Tech Brew Ride Home - CES Day 3

Episode Date: January 7, 2026

xAI has raised another monster round. Polymarket has yet another controversy around whether a bet should pay out or not. Could the AI datacenter buildout actually disrupt politics in local America? And a sort of roundup of what’s been at CES so far. Elon Musk’s xAI Raises $20 Billion (NYTimes) Polymarket refuses to pay bets that US would ‘invade’ Venezuela (FT) Americans Hate AI. Which Party Will Benefit? (Politico) The data center rebellion is here, and it’s reshaping the political landscape (Washington Post) Three Reasons We Can’t Get Enough of LinkedIn (WSJ) What surprised us the most at CES 2026 (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Google Fi Wireless is not subject to data traffic deprioritization during times of high network usage. Welcome to the TechBoo Ride Home for Wednesday, January 7th, 2026. I'm Brian McCullough today. XAI has raised another monster round. Polymarket has yet another controversy around whether a bet should pay out or not. Could the AI Data Center build out actually disrupt politics in local America and a sort of roundup of what's been at CES so far? Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. You may have noticed your customers love webinar and video content, but if you've ever actually put together,

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and more plays. X-A-I has raised a $20 billion series E round exceeding its $15 billion targeted round size with participation from Valor, NVIDIA, and others. And the company says GROC-5 is currently in training, quoting the times. In a statement, XAI said it had sought to raise $15 billion, but ended up getting more from eager investors. Two people with knowledge of the matter said the investment could push XAI's valuation above $230 billion, which it was on track to hit when it was raising $15 billion. That would make XAI founded in 2023, one of the fastest rising companies in value for Mr. Musk. The company said it would use the funding to, quote, expand its decisive compute advantage as it built data centers to power its technology and to

quote, fuel groundbreaking research. Investors in XAI's latest funding included Fidelity, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Valor Equity Partners, a firm led by Mr. Musk's friend and former Tesla board member Antonio Gracius. Invidia, the maker of AI chips, also participated. In total, XAI has raised more than $42 billion, according to Pitchbook. A new model, GROC5, will be released early this year. XAI has said Mr. Musk posted on X in October that the model had a 10% chance of reaching artificial general intelligence, a benchmark that would allow it to perform tasks like a human, end quote. Polymarket is disputing that the U.S. mission to capture Nicholas Maduro constituted a, quote, invasion and are now refusing to pay out bets on a contract with $10.5 million

in wagers that was predicated on the idea of an invasion. Quoting the F.T. The decision by the prediction market has angered gamblers and added to the controversy surrounding a successful wager on the timing of Maduro's capture that netted more than $400,000 in winnings for a mystery trader. The dispute over the definition of invade highlights just one of the controversies faced by the mostly unregulated industry. Polymarket, which only recently gained regulatory approval to operate legally in the U.S.,

says on its website that it will resolve the will the U.S. invade Venezuela by question mark contract if the U.S. quote, commences a military offensive intended to establish control over any portion of Venezuela by one of three dates. The resolution source for this market will be a consensus of credible sources, it adds. Prediction platforms such as polymarket do not typically make directional wagers in their own markets. Rather, they act as an intermediary matching long and short positions and adjudicating the outcome of events, collecting a fee in the process. After Maduro's capture and extraction from his Caracas compound by U.S. Special Forces early on Saturday, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would dictate the Latin American nation's policies to be carried out by leaders of the remaining regime.

Prices on the question jumped shortly after the raid but fell below 5% when the platform chose not to settle the contract. The platform resolved a similar contract, U.S. forces in Venezuela by, question mark, in favor of the yes position a few hours after the raid on Saturday. There is currently more than $10.5 million wagered on the contract, the majority on a January 31st deadline, with the remainder on contracts ending in March and December. Users who had in some cases bet tens of thousands of dollars on a U.S. invasion have taken to Polly Markets' comment section to vent their frustrations. Polymarket has descended into sheer arbitrariness, said a user called Skinner. Words are redefined at will, detached from any recognized meaning, and facts are simply ignored, that a military incursion, the kidnapping of a head of state, and the takeover of a country are not classified as an invasion is plainly absurd, end quote.

