Serena Williams loves investing in the future. Per Business Insider, the athlete has been investing since her tennis career through Serena Ventures. Launched in 2014, the investment arm later went public in 2019 with the aim of supporting diverse founders, especially women and people of color, per the outlet. “I’ve been investing like eight years before I finished my tennis career, or maybe even longer. I love investing in women, I love investing in underrepresented founders, and I also love investing in the future,” Williams said during CES 2026. “I’m never gonna change the landscape of people investing in us, but I definitely will change the noise and let people know that it’s great to invest in us,” she added. Williams’ session at CES was laser-focused on the health sector, particularly on wearable biotech. Williams uses Lingo, an over-the-counter glucose sensor that can be worn for 14 days and attaches to the back of the upper arm, according to its website. The sensor can send...

Wu-Tang’s RZA is leaning into AI to accelerate his creativity across both film and music. Born Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, RZA admitted during a CES 2026 panel titled “ From Concept to Reality: Creatives Using AI to Bring Big Ideas to Life,” that he views the technology as a strong creative assistant. It has provided a foundation for his work, enabling him to operate more efficiently. “Creativity is time … It could take three days to get something good with today’s technology. And with AI assistant, I could turn that three days to three hours. So even quicker,” RZA told the audience. Gemini He also shared he uses Gemini, Google’s AI assistant that can turn words into videos and create images in seconds, according to its website. While working on a film project where he wanted the characters to board the Staten Island ferry, then travel across a frozen Hudson River with RZA’s logo, RZA used Gemini to create those conditions, which would typically be difficult for productions to achieve,...

Some Amazon Prime members can now file a claim in a multi-billion-dollar settlement. Lawsuit Explained As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Amazon was sued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2023. The FTC alleged that Amazon enrolled millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without their knowledge and made it difficult for them to cancel . The agency also alleged that Amazon obtained consumer billing information without clearly disclosing the material terms of the Prime membership , according to the settlement. The FTC said Amazon violated the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act. Amazon Prime Refund FTC Settlement The lawsuit was settled in September 2025 for $2.5 billion, which includes a $1 billion civil penalty and $1.5 billion in refunds to nearly 35 million customers, per an FTC news release. The settlement also requires Amazon to end the challenged Prime enrollment and cancellation practices. Amazon has not admitted any wrongdoing. “Today, the Trump-Vance FTC made...

Universal Music Group (UMG) aims to leverage AI to enhance the experience of music lovers worldwide. According to a news release, the company is teaming up with NVIDIA to improve fan engagement globally by deploying NVIDIA’s AI infrastructure alongside UMG’s music catalog, which spans millions of tracks across genres. Per the release, the partnership focuses on three key objectives — music discovery, engagement, and creation — and the first two goals will utilize NVIDIA Music Flamingo, a large audio–language model that can understand and capture harmony, structure, timbre, lyrics, and cultural context for tracks of up to 15 minutes. The press release states the model has a “ human-like understanding of songs, ” and is expected to help fans discover music in new ways while giving artists opportunities to expand their audiences. “We’re entering an era where a music catalog can be explored like an intelligent universe — conversational, contextual, and genuinely interactive,” said...

Amazon has launched a slate of initiatives to ensure learners are equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) training. During a session at CES 2026 titled “ Next-Gen Skills: Preparing Students for Tomorrow’s Tech, ” Ben Moskovich, senior manager of public policy at Amazon Web Services, shared that Amazon aims to train 4 million learners in AI and ensure that 10,000 educators are equipped with curricula by 2028. This goal is supported by $30 million in AWS promotional credits and an additional $1.5 million in cash prizes awarded to students who are victorious in the Presidential AI Challenge, a press release confirms. Presidential AI Challenge The Presidential AI Challenge is geared toward K-12 youth, educators, mentors, and community teams who are leveraging AI for real-world solutions, according to the White House. People of all backgrounds are encouraged to engage with the program and showcase their work nationally. The challenge stems from an executive order signed by President...

50 Cent has tapped into the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) industry. 50 Cent Action His FAST channel, 50 Cent Action, debuted with Roku in 2025 before expanding to LG Channels, Deadline reports. The FAST channel is also available on Pluto TV, Prime Video, DIRECTV, Philo, and more, and includes the rapper’s curated selection of movies and TV shows. This month’s lineup will feature “Escape Plan,” “Freelancers,” “Empire State,” and “Den of Thieves,” according to the channel’s website. Photo Credit: 50 Cent Action During a CES 2026 session titled “ A Media Realignment: Streaming, The Creator Economy & Podcasts,” Tony Marlow, chief marketing officer of LG Ad Solutions, spoke about 50 Cent’s involvement in building publicity for the FAST channel. “This channel is something he feels very passionately about … He and his team were very engaged in saying, ‘We would love to come to a new front, discuss this on stage, let the advertisers know that this is a thing that they can get...

The morning of Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, many users began searching “Is Roblox down?” after encountering error messages while trying to access their favorite games. Roblox, the popular multiplayer online platform where users create and explore virtual worlds built from digital blocks, is experiencing a major global outage, Techloy reports. The disruption is affecting users in North America, Europe, India, and parts of Asia, with more than 15,000 complaints reported on outage-tracking website DownDetector. Per DownDetector, most reports involve server connection issues, accounting for roughly 63% of complaints. Gameplay problems make up about 31%, while approximately 5% of users say they cannot access the website at all. User reports vary widely: some players can log in but can’t join games, others are stuck at the login screen, and some experience brief access before being disconnected shortly after entering a game, per Techloy. The issues are affecting players across PC, mobile...

