Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos felt different this year, and not just because Meta and Salesforce took over storefronts on the main promenade. AI dominated the conversation in a way that overshadowed traditional topics like climate change and global poverty, and the CEOs weren’t holding back. There was public criticism of trade policy, warnings about AI bubbles popping, and a lot of talk about what comes next for the industry.  Meanwhile, back in Silicon Valley, AI startup Humans& raised a $480 million seed round with no product on the market, just a vision for “social intelligence” AI and a team of ex-Anthropic, Google, and xAI employees. …

Is prison like the movies? The pardoned billionaire founder of Binance thinks so.Changpeng “CZ” Zhao pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering rules in 2023. He served four months in prison in 2024 and was pardoned by President Donald Trump in October 2025.Since then, Zhao has been “pretty busy,” he said in an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. He’s working on a free education platform, an investment platform, and advises a dozen governments on crypto regulation, he said.Everyone wants to talk to Zhao about his prison experience, though, unless they’re too afraid to ask. “It’s definitely a conversation starter,” he…

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — As floods ravage Mozambique, crocodiles are appearing in submerged towns and responsible for at least three deaths.In the town of Xai-Xai, the provincial capital of Gaza province and one of the worst-affected areas in the country’s south, authorities have warned residents of heightened crocodile risks as floodwaters spread and evacuations to higher ground continue.Torrential rains and severe flooding across parts of southern Africa over the past month have killed more than 100 people in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, destroying thousands of homes and damaging infrastructure such as roads, bridges, schools and health facilities.Of the 13…

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is planning to visit India in mid-February, his first visit to the country in nearly a year, TechCrunch has learned. The visit comes as New Delhi prepares to host a major AI summit expected to draw top executives from Meta, Google, and Anthropic. India is hosting its first major AI event — the India AI Impact Summit 2026 — in New Delhi between February 16 and 20, bringing together global technology leaders including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei alongside key Indian business figures like Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh…

Time flies — and so will these savings. The lowest ticket prices for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, along with the exclusive 50% off +1 pass for the first 500 registrations, are almost gone. If you’ve been eyeing which tech conferences to lock into your calendar this year, this is your moment. Register now to save up to $680 on your pass and get a second ticket at 50% off. This offer ends next week on January 30, or once the first 500 tickets are claimed — whichever comes first. Why Disrupt?  From October 13–15, San Francisco’s Moscone West becomes the global epicenter of tech. Disrupt unites 10,000 founders, VCs, operators, and tech leaders for 200+…

American chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky died last year after suffering an abnormal heartbeat and had multiple drugs in his system at the time, according to a toxicology report that ruled the 29-year-old’s death an accident.Naroditsky, a chess star and streamer credited with helping expand the game’s audience, was found dead at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, in October. Police said at the time that his death was being investigated as a potential overdose or suicide.AdvertisementThe report from the North Carolina medical examiner’s office, seen Friday by AFP, says Naroditsky died from “probable cardiac arrhythmia” caused by an inflammatory disease impacting…

To turn ChatGPT into an advertising juggernaut, OpenAI will have to convince Madison Avenue that a chatbot can actually sell.Mark Mahaney, Evercore ISI’s internet research analyst, said this week that OpenAI could reasonably generate several billion dollars in ad revenue this year, and as much as $25 billion by 2030 if its executives play their cards right.So, what exactly will OpenAI need to do to turn ChatGPT ads into a multibillion-dollar business? (For context, EMARKETER forecasts that TikTok will register around $43 billion in net digital ad revenue this year, Microsoft $19 billion, and Apple $13 billion.)Business Insider spoke with…

My colleague Ben Bergman rubbed shoulders with world leaders, tech gurus, and venture capitalists in Davos this week.There’s nothing better than being in the room where it happens. I asked Ben what he saw and heard. Here are his highlights:Q: What was the biggest tech thing that was talked about at Davos this year?It’s hard to compete with President Trump and Greenland, but aside from that, AI was what everyone was talking about.There was a lot of discussion about when businesses will start to see productivity gains that justify their huge AI spend and whether we are in a bubble.…

If you have ever lifted a weight, you know the routine: challenge the muscle, give it rest, feed it and repeat. Over time, it grows stronger.Of course, muscles only grow when the challenge increases over time. Continually lifting the same weight the same way stops working.It might come as a surprise to learn that the brain responds to training in much the same way as our muscles, even though most of us never think about it that way. Clear thinking, focus, creativity and good judgment are built through challenge, when the brain is asked to stretch beyond routine rather than…

More than 18 million people worldwide suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, including nearly 1.5 million Americans.Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune, inflammatory form of arthritis, meaning a person’s immune system attacks their joints, causing substantial inflammation. This inflammation can cause pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints, and in many cases, patients report fatigue and a flu-like feeling.If left untreated, rheumatoid arthritis can lead to damage of the joints. But even when treated, this condition can lead to significant disability. In highly active disease or advanced stages, patient may have difficulty performing daily tasks, such as preparing food, caring for children and…