|
February 2, 2026, 11:55 PM
|
Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Bloomberg: |
SpaceX acquires xAI; sources say the deal is all stock and values the combined company at $1.25T, with SpaceX valued at $1T and xAI at $250B — Elon Musk's SpaceX has acquired xAI, in a deal that encompasses the billionaire's increasingly costly ambitions to dominate artificial intelligence and space exploration.
More: SpaceX, New York Times, The Verge, Financial Times, The Information, Washington Post, TechCrunch, CNBC, Engadget, Decrypt, MarketWatch, Reuters, Washington Examiner, PitchBook, Bloomberg Law, Tech Times, The Information, PCMag, Telegraph, SiliconANGLE, Inc, DigiTimes, Fortune, The Economic Times, The Guardian, Wired, Fast Company, Crypto Briefing, Futurism, iPhone in Canada, Business Insider, iPhone in Canada, NBC News, CNN, SpaceNews, ZeroHedge News, Yahoo Finance, Newser, CoinDesk, The Deep View, and Ars Technica
X: @xai, @spacex, @chamath, @karpathy, @johnhering, @jack_raines, @compound248, @luke_metro, @mikeisaac, @somewheresy, @loganbartlett, @nikitabier, @nexuist, @apompliano, @gerberkawasaki, @mikeisaac, @meghanbobrowsky, @elonmusk, @mitsuhiko, @dylan522p, @highyieldharry, @mgsiegler, @parikpatelcfa, @dylanabruscato, @rihardjarc, @emostaque, @hardmaru, @rough__sea, @acedtect, @thezvi, @tanayj, @gerberkawasaki, @davidgeorge83, @pinboard, @toly, @litcapital, @contrariancurse, @netcapgirl, @elonmusk, @x, and @jtlonsdale. LinkedIn: Mitz Banarjee
Bluesky: @brucebuckman, @sethabramson, @jamesomalley.co.uk, and @goldy.horsesass.org
Forums: Hacker News, r/neoliberal, r/technology, r/StockMarket, r/wallstreetbets, r/technews, r/BetterOffline, r/spacex, and r/singularity
| New York Times: |
The SpaceX-xAI merger further intermingles Musk's companies, creates the most valuable private company in the world, and provides a financial lifeline to xAI — SpaceX, the rocket and satellite maker led by Elon Musk, said on Monday it had acquired xAI, the artificial intelligence company controlled by Mr. Musk.
More: The Information, Gizmodo, Associated Press, Implicator.ai, Los Angeles Times, Cosmic Log, MediaPost, Inc, TESLARATI, The Indian Express, Electrek, and San Francisco Business Times
Bluesky: @seldo.com, @rmac, and @carnage4life
| Eric Berger / Ars Technica: |
If assumptions hold, SpaceX-xAI could own a full stack of capabilities, from launch to orbital bandwidth to frontier AI models, and offer AI on demand anywhere — SpaceX has formally acquired another one of Elon Musk's companies, xAi, the space company announced on Monday afternoon.
More: PYMNTS.com, Via Satellite, CircleID, Fierce Network, Inc, Techstrong IT, Gizmodo, and Data Center Knowledge. Bluesky: @gerrylev
| 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, Ars Technica, Moneycontrol, Simon Willison's Weblog, Reuters, SiliconANGLE, CNBC, Digit, VentureBeat, Blockonomi, TestingCatalog, TechCrunch, The Deep View, Implicator.ai, The Decoder, Engadget, 9to5Mac, Benzinga, Michael Tsai, Every, Rohan's Bytes, Neowin, iClarified, and MacStories
X: @sama, @openai, @gdb, @polynoamial, @karrisaarinen, @reach_vb, @simonw, @altryne, @parkerortolani, @sama, @dimillian, @aidan_mclau, @ajambrosino, @mitchellh, @aarondfrancis, @openai, @mckaywrigley, @karrisaarinen, @thsottiaux, @sama, @openai, @paytondev, @nickadobos, @openaidevs, and @gergelyorosz. Mastodon: @viticci@mastodon …
Forums: Hacker News, r/codex, r/codex, and Ars OpenForum
| 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, Protos, 404 Media, The Verge, Wall Street Journal, Ars Technica, Forbes, Bloomberg, New York Times, NewsMax.com, The Mac Observer, New York Post, New York Magazine, Time, New York Times, People, ZeroHedge News, Gizmodo, and CBS News
