🚀 Daily Tech & AI Update – Stay Informed, Stay Ahead (Jan-24-2026)

🧠 AI INDUSTRY MOVES

• OpenAI intensifies India engagement ahead of summit

OpenAI announced plans to strengthen its global and enterprise strategy with enhanced engagement in India and a leadership focus ahead of Sam Altman’s planned India visit in mid-Feb 2026 – signaling deeper enterprise expansion.

Why it matters: Shows AI leaders prioritizing India as a strategic growth and policy market.

• OpenAI’s Sam Altman to visit India for AI Impact Summit

Sam Altman is slated to visit New Delhi in February 2026 for the India AI Impact Summit, with other major AI leaders expected around the event.

Why it matters: Highlights India’s centrality in global AI discourse and business strategy.

• Yann LeCun launches AMI Labs

AI pioneer Yann LeCun established a Paris-based startup, AMI Labs, focused on next-gen world model AI with an eye toward a ~$3.5B valuation.

Why it matters: Adds a significant contender in foundational AI research and commercial scaling.

• Harvey AI acquires Hexus in legal tech consolidation

Harvey AI completed acquisition of legal tech firm Hexus to expand in the competitive AI legal software market.

Why it matters: Signals industry consolidation and vertical specialization in AI tools.

📱 PRODUCT & PLATFORM UPDATES

• Google expands Personal Intelligence in Search AI Mode

Google rolled out Personal Intelligence in its AI Search Mode, integrating user data (with opt-in) from Gmail and Photos to deliver personalized results for AI Pro & Ultra subscribers.

Why it matters: Deepens personalization in AI search, raising relevance and privacy considerations.

• Runway Gen-4.5 adds image-to-video generation

Runway introduced image-to-video capabilities for its Gen-4.5 model, letting creators animate static visuals.

Why it matters: Enhances creative workflows with dynamic outputs — a key step toward automated content creation.

📜 GOVERNMENT & POLICY (GLOBAL + INDIA)

• India unveils “techno-legal” AI governance framework

India’s Office of Principal Scientific Adviser released a white paper proposing a new techno-legal AI governance framework to balance innovation with risk, including institutional mechanisms and safety oversight groups.

Why it matters: India advances structured governance to enable responsible AI growth.

• Meta halts teens’ access to AI characters worldwide

Meta globally restricted access to its AI character experiences for teens, aligning with content appropriateness standards.

Why it matters: Reflects increased safety protocols on AI interactions for vulnerable users.

🔬 RESEARCH & COMMUNITY TRENDS

• AI lab research updates (arXiv Jan 24 listings)

Multiple AI research preprints appeared on arXiv on Jan 24 (e.g., MCTS-driven LLM reasoning, human-LLM collaboration, neuro-symbolic math reasoning).

Why it matters: Points to fresh academic advancements in AI reasoning and collaboration architectures.

(Listing based on arXiv Jan 2026 submissions.)

🧠 INDUSTRY SENTIMENT & LEADER DISCUSSIONS

• Google AI CEO Hassabis critiques AGI timing and ChatGPT ads

Demis Hassabis publicly questioned Sam Altman’s AGI timing claims and critiqued OpenAI’s plan to test ads in ChatGPT, calling it “premature.”

Why it matters: Highlights competitive positioning and philosophical divergence among AI leaders.

🧪 SOCIAL & ETHICAL REALITIES

• Study highlights preference for AI medical advice despite inaccuracies

Research (reported Jan 24) found users often prefer AI-generated medical guidance even when incorrect.

Why it matters: Underlines risks in reliance on generative AI for critical domains like health.

📌 NOTE ON THIS DIGEST

This digest includes only actual news/events from 24 January 2026. It excludes: background context, older trends, and commentary that did not contain new developments from that date.

If you need a timestamped version (with exact times) or an India-only subset, tell me!

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