Welcome to 2026! This week Silicon Valley embraces the gray-market, the corporate happy hour might be dead, restaurants conquer the grocery aisle, and more.
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TRENDING
The corporate happy hour is dying (and taking mentorship with it)
For young workers, the legendary office happy hour has become a myth. A combination of remote work, budget cuts, and a sober curious Gen Z has largely dismantled the traditional 5 PM drinks ritual in the US. While this shift benefits work-life balance, junior employees report feeling socially "stunted," losing out on the casual mentorship and bonding that used to happen over a shared tab. While industries like publishing and European offices keep the tradition alive, many US teams are replacing the open bar with run clubs or in-office gatherings to try and bridge the disconnect. Source: The Wall Street Journal
"Chinese Peptides" become tech's new biohacking obsession
Silicon Valley has escalated its self-optimization obsession by turning to unregulated "Chinese peptides" for everything from weight loss to cognitive boosts. Imports of these gray-market compounds have doubled to $328 million as tech workers bypass the FDA to inject experimental drugs directly from factories. The trend reflects a broader cultural shift where founders treat their own biology with the same high-risk mindset they apply to startups, disregarding medical warnings for the chance to hack their own performance. Source: The New York Times
TECHNOLOGY
OpenAI launches "ChatGPT Health"
OpenAI is formalizing its role as a "healthcare ally" with the launch of ChatGPT Health, a dedicated, sandboxed tab designed to handle sensitive medical data. Users can now connect external apps like Apple Health and MyFitnessPal, or even upload clinical records via partner b.well, to get personalized analysis of lab results and wellness trends. While OpenAI promises that these conversations are encrypted and excluded from model training by default, the company clarified the tool is not HIPAA compliant and should not be used for medical diagnosis, a critical disclaimer given the persistent risk of hallucinations for AI chatbots. Source: The Verge
Is 2026 the year of the RGB LED TV?
The confusing alphabet soup of TV tech has a new contender for 2026: RGB LED. Unlike traditional LED TVs that filter white backlighting, this new technology, adopted by Sony, Samsung, and LG, uses dedicated red, green, and blue LEDs to illuminate the screen. The result is a massive leap in color gamut, capable of displaying 100% of the BT.2020 color scale, meaning viewers can see shades previously impossible to reproduce on home displays. While it aims to combine OLED-level color accuracy with superior brightness, reviews are pending on potential issues like "color blooming." Source: Wired
BRAND
Brands spent billions on celebrities last year
Despite cutting back on the total number of commercial productions, brands have increased celebrity ad spending to over $1 billion in 2025, a 47% rise since 2019. A new report from XR reveals that athletes are the fastest growing talent segment, up 106% overall, with women’s basketball players seeing a staggering 176% jump in payments in just the last year. Content creators are also graduating to traditional media, with their payment guarantees nearly doubling since 2022 as brands seek efficiency and reach over volume. Source: Adweek
Restaurant culture now extends far beyond the physical space
The exclusivity of dining out is being traded for the convenience of the freezer aisle as restaurants from Momofuku to Carbone launch massive retail expansions. Driven by the need to diversify after the pandemic, brands are finding that grocery sales can actually outpace their brick and mortar operations, with Momofuku Goods earning $67.5 million in retail revenue in 2024. This trend is driven by the credibility gap where consumers trust a famous restaurant label over a generic food giant, along with the rise of air fryers that make reheating frozen restaurant quality food easier than ever. Source: Bloomberg
SOCIAL
Creators ditch algorithms for real world meetups
Creators are taking their fandoms offline in a major shift toward independent, real world events. Instead of relying on brands to organize appearances, influencers are launching their own tour formats, ranging from Claire Kittle’s tailgate parties to Tyler Bergantino’s "Tall Tour" meetups. This strategy offers creators a way to diversify revenue outside of volatile algorithms while allowing fans to bond with one another. Agencies are fueling the trend with new grant programs for hosts, recognizing that in 2026, the most valuable engagement happens community first and often without a corporate logo in sight. Source: Marketing Brew
