|
February 19, 2026, 1:45 PM
|
Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Abner Li / 9to5Google: |
Google rolls out Gemini 3.1 Pro, which it says is “a step forward in core reasoning”, for all users in the Gemini app; the .1 increment is a first for Google — In November, Google introduced Gemini 3 Pro in preview, with Gemini 3 Flash following a month later.
More: The Keyword, Google DeepMind, ZDNET, Ars Technica, VentureBeat, The Economic Times, Thurrott, Simon Willison's Weblog, The Decoder, Neowin, Wion, Mashable, The GitHub Blog, Constellation Research, iPhone in Canada, iClarified, Crypto Briefing, and TestingCatalog
X: @artificialanlys, @yuchenj_uw, @brendanfoody, @jeffdean, @kat_kampf, @triswarkentin, @misilo_jakub, @jmsvid, @srkdan, @priyaaryav, @arcprize, @kimmonismus, @shresbm, @_mohansolo, @advaitonline, @noamshazeer, @demishassabis, @oriolvinyalsml, @google, @google, @scaling01, @officiallogank, @koraykv, @scaling01, @ai_for_success, @mweinbach, @harrisonfjobe, @geminiapp, @officiallogank, @geminiapp, @googledeepmind, @_philschmid, @sundarpichai, @joshwoodward, and @scaling01
LinkedIn: Carlos Udina Martin, Maor Shlomo, and Philipp Schmid
Forums: r/Bard, r/GeminiAI, and r/singularity
| Saritha Rai / Bloomberg: |
India's AI Summit: Modi orchestrated a photo op with tech and business leaders holding hands in a line, but Sam Altman and Dario Amodei refused to clasp hands — Once a rival, always a rival. — As Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off the busiest day of India's AI Summit in New Delhi …
More: CNBC, Associated Press, Inc.com, Business Standard, TechCrunch, Digit, Forbes, Business Insider, The Indian Express, The Economic Times, Business Today, BMI, Hindustan Times, and Livemint
X: @siddharthb_, @prathamgrv, @ns123abc, @pitdesi, @indianidle, @hopes_revenge, @autismcapital, @trendulkar, @ani, @sidhant, @himanshustwts, and @yuchenj_uw. Bluesky: @shona
| Cherylann Mollan / BBC: |
The Gates Foundation says Bill Gates will not deliver his keynote at India's AI Summit after “careful consideration”, amid controversy over his Epstein ties — Bill Gates will not deliver his keynote address at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi, his philanthropic organisation …
More: The Register, The Economic Times, Financial Times, NewsMax.com, UPI, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, ZeroHedge News, ComputerWeekly.com, Times of India, The Indian Express, NDTV, Al Jazeera, Telegraph, Bloomberg, Business Standard, CNN, Digit, Press Trust of India, and Storyboard18
Forums: r/goodnews, r/news, and r/Epstein
| New York Times: |
Inside India's AI Impact Summit: 300+ exhibitors, 500 sessions, 250K visitors, billions in investment, and entrepreneurs touting solutions to real-world issues — The event promised to be a global coming-out party for India's artificial intelligence aspirations.
More: Associated Press, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, The American Bazaar, Reuters, The Guardian, Politico, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Bloomberg, Reuters, Bloomberg, and Bloomberg. X: @madhavchanchani
| Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch: |
| Reuters: |
Sources: the US State Department is building an online portal at freedom.gov that will let users in Europe and elsewhere see content banned by their governments — The U.S. State Department is developing an online portal that will enable people in Europe and elsewhere to see content banned …
More: Gizmodo, DataBreachToday.com, The Independent, TechRadar, The European Conservative, and Benzinga
X: @as400495, @jamestitcomb, @ordinarygamers, @elonmusk, @g_slattery, @developerharris, @alx, @nickadobos, and @florian4gamers
Bluesky: @petertl, @emptywheel, @benfenton, @marypcbuk, @tyleraking.com, @carnage4life, @parismarx.com, @bcmerchant, @kendrawrites.com, @abeardedpanda, @realjuicyjay.blacksky.app, @noupside, @alexanotherone, @caseynewton, @originalsp.in, @markjacob, @lottelydia, @davidcorn, @lepetitereboot, @brainnotonyet, @5-2blue, @ndrew, @explaintrade.com, @froomkin, @davidakaye, @tjmcintyre.com, @mbkplus, @waldo.net, @fritzbischoff, @paleofuture, and @lukesteuber.com
Mastodon: @evacide@hachyderm.io and @kevinrothrock@infosec …
Forums: r/privacy, r/politics, r/worldnews, r/eutech, r/europeanunion, and r/europe
| Aisha Down / The Guardian: |
Sources and docs: the US “effectively gutted” the Internet Freedom program that dispensed $500M+ since 2016 to help build tech to evade state internet controls — Programme that funds groups building tech to evade oppressive government controls under serious threat| Jordyn Holman / New York Times: |
Ring founder Jamie Siminoff is on an apology tour to quell an outcry over privacy concerns after Ring's Super Bowl Search Party ad, calling it a “perfect storm” — Since the commercial aired, Jamie Siminoff has been trying to quell an outcry over privacy concerns with his doorbell cameras.
More: 404 Media, Mashable, Engadget, 9to5Mac, PCWorld, AppleInsider, Newser, The Independent, and WinBuzzer
Bluesky: @athenaforall, @hypervisible.blacksky.app, and @mrfahrenheit
Mastodon: @josephcox@infosec.exchange and @Ashedryden@xoxo.zone
| Kalley Huang / New York Times: |
West Virginia's AG sues Apple for allegedly violating consumer protection law by not implementing tools like PhotoDNA to detect CSAM stored and shared on iCloud — The state's attorney general said in a lawsuit filed on Thursday that the company declined to use tools that recognize the material stored on iCloud.
More: Office of the WV …, Reuters, MacRumors, The Verge, Engadget, CNN, CNBC, Politico, 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, Bloomberg Law, The Hill, and MacDailyNews
| Zoë Bernard / Wired: |
Inside the “gay tech mafia” that mixes social and professional lives, as investors, entrepreneurs, and executives detail gay influence in Silicon Valley — Gay men have long been rumored to run Silicon Valley. WIRED investigates. — No one can say exactly when, or if, gay men started running Silicon Valley.
X: @emilydreyfuss, @builtbyvibes, @jorcru, @finnmurphy12, @uwukko, @thdxr, @iamjasonlevin, @edels0n, @gjmcgowan, @rkktweets, @terronk, @dodgeblake, @homonotqueer, @peer_rich, @daithaigilbert, @jovvvian, @petertwinklage, @credenzaclear2, @growing_daniel, @mr_considerate, and @kazanjy
Bluesky: @trueref, @timmarchman, @rami.spaceaustralia.com, and @jthom.tech
Forums: r/technology, r/neoliberal, and r/bayarea
| Spencer Soper / Bloomberg: |
Amazon dethrones Walmart as the world's largest company by revenue, reporting $717B in 2025 sales, compared to Walmart's $713.2B for the 12 months to January 31 — Amazon.com Inc. has officially dethroned Walmart Inc. as the biggest global company by revenue, a milestone attesting … | Financial Times: |
Sources: Accenture told executives that promotions would require “regular adoption” of AI and it is starting to track some senior staff's weekly AI tool logins — Consulting firms use ‘carrot and stick’ with some senior staff less willing to use technology than junior colleagues
More: Moneycontrol, The Guardian, CNBC, TechRadar, Implicator.ai, The Decoder, and Bloomberg
| Bloomberg: |
Sources: OpenAI is close to finalizing the first phase of its record $100B+ round; its overall valuation, including the eventual funding, could exceed $850B — OpenAI is close to finalizing the first phase of a new funding round that is likely to bring in more than $100 billion … | Gayoung Lee / Gizmodo: |
Microsoft's Project Silica team details its laser-modified glass storage tech, saying tests suggest that it can preserve large amounts of data for 10,000+ years — “This will change the way we think about keeping data and archival preservation.” — Our knowledge of the past comes from stone tablets and old parchment.
