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February 9, 2026, 10:25 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 …
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.”
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 …
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 …
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.
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 co-founder Aneel Bhusri is returning as CEO, effective immediately; WDAY closes down 5.13%  —  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.
Morgan Lee / Associated Press:
In opening statements in New Mexico's suit against Meta, state prosecutors argue Meta misrepresented the safety of its platforms, as Meta's attorney pushes back  —  Meta has failed to disclose what it knows about the harmful effect of its platforms on children in violation …
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 …
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.
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.
Tim De Chant / TechCrunch:
London-based Tem, which uses AI to optimize energy transactions for businesses, raised a $75M Series B led by Lightspeed, a source says at a $300M+ valuation  —  As AI data centers drive up electricity prices, London-based startup Tem thinks AI might be able to help solve it, too.
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 …
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 …
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.

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About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 10:25 PM ET, February 9, 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

Abner Li / 9to5Google:
YouTube launches genre-specific YouTube TV Plans as lower-cost alternatives to the $82.99 monthly subscription; the Sports Plan is priced at $64.99 per month

Matthew Keys / TheDesk.net:
E. W. Scripps agrees to sell its multicast network Court TV to Law&Crime owner Jellysmack, as it seeks to reduce debt tied to its Ion and Katz acquisitions

Scott Feinberg / The Hollywood Reporter:
The Academy will no longer show Oscar-nominated films to members on big screens after the screenings drew “an average of five members” over the last years

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
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
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
More: 404 Media, Business Insider, YouTube, The Verge, YouTube, Slate, Washington Post, Apple, The Hollywood Reporter, The Deep View, Business Wire, Coinbase on YouTube, Business Insider, Tech Brew, The Well News, Sports Business Journal, Jon Loomer Digital, New York Magazine, modernity, The Drum, Inc.com, The Hill, New York Times, New York Times, The Verge, The Verge, The Verge, The Verge, Wired, Wall Street Journal, Variety, IGN, and Polygon.com
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