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February 2, 2026, 5:25 PM
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| Bloomberg: |
SpaceX acquires xAI; sources say the combined company is expected to price shares at ~$527 each in a potential IPO and would have a valuation of $1.25T — Elon Musk plans to merge SpaceX with xAI in a deal that encompasses the billionaire's increasingly costly ambitions to dominate artificial intelligence and space exploration.| Bloomberg: |
SpaceX and Tesla are feeling the gravitational pull toward xAI, as Elon Musk looks to use his empire to fund xAI's ravenous appetite for cash and compute — Spiraling costs have prompted talk of a Tesla and SpaceX merger as the billionaire looks to use his empire to fund his ambitions.
More: iPhone in Canada, Barron's Online, SFist, Yahoo Finance, Bisnow, and ZeroHedge News
| David Gewirtz / ZDNET: |
OpenAI launches a Codex app for macOS, designed to serve as a command center for managing AI agents, and says Codex usage has nearly doubled since mid-December — ZDNET's key takeaways — OpenAI launches a Mac-only Codex app as an agent command center.
More: OpenAI, Simon Willison's Weblog, Thurrott, Benzinga, Reuters, CNBC, Engadget, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, Neowin, Ars Technica, VentureBeat, iClarified, Implicator.ai, The Decoder, Blockonomi, The Deep View, Every, iPhone in Canada, and MacStories
X: @openai, @sama, @karrisaarinen, @gdb, @polynoamial, @reach_vb, @altryne, @parkerortolani, @aidan_mclau, @ajambrosino, @aarondfrancis, @openai, @mckaywrigley, @karrisaarinen, @thsottiaux, @openai, and @openaidevs
Forums: Hacker News, r/codex, and r/codex
| Brian Barrett / Wired: |
Newly-released emails between tech industry notables and Jeffrey Epstein kick off a renewed flurry of acrimonious social posts and lurid news coverage — The Department of Justice has released more than 3 million documents and photos related to Jeffrey Epstein.
More: 404 Media, The Verge, The Verge, 404 Media, Wall Street Journal, The Information, Forbes, Business Insider, Bloomberg, New York Times, Ars Technica, New York Post, Yahoo Finance, CBS News, Cointelegraph, New York Times, Time, New York Magazine, ZeroHedge News, People, Gizmodo, and Cryptonews
X: @adam3us, @sachalouise, @jasonbassler1, @elonmusk, @matthewstoller, @jason, @kanekoathegreat, @palmerluckey, @dschlopesisback, @evan_ss6, @anthon7yandrews, @__amoxicillin_, @mttgrmm, @boringbiz_, @bryce, @tomwarren, @fredlambert, @autismcapital, @samson143vr, @sf_mills, @morganbarrettx, @scobleizer, @miyaspokeofthis, @maddenifico, @burkehenryt, @kanekoathegreat, @reidhoffman, @brendaneich, @chrisjbakke, @afpost, @bob_burrough, @prem_thakker, @peterjukes, @elonmusk, @palmerluckey, @h_adventurer, @devahaz, @_jeremyflores, @jezcorden, @dschlopesisback, @nicucrypto, @elonmusk, @alojoh, @scottgshore, @actingliketommy, @amittaylor, @romy_holland, @medus4_cdc, @coryswan, @s_lutz95, @gregbagwell, @l0lal33tz, @amritwt, @vladtheinflator, @benmullin, @odddiligence, @zacbowden, @generic_void, @gilduran76, @meidastouch, @prem_thakker, @mattyglesias, @litcapital, @rmac18, @swannmarcus89, @jdcocchiarella, and @reidhoffman
Bluesky: @timdickinson, @nycsouthpaw, @rmac, @nytpitchbot, @milesklee, @rmac, @timdickinson, @nytpitchbot, and @esqueer.net
Threads: @stevenfoxbury, @barrettpall, @vivllainous, @guru_merc, @localdeathwatchbeetle, @attorneyryan, @brooksrocco, @jongeardev, and @yilingtheytriarch
Forums: r/MarchAgainstNazis, r/Political_Revolution, r/politics, r/musked, r/Fauxmoi, r/millenials, r/Fauxmoi, r/4chan, r/politics, and r/centrist
| Raphael Satter / Reuters: |
