A New Year of Growth: AI Moves from Hype to Momentum ☕️

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Jan 02, 2026

Hello, GrowthHackers & Happy New Year! 

Welcome to your daily unfair advantage.

Every morning, we cut through the noise to bring you sharp insights, fast news, and fresh sparks to light up your brain and fuel your hustle. From scrappy hacks to big tech moves, AI shifts to culture flips this is your intel to stay ahead, move fast, and break boring.

Think of it as your growth-fueled espresso shot.
Short. Smart. Addictive.

Let’s dive in.👇

Quick Hits

  1. OpenAI bets big on audio as Silicon Valley declares war on screens
    (The future sounds like podcasts, agents, and talking to thin air)

  2. Elon Musk’s Grok AI generates images of ‘minors in minimal clothing’
    (Another reminder that AI safety isn’t optional.)

The Growth joke of the day

Why did the AI love New Year’s Eve?
Because it finally got to reset its model… and still overpromise on resolutions.

What's New in Growth Hacking/Growth Marketing?

Strategies

  • Samsung adds much needed brightness to its Freestyle projector

    See, projector makers are notorious for playing fast and loose with the lumen spec. So much so that Epson has been on a legal rampage over the last few years. As a result, companies like Anker, Yaber, AAXA,

  • Google tests blue Send button that replaces AI Mode in the search box

    Google is testing showing a blue “Send” button in the search box as you begin to type your query. The AI Mode button, which now shows at the right side of that search box disappears as you type your query and is replaced by this Send button.

  • Clicks debuts its own take on the BlackBerry smartphone

    Clicks Technology, a company known for making physical keyboards for smartphones, is launching two new devices ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week. In addition to a new, $79 slide-out keyboard for smart devices, the company is also unveiling its first smartphone: the Communicator, a smartphone with a physical keyboard, designed to be carried as your second device.

  • Tesla annual sales decline 9% as it’s overtaken by BYD as global EV leader

    Tesla delivered 1.63 million vehicles globally in 2025, a 9% fall from 1.79 million in 2024, according to figures released by the company. Notably, about 50,850 of those vehicles are considered “other models,” a collection that includes the Cybertruck as well as its older Model X and Model S.

  • Instagram's head says the aesthetic that helped the app become popular is dead

    In an end-of-year message posted on Threads, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said that the platform would have to evolve to cope with a coming flood of AI-generated content and warned that the rise of AI had killed off Instagram's polished aesthetic.

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People

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What's New in Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

  • Nvidia’s AI empire: A look at its top startup investments

    No company has capitalized on the AI revolution more dramatically than Nvidia. Its revenue, profitability, and cash reserves have skyrocketed since the introduction of ChatGPT over three years ago

  • Pebble reboots its thinnest smartwatch with the Pebble Round 2

    Shortly after bringing back the Pebble smart watch and launching a low-cost AI smart ring, Pebble is readying yet another new product: the Pebble Round 2. As the name suggests, this latest device is another version of the Pebble smartwatch, but with a rounded screen, giving it a more upscale look.

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