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February 27, 2026, 3:50 PM
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CNBC:
OpenAI raised $110B at a $730B pre-money valuation, up from $500B in a secondary financing in Oct.; Amazon invested $50B, Nvidia and SoftBank invested $30B each  —  OpenAI announced a $110 billion funding round on Friday, a financing that's more than double the size of its last raise a year ago …
OpenAI:
OpenAI says ChatGPT has 900M+ weekly active users, 50M+ consumer subscribers, and weekly Codex users have more than tripled since the start of the year to 1.6M  —  AI demand is surging across consumers, developers, and businesses.  Meeting that demand and providing everyone access …
Anthropic:
Dario Amodei says Anthropic cannot “in good conscience” accede to DOD's request to remove safeguards and will work to ensure a smooth transition if offboarded  —  I believe deeply in the existential importance of using AI to defend the United States and other democracies, and to defeat our autocratic adversaries.
More: The Verge, No Tech For Apartheid Campaign, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Semafor, Video - David Imel, NPR, Axios, Breitbart, eWeek, Tom's Hardware, Bloomberg, CNBC, The Information, San Francisco Chronicle, Reason, Fortune, CNN, The Hill, Washington Post, Understanding AI, UPI, Defense One, Council on Foreign Relations, Washington Times, CBS News, NOTUS, The Atlantic, Quartz, Tech Times, Kotaku, New York Times, Inc.com, diginomica, TechRadar, Straight Arrow News, and France 24
X: @senblumenthal, @mohammadonx, @elonmusk, @roybahat, @hlntnr, @fchollet, @markwarner, @hlntnr, @deanwball, @mikeisaac, @dowcto, @josephpolitano, @beffjezos, @jonchu, @dee_bosa, @beffjezos, @neil_chilson, @aakashgupta, @anton_d_leicht, @scobleizer, @tszzl, @uswremichael, @ktmboyle, @soumithchintala, @albertwenger, @timoreilly, @chriscoons, @jason, @deanwball, @adamscochran, @deanwball, @nxthompson, @netcapgirl, @zhoujaron, @bryantmcgill, @chris_j_paxton, @glukianoff, @devahaz, @jemelehill, @garymarcus, @miles_brundage, @miles_brundage, @mickeyxfriedman, @zcohencnn, @kelseytuoc, @mcfaul, @jaketapper, @cryptopunk7213, @liminal_warmth, @hadas_gold, @kimmonismus, @thezvi, @jkeatn, and @notthreadguy
LinkedIn: LinkedIn, Amanda Lannert, Tero Heinonen, Geoff Livingston, and Dennis Kennetz
Bluesky: @punkrockscience, @kenbazinet, @brandystanford, @dominicervolina.com, @adelpreore, @terigoodson, @shashj, @brento, @alphabetworkersunion.org, @clarenafo, @jjvincent, @susanmcp, and @carnage4life
Forums: r/economy and r/BeyondThePromptAI
Washington Post:
Sources detail how the standoff between the Pentagon and Anthropic escalated after discussions about using Claude during hypothetical nuclear missile attacks  —  Start-up Anthropic and the U.S. military are careening toward a clash over government use of artificial intelligence — and whether it should be allowed to kill.
Wall Street Journal:
Sources: multiple federal agencies raised concerns about Grok's safety and reliability in recent months, before DOD approved Grok for use in classified settings  —  Warnings about xAI's safety and reliability preceded Pentagon decision to approve Grok for use in classified settings.
Axios:
Anthropic says new DOD “contract language” made “virtually no progress” on preventing Claude's use for mass domestic surveillance or fully autonomous weapons
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
The Pentagon says it has offered compromises to Anthropic, including putting in writing that laws already bar the military from mass surveillance of Americans
Axios:
Sam Altman says OpenAI shares Anthropic's red lines with respect to AI use by the military, which are “an issue for the whole industry”  —  OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in a memo to staff that he will draw the same red lines that sparked a high-stakes fight between rival Anthropic …
Keach Hagey / Wall Street Journal:
Note to staff: Sam Altman says OpenAI seeks a DOD deal, except for use cases like domestic surveillance, and wants to “help de-escalate” DOD-Anthropic fight  —  Anthropic has spent weeks at odds with the Pentagon over the scope of how its Claude AI tools can be used
Tripp Mickle / New York Times:
Letter: 100+ Google DeepMind and other AI employees urge Jeff Dean to block US military deals that use Gemini for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons
More: The Hill, Axios, and Forbes
X: @sammcallister.  Bluesky: @bdowney and @theophite.  Mastodon: @carnage4life@mas.to.  Forums: Hacker News
About Amazon:
Amazon will invest $15B in OpenAI initially, followed by $35B if certain conditions are met; OpenAI commits to consuming ~2 GW of Trainium capacity through AWS  —  Amazon Web Services (AWS) and OpenAI will co-create a Stateful Runtime Environment powered by OpenAI models …
Dan Goodin / Ars Technica:
Security researchers detail AirSnitch, a series of attacks that bypass Wi-Fi client isolation, enabling machine-in-the-middle attacks in modern Wi-Fi networks  —  That guest network you set up for your neighbors may not be as secure as you think.  —  It's hard to overstate the role that Wi-Fi plays in virtually every facet of life.
The Atlantic:
Court docs from a New Mexico trial reveal internal divisions at Meta as Instagram teen safety initiatives conflicted with growth and engagement goals  —  Not so long ago, Mark Zuckerberg was working in overdrive to convince the world that his company was doing everything it could to protect children.
Jagmeet Singh / TechCrunch:
India-based Ultrahuman launches the $479 Ring Pro, available for pre-order globally, excluding the US, after the ITC ruled in favor of Oura in a patent dispute  —  Ultrahuman on Friday unveiled a new smart ring with longer battery life and a redesigned form factor, as the Bengaluru-based wearable maker seeks …
Bloomberg:
Sources: SpaceX weighs filing confidentially for an IPO as soon as March, targeting a June listing that could raise up to $50B at a $1.75T valuation  —  SpaceX is targeting filing confidentially for an initial public offering as soon as next month, according to people familiar with the matter …
More: Hackread
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
In a newly released deposition in Elon Musk's case against OpenAI, Musk attacked OpenAI's safety record, saying nobody “committed suicide because of Grok”  —  In a newly released deposition filed in Elon Musk's case against OpenAI, the tech executive attacked OpenAI's safety record …
Reuters:
Block reports Q4 revenue up 4% YoY to $6.25B, gross profit up 24% to $2.87B, driven by a 33% surge in Cash App, and forecasts Q1 gross profit up 22% to $2.8B  —  Block (XYZ.N) on Thursday said it will cut over 4,000 jobs, nearly half its workforce, as part of an overhaul …
Annie Palmer / CNBC:
Block says it is laying off 4,000+ of its 10,000+ employees, saying AI tools have changed “what it means to build and run a company”; XYZ jumps 15%+

