Elon Musk's SpaceX and xAI are reportedly in discussions to merge, according to Reuters, a move that could occur before SpaceX's planned IPO later this year. The potential merger, reported on January 29, 2026, was intended to support SpaceX's ambitions to launch data centers into space, according to The Verge.
The specific timing and valuation of the potential merger remained unclear. SpaceX had been considering an IPO date, but further details were not available.
In other tech news, Apple made its second-largest acquisition ever, purchasing the AI company Q.ai for $2 billion, according to a report by the Financial Times on January 29, 2026. Q.ai, a four-year-old audio startup, specializes in "silent speech" technology, using facial expressions to understand users without spoken words. Apple's largest acquisition remains its $3 billion purchase of Beats in 2014. Apple did not disclose the terms of the Q.ai acquisition.
Meanwhile, Spotify expanded its in-app messaging feature by introducing group chats, as reported by TechCrunch. Users can now add up to 10 friends and family members to a group chat to share music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Emma Roth of The Verge noted that the music streaming platform launched direct messaging in August 2025, allowing users to share what they were listening to with individual contacts.
The rise of prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi continued to blur the lines between gambling and stock trading. These platforms allow users to bet on a wide range of events, from Elon Musk's Twitter activity to the next U.S. president. Shayne Copland, CEO of Polymarket, claimed that prediction markets are "the most accurate thing we have as mankind right now." However, Joe Weisenthal of Bloomberg observed on The Vergecast that "all of the lines between trading, speculating, and gambling are just being completely torn apart."
Comcast continued to struggle with customer retention despite efforts to improve service and pricing. In April 2025, Comcast President Mike Cavanagh acknowledged that the company's cable broadband division was not performing well due to increased competition from fiber and fixed wireless providers. Comcast attempted to address these issues with a five-year price guarantee, one year of free Xfinity Mobile service for home Internet customers, and unlimited data plans. Despite these measures, the company continued to lose broadband subscribers. Cavanagh had previously identified issues such as a lack of price transparency, frequent price increases, and difficulties in dealing with the company as contributing factors to customer dissatisfaction.
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