|
February 16, 2026, 6:30 AM
|
Mediagazer
memeorandum
WeSmirchTop News
| Sam Altman / @sama: |
Sam Altman says Peter Steinberger, creator of OpenClaw, is joining OpenAI “to drive the next generation of personal agents”; OpenClaw will remain open source — Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI to drive the next generation of personal agents. He is a genius with a lot of amazing ideas about the future of very smart agents interacting with each other to do very useful things for people. We expect this will quickly become core to our
More: Peter Steinberger, TechCrunch, The Register, Times of India, Financial Times, Reuters, Benzinga, The Verge, Tech.eu, Silicon Republic, Bloomberg, The Hans India, The Information, CNBC, Decrypt, Implicator.ai, The Deep View, SiliconANGLE, Business Insider, and Crypto Briefing
X: @steipete, @yuchenj_uw, @altryne, @om, @gdb, @ibab, @levie, @mirkogarozzo, @dylanabruscato, @steipete, @jessicalessin, @dabit3, @filipe_almeida, @thsottiaux, @emollick, @scottjduffy, @rayfernando1337, @alxfazio, @timhaldorsson, @toddsaunders, @anothercohen, @romainhuet, @dahongfei, @steipete, @cofoundersnik, @christyhwchoi, @chrismaconi, @alexfinn, @theprimeagen, @badlogicgames, @dvassallo, @swyx, @zackkorman, @edzitron, @themotelman, @davemorin, @apoorva_mehta, @aakashgupta, @romainhuet, @krausefx, @fidjissimo, @hsvsphere, @jquinonero, @iannuttall, @bilawalsidhu, @joannastern, @raphaelschaad, @benjamindekr, @gregisenberg, @bullyesq, @sytaylor, @kareldoostrlnck, @meta_alchemist, and @steipete
LinkedIn: Romain Huet, Iago Maciel, Wei Manfredi, and Choon Leng Chia
Mastodon: @drahardja@sfba.social and @carnage4life@mas.to
Forums: Hacker News, r/OpenAI, r/BetterOffline, and r/openclaw
| Marcus Schuler / Implicator.ai: |
In a podcast, OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger describes his phone calls with Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman, and says he had been contacted by “every big VC” — Mark Zuckerberg needed ten minutes. He was finishing code. — Peter Steinberger had called him on WhatsApp without scheduling anything.
More: Engadget, Barron's Online, Neowin, Livemint, The Information, Lex Fridman, DigiTimes, Techstrong.ai, Android Authority, and MacStories
X: @danielfoch, @theonejvo, @haridigresses, and @steipete
| Osmond Chia / BBC: |
ByteDance says it “respects IP rights and we have heard the concerns regarding Seedance” and it plans to “strengthen” safeguards, after Disney's legal threats — Chinese technology giant ByteDance has pledged to curb a controversial artificial intelligence (AI) … | Todd Spangler / Variety: |
Following Disney, Paramount sent a cease-and-desist letter to ByteDance, alleging its AI-generated Seedance videos and Seedream images infringed Paramount's IP — Disney also sent a legal demand to Chinese internet company — Paramount Skydance accused ByteDance of engaging in …
More: CNBC, Decrypt, Breitbart, The Information, The Wrap, Deadline, Associated Press, South China Morning Post, TechCrunch, and Engadget
Forums: r/technology, r/MediaMergers, and r/movies
| Zack Abrams / The Block: |
Vitalik Buterin, who backed Polymarket, says he's “starting to worry” that prediction markets “seem to be over-converging to an unhealthy product market fit” — Quick Take — Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin warned that prediction markets are “over-converging” … | Mari Novik / Financial Times: |
Keir Starmer says no platform “should get a free pass”, as the UK moves to tighten online safety laws covering AI chatbots and social media, to protect children — Keir Starmer to warn tech companies that ‘no platform gets a free pass’ after deepfake scandal involving Grok
More: Keir Starmer, The Guardian, GOV.UK, The Register, Sky News, The Independent, BBC, Tech in Asia, Benzinga, crypto.news, HuffPost, Bloomberg, and The i Paper
| Shirin Ghaffary / Bloomberg: |
OpenAI retired GPT-4o on February 13, angering loyal users, 20K+ of whom signed a petition; 4o showed the unique attachment that people can form with chatbots — GPT-4o showed the unique attachment that people can form with chatbots — OpenAI is forcing thousands of people to break up with its most controversial AI model.| Mark Gurman / Bloomberg: |
Sources: Apple tweaked its Maps app for Tesla before the EV maker's planned addition of CarPlay; low-cost MacBook will get an aluminum chassis in playful colors — Tesla's plan to start supporting CarPlay in its vehicles has been held back by the need for changes in iOS 26's Maps app.
More: T3, Gizmodo, PCMag, 9to5Mac, The Mac Observer, GSMArena.com, Engadget, Tech Times, Digital Trends, Forbes, The Apple Post, iPhone in Canada, Neowin, PhoneArena, Appleosophy, AppleInsider, Cult of Mac, and iClarified
X: @markgurman, @markgurman, @markgurman, @thijsverreck, @markgurman, @rudrank, and @markgurman. Mastodon: @carnage4life@mas.to
| Will Oremus / Washington Post: |
Former NPR host David Greene sues Google for allegedly replicating his voice in NotebookLM without permission; Google says the voice is based on a paid actor — NPR's David Greene says he was “completely freaked out” when he heard an AI voice that sounded just like his own, and he's suing over it.
More: Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Neowin, Digital Trends, and Newser
X: @willoremus, @defnotbeka, @ryp__, @mollyhf, @lumoherdaui, @rotopat, and @eilperin
Bluesky: @carnage4life, @annabookwriter, @samthielman.com, @newsjennifer, @treblaw, @brutumfulmen, @shiraovide, @jeradwalker, and @acarv.in
Forums: Hacker News and r/NPR
| Financial Times: |
Analysis: sports bets on Kalshi generate an estimated ~$1.3B in annualized revenue, underscoring the threat prediction markets pose to traditional operators — DraftKings and Flutter shares slide as investors fret about threat posed by apps such as Kalshi — Sports wagers on Kalshi … | Erik Brynjolfsson / Financial Times: |
Analysis: US productivity rose by ~2.7% in 2025, nearly doubling the 1.4% annual average over a decade, as AI-exposed sectors cooled their entry-level hiring — New economic data suggests the US is transitioning to a phase of measurable gains from the technology
More: Fortune. X: @danobrien20, @fabioghironi, @producercities, @matthewstoller, @ft, @happyhappyhenri, @alexolegimas, @wholemars, @ai, @darioperkins, @firstadopter, @erikbryn, @briancalbrecht, @micro2macr0, and @greenplusane
LinkedIn: Erik Brynjolfsson, Anthony Battle Mrics Msc, and Eric Hazan
Bluesky: @robertscotthorton and @dannygroner
| Matthew Chin / CNBC: |
Sensor Tower: TikTok's US DAUs were ~95% of its usership the week of January 19, with metrics showing little sign of a mass exodus since its January 23 takeover — TikTok's U.S. joint venture seems to have survived a turbulent rollout with minimal change in usership, as early narratives … | Dara Kerr / The Guardian: |
A look at the US tech industry's effort to influence Californian politics: fighting the 5% billionaire tax, super PACs, and seeking a new tech-friendly governor — As Gavin Newsom departs, ultra-wealthy flex wealth and influence to fight regulation and keep the boom going| Jake Angelo / Fortune: |
A look at Anti Fund, a small VC firm cofounded by YouTuber Jake Paul that has gained access to hot rounds in startups like OpenAI, Anduril, Polymarket, and Ramp — Jake Paul crossed paths with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at President Donald Trump's second inauguration ceremony last year …
Bluesky: @hypervisible.blacksky.app
| Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch: |
Sam Altman says that India has 100M weekly active ChatGPT users, the app's second-largest userbase after the US, ahead of the AI Impact Summit — India has 100 million weekly active ChatGPT users, making the country one of OpenAI's largest markets globally, CEO Sam Altman said ahead of a government-hosted AI summit.
More: The Hans India, Digit, The Indian Express, CNBC, Times of India, Fortune India, Moneycontrol, Tech in Asia, The Economic Times, DigiTimes, Livemint, and Hindustan Times. Bluesky: @atroposinsights.com
Sponsor Posts
Subquadratic:
SubQ Snap 1.1: the first long-context decision model for real enterprise work — Tied for #1 on the AA Decision Index, Snap is a multimodal model with a 384k-token context window for fast reasoning and agentic decisions.
SubQ Snap 1.1: the first long-context decision model for real enterprise work — Tied for #1 on the AA Decision Index, Snap is a multimodal model with a 384k-token context window for fast reasoning and agentic decisions.
Zoho:
How EWS deprecation affects Zoho Calendar Interoperability — Understanding the impactMicrosoft began blocking Exchange Web Services (EWS) requests in Exchange Online (Microsoft 365) as of October 1, 2026.
How EWS deprecation affects Zoho Calendar Interoperability — Understanding the impactMicrosoft began blocking Exchange Web Services (EWS) requests in Exchange Online (Microsoft 365) as of October 1, 2026.
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.
WebBrain:
WebBrain: an open-source AI agent for your browser — Read pages, fill forms and automate tasks in Chrome or Firefox. Use local models or your preferred AI provider. Get started free.
WebBrain: an open-source AI agent for your browser — Read pages, fill forms and automate tasks in Chrome or Firefox. Use local models or your preferred AI provider. Get started free.Featured Podcasts
Big Technology Podcast:
AI Stockpocalypse, Anthropic Nears RSI?, Prediction Markets vs. Pollsters
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.
Machine Gods:
The Purple Tsunami Against Data Centers
The official podcast of the singularity, from Casey Newton and Kevin Roose. Twice-weekly news, analysis, and interviews with the people who are building the future.
Subscribe to Machine Gods.
Invest Like the Best:
Ramtin Naimi - The State of Venture
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
The Upstarts Podcast:
How Ramp Built A $60B AI Product Factory Off A Corporate Card | Co-CEO Eric Glyman
Veteran tech reporter Alex Konrad sits down with breakout entrepreneurs taking on the status quo to shake up their fields in AI, design, nuclear energy, space, and more.
Subscribe to The Upstarts Podcast.
Great Chat:
Would you let a robot do it?
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.
Training Data:
A Model For Everyone: How Ronak From Trajectory Is Building Products For Continual Learning
Sequoia Capital partners host conversations with leading AI builders and researchers to develop a deeper understanding of the evolving technologies and their implications.
Subscribe to Training Data.
About This Page
This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 6:30 AM ET, February 16, 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
CNN:Washington Post:
Ethan Gach / Kotaku:
Upcoming Tech Events
More News
| Baiju Kalesh / Bloomberg: |
More: Moneycontrol, Inc42, Times of India, Blackstone, The Economic Times, TechCrunch, Fortune India, Entrackr, and DealStreetAsia