Wiz says Moltbook had a major flaw that exposed private messages, emails, and credentials; Wiz co-founder Ami Luttwak called the flaw a byproduct of vibe coding — A buzzy new social network where artificial intelligence-powered bots appear to swap code and gossip about their human owners …
More: New York Times, wiz.io, The Guardian, Marcus on AI, Censys, Business Insider, CNBC, Business Insider, Reason, Benzinga, BBC, Simon Willison's Weblog, Neowin, The Economist, Fortune, and Implicator.ai
X: @karpathy, @galnagli, @galnagli, @mattprd, @jsrailton, @jsrailton, @valhalla_dev, and @jsrailton. LinkedIn: Geoff Livingston. Bluesky: @doubleohkevin
Forums: r/cybersecurity and Slashdot
| Luke James / Tom's Hardware: |
OpenSourceMalware: 230+ malicious OpenClaw extensions, posing as crypto trading automation tools to steal user info, were uploaded to ClawHub since January 27 — Or is that Moltbot, or Clawdbot? I can't keep up. … Security researchers are warning that the growing ecosystem around 'OpenClaw …
More: BleepingComputer, OpenSourceMalware.com, CNBC, Koi, CyberInsider, and The Hacker News
| Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer: |
Notepad++ and security researchers say Chinese state-sponsored threat actors were likely behind the hijacking of its update traffic from June to December 2025 — Chinese state-sponsored threat actors were likely behind the hijacking of Notepad++ update traffic last year that lasted for almost half a year …
More: Notepad++, Rapid7, The Verge, TechCrunch, HotHardware, XDA Developers, Reuters, The Register, PCMag, Livemint, CyberInsider, Help Net Security, Windows Central, Hackread, eSecurity Planet, The Record, Security Affairs, PCWorld, and Neowin
X: @lcamtuf, @johnhultquist, @uk_daniel_card, @gi7w0rm, @officialwhyte22, @c2iris, @apkramar, @pikuma, @uk_daniel_card, @blackroomsec, @cyb3rops, @uk_daniel_card, @cyb3rops, @vxunderground, and @cyb3rops. Bluesky: @evacide. Mastodon: @jsstaedtler@mastodon.art
Forums: Hacker News, r/pcmasterrace, r/sysadmin, and r/theprimeagen
| Washington Post: |
Inside Elon Musk's bet to hook X users that turned Grok into a porn generator; sources say xAI's AI safety team was just two or three people for most of 2025 — Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk's xAI loosened its guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
More: The Verge and Business Today
Bluesky: @drewharwell.com, @justinhendrix, @metacurity.com, @mistyksnow, and @karlbode.com
| Robert Hart / The Verge: |
After X updated Grok to ban sexual deepfakes of women, tests show Grok still undresses men on Grok's app, Grok's website, and X, rarely rejecting user requests — Elon Musk insists xAI's chatbot doesn't break the law, but it's still churning out nearly naked, sexualized images of men.
More: TechCrunch, Engadget, Mashable, and Metro.co.uk
| Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer: |
Mozilla says Firefox users will be able to disable all AI features in its desktop browser, starting with Firefox 148, rolling out on February 24 — In response to user feedback on AI integration, Mozilla announced today that the next Firefox release will let users disable AI features entirely or manage them individually.
More: The Mozilla Blog, TechCrunch, How-To Geek, Gizmodo, PCMag, Engadget, OSnews, The Verge, Thurrott, CyberInsider, Neowin, Mozilla Connect, PublicTechnology, OMG! Ubuntu, and Phoronix
| Gerrit De Vynck / Washington Post: |
SEC complaint: a whistleblower alleges Google broke its ethics rules in 2024 to help an Israeli military contractor use AI to analyze drone surveillance video — A whistleblower complaint filed with the SEC claims that Google breached its own ethics rules to help an Israeli contractor apply AI to drone surveillance video.
