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February 9, 2026, 7:55 PM
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OpenAI:
OpenAI says it has started testing ads in ChatGPT in the US for logged-in adult users on the Free and Go tiers and that the ads do not change ChatGPT answers  —  Ads that support free access and don't change ChatGPT answers.  —  Today, we're beginning to test ads in ChatGPT in the U.S …
Bloomberg:
Alphabet raised $20B in its biggest ever US dollar bond sale, more than the $15B initially expected, after drawing more than $100B of orders  —  Alphabet Inc. is borrowing far and wide to finance the unprecedented spending plan behind its artificial intelligence ambitions, and investors can't seem to get enough.
Financial Times:
Sources: Alphabet plans to sell a rare 100-year sterling bond, as Big Tech companies borrow more to fund their capex growth; IBM sold a 100-year bond in 1996  —  Deal comes as Google parent steps up AI borrowing rush with $15bn sale of dollar bonds  —  Alphabet has lined up banks to sell …
CNBC:
Slack message: Sam Altman tells staff that ChatGPT is “back to exceeding 10% monthly growth”, and OpenAI plans to release “an updated Chat model” this week  —  As OpenAI faces intensifying pressure from rival Anthropic's improved coding tools, CEO Sam Altman …
Stevie Bonifield / The Verge:
Discord says it will roll out age verification globally from March to access some content; all accounts will have a “teen-appropriate experience by default”  —  Beginning in March, all accounts will have a “teen-appropriate experience by default.”
Harvard Business Review:
An eight-month study at a US tech company finds AI tools didn't reduce work but intensified it, as employees worked faster and took on a broader range of tasks  —  Right now, many companies are worried about how to get more employees to use AI.  After all, the promise of AI reducing the burden of some work …
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Databricks raised $5B in equity financing and $2B in debt at a $134B valuation and says its annualized revenue crossed $5.4B for the January quarter, up 65% YoY  —  Databricks said Monday it has raised $5 billion in funding and $2 billion in new debt capacity at a $134 billion valuation.
Ashley Capoot / CNBC:
Workday announces CEO Carl Eschenbach is stepping down and will be replaced by the company's co-founder, Aneel Bhusri, effective immediately; WDAY drops 6%+  —  Workday on Monday announced that CEO Carl Eschenbach is stepping down from his role and will be replaced by the company's co-founder, Aneel Bhusri, effective immediately.
Bloomberg:
The European Commission sends a statement of objections to Meta over WhatsApp blocking rival AI chatbots, warning it will take measures to avoid “serious” harm  —  Meta Platforms Inc. was given a European Union warning over policies that block the use of rival Artificial Intelligence assistants …
Juro Osawa / The Information:
ByteDance debuts Seedance 2.0, a new version of its AI video generation model that can produce multi-shot scenes, available to select Jimeng and Jianying users  —  ByteDance's new AI video generation model Seedance 2.0, unveiled over the weekend, is generating a lot of buzz on social media, with some calling it a game changer.
Chris Metinko / Axios:
Oxide Computer, which lets companies build their own cloud, raised $200M led by USIT, taking its total funding to nearly $390M since its 2019 founding  —  Oxide Computer Company, which lets companies build their own cloud, has raised a fresh $200 million round led by USIT …
More: SiliconANGLE
Valida Pau / The Information:
Beast Industries, the entertainment conglomerate founded by MrBeast and last valued at $5.2B, acquires Step Mobile, a teen-focused banking app  —  Beast Industries, the entertainment conglomerate founded by Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson, has agreed to buy Step Mobile, a teen-focused banking app, the companies plan to announce Monday.
Kyle Baird / The Block:
Farcaster co-founders Dan Romero and Varun Srinivasan, along with the team at Merkle, join stablecoin startup Tempo after Merkle's sale of Farcaster to Neynar  —  Quick Take  — Romero and Srinivasan's move follows Farcaster's sale to Neynar and the founders' exit from day-to-day leadership of the protocol.
Bloomberg:
Uber agrees to acquire Getir's delivery operations from Mubadala for $335M in cash and says it will take a 15% stake in the remaining portfolio for $100M  —  Uber Technologies Inc. has agreed to buy Turkish company Getir's delivery operations from its controlling shareholder Mubadala Investment Co …
Aime Williams / Financial Times:
Sources: the Trump administration plans to spare US hyperscalers from upcoming tariffs on chips; exemptions would be based on TSMC's US investment commitments  —  Exemptions would be based on chipmaker TSMC's US investment commitments, officials say  —  Donald Trump's administration intends …
More: Reuters
Brayden Lindrea / Cointelegraph:
Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek launches ai.com in beta during the Super Bowl and opens username registration to let users get a private, personalized AI agent  —  Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek's goal with ai.com is to build “a decentralized network of autonomous, self-improving AI agents …
Ryan Lawler / Axios:
Sources: crypto exchange Backpack, built by ex-FTX and Alameda leaders, is in talks to raise $50M at a $1B pre-money valuation, reports $100M+ in annual revenue  —  Backpack Exchange, a centralized crypto trading firm built by former FTX and Alameda leaders, is negotiating terms for new financing …
More: The Block
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
YouTube launches a Premium paywall for song lyrics on YouTube Music, after testing it in recent months; users get five free lyrics before they have to subscribe  —  After testing in recent months, YouTube Music looks to be widely rolling out a Premium paywall for lyrics.
Lucas Shaw / Bloomberg:
Q&A with YouTube VP of Subscription Products Christian Oestlien on YouTube TV's future, the NFL and Oscars deals, its friendly rivalry with Netflix, and more  —  YouTube is going to start selling cheaper TV bundles for sports fans, news junkies  —  Happy Super Bowl Sunday …

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From Mediagazer

New York Times:
Sources: the White House directed FBI director Kash Patel to personally oversee the probe into NYT reporting about Air Force One, before subpoenas were issued

Scott Roxborough / The Hollywood Reporter:
Q&A: Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti on the All3Media merger, plans to expand beyond TV into live events and sports, preserving flexible company culture, and more

Jake Kanter / Deadline:
BBC Director General Matt Brittin says he will review BBC's foreign content acquisition strategy amid criticism over outbidding rivals for shows like Scooby-Doo

More News

Earlier Picks

Wall Street Journal:
A profile of Amanda Askell, Anthropic's resident philosopher, who is learning Claude's reasoning patterns in a bid to endow the chatbot with a sense of morality
Lauren Forristal / TechCrunch:
A look at the 2026 Super Bowl ads from Anthropic, Meta, Amazon, Google, and others, as AI continued to take center stage in ad creation and AI product promotion
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