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Daily Tech News Roundup - 2026-01-13

1. Meta-backed Hupo finds growth after pivot to AI sales coaching from mental wellness
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/meta-backed-hupo-finds-growth-after-pivot-to-ai-sales-coaching-from-mental-wellness/
Summary: Hupo, backed by Meta, pivoted from mental wellness to AI sales coaching for banks and insurers, and secured a $10M Series A led by DST Global

2. More than 100 new tech unicorns were minted in 2025 — here they are
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/at-least-36-new-tech-unicorns-were-minted-in-2025-so-far/
Summary: Using data from Crunchbase and PitchBook, TechCrunch tracked down the VC-backed startups that became unicorns so far this year.

3. The best robot vacuums we’ve tested for 2026
Source: https://www.theverge.com/22997597/best-robot-vacuum-cleaner
Summary: Robot vacuums are impressive devices that will clean your floors well and — thanks to bigger batteries and better robot brains — rarely get tired of doing their job. Over the last few years, these floor-sweeping bots have gone from utilitarian devices to full-fledged home robots that vacuum and mop your home, clean themselves, and […]

4. OpenAI buys tiny health records startup Torch for, reportedly, $100M
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/openai-buys-tiny-health-records-startup-torch-for-reportedly-100m/
Summary: AI health records startup Torch will be using its tech for OpenAI's new ChatGPT Health, according to co-founder Ilya Abyzov.

5. Hands-on with Bee, Amazon’s latest AI wearable
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/12/hands-on-with-bee-amazons-latest-ai-wearable/
Summary: We tried Amazon's new AI wearable Bee. It's not for pro users yet, but more features are expected this year.

6. Fired Rockstar employees’ plea for interim pay denied
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/861004/rockstar-fired-union-workers-pay
Summary: A UK employment tribunal rejected a request from fired Rockstar Games employees to receive interim pay while waiting for a full hearing about their dismissal, according to Bloomberg and IGN. After Rockstar fired 34 employees last year - 31 from the UK and three from Canada - the Independent Workers' Union of Great Britain (IWGB) […]

7. Framework hikes desktop PC prices as RAM shortage drags on
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/860988/framework-desktop-pc-price-increase-ram-memory-shortage
Summary: Just weeks after raising the price of its RAM modules, Framework has announced that it's also increasing the price of its desktop PC in response to the global memory shortage. The Framework Desktop with 32GB of RAM and an AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 chip now starts at $1,139, instead of $1,099. "We held off […]

8. Meta plans to lay off hundreds of metaverse employees this week
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/860984/meta-reality-labs-layoffs-metaverse
Summary: Meta's Reality Labs team is expected to lose around 10 percent of its staff, with layoffs concentrated on the division's metaverse employees, as reported by The New York Times. The layoffs are apparently a side effect of Meta's AI ambitions, which are pulling focus away from its virtual reality division. According to the Times, Meta's […]

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