More: Wall Street Journal. X: @assalrad, @leloveluck, @dropsitenews, @john_hudson, and @william_fitz
Bluesky: @dfriedman and @justinhendrix
| Sabrina Ortiz / The Deep View: |
Snowflake and OpenAI sign a multiyear, $200M deal to integrate OpenAI's models into Snowflake Cortex AI and the Snowflake Intelligence agent for enterprises — S — nowflake has established itself as a top data cloud provider. Now, it's partnering with OpenAI to bring AI-powered data insights to users.| Reuters: |
Sources: OpenAI is unsatisfied with some of Nvidia's AI chips used for inference and has sought alternatives since last year, including from Cerebras and Groq — OpenAI is unsatisfied with some of Nvidia's latest artificial intelligence chips, and it has sought alternatives since last year …
More: Yahoo Finance, WinBuzzer, and Barron's Online
| Bloomberg: |
Oracle is selling $25B of bonds to help finance its AI buildout, in what is set to be the biggest high-grade US offering since Meta's $30B bond sale last year — Oracle Corp. is selling $25 billion of investment-grade bonds on Monday to help finance infrastructure that powers artificial intelligence projects … | Priya Krishna / New York Times: |
How food delivery is reshaping US mealtimes, as some users spend thousands; NRA data shows nearly 75% of 2024 restaurant orders were not eaten in a restaurant — Almost three of every four restaurant orders in the U.S. weren't eaten in a restaurant, according to recent data.
More: Marketing Dive. X: @scholars_stage, @lpolgreen, @ernietedeschi, @trumwill, @cowboy_postbop, @adam_tooze, @joepostingg, @mjpost, @imnotowned, @wmatagm, @rcobooth, @chris_arnade, @robertfreundlaw, @bigmeaninternet, @eric_erins, @birdyword, @estherzelda0514, @trumav, @mattyglesias, @jaybsauceda, @scottlincicome, @armanddoma, @lindsayballant, @wilson__valdez, @armanddoma, @daniela__127, and @ryanaclarke. LinkedIn: Yash Babar
Bluesky: @kathbarbadoro, @rebeccasolnit, and @niedermeyer.online
| Christine Mui / Politico: |
Meta gives $65M to two super PACs to elect California state candidates, regardless of party, whom it views as supportive of the AI and tech industry — Federal lobbying budgets for Big Tech hit record highs this year. But with federal AI regulation stalled in Washington … | Alex Konrad / Upstarts Media: |
Day AI, which is developing an AI-powered CRM service that can automate data entry, meeting prep, note-taking, and more, raised a $20M Series A led by Sequoia — Day AI enters general availability to take on CEO Christopher O'Donnell's former employer, HubSpot — and even Salesforce.
More: Day.ai. X: @saranormous, @gradypb, @alexrkonrad, @hodges, @gradypb, and @markitecht. LinkedIn: Mike Gamson
| Edward Ludlow / Bloomberg: |
Waymo raised $16B led by Sequoia, DST Global, and Dragoneer at a $126B valuation and plans a rapid expansion across the US and into the UK this year — Waymo, Alphabet Inc.'s autonomous driving unit, raised $16 billion at a $126 billion valuation, a funding round that reflects its rapid ascent as a robotaxi pioneer.