I've been meaning to talk about this for a while now. The huge data center buildout for AI is heating up local politics in U.S. towns across both red and blue states on issues like local water supplies, electricity prices, etc. Quoting Politico, the polls almost speak for themselves. There is hardly any issue that polls lower than unchecked AI development among Americans. Gallup polling shows that 80% of American adults think the government should regulate AI even if it means growing more slowly. Pew, meanwhile, ran a study that showed only 17% of Americans think AI will have a positive impact on the U.S. over the 20 years. Even congressional Democrats at a record low 18% approval beat that out, according to

Quinnipiac. It's not just the working class that's hurting. It's the middle class. It's the upper middle class, said Morris Katz, a strategist who has worked with incoming New York Mayor Zoran Mandani, Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, and Nebraska Independent Dan Osborne, among others. We're really headed towards a point in which it feels like we will all be struggling, except for 12 billionaires hiding out in a wine cave somewhere. Katz said. That argument strikes at the heart of the larger divide in the Democratic Party since the 2024 election. On one side are those who said the party lost because it abandoned the pragmatic center. And on the other, there are those who argue that they lost because

Kamala Harris did not lean in enough to a brand of populist politics that would have energized the base. This new kind of fiery anti-AI politics is mostly opposed by pro-business who are from states with significant AI investment in their economy, such as Governor Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, end quote. But the point I want to make here is that opposition to AI broadly and untrammeled data center build out specifically has the potential to be a bipartisan political issue, quoting the Washington Post. From Archibald, Pennsylvania to Page Arizona, tech firms are seeking to plunk down data centers and locations that sometimes are not zoned for such heavy industrial uses within communities that had not planned for them. These supersized data centers

can use more energy than entire cities and drain local water supplies. Anger over the perceived trampling of communities by Silicon Valley has entered the national political conversation and could affect voters of all political persuasions in this year's midterm elections. Many of the residents fighting the project in Sand Springs voted for President Donald Trump three times and also backed Governor J. Kevin Stitt, also a Republican who implores tech firms to build in his state. We know Trump wants data centers and Kevin Stitt wants data centers, but these things don't affect these people, said Brian Ingram, a Trump voter living in the shadow of the planned project. You know, this affects us. Ingram was standing before a homemade sign he planted on his front

lawn that said Jesus was born on ag land. The grassroots blowback comes from deep red state, as much as from left-wing groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America, which have helped draw hundreds of residents to hearings in Arizona, Indiana, and Maryland. Even Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned data center developers that they are losing control of the narrative. In rural America right now where data centers are being built, everyone's already angry because their electricity prices have risen a lot, he told energy executives assembled in Washington for the North American Gas Forum last month. I don't want them in my state is a common viewpoint, end quote. Some industry groups argue that residents' concerns are misplaced. Fueled by misinformation,

driven by radical environmental policies, communities are missing out on the jobs, security, and opportunities. This technology is delivering, said an email from Brian O. Walsh, executive director of the AI Infrastructure Coalition. The group says the project's lower electricity prices, a claim that is hotly disputed. Many local politicians are yielding to community pressure and rejecting data centers. Between April and June, more projects were blocked or delayed than during the previous two years combined, according to Data Center Watch, a tracking project by the nonpartisan research firm 10A Labs. Some $98 billion in planned development was derailed in a single quarter. This data center expansion affects so many issues, said Mitch Jones, managing

director of policy and litigation at Food and Water Watch. The group last month organized a letter signed by several national advocacy groups demanding a moratorium. It takes up farmland in rural communities. It takes up dwindling water sources in communities that need cleaner drinking water, and it is driving up electricity prices for everyone, he said. It is drawing together people from disparate backgrounds who might not agree on other political issues. They are saying this is taking place without any forethought to communities and we must stop it, end quote. The industry has struggled to quell the concerns in Chandler, Arizona, former Senator Kristen Sinema, independent, co-founder of the AI Infrastructure Coalition, implored city officials to get on board with a large proposed project or risk the federal government pushing it through without city input.

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to $17 billion from just $7 billion back in 2020, as users on the platform doubled to $1.3 billion. 4.7% of U.S. users checked LinkedIn more than once per day in 2025, up from 3.9% who did so in 2020. More than once a day. Seriously? quoting the journal. It isn't just you. A lot of people are spending more time on LinkedIn. For years, the Microsoft-owned site was primarily a place to hunt for jobs and a punchline. It was a wasteland of corporate buzzwords, 4 a.m., wake-up routines, and stories about overcoming workplace adversity with a little something called grit. Some of that remains, but the vibe has shifted. At 22, an eternity in social media years, LinkedIn has become a bigger part of the lives of many

professionals and a thriving business. Design plays a part the site emulated Facebook and TikTok by adding a news feed and videos. However, some new fans argue that the real attraction lies in the features LinkedIn hasn't changed. In particular, the requirement that users provide their real names. Research shows real names curb toxicity. While not immune to misinformation and scams, LinkedIn lured people leaving X and Facebook as content moderation and fact-checking their declined. Many concluded it was worth trading rage bait on other platforms for earnest monologues about why getting laid off was a blessing in disguise. The real name rule doesn't just stop jerks. It also pressures people to perform. LinkedIn users will be familiar with the saccharine positivity of users explaining how their latest promotion or honor makes them feel humbled and grateful.