X: @adam3us, @elonmusk, @elonmusk, @jason, @kanekoathegreat, @palmerluckey, @matthewstoller, @dschlopesisback, @evan_ss6, @anthon7yandrews, @__amoxicillin_, @mttgrmm, @boringbiz_, @bryce, @tomwarren, @fredlambert, @autismcapital, @sachalouise, @samson143vr, @sf_mills, @jasonbassler1, @morganbarrettx, @scobleizer, @miyaspokeofthis, @maddenifico, @creatine_cycle, @burkehenryt, @kanekoathegreat, @reidhoffman, @brendaneich, @chrisjbakke, @afpost, @bob_burrough, @prem_thakker, @peterjukes, @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: @nytpitchbot, @timdickinson, @nytpitchbot, @milesklee, @nycsouthpaw, @rmac, @rmac, @timdickinson, and @esqueer.net
| 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: Bloomberg Law, Waymo, The Verge, Reuters, Associated Press, GV, New York Times, Kleiner Perkins, Electrek, Bessemer Venture Partners, TechCrunch, Pulse 2.0, Sequoia Capital, and CNBC
X: @sundarpichai, @a16z, @kraneland, @waymo, @techtekedra, @bessemervp, @spdholakia, @aleximm, @kleinerperkins, and @signulll. LinkedIn: Steve Fieler. Forums: Hacker News
| 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: wiz.io, New York Times, CNBC, Marcus on AI, The Guardian, Censys, BBC, Business Insider, Platformer, Reason, Cyber Daily, The Register, Vox, Neowin, Mashable, Implicator.ai, The Economist, and SiliconANGLE
X: @karpathy, @galnagli, @mattprd, @galnagli, @jsrailton, @jsrailton, @valhalla_dev, and @jsrailton. LinkedIn: Geoff Livingston
Forums: r/cybersecurity and Slashdot
| Luke James / Tom's Hardware: |
More: BleepingComputer, CNBC, Koi, and Security Affairs
| 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: Rapid7, Notepad++, TechCrunch, The Verge, The Register, Forrester, XDA Developers, HotHardware, and Reuters
X: @johnhultquist, @officialwhyte22, @c2iris, @apkramar, @pikuma, @uk_daniel_card, @blackroomsec, @cyb3rops, @vxunderground, @cyb3rops, @cyb3rops, @gi7w0rm, @lcamtuf, @uk_daniel_card, and @uk_daniel_card
LinkedIn: Ivan Feigl and Christiaan Beek
Forums: Hacker News, r/cybersecurity, r/worldnews, r/sysadmin, r/homelab, r/pcmasterrace, r/theprimeagen, and Slashdot
| 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: Sources and DigiTimes
X: @sk7037, @sama, @kyliebytes, @jukan05, @firstadopter, and @semianalysis_
Bluesky: @edzitron.com and @seanokane
Forums: r/hardware, r/AMD_Stock, and r/BetterOffline
| 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 The Independent
X: @miles_brundage. Bluesky: @flingjore.com, @noupside, @drewharwell.com, @karlbode.com, @metacurity.com, @mistyksnow, and @justinhendrix
| @oracle: |
Oracle says the Nvidia-OpenAI deal has “zero impact” on its financial relationship with OpenAI and it is “highly confident in OpenAI's ability to raise funds” — The NVIDIA-OpenAI deal has zero impact on our financial relationship with OpenAI. We remain highly confident in OpenAI's ability to raise funds and meet its commitments.
More: Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Fast Company, Mercury News, Quartz, The Next Platform, On my Om, Radio Free Mobile, Fortune, and Shacknews
X: @edels0n, @alexkolicich, @edzitron, @swrrvv, @buccocapital, @firstadopter, @semianalysis_, @alexeheath, and @tszzl
Threads: @carnage4life and @carnage4life
| Isaac Rouse / Polygon.com: |
Crunchyroll is raising its US prices by $2 per month; the cheapest tier gets its first price increase since 2019 and now offers offline downloads on one device — If you didn't secure a Crunchyroll subscription when it was on sale during Black Friday, we have some bad news, anime fans: The price has officially gone up.