More: Reuters, Tech Funding News, Automotive World, and eWeek
| Samantha Subin / CNBC: |
Palantir reports Q4 revenue up 70% YoY to $1.41B, vs. $1.33B est., and forecasts FY 2026 and Q1 revenue above estimates; PLTR jumps 6%+ after hours — Palantir topped Wall Street's fourth-quarter estimates as more businesses and the U.S. government race to buy its artificial intelligence tools.| @xai: |
xAI rolls out Grok Imagine 1.0, which it says can generate 720p 10-second videos with better audio, and says Imagine generated 1.245B videos in the past 30 days — Introducing Grok Imagine 1.0, our biggest leap yet. 1.0 unlocks 10-second videos, 720p resolution, and dramatically better audio. Imagine has generated 1.245 billion videos in the last 30 days alone. Try it now: https://grok.com/imagine [video]
More: CNET and Livemint
X: @x, @rafsoh, @ninzo121, @xai, @andrewcurran_, @premiumbusiness, @xai, and @elonmusk
| Leo Schwartz / Fortune: |
Fieldguide, which uses AI agents to automate accounting and auditing tasks, raised a $75M Series C led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives at a $700M valuation — Fieldguide founder Jin ChangCOURTESY OF FIELDGUIDE — Like many of his fellow accountants, Jin Chang tried to quit the industry several times … | Melissa Heikkilä / Financial Times: |
AI conferences have rushed to restrict the use of LLMs for writing and reviewing research papers in recent months after being flooded with AI-generated slop — Conferences restrict use of LLMs after surge of low-quality AI-generated papers and reviews — Artificial intelligence researchers … | Natasha Mascarenhas / Bloomberg: |
Shield, which acquires IT businesses and uses AI to make them efficient, raised $100M from Thrive Holdings and says it crossed $100M in annual revenue in 2025 — It's Thrive Holdings' latest investment in bringing new tech to the services industry. — Thrive Holdings, an offshoot …
More: Shield
| Josh Taylor / The Guardian: |
Snap blocked 415K+ Australian accounts as of January to comply with the under-16 social media ban and warns its implementation has “real technical limitations” — Social media platform says there are still ‘real technical limitations to accurate and dependable age verification’| Tamara Djurickovic / Tech.eu: |
Barcelona-based Biorce, which is developing an AI service to speed up clinical trials, raised a $52.5M Series A, bringing its total funding to $60M+ — The investment will support Biorce's growing demand, international expansion, team growth, and continued development of its AI platform for clinical trials.Sponsor Posts
ElevenLabs:
ElevenAgents by ElevenLabs — You know us for voice. Now meet ElevenAgents — featuring Expressive Mode, our most human-sounding AI voice technology in 70+ languages with ultra-low latency. Hear it for yourself.
ElevenAgents by ElevenLabs — You know us for voice. Now meet ElevenAgents — featuring Expressive Mode, our most human-sounding AI voice technology in 70+ languages with ultra-low latency. Hear it for yourself.
Intel:
5G's most deployed platform — Powering live networks with built-in Inference across Core and RAN. That's the power of Intel Inside®
5G's most deployed platform — Powering live networks with built-in Inference across Core and RAN. That's the power of Intel Inside®
Zoho:
Accessibility in Zoho People: Our commitment to an inclusive HR experience — According to a recent statistic, nearly 1.3 billion people live with a disability. In 2024, the employment rate for working-age people …
Accessibility in Zoho People: Our commitment to an inclusive HR experience — According to a recent statistic, nearly 1.3 billion people live with a disability. In 2024, the employment rate for working-age people …
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data — Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.Featured Podcasts
The Social Radars:
Paul Graham, Founder, Y Combinator
Come be a fly on the wall as Y Combinator's Jessica Livingston and Carolynn Levy talk to some of the most successful founders in Silicon Valley about how they did it.
Subscribe to The Social Radars.
The Upstarts Podcast:
Star Catcher's Andrew Rush: Harnessing The Sun To Build The First Energy Grid In Space
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
The Nick, Dick and Paul Show:
Why Countries Go to War
Nick Bilton, Dick Costolo, and Paul Kedrosky pull back the curtain on AI, startups, and the future rushing toward us, all with healthy dose of irreverence.
Subscribe to The Nick, Dick and Paul Show.
Great Chat:
Are startup HR teams okay?
A podcast mostly about tech. Brought to you weekly by Angela Du, Sally Shin, Mac Bohannon, Helen Min, and Ashley Mayer.
Subscribe to Great Chat.
The Talk Show With John Gruber:
'The Pogue Feature', With David Pogue
The director's commentary track for Daring Fireball. Long digressions on Apple, technology, design, movies, and more.
Subscribe to The Talk Show With John Gruber.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Everybody Goes Home: How technology is helping prevent wildfires from spreading
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
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