Daily Tech & GNSS News Digest - January 21, 2026

President Trump’s Greenland tariff gambit dominates headlines as he reaches a “framework” deal with NATO, backing off threatened duties on eight European countries. Tech executives who secured front-row seats at Monday’s inauguration now watch markets rally on the trade de-escalation, while Samsung’s bold “Samsung is back” declaration signals a potential shift in the AI memory wars.

Tech News

Trump Backs Off European Tariffs After Greenland Deal

In an abrupt about-face, President Trump announced he would not impose threatened tariffs on eight European countries after reaching what he called “the framework of a future deal” with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte regarding Greenland and the Arctic region.

Trump had threatened 10% tariffs starting February 1, escalating to 25% by June, on Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom over their opposition to his Greenland acquisition push. The EU had prepared retaliatory tariffs worth nearly $110 billion targeting Boeing aircraft, soybeans, and Kentucky bourbon.

“The day is ending on a better note than it began,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said. Earlier at Davos, Trump clarified: “People thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I won’t use force.” The announcement sent stocks surging, with the S&P 500 adding 1.2% in its biggest advance since November.

Tech Titans Take Prime Seats at Inauguration

Monday’s inauguration featured an unprecedented display of tech industry influence, with billionaire CEOs seated more prominently than Cabinet nominees. Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Tim Cook (Apple), Sundar Pichai (Google), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Elon Musk (Tesla/SpaceX), and Sam Altman (OpenAI) all secured front-row positions in the Capitol Rotunda.

The seating arrangement placed tech executives directly behind the Trump family, ahead of proposed Cabinet members. Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI each donated $1 million to the inauguration fund, with Tim Cook personally contributing an additional $1 million. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew also attended, weeks after the company faced a potential US ban.

Notably absent was Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who told reporters he would be visiting East Asia for Lunar New Year as usual. The prominent tech presence signals the industry’s strategic pivot toward Washington engagement after years of regulatory scrutiny.

Samsung CEO Declares “Samsung Is Back” in HBM Race

Samsung Electronics shares surged 7.2% to a record high after co-CEO Jun Young Hyun made an unusually bold declaration in a New Year memo: customers have stated “Samsung is back” regarding HBM4 development. The comment fueled a broader Asian tech rally.

The statement signals Samsung’s determination to reclaim ground lost to SK Hynix, which holds 53% of the high-bandwidth memory market compared to Samsung’s 35%. Samsung has struggled to qualify its HBM chips with Nvidia, but the HBM4 generation—expected to ship in 2026—may mark a turning point.

JPMorgan analysts noted the remark is unusual for Samsung’s typically understated leadership, suggesting confidence in securing a major Nvidia supply deal. Meanwhile, Baidu’s AI chip unit Kunlunxin is targeting a $2 billion Hong Kong IPO, joining a wave of Chinese AI chipmakers seeking public listings amid US export restrictions.

Additional Headlines

25% semiconductor tariffs take effect: Trump’s January 15 tariff on advanced computing chips like NVIDIA H200 and AMD MI325X is now in force, though exemptions exist for US data centers and research.
OpenAI warns investors of Musk’s “outlandish claims”: OpenAI told investors to brace for “deliberately outlandish” allegations as Musk’s $134 billion lawsuit heads to April jury trial.
Biren AI chips surge 76% on Hong Kong debut: Chinese AI chip designer Biren Technology’s shares surged on their first trading day, raising HK$5.58 billion.

GNSS News

Trimble announced its RTX and ProPoint Go positioning technologies will power the Lucid Gravity’s navigation and driver-assistance systems, making it the first electric vehicle to integrate a resilient positioning engine capable of centimeter-level accuracy.

The system fuses satellite correction data with six-axis inertial sensors, enabling precise positioning even in tunnels, parking garages, and dense urban canyons where standard GPS fails. While conventional automotive navigation operates with meter-level accuracy, Trimble’s technology narrows this to centimeters—critical for lane-level positioning and hands-free driving assist features.

“This collaboration marks a major shift in how vehicles perceive the world,” said Olivier Casabianca, VP of Advanced Positioning at Trimble. “We aren’t just helping the car find the road; we are enabling it to drive with resilience and reliability in the most challenging environments.” The positioning solution will be standard on new Lucid Gravity vehicles starting late January, with existing vehicles receiving the capability via over-the-air update.

Arazim Secures Defense Order for GPS/GNSS Compass Units

Israeli inertial navigation specialist Arazim Navigation Systems received a new order valued at nearly $1 million from an Israeli defense customer for 100 units of its HPLS-2G GPS/GNSS compass. The dual-antenna system provides heading and attitude information for static land-based defense systems.

The order reflects continued defense sector investment in assured positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) capabilities. As GPS jamming and spoofing threats grow, military systems increasingly require multi-antenna GNSS solutions that can detect and mitigate interference while maintaining accurate heading data in contested environments.

Key Takeaways

Trade tensions de-escalate: Trump’s Greenland tariff reversal after NATO talks signals pragmatic deal-making may temper his most aggressive trade threats, though EU-US relations remain strained.
Tech’s political pivot accelerates: The unprecedented prominence of tech CEOs at the inauguration—and their million-dollar donations—marks a dramatic shift in Silicon Valley’s Washington strategy.
Automotive positioning goes centimeter-level: Trimble’s Lucid Gravity integration demonstrates how high-precision GNSS, once limited to surveying and agriculture, is becoming standard in consumer vehicles.