OpenAI enters hardware race with AI smart speaker, glasses after $6.5B Jony Ive acquisition
OpenAI is developing a family of AI-powered devices including a $200-300 smart speaker with camera (shipping no earlier than Feb 2027), smart glasses (2028), and possibly a smart lamp, with over 200 engineers involved. The push follows its $6.5B acquisition of Jony Ive's io Products startup to capitalize on physical AI demand. This marks OpenAI's bold expansion beyond software amid competition from Meta, Apple, and Google.
Intelligence Stream
Stock Market Today: Alphabet jumps as Gemini rollout bolsters $185B AI buildout
GOOGL shares surge nearly 4% on Gemini advancements fueling massive AI infrastructure investments.
Eyeing China's Growth, NIST Launches New Standards Initiative for AI Agents
US standards body NIST kicks off effort to define benchmarks for AI agents, aiming to counter China's advances in autonomous systems.
NVIDIA and META: The AI Dream Team?
NVIDIA and Meta's deepening partnership positions them as leaders in AI infrastructure, with Meta committing to millions of Blackwell and Rubin chips. Analysts see massive revenue upside for NVDA from hyperscaler demand. This alliance underscores the explosive growth in AI compute needs.
Apple's iOS 26.4 public beta rolls out AI-powered music playlists and more
Apple has released the public beta of iOS 26.4, featuring 'Playlist Playground' powered by Apple Intelligence to generate custom music playlists from descriptions. Additional updates include AI-enhanced video podcasts and other intelligence features. This continues Apple's push to embed generative AI across its ecosystem.
World Labs tops week's biggest funding with $1B for spatial intelligence AI
Fei-Fei Li's startup raises $1B led by Autodesk to build world models for 3D environments, robotics, and simulations.
Oracle, Google among market cap stock movers on Friday
Oracle and Alphabet lead market cap gains amid AI momentum and economic data.
ggml.ai joins Hugging Face to advance local AI inference
Hugging Face acquires ggml.ai to sustain open-source local AI tools amid rapid ecosystem evolution. Focus on long-term progress for on-device models.
Great news for xAI: Grok is now pretty good at answering questions about Baldur’s Gate
xAI improved Grok's knowledge of the video game Baldur’s Gate after Elon Musk delayed a model release due to poor performance; tests show it now provides detailed, jargon-heavy answers outperforming rivals in specificity.
Exclusive: Anthropic rolls out AI tool that can hunt software bugs on its own—including the most dangerous ones humans miss
Anthropic launched Claude Code Security, a tool using Claude Opus 4.6 to autonomously scan codebases, detect high-severity vulnerabilities, self-verify findings, and suggest fixes for security teams. It addresses the bug overload causing breaches, with safeguards for responsible use.
Tesla loses bid to overturn $243M Autopilot verdict
A judge denied Tesla's request to overturn a $243M verdict holding it partially responsible for a fatal Autopilot crash, highlighting ongoing scrutiny of autonomous driving tech.
AI hit: India hungry to harness US tech giants' technology at Delhi summit
India's PM Modi hosts US AI leaders amid $270B+ investments announced, aiming to supercharge economic growth with American tech amid global AI race.
'Doubts around the AI revolution are emerging,' BofA says, as the market sees a 'double-edged sword' that could 'cannibalize' you
Bank of America strategists warn that doubts around the AI revolution are emerging, shifting the market narrative from an upside-only event to concerns that AI could cannibalize corporate profits. They highlight risks including labor market fragility, capex cuts, and an expected AI air pocket in 2026.
Workers, bosses, disagree on whether AI will create jobs
A survey by the US National Bureau of Economic Research found over 80% of executives reported no AI impact on employment or productivity in the past three years, forecasting a 0.7% employment cut with productivity gains ahead. Workers, however, expect a 0.5% employment increase, revealing a perceptual divide.
Toy Story 5 takes shots at creepy always-listening AI toys
Pixar's upcoming film critiques addictive AI tablets and surveillance toys amid rising concerns over kid-targeted AI hardware.
Meta's Horizon Worlds ditches VR for mobile accessibility
Meta announced a major update to Horizon Worlds, shifting from VR-only to a mobile app to reach more users and expand its metaverse beyond headsets. The change aims to boost engagement by making the virtual world available on smartphones. This pivot reflects challenges in VR adoption amid AI and mobile trends.
It's still frothy in AI, but memory chips are now the bottleneck
AI boom strains HBM memory supply; Mistral acquires Koyeb for infra as datacenter demand surges.
AI in Edu: Signals & Moves (Feb 20, 2026)
Recent signals in AI education include agentic AI handling LMS tasks, embedded workflows like Google Classroom's AI feedback, and emphasis on implementation quality amid platform fatigue. Recommended moves: pilot AI feedback, publish agentic AI policies, and prioritize ecosystem-compatible tools.