But the need to look professional has a hidden upside, smarter conversations. LinkedIn hasn't sat still to justify Microsoft's store. 2016 purchase price of $27 billion. The platform evolved from a digital Rolodex into a daily destination. It added fun features and tried to reduce obnoxiousness. It overhauled its news feed in 2017 and added TikTok-style vertical videos in early 2024. Satch Deva said the algorithm doesn't promote hot takes but emphasizes posts that create economic

opportunity and get saved or shared. Satch Deva said LinkedIn is even using artificial intelligence to attack a top complaint. quote, you don't even know this person and they show up in your feed with humble brags. We don't want that, end quote. Finally, today, our friends at the verge have some broad strokes about what they've seen so far at CES this week. Quote, Wi-Fi 8 hardware is already coming. Despite ASIS Broadcom and Media Tech announcing Wi-Fi 8 routers and chipsets at CES 2026, the I-Triplee-802.11BN successor to Wi-Fi.

7 isn't fully ratified and won't be until late 2028. Nevertheless, they plan to start selling hardware built on the draft spec later this year. It'll be truly bleeding-edge stuff, likely requiring a firmware upgrade to be compliant with the final 2028 standard. Hopefully, it won't be a repeat of the draft N fiasco suffered from 2007 to 2009 when the draft 802.11N Wi-Fi spec changed significantly over that same two-year time frame, leaving some devices orphaned. CES is always a showcase for huge TVs, but it's also been a way to see the more reasonable

TVs we should expect in the following year. In 2025, TCL came out of the gate with the QM6K, its most affordable of the QM line, and T's the QM7K, LG showed off the G5 with a brand new OLED panel technology, even if we needed Panasonic to confirm what it was, and both Samsung and Hycense showed off a range of reasonably sized TVs. There was a lot for regular consumers to look forward to, but this year has been almost exclusively about big and expensive sets. Sure, Amazon is showing off their affordable ember art line. LG has the C6 and G6 on the floor, and a bunch of people will buy the wallpaper TV. But companies aren't focusing on sets people can actually afford.

We have no information from high sense. TCL put the QM8L on the floor with zero information. Sony TVs are per usual absent from CES and Samsung focused on a bigger RGB LED instead of the smaller sizes. It's fun to be aspirational, but it's also good to know your options for a new, more sensible TV. Samsung had a demo of a creaseless folding display, which means we might be getting even closer to foldable phones that mainstream consumers will actually buy. Why this matters, Samsung provides displays for Apple, and Bloomberg reported, in November that Apple's folding iPhone is set to launch sometime in the fall. Samsung, which pulled the demo from its CES booth, told the verge that the screen at CES

was an R&D concept with no current timeline or planned for commercialization. Still, my guess is Apple won't launch a folding phone until the crease is invisible, so this may have been our first look at that screen. CES used to be one of the world's biggest car shows, but this year the cars have been replaced by AI chatbots and humanoid robots. Hyundai, one of the biggest EV sellers, brought out a production version of Boston Dynamics Atlas Robot. BMW announced it was integrating Alexa Plus. Mercedes revealed its new Nvidia powered driver assist. The only concept car to grace the stage was Sony and Honda's

Afila SUV, and this was from a company that hasn't even sold any cars yet. CES used to be a showcase for weird movable machines, but there was a noticeable absence this year. blame the EV doldrums or trade anxiety or whatever. Let's hope next year we can get back to the cars, end quote. My own two cents, well, based on yesterday, there are robots, some of them often walking around the floor with us, though always with someone controlling them with a remote walking behind them. Although if you saw my Twitter feed yesterday, that video of that robot dog and that robot humanoid doing some sort of martial arts routine looked like it was maybe running on some sort of AI demo loop. It was quite impressive to see in person. But you know what I saw the most of yesterday? Smart glasses. I am not exaggerating. I saw displays of various types of smart

glasses from at least 30 different brands. Everybody from your garden variety Chinese manufacturer you've never heard of, to the biggest names in consumer electronics, clearly think that smart glasses are about to be the next big thing. Well, the Verge just told me there aren't many. cars here, but I'm still going to try to go to the transportation section today. I'll post to X again today if I see anything worth sharing. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yama

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