More: Crunchyroll News, Engadget, The Wrap, Comic Book, Ars Technica, Kotaku, IGN, Screen Rant, and CNET
| Bloomberg: |
Trump unveils a $12B critical minerals stockpile, called Project Vault, to minimize reliance on China, with participation from 12+ companies, including Google — President Donald Trump formally announced plans to launch a $12 billion critical minerals stockpile, in his latest effort … | 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.| 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, The Verge, WeRSM, Digital Trends, Mashable, Thurrott, Engadget, Gizmodo, Neowin, Tech in Asia, CyberInsider, PCMag, How-To Geek, OMG! Ubuntu, and 9to5Linux
| Matthew Green / A Few Thoughts …: |
A look at WhatsApp's E2E encryption and whether it protects from metadata and chat backup leaks, after a lawsuit alleges Meta can read users' private data — It's not every day that we see mainstream media get excited about encryption apps! For that reason, the past several days have been fascinating … | Sarah Perez / TechCrunch: |
Adobe plans to discontinue its 2D animation software Animate on March 1; enterprise customers can receive support until March 2029, and others until March 2027 — As Adobe ramps up its investments in AI, the company has decided to shut down its 2D animation software, Adobe Animate.
More: The Verge, XDA Developers, helpx.adobe.com, and Animation Magazine
X: @tylerglaiel, @megacharlie159, @davidtoons_, @chikn_nuggit, and @megacharlie159. Bluesky: @krisdobbinsart. Mastodon: @[email protected]
Forums: r/Piracy, r/mildlyinfuriating, r/animation, and r/technology
| 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 …
More: CNBC, Reuters, Financial Times, Tech in Asia, Yahoo Finance, Benzinga, and Axios
| 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.
More: The Hindu, Tech in Asia, Deccan Herald, PYMNTS.com, OpenAI, The Register, and Reuters
| 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 …
More: Sherwood News and NewsMax.com
| 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 …
More: SiliconANGLE, Accounting Today, FinTech Global, FinSMEs, and Fieldguide Inc.
LinkedIn: Dhruv Dhingra and Jin W. Chang
| 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 and SiliconANGLE
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:
5 common AI pitfalls in staffing and how to fix them — Staffing teams are turning to AI to keep up with growing hiring demands. It helps recruiters move faster, handle more applications, and stay on top of their pipelines.
5 common AI pitfalls in staffing and how to fix them — Staffing teams are turning to AI to keep up with growing hiring demands. It helps recruiters move faster, handle more applications, and stay on top of their pipelines.
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
Grit:
The Silicon Valley Insider In The Pentagon | DoW Emil Michael
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
The art of influence: The single most important skill that AI can't replace | Jessica Fain (Webflow, ex-Slack)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Access:
Live @ Nvidia's nerd Super Bowl, poker takes over tech, and the future of AI banking
A show about the tech industry's inside conversation, hosted by tech reporter Alex Heath and founder whisperer Ellis Hamburger.
Subscribe to Access.
Big Technology Podcast:
OpenAI's Superapp Ambitions, Jensen on Jobs, Bezos's $100 Billion Automation Fund
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Hard Fork:
'A.I.-Washing' Layoffs? + Why L.L.M.s Can't Write Well + Tokenmaxxing
The future is already here. Each week, journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton explore and make sense of the latest in the rapidly changing world of tech.
Subscribe to Hard Fork.
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.
About This Page
This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 11:55 PM ET, February 2, 2026.
The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.
From Mediagazer
Max Tani / Semafor:David Folkenflik / NPR:
Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:
Upcoming Tech Events
More News
| Tamara Djurickovic / Tech.eu: |
| Alex Konrad / Upstarts Media: |
More: Pulse 2.0 and Day.ai
X: @saranormous, @gradypb, @alexrkonrad, @dannieherz, @hodges, @gradypb, and @markitecht. LinkedIn: Mike Gamson
| Priya Krishna / New York Times: |
More: PYMNTS.com. X: @rakeshsfnyc, @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
| Josh Taylor / The Guardian: |
More: Snapchat, Social Media Today, Firstpost, and Viral - Geo News
Earlier Picks
| Gerrit De Vynck / Washington Post: |
More: Wall Street Journal. X: @leloveluck, @john_hudson, @dropsitenews, @assalrad, and @william_fitz
Bluesky: @mommamia, @jefftrnka, @dfriedman, and @justinhendrix