Cohere unveils Tiny Aya open-weight multilingual models ahead of 2026 IPO
Family of open-weight models for multilingual sovereign AI, strengthening Cohere's moat in enterprise and global markets.
G42, MBZUAI, Cerebras, and C-DAC Partner on National AI Supercomputer for India
Partners announce exaflop-scale AI infrastructure under India AI Mission to democratize access for startups, researchers, and government while upholding sovereignty.
BrandJet AI Launches Artemis MCP and Introduces Forward Deployed AE Role for AI-Driven GTM Teams
BrandJet AI unveiled Artemis MCP, a new model for go-to-market teams, along with a forward-deployed AI sales engineer role to boost enterprise adoption.
Lam Research and Google among market cap stock movers on Friday
Lam Research (LRCX) and Alphabet (GOOGL) lead market cap changes today amid AI hardware demand.
Google releases Gemini 3.1 Pro with ability to execute complex tasks
Google's new Gemini 3.1 Pro preview model excels in reasoning and agentic tasks, rolling out to apps and APIs with top benchmarks.
AI's promise to indie filmmakers: Faster, cheaper, lonelier
AI empowers indie filmmakers with speed and cost savings but isolates them by replacing collaborators. Tools enable solo production but raise concerns over creativity and human connection.
Peak XV raises $1.3B, doubles down on AI as global VC rivalry in India heats up
Peak XV Partners raises $1.3B across India and APAC funds, with heavy emphasis on AI startups amid intensifying competition from global VCs in the region.
OpenAI developing AI devices including smart speaker, The Information reports
OpenAI has assembled a team of over 200 to build AI-powered hardware, starting with a camera-equipped smart speaker priced $200-300 (launch no earlier than Feb 2027), followed by smart glasses and possibly a lamp.
Nvidia sells off ARM stake as AI chip competition heats up
Nvidia has exited its investment in ARM Holdings, two key players in AI chip design and manufacturing. The move comes amid intensifying rivalry and regulatory scrutiny in the semiconductor space. It signals shifting strategies in the AI infrastructure arms race.
Top MarTech News From the Week of February 20th
Seismic unveils Winter 2026 AI-powered enablement release with new capabilities for sales and marketing teams.
Two-Thirds of Independent Agencies Plan to Increase AI Use This Year
Survey shows 67% of insurance agencies ramping up AI adoption in the next 12 months, though only 8% currently use it extensively.
OpenAI now worth more than Goldman Sachs and Netflix combined
OpenAI's skyrocketing valuation tops legacy giants, raising questions for Microsoft, Alphabet, and the broader AI ecosystem dominance.
Spotting artificial intelligence ahead of the 2026 primary election
Fake AI-generated political videos flood social media ahead of primaries; experts teach spotting deepfakes to combat misinformation.
AI optimizes lab-grown diamonds for advanced semiconductors
MSU researchers use AI to enhance diamond synthesis for chips, improving thermal management critical for AI hardware.
Upstart Announces Inaugural $200M Upstart Auto Forward-Flow
Upstart secured a $200M forward-flow agreement for auto loans, leveraging its AI lending models to expand originations.
Prediction: 2 Stocks That Should Be Worth More Than Nvidia 10 Years From Now
Motley Fool predicts Alphabet and another stock could surpass Nvidia's market cap by 2036 amid AI shifts.
Upstart announces $333M sale of auto assets to focus on AI lending
AI-powered lending platform Upstart sells its auto loan assets for $333M to affiliates, aiming to streamline operations and leverage AI models for superior credit products.
OpenAI reveals 18-24 year olds account for nearly 50% of ChatGPT usage in India
Young users dominate ChatGPT engagement in India, highlighting massive adoption among Gen Z in emerging markets.
The OpenAI mafia: 18 startups founded by alumni
TechCrunch maps 18 notable startups spun out by ex-OpenAI employees, showcasing the talent exodus fueling AI innovation.
Google and Sea partner on agentic AI for e-commerce and gaming
Google teams up with Sea (Shopee parent) to develop agentic AI models tailored for e-commerce recommendations and in-game experiences.
The Tech Download: Will China win the AI race?
China's compute-efficient open-source models and massive power buildout position it to dominate global AI stacks, challenging US frontier leadership.
AI Spending Is Poised to Hit $700 Billion in 2026. 2 Top Stocks to Buy
Hyperscalers forecast $700B AI capex in 2026, driving demand for chip equipment makers like Applied Materials and data center operators.
UAE’s G42 teams up with Cerebras to deploy 8 exaflops of compute in India
G42 partners with Cerebras, MBZUAI, and C-DAC to deliver an 8-exaflop sovereign AI supercomputer in India, ensuring data residency and accelerating local AI R&D for institutions and enterprises.
Nvidia