An AI-powered solution was launched for displaced workers and recent college graduates in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) area. Talent Capital Talent Capital, a regional career services initiative of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, was launched in Washington, D.C., by Mayor Muriel Bowser and partners in October 2025, according to a press release. The new program comes after over 317,000 federal employees lost their jobs in 2025, with defense, agriculture, and treasury departments taking the hardest hits, per Federal News Network. In the DMV area, 34,100 federal employees lost their jobs from January to September 2025, according to Bethesda Magazine. Furthermore, college graduates have also been challenged in the job market with fewer entry-level positions available, CNBC mentions. Youth unemployment is sometimes an “early indicator that the economy is slowing down or maybe even heading towards a recession,” according to Anders Humlum,...

Flutterwave, Africa’s largest fintech company, has acquired Nigerian bank, Mono, to “chart” the continent’s “next big leap in payments,” according to a press release. Flutterwave, headquartered in San Francisco and with a presence in more than 33 African countries, has processed more than $2 billion in payments and over 25 million transactions, according to information on its website. The company, led by a team of seasoned African professionals from companies including Standard Bank, PayPal, and Google Wallet, was created to empower businesses and banks financially. The platform provides the technology, tools, and infrastructure for users to accept payments globally, make single or bulk transfers to bank accounts, launch e-commerce websites, generate unique payment links, create instant virtual cards, and more, per its website. Flutterwave Acquires Mono Flutterwave has acquired Mono — a Nigerian open banking startup that had raised $17.5 million — in an all-stock deal that is valued...

The Trump administration will review grants that were frozen due to ties to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In August 2025, the Supreme Court allowed the administration to cut $783 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) tied to DEI, according to the Duke Chronicle. The Trump administration has been vocal about eliminating DEI goals, commitments, and roles, which has also influenced corporations, schools, and research, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. In February 2025, the administration had “ slashed ” the NIH reimbursement rate, affecting more than 300,000 scientists and researchers at 2,500 institutions, a news release states. This decision was criticized by the Democratic Party. “The unconstitutional decision by the Trump administration to gut the NIH should shock the conscience. Donald Trump and Elon Musk are illegally destroying our public health infrastructure and canceling research programs — including pediatric cancer research —...

The Justice Department is looking closely into the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives of major U.S. companies, Reuters reports. Google and Verizon are among the companies being investigated for their diversity initiatives in hiring and promotions. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Verizon publicly announced that it planned to remove references to DEI from its website and training materials. Additionally, it claimed it would be removing its internal human resources team focused on diversity policies and would no longer offer bonuses or set goals to increase the representation of women and minority employees. “We are committed to creating a culture that leverages and values each person’s unique strengths and talents,” Verizon Chief Legal Officer Vandana Venkatesh said in a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr on May 15. “However, we recognize that the regulatory and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (‘DEI’)...

Has the time finally arrived to change the user address of a Google email account? The tech giant shared a hopeful update just in time for the holidays. The New York Times reports that, although users had previously been able to change their email usernames, if they wanted to keep their data and services such as Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Play, or Google Drive, the address had to remain unchanged. Some users have now been able to change the address for all their accounts ending in @gmail.com, while still having access to their data, such as photos, messages, and emails, unlike before. The feature is not available to all users yet. It appears only on the Hindi-language version of Google’s support page, suggesting it may be available first in India or Hindi-speaking markets for now, according to CNBC. “The ability to change your Google Account email address is gradually rolling out to all users, so this option may not be available to you right now,” according to an English...

A law has been passed in Ghana permitting the use of cryptocurrency. 3 million Ghanaians use the currency, which was previously unregulated by the country, according to Bloomberg. Between July 2023 and June 2024, cryptocurrency transactions in Ghana reached $3 billion, according to Del Titus Bawuah, chief executive officer of Web3 Africa Group, as reported by the outlet. “It is in the interest of African authorities to mainstream cryptocurrency into their financial system for better oversight,” Bawuah explained, according to the outlet. “Clearly, data supports that companies and citizens heavily use virtual currencies.” Bank of Ghana Governor Johnson Asiama commented: “We are actually late in the game. Many of the country’s economic agents make and receive payments in cryptocurrencies, but they are not being captured in the nation’s financial accounts because of the absence of regulatory oversight.” Now, Ghana’s parliament has approved the Virtual Asset Service Providers Bill, which...

T.I. is reshaping his perspective around AI. On the rapper’s podcast “expediTIously,” which has more than 619,000 subscribers (at the time of this writing), he weighed in on technology, — something that has a stronghold across various industries including music. Some in the industry are banking on AI-powered music creation platforms like Suno. Timbaland is an advocate for Suno and serves as its strategic advisor, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. Dr. Dre is also leveraging AI while producing works for Bruce Springsteen, T.I. confirmed on the podcast. It was the Compton, CA-born and “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” artist who changed T.I.’s viewpoint around AI. “I think it’s dangerous. Initially I have been emphatically against it,” T.I. explained. “However, I talked to Dr. Dre and you know he was telling me about you know he’s producing for Bruce Springsteen and he telling me that he’s using some AI. He sent me some stuff that he did on AI, and he was like ‘No it’s still work. You still...

Black creators are weighing in with their thoughts regarding TikTok’s recent sale. As previously reported by AFROTECH™ , TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance Ltd., must be sold to U.S. investors or risk being banned. More than 170 million Americans use the platform. On Dec. 18, tech company Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and investment firm MGX reached a deal to form a new entity that will control the U.S. TikTok app. The deal still requires regulatory approval from China and is expected to close Jan. 22, 2026. The platform has been especially beneficial for entrepreneurs selling products through TikTok Shop and creators such as Golloria George, who has 3.3 million followers on the platform and 170.2 million likes (at the time of this writing). The beauty creator has used her platform to advocate for greater representation of darker shades among brands and across the beauty industry. @golloria definetly feel like it gave me more warmth than shadow ♬ original sound –...