More: Nature, Microsoft Research, HotHardware, Ars Technica, Windows Central, Microsoft Research, Network World, PC Gamer, New Scientist, Blocks and Files, DatacenterDynamics, Hackster, Help Net Security, Digital Trends, ITPro, PCWorld, The Register, GovTech, LiveScience, Science, The Guardian, and The Independent
X: @msftresearch, @rohanpaul_ai, @wretchardthecat, and @satyanadella. Mastodon: @hkrn@mstdn.social. Forums: r/technology
| Bloomberg: |
Atlassian's founders lost ~$7.2B in wealth in 2026, behind AppLovin's three founders, amid a SaaS rout; TEAM is down 45%+ YTD, the Nasdaq 100's worst performer — Michael Cannon-Brookes became a billionaire in his 30s and one of Australia's richest tech executives with the initial public offering … | Natalie Lung / Bloomberg: |
New York pulls a proposal that would have allowed for robotaxi services outside NYC, a setback for Waymo, which wants to hit 1M paid weekly US rides by 2026 end — New York Governor Kathy Hochul has pulled a proposal that would have allowed for commercial robotaxi services outside New York City … | Ashley Carman / Bloomberg: |
Apple Podcasts' fresh leap into video podcasts accelerates the podcast industry's shift from an audio-centric medium to a decidedly video-focused one — Apple Podcasts' fresh leap into video podcasts refocuses the audio medium on visuals — Welcome back to Soundbite.| Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News: |
Austin-based Ownwell, which uses AI to help homeowners appeal property taxes, raised a $30M Series B, bringing its total funding to $54M, and $20M in debt — Ownwell, an AI-powered startup that appeals property taxes on behalf of homeowners, has secured $50 million in financing … | Katie Roof / The Information: |
ZaiNar, a developer of a GPS alternative that uses Wi-Fi and 5G to provide location data, raised $10M at a $1B valuation, bringing its total funding to $100M — Over the last two years, investors and researchers have flocked to startups helping bring AI into the physical world … | Michael Lynton / Wall Street Journal: |
Book extract: ex-Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton recounts his role in sparking North Korea's 2014 hack, one of the worst cyberattacks in corporate history — In an exclusive book excerpt, the former CEO of Sony Entertainment opens up about his role in unleashing one of the worst cyberattacks in corporate history.| Laith Al-Khalaf / Financial Times: |
Klarna reports Q4 revenue up 38% YoY to $1.08B and a $26M net loss, down from a $40M net profit in Q4 2024; KLAR is down 66%+ since its September 2025 NYSE IPO — Swedish fintech's share price has plummeted by two-thirds since September IPO — Klarna shares slumped by a quarter on Thursday …
More: PYMNTS.com, Proactive, Wall Street Journal, Benzinga, City A.M., Business Wire, Bloomberg, and Reuters
| Alexandra S. Levine / Bloomberg: |
ByteDance is currently hiring for nearly 100 US-based roles within its Seed AI team across San Jose, LA, and Seattle to develop LLMs, drug discovery, and more — Chinese tech giant ByteDance Ltd. is hiring in the US for nearly 100 open roles within its artificial intelligence division … | Chris Metinko / Axios: |
Cleveland-based Eagle Wireless, which makes cellular modules used in IoT devices, raised a $30M Series B as the US seeks to reduce its reliance on China — Eagle Wireless, a cellular module manufacturer, raised a $30 million Series B from Asymmetric Capital Partners and The O.H.I.O. Fund … | Ryan Lawler / Axios: |
Amsterdam-based Stacks, which builds AI software to automate accounting workflows, raised a $23M Series A led by Lightspeed, after a €10M seed in 2025 — Stacks, which builds AI software to automate accounting workflows, raised $23 million in Series A funding, CEO Albert Malikov tells Axios exclusively.
More: Tech.eu and EU-Startups
| Ece Yildirim / Gizmodo: |
Study: X's feed algorithm favors conservative content, and switching to For You for seven weeks shifted users' views toward more conservative political opinions — The algorithm also doesn't like posts by traditional news media, the researchers found. — In case you had any doubt …
More: Nature, Ben Werdmuller, and The Debrief
Bluesky: @joyouspanther and @purchase-w-purpose
Mastodon: @brembs@mastodon.social, @johnnyryan@eupolicy.social, @leavex@mastodon.social, @metin@graphics.social, and @Doug_Bostrom@scicomm.xyz
Forums: Hacker News, r/technology, r/technology, and r/NoShitSherlock
| Joe Miller / Financial Times: |
US OPM Director Scott Kupor says tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Sam Altman will give talks to the US Tech Force, which is hiring ~1,000 software engineers — Programme aims to modernise digital infrastructure of US federal agencies — Tech billionaires such as Elon Musk and Sam Altman …
Bluesky: @metacurity.com
| Ryan Vlastelica / Bloomberg: |
Apple's 40-day correlation to the Nasdaq 100 Index fell to 0.21 last week, the lowest since 2006, making it an appealing alternative to the AI-fueled volatility — It's been nearly 20 years since Apple Inc. was this untethered from its tech peers, giving investors an appealing alternative … | Tim Fernholz / TechCrunch: |
FreeForm, which is building an AI native 3D printing system that uses 18 lasers to fuse metal powders into precision components, raised a $67M Series B — Tech investors haven't given up on the dream of making physical products with the same speed and ease as coding software.| Bloomberg: |
Russian forces in Ukraine are facing communications issues as SpaceX restricts Starlink access and Telegram faces a crackdown, per pro-Russian military channels — Russian forces fighting in Ukraine are facing communications problems from the dual blow of restricted access …
More: The Kyiv Independent, Engadget, Newser, and Economic news
Sponsor Posts
Subquadratic:
Subquadratic: the LLM built for 12M-token reasoning — SubQ can reason across entire codebases and document sets in one pass with no RAG workarounds. Read how SubQ 1.1 Small holds near-perfect retrieval out to 12M tokens.
Subquadratic: the LLM built for 12M-token reasoning — SubQ can reason across entire codebases and document sets in one pass with no RAG workarounds. Read how SubQ 1.1 Small holds near-perfect retrieval out to 12M tokens.
Zoho:
Single-folder archival in Zoho Mail: What you need to know — Email archival is the practice of moving emails from your active inbox or folders to a separate space. It helps keep your mailbox clutter-free …
Single-folder archival in Zoho Mail: What you need to know — Email archival is the practice of moving emails from your active inbox or folders to a separate space. It helps keep your mailbox clutter-free …
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.
Soxton:
Fast, affordable law for startups — Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better. We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts. Join the waitlist for early access!
Fast, affordable law for startups — Soxton automates startup legal so founders can move faster and sleep better. We handle incorporation, advisor, employment and commercial contracts. Join the waitlist for early access!Featured Podcasts
Big Technology Podcast:
Who Wins The AI Assistant Wars? + Why Didn't Google Build Muse?
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.
Sources:
Reflection's founders on building a DeepSeek of the West
Candid conversations with the leaders shaping what's next in AI and the broader tech industry. Hosted by Alex Heath, who has covered Silicon Valley for more than a decade.
Subscribe to Sources.
Grit:
How Vercel Is Rethinking Go-to-Market With AI | COO Jeanne Grosser
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
OpenAI's Head of ChatGPT: We're entering a new era of AI (again) | Tibo Sottiaux
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.
Great Chat:
What does the tech industry owe San Francisco?
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.
Uncapped with Jack Altman:
David George from a16z
Conversations with people I admire about things I'm genuinely interested in.
Subscribe to Uncapped with Jack Altman.
About This Page
This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:45 PM ET, February 19, 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
Cynthia Littleton / Variety:Brian Stelter / CNN:
New York Times:
Upcoming Tech Events
Earlier Picks
| The Guardian: |
More: BBC, The Register, Bloomberg, Financial Times, Silicon Republic, The Economic Times, City A.M., The Indian Express, GOV.UK, Ofcom, The Times, Sky News, Telegraph, Mirror, The Sun, and Reuters
Bluesky: @pqpolitics and @tristangrayford.scot
Forums: r/unitedkingdom and r/europe
| Niko Gallogly / New York Times: |
More: Associated Press, Benzinga, The Information, Etsy, Inc., Wall Street Journal, Metro.co.uk, Retail Dive, Proactive, CNBC, Silicon Republic, Blockonomi, Yahoo Finance, RTÉ, The Independent, Tech in Asia, TheIndustry.fashion, Entrepreneur, Oktopost, and Wall Street Journal
X: @bjornjeffery, @mikeisaac, @mikeisaac, and @jimcramer
| Jyoti Mann / The Information: |
More: eWeek, 9to5Google, Thurrott, Android Police, UploadVR, AppleInsider, PYMNTS.com, The Verge, Moneycontrol, GSMArena.com, 9to5Mac, Engadget, The Shortcut, Android Headlines, Gadgets & Wearables, MacRumors, Digital Trends, Fortune, The Asia Business Daily, Mashable, PhoneArena, Android Authority, The Hans India, iPhone in Canada, Notebookcheck, Forbes, Benzinga, Reuters, CNET, and Tom's Guide. X: @pitdesi
| CNBC: |
More: Wall Street Journal, AppleInsider, 9to5Mac, TechCrunch, The Guardian, The Verge, Business Insider, SFGATE, iPhone in Canada, ABA Journal, Entrepreneur, New York Times, Megyn Kelly, Wired, Los Angeles Times, Fast Company, Quartz, Rolling Stone, Benzinga, Forbes, Tech Times, BBC, BERNAMA, Anadolu Ajansı …, CNN, Moneycontrol, Times of India, NPR, Deadline, The Information, Business Insider, CBS News, Bloomberg, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Overturned, Gizmodo, YouTube, LAW.com, CNN, Breitbart, CBS News, ABC, Fox News, Axios, New York Post, The National, New York Post, The Wrap, Sydney Morning Herald, Deseret News, and Bloomberg
X: @kyle_a_morse, @tech_oversight, @tech_oversight, @thewarmonitor, @philthatremains, @amy_siskind, @barnes_law, @matthewstoller, @sachalouise, and @senblumenthal. LinkedIn: Kelly Stonelake
Bluesky: @ianmoody, @karlbode.com, @alexlaughs, @theresistanceco, and @davelee.me
Forums: Hacker News, r/apple, r/politics, r/politics, r/NPR, r/technology, and r/LegalNews