Good morning. It’s January 29, people. The month that feels like a full year is almost done. Today marks the anniversary of the first automobile patent. The Benz Patent-Motorwagen was born—a glorious three-wheeled creation that looked like a bicycle on steroids. Its top speed was about 10 mph, which was truly groundbreaking for 1886.

Anyway, as we wrap up the month that feels like a test run for 2025, we’re here to deliver news, smiles, and maybe a mock or two. Enjoy the ride today, and here’s to a great Wednesday ahead.

Today’s topics:

• Super-Earth discovery sparks hope for life

• Perplexity and TikTok plan unlikely merger

• New Zealand woos nomads with Wi-Fi

• Costco ditches Pepsi, keeps hot dogs

• AI creates impossible glowing protein

• Apple’s AI: failing its way up

  and more…

Tech stocks staged a comeback on Tuesday, shaking off Monday’s AI-induced drama courtesy of China’s DeepSeek. The Nasdaq Composite strutted ahead with a 2% gain, outpacing the more subdued S&P 500 at 0.9% and the Dow's modest 0.3%.

Some Monday victims limped back to life—well, sort of. Nvidia, fresh off a brutal 17% nosedive that erased over half a billion dollars in market value, clawed back 8.8%. Oracle, another casualty of the AI tantrum, managed a 3.6% rebound. Not exactly a full recovery, but hey, at least they're standing after the knockout punch.

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Elon Musk’s X Is Now a Payment App Too

Elon Musk’s X is now trying to be your bank. The platform just teamed up with Visa to launch "X Money Account," a digital wallet that lets users move money, make payments, and store cash—basically trying to be Venmo. This is Musk’s first real shot at turning X into his so-called “everything app.” After a year of jumping through regulatory hoops, X Payments LLC is licensed in 41 states. The plan is to let creators get paid directly on X and maybe even offer things like high-yield accounts in the future. The service is set to roll out early this year, but for now, it’s just Musk adding another layer to his increasingly chaotic empire. 

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Apple’s AI is so bad, it dodges DeepSeek crash. China’s DeepSeek has rocked the AI world with a chatbot built on the cheap, causing stocks like Nvidia, Broadcom, and Microsoft to nosedive. Meanwhile, Apple is oddly unaffected, staying slightly in the green at $239.01. Turns out, Apple’s AI is so underwhelming it’s not even seen as an AI player. Siri’s latest “upgrade” still messes up simple questions, leaving users frustrated and unimpressed. Even holiday iPhone sales dipped in the U.S. and China, showing no AI boost for Apple.

Perplexity AI wants to merge with TikTok. Perplexity AI has proposed merging TikTok U.S. with itself to form a new company called "NewCo." The plan would give the U.S. government up to 50% ownership after a $300 billion IPO. ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, would sell TikTok U.S. to investors while keeping its core recommendation algorithm. Current TikTok investors would receive equity in the new company, and the U.S. government would end up with a significant slice of the pie. ByteDance keeps the tech; NewCo splits the stakes.

Microsoft in Talks to Buy TikTok. Donald Trump confirmed that Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok and said he’d love to see a “bidding war” over the app. He claimed multiple companies are eyeing TikTok, calling it a hot commodity. Meanwhile, Microsoft said it has “nothing to share at this time,” and TikTok stayed silent.

China's DeepSeek is making Wall Street nervous. The startup released a language model in December that rivals OpenAI and Google, despite U.S. export bans on advanced chips. On January 20, they launched another model, claiming it was trained for a fraction of the cost U.S. giants like Google, Meta, and OpenAI are burning through.

DeepSeek is using open-source tech and innovative training methods to punch above its weight. Reports differ on whether they’re using Nvidia’s less powerful H800 chips or sneaking access to banned H100s, but the results speak volumes. Nvidia stock tanked 17%, dragging other AI stocks like Palantir down with it.

DeepSeek’s AI Assistant has also overtaken ChatGPT on Apple’s app store in the U.S. And while U.S. companies spend billions on AI, DeepSeek spent just $5.6 million in two months to develop its latest model. Wall Street is bracing for a shake-up, and the big players might need to rethink their game plans.

Astronomers Find Super-Earth That Could Host Life

Astronomers have discovered a super-Earth, HD 20794 d, that might support life. The exoplanet orbits in and out of its star's habitable zone, offering a tantalizing possibility for sustaining life. It’s the result of 20 years of observations using the world’s top telescopes, with findings published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Since the first exoplanet was found 30 years ago, over 7,000 have been identified, with billions more waiting to be discovered. HD 20794 d marks another step in unraveling whether we’re alone in the universe—a question once reserved for philosophers but now the playground of astronomers armed with Nobel-worthy discoveries.

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AI invents glowing protein nature couldn’t pull off. AI has created a glowing protein that scientists say would’ve taken nature 500 million years to evolve—assuming nature even could. The protein, named esmGFP, exists only as computer code for now but is a new type of green fluorescent protein, like those found in glowing jellyfish and corals. Its genetic sequence is only 58% similar to the closest known protein, meaning it would require 96 mutations to naturally evolve—something that would take eons.

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Trump Renames Gulf of Mexico, Google Plays Along

Google Maps will soon call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America for U.S. users, thanks to Donald Trump deciding it needed a patriotic makeover. The name change was part of an executive order from Trump’s first week in office. As a bonus, U.S. users will also see Mount Denali go back to being Mount McKinley. Google says it’s just following government updates, but everyone outside the U.S. will keep seeing the original names.

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Costco dumps Pepsi for Coke. Costco is swapping out Pepsi for Coca-Cola in its food court fountain drinks, undoing a move it made back in 2013. The switch aims to keep things fresh while still protecting the sacred $1.50 hot dog combo meal. The change, confirmed by CEO Ron Vachris, will roll out this summer. Costco’s CFO reassured everyone that the legendary hot dog price isn’t going anywhere. Pepsi’s out, Coke’s in, and the hot dogs stay cheap—priorities intact.

New Zealand wants digital nomads and their money. New Zealand is loosening visa rules to lure digital nomads and influencers, letting them work remotely for up to 90 days (or nine months if they’re willing to pay taxes). Economic minister Nicola Willis says this will bring in “wealth and super-talented people” because, apparently, selling sheep to themselves isn’t cutting it. Influencers and IT pros, grab your laptops and ring lights—New Zealand’s ready to cash in on your travel vlogs.

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TikTok of the day: watch here