuits. “Our children cannot be used as lab rats for Big Tech to experiment on,” Padilla said. TechCrunch has more here.

L.A. real estate agents Josh and Matthew Altman are using a $25,000 AI-generated fantasy trailer to revive a stalled $70 million California listing.

The 10 wines you should be drinking in 2026.

A 137-year-old grocery store in Woodside, CA, that stocks caviar, SPAM, and more than its fair share of billionaires.

A complete 19-bottle set of The Macallan’s Anniversary Malt spanning vintages from the late 1950s through the mid-1970s just hit the market for $168,000.

Tour the Alps in a supercar.

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