It was a quieter week in tech, but still packed with news. The stylish Pebble Round smartwatch is back for a second generation, and managing a Plex library just got a whole lot more like swiping for dates.
Palo Alto Networks had a volatile 2025, with shares held back by CEO Nikesh Arora’s dealmaking. But its $25B CyberArk and $3.35B Chronosphere buys position it for a stronger 2026 as customers consolidate security tools.
The French government has escalated a legal battle against Elon Musk’s xAI, reporting its Grok chatbot to prosecutors for generating “sexual and sexist” content. Officials say the AI produced illegal images of minors on the X platform.
The VPN industry is heading into a critical 2026. According to TechRadar, it will be defined by a three-pronged challenge: navigating potential government restrictions, rolling out post-quantum encryption, and improving extra security features. It’s a year of high-stakes evolution, not revolution.
Microsoft is updating Edge with code designed to intercept downloads of OpenAI’s upcoming Atlas browser. The wild part? The AI-powered browser isn’t even available for Windows yet. This preemptive move shows how scared the company is of new competition.
Instagram’s leader says the era of trusting your eyes is over. As AI makes flawless fakes trivial, the platform’s future hinges on verifying realness, not just detecting fakes. The entire concept of what makes a creator valuable is being rewritten.
Meta has acquired Singapore-based AI agent startup Manus for a reported $2-3 billion. The deal fast-tracks Meta’s push into AI that can execute complex tasks, not just chat.
Cryptocurrency company Coinme can keep running in Washington state after reaching a temporary agreement with regulators. The state had sought to revoke its license and fine it $300,000 over allegations it improperly claimed $8 million in customer funds.
SoftBank has finalized a massive $22.5 billion investment in OpenAI, bringing its total stake to about 11%. Meanwhile, tech observers are drawing parallels between Meta’s new Manus AI buy and its past failed acquisitions, casting doubt on its product roadmap.
Maxon has launched Cinebench 2026, a major update to its performance benchmarking tool. It’s built on the new Redshift rendering engine, adds support for the latest Nvidia, AMD, and Apple chips, and its scores are completely incomparable to older versions.
