Techmeme
February 9, 2026, 6:10 PM

Top News

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 …
Stevie Bonifield / The Verge:
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 …
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 …
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.
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 …
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.
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:
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 …
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 …
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.
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 …
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 …
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.
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
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  —  Following last year's trend of showcasing AI in multimillion-dollar ad spots, the 2026 Super Bowl advertisements took …
More: 404 Media, YouTube, YouTube, The Verge, The Hill, Business Insider, Slate, Washington Post, Tech Brew, The Block, New York Times, Apple, New York Magazine, Coinbase on YouTube, New York Times, The Verge, Sports Business Journal, Fast Company, Inc.com, The Drum, Jon Loomer Digital, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, modernity, Interesting Engineering, Business Insider, The Verge, The Verge, The Verge, Wired, Wall Street Journal, Variety, IGN, and Polygon.com
Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Autodesk sues Google for allegedly infringing its Flow trademark as the name of Google's AI filmmaking tool  —  Google (GOOGL.O) has been sued by Autodesk (ADSK.O) for allegedly infringing its “Flow” trademark to market competing AI-enabled software used to make movies, TV shows and video games.
More: PYMNTS.com and Bloomberg Law
Bluesky: @quinnypig.comForums: Slashdot
Rhiannon Hoyle / Wall Street Journal:
Neara, which builds digital twins of critical infrastructure to help prepare for disasters, raised a AU$90M Series D, a source says at a AU$1.1B valuation  —  Australian startup's customers include Southern California Edison and CenterPoint Energy  —  Neara, an Australian startup …

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Dominic Chopping / Wall Street Journal: