tech

EU wants Meta to open up access to rival AI chatbots through WhatsApp

The European Union threatened Meta with “interim measures” if it continues to block rival AI assistants from operating on WhatsApp, escalating regulatory pressure on the company’s strategy in Europe. Meta said there was “no reason for the EU to intervene in the WhatsApp Business API,” arguing that its policy does not stifle competition because WhatsApp is not a “key distribution channel” for chatbots.

The dispute comes as Europe seeks to reduce its reliance on US technology companies by fostering homegrown alternatives. Europe accounted for roughly a quarter of Meta’s total advertising revenue last quarter, underscoring the region’s importance to the company’s business.

The case could test how far EU regulators are willing to go to prevent Big Tech firms from favoring their own AI tools inside widely used platforms — a stance that could ultimately reshape how AI services are distributed and monetized across Europe.

EU threatens temporary measures to stop Meta blocking AI rivals from WhatsApp

EU threatens temporary measures to stop Meta blocking AI rivals from WhatsApp

The dispute comes as Europe seeks to reduce its reliance on US technology companies by fostering homegrown alternatives. Europe accounted for roughly a quarter of Meta’s total advertising revenue last quarter, underscoring the region’s importance to the company’s business.

The case could test how far EU regulators are willing to go to prevent Big Tech firms from favoring their own AI tools inside widely used platforms — a stance that could ultimately reshape how AI services are distributed and monetized across Europe.

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Report: OpenAI tells employees it is growing again, with Codex eating into Claude Code’s market share

The competition between OpenAI and Anthropic continues to intensify. Last night during the Super Bowl, a comedic Anthropic ad poked fun at OpenAI’s plans to add advertisements to ChatGPT, something it says it will not do to its Claude chatbot. And both companies released new models last week with improved coding capabilities.

In case OpenAI employees were beginning to sweat from all the pressure, CEO Sam Altman sought to assure the team that the company has gotten its mojo back.

According a new report from CNBC, Altman told employees in an internal Slack group that the company is “back to exceeding 10% monthly growth” and is seeing “insane” growth in its Codex coding tool.

A chart circulated among OpenAI employees shows that this new tool is winning market share from Claude Code, per a screenshot viewed by CNBC.

Per the report, Altman said another new model was coming this week. The company is reportedly working on what could end being a $100 billion investment round.

Sam Altman touts ChatGPT's reaccelerating growth to employees as OpenAI closes in on $100 billion funding

Sam Altman touts ChatGPT's reaccelerating growth to employees as OpenAI closes in on $100 billion funding

In case OpenAI employees were beginning to sweat from all the pressure, CEO Sam Altman sought to assure the team that the company has gotten its mojo back.

According a new report from CNBC, Altman told employees in an internal Slack group that the company is “back to exceeding 10% monthly growth” and is seeing “insane” growth in its Codex coding tool.

A chart circulated among OpenAI employees shows that this new tool is winning market share from Claude Code, per a screenshot viewed by CNBC.

Per the report, Altman said another new model was coming this week. The company is reportedly working on what could end being a $100 billion investment round.

tech

Google plans $15 billion US bond sale as capex surges

Alphabet is preparing a roughly $15 billion US investment-grade bond sale, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the deal. The offering is expected to be split into as many as seven tranches, with initial price talk for the longest maturity — a 2066 bond — at about 120 basis points over Treasurys. JPMorgan is leading the sale alongside Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.

The sale follows Google parent Alphabet’s $17.5 billion US bond deal in November and underscores how even tech companies flush with cash are turning to the bond market to finance their huge AI ambitions. Alphabet expects its capital spending to balloon to $175 billion to $185 billion this year, as it races other tech giants shelling out record sums to get ahead in artificial intelligence. In 2025, the company’s total operating income was $129 billion.

Google-Parent Alphabet Kicks Off Seven-Part US Bond Sale

Google-Parent Alphabet Kicks Off Seven-Part US Bond Sale

The sale follows Google parent Alphabet’s $17.5 billion US bond deal in November and underscores how even tech companies flush with cash are turning to the bond market to finance their huge AI ambitions. Alphabet expects its capital spending to balloon to $175 billion to $185 billion this year, as it races other tech giants shelling out record sums to get ahead in artificial intelligence. In 2025, the company’s total operating income was $129 billion.

tech

Jon Keegan2/6/26

Report: OpenAI may tailor a version of ChatGPT for UAE that prohibits LGBTQ+ content

In June of last year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared in Abu Dhabi, UAE, alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to announce “Stargate UAE,” a project that includes a 1-gigawatt AI data center in Abu Dhabi, and a commitment to invest in the Stargate USA project.

OpenAI has announced that it is interested in jumping on the “sovereign AI” train, helping countries roll out their own AI services that reflect their own language, culture, and version of history.

Today, Semafor is reporting that OpenAI is in talks to develop a tailored version of ChatGPT for the UAE that would align with the kingdom’s conservative social laws and speech restrictions, such as disallowing discussion of LGBTQ+ content. The UAE-owned MGX investment firm is an investor in OpenAI.

The company announced its OpenAI for Countries initiative in May of last year, which aims to “help interested governments build sovereign AI capability in coordination with the U.S. government — rooted in democratic values, open markets, and trusted partnerships.”

The UAE is a monarchy with a history of human rights violations.

OpenAI’s plan for “democratic AI”

OpenAI’s plan for “democratic AI”

OpenAI has announced that it is interested in jumping on the “sovereign AI” train, helping countries roll out their own AI services that reflect their own language, culture, and version of history.

Today, Semafor is reporting that OpenAI is in talks to develop a tailored version of ChatGPT for the UAE that would align with the kingdom’s conservative social laws and speech restrictions, such as disallowing discussion of LGBTQ+ content. The UAE-owned MGX investment firm is an investor in OpenAI.

The company announced its OpenAI for Countries initiative in May of last year, which aims to “help interested governments build sovereign AI capability in coordination with the U.S. government — rooted in democratic values, open markets, and trusted partnerships.”

The UAE is a monarchy with a history of human rights violations.

Allen & Co Brings Together Media And Tech Titans In Sun Valley

Analysts think Amazon’s sky-high capex is a good thing, even if there’s “shock value” for investors

That said, several analysts also lowered their price targets for Amazon the day after its downbeat earnings report.

Rani Molla2/6/26

tech

Jon Keegan2/6/26

Big Tech’s $1.1 trillion cloud computing backlog

Now that the big dogs of cloud computing have all reported their quarterly earnings, we can step back and get a sense of the searing demand that AI is driving toward their businesses.

Amazon, Google, and Microsoft each reported hundreds of billions in RPO (remaining performance obligations) — signed contracts for cloud computing services that can’t yet be filled and haven’t yet hit the books.

Collectively, the big three cloud providers reported a $1.1 TRILLION backlog of revenue.

This gargantuan demand could be good news for the “neoscalers” like CoreWeave and Nebius. But even CoreWeave is reporting a substantial backlog of its own — $55 billion last quarter.

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