It’s not just the big tech heavyweights showing up at the world’s biggest tech conference this week. Some unexpected names and their new gadgets are also joining the party. 

Driving the news: Companies you may not expect to see at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) have entered the fold with inventions that automate things like gardening and barbecuing, a sign that more mainstream consumers are warming up to “smart” products. 

China is now the world’s top car dealer… no checkered sport coat or wacky waving inflatable arm flailing tubemen required.

Driving the news: China is officially the world’s top car exporter, shipping out a record ~5.26 million China-made automobiles last year and beating runner-up Japan by ~1 million cars. 

Add ‘corporations labelling any and all initiatives as ESG’ to the list of trends that were hot a few years ago but are officially out in 2024.

Driving the news: Companies are looking to distance themselves from the term ESG — short for environmental, social, and governance — as it’s become a political flashpoint for those who feel companies are doing too much or not enough to meet sustainability goals. 

Deloitte is taking the expression “time is money” to heart with its new AI innovation. 

What happened: Consulting firm Deloitte has rolled out a generative AI chatbot to employees across Europe and the Middle East.

One of the sports world’s biggest power couples is calling it quits. No, we don’t mean Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. 

What happened: After 27 years, Tiger Woods and Nike have ended their partnership.

Boeing shares plummeted ~8% yesterday, which was to be expected after one of its planes blew a freakin’ hole in mid-air. Sorry, we still can’t believe that actually happened.

Driving the news: The 737 Max is again the most talked-about plane in aviation for all the wrong reasons.

Don’t feel too bad for the world’s most valuable company, but the new year is increasingly shaping up to be a challenging one for Apple. 

What happened: A report that the US Justice Department is preparing to file a major antitrust lawsuit against Apple is the latest troubling news for the tech giant. 

As if the $15 poutine at the chalet wasn’t bad enough, poor snow conditions and high demand have marred this year’s ski season at popular Canadian slopes.

Driving the news: Some of Canada’s biggest ski destinations are experiencing historically low levels of snowfall, getting anywhere from half to just over a quarter of the snowfall they typically see this time of year, per the CBC.

Space, a market estimated to be worth $1.3 trillion by 2030, is getting pretty crowded with companies trying to snag a piece of the galactic money pie.    

Driving the news: On Monday, Peregrine mission one — named after the world’s fastest animal — will launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida and head toward the lunar surface. If successful, it would become the first U.S. lander on the moon since NASA’s Apollo program. 

Your grandparents aren’t the only snowbirds going to Florida this year. Canadian drugs could soon be on their way to the Sunshine State too. 

What happened: Florida has become the first U.S. state to receive FDA approval to import pharmaceuticals from Canadian wholesalers.

The new space race is turning into a David versus Goliath battle in Ontario.

What happened: The Government of Ontario issued a request for proposals for a company to provide high-speed internet to rural areas using satellites. Two companies were pre-qualified to submit: SpaceX and New Brunswick-based rural internet provider Xplore.

We know you’ve heard this before, but this could be the year VR actually hits the mainstream.

Like someone with misplaced confidence in their dance moves, Peloton is making a push to become TikTok famous.

What happened: Peloton has partnered with TikTok to bring custom short-form workout content to the video platform.

Canada might have more trees than stars in the Milky Way, but that doesn’t mean we should take them for granted.

Driving the news: Canada has “downplayed the impact of the forest industry,” one researcher told the NYT after reviewing a new study on logging in Ontario and Québec.

Like a group of children left alone with a box of Oreos, Google is making a bunch of cookies disappear.

What happened: Google has begun blocking third-party cookies for 1% of Chrome users (~30 million people) as part of a test for its plans to eliminate them entirely by the year’s end.

Like a pair of bickering roommates, Canada and the U.S. are arguing over shelf space… continental shelf space, that is.

Driving the news: The U.S. filed claims to a portion of the Arctic seafloor that Canada has also laid claim to. The two countries have agreed to work together to settle the dispute by following the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea — a process that will take several years. 

To ensure you can shoot off a text from anywhere in the world, telecoms are looking to the skies (literally) for answers. 

Driving the news: SpaceX has successfully launched its first set of Starlink satellites that will provide cell service from space, reports Reuters, a milestone for a joint project among several global telecom giants, including Canada’s Rogers. 

As the cruise industry booms, cruise lines are increasingly offering longer-term voyages to appeal to cruisers who want to leave behind the lowly life of a landlubber.

Driving the news: Major cruise lines like Norwegian and Holland America have made longer voyages part of their plans for this year, Princess’ longest voyage ever will set sail in 2025, and Royal Caribbean's ongoing nine-month cruise has become a TikTok sensation. 

Scientists at Osaka University and UC San Diego have developed an experiment they believe could turn photons into matter using lasers.