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From Mediagazer

Todd Spangler / Variety:
A Paramount shareholder lawsuit claims David and Larry Ellison made an illegal deal with Trump in trade for approval of the WBD merger, promising to revamp CNN

Ted Johnson / Deadline:
Brendan Carr proposes repealing the national ownership cap, which restricts amassing TV stations that cover more than 39% of households, and sets an Aug. 6 vote

Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
The NYT filed a motion Wednesday to quash DOJ subpoenas of three of its reporters demanding they disclose their sources, following coverage of Air Force One

More News

Earlier Picks

Luke Barr / ABC News:
CISA's interim director Madhu Gottumukkala is reassigned as DHS' director of strategic implementation; executive assistant director Nick Andersen will take over
Tamsin McMahon / Bloomberg:
xAI co-founder Toby Pohlen is leaving the company, the seventh of 12 xAI co-founders to depart; Elon Musk put Pohlen in charge of Macrohard earlier this month
CNBC:
Netflix walks away from a deal to buy WBD's studio and streaming assets after WBD deemed Paramount's $31/share bid to be superior; NFLX jumps 8%+
More: Spyglass, New York Times, About Netflix, The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. Discovery, Silicon Valley Business …, Investor's Business Daily, New Republic, Associated Press, NBC News, TechRadar, CNN, TechCrunch, Wrestling Inc., BANG Showbiz, Business Insider, Benzinga, Mock Paper Scissors, Dallas Express, Quartz, Defector, Media Matters for America, Paramount, Marketing Week, UPI, TODAY.com, PCMag, Barchart.com, primetimer.com, Fast Company, The Streamable, The Mac Observer, Times of India, Deadline, and The Wrap
X: @bedoyausa, @chrismurphyct, @sharonwaxman, @lucas_shaw, @superwuster, @sarafischer, @lauraloomer, @cgasparino, @pkafka, @profpaulnary, @sarafischer, @signulll, @senwarren, @brianstelter, @jbillinson, @eriqgardner, @brianstelter, @hunteryharris, @sherman4949, @nhegde, @jason, @lizrhoffman, @yashar, @ggreenwald, @adamjohnsonchi, @howardlindzon, @kasey__moore, @davidpoland, @danturrentine, @leehepner, @tsoh_investing, @katiemiller, @tomsteyer, @alexsjacquez, @jbflint, @chrislhayes, @brianstelter, @film_girl, @sherman4949, @mgsiegler, @zck, @sherman4949, @great_katzby, @sarafischer, @danpfeiffer, @sarafischer, @amitisinvesting, @sarafischer, @danprimack, @brianstelter, @cgasparino, @cgasparino, @trungtphan, and @mgsiegler
LinkedIn: Alex Kruglov, Harshit Saxena, and Walter Delph
Bluesky: @marmel, @tanglenews, @spencergreen, @wittywebhandle, @djlink, @breakify, @katieporterca, @tailschannel.com, @stevemullis.net, and @davepell
Threads: @firerock31, @karaswisher, @karaswisher, @karaswisher, @kathmschmidt, and @paulasanexplorer
Forums: r/democrats, r/weeklyplanetpodcast, r/Monsterverse, r/KotakuInAction, r/HBOMAX, r/trektalk, r/ThePittTVShow, and Slashdot
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