The popular AI framework Virtuals Protocol will host an in-person meet-up in Hong Kong on Friday, January 17.

Beating AI News Flash: The Israel government-funded Hanover Institute for Public Policy has been exposed for mass-producing "research reports," with one key goal being to appear in search results of AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Since August 6, the institute’s website has published over 100 articles on Israel-Palestine issues, with no bylines, and many titles phrased exactly like questions users would ask AI platforms. Hanover also hosts an llms.txt file, organizing its entire site content into a machine-readable index. When Politico ran tests with neutral questions, ChatGPT and Perplexity had repeatedly cited Hanover. 404 Media and Responsible Statecraft each conducted AI detector checks on the articles, with most flagged as AI-generated. The behind-the-scenes PR firm Piro openly sells an "AI Story Optimization" service, which analyzes pages on Reddit, YouTube, forums, media outlets, and other platforms to identify those that most influence AI model answers, then creates content tailored to be easily cited by large language models (LLMs). Piro’s official website even uses Politico’s test results to promote its services. U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filings show that Piro, via Havas Media, runs communications projects for the Israel Government Advertising Bureau LaPam. The two disclosed payments total $1 million.

Nvidia will release its latest financial results after U.S. stock market trading hours on Wednesday, with its performance seen by the market as a key barometer of overall AI sector trading momentum. FactSet data shows Wall Street analysts expect Nvidia’s second-quarter revenue to exceed $92 billion, while the market projects its third-quarter revenue to hit around $103.7 billion. Analysts note that Nvidia has consistently beaten expectations on multiple core metrics over the past year, but with market expectations already at elevated levels, the company faces noticeable "expectation premium" pressure. Investors are also closely monitoring its reliance on major cloud service providers including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. Key focus areas of the earnings report include the performance of its data center business—particularly the shipment and demand for Blackwell architecture products, gross margin, next-quarter guidance, and updates on sales in the Chinese market. Nvidia’s stock fell 2.9% on Monday, marking its longest consecutive losing streak since 2022, before rebounding 2.2% on Tuesday. Market participants believe this earnings report and future performance guidance will act as a key catalyst for the next phase of the AI sector’s trajectory.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix plan to increase their supply of NVIDIA’s 8-layer HBM4 memory in the second half of this year. The move is primarily driven by NVIDIA’s supply strategy, aimed at ensuring stable supply of all types of HBM memory while also managing product heat generation. It is understood that the 8-layer memory is highly likely to become the flagship product of the next-generation HBM4E.

According to Lookonchain’s monitoring, stablecoin issuer Circle minted an additional 5 billion USDC over the past week.

Beating AI Express: OpenAI has added a practical new feature to ChatGPT Work that enables it to log into websites and access user accounts to complete tasks. Previously, ChatGPT Work would stop when encountering a login page; now, it hands over the login interface to users, who can input their username, password, and verification code directly. After login is completed, ChatGPT Work resumes its operations. OpenAI clarified that ChatGPT cannot view users' passwords and will not store them. This update significantly expands the scope of tasks ChatGPT Work can handle: from checking insurance reimbursements, scheduling DMV appointments, house hunting, returns, submitting invoices, to managing small business backends. Any task that normally requires opening a browser and manually navigating through steps can now be tried with ChatGPT Work. The feature is currently rolling out to Plus, Pro, and Business users.

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis announced that its Operation Lighthouse investigation has probed 29,120 crypto addresses and digital identity identifiers, generating 14,300 investigation leads. The operation targets cryptocurrency activities linked to child sexual abuse material (CSAM), spanning over 100 clearnet and darknet platforms, forums, and distribution networks. Chainalysis added that the initiative also uncovered more than 7,700 suspicious accounts and identified relevant suspects across 125 countries. Organized by the U.S. National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), the effort involved multiple law enforcement agencies, crypto industry firms, and non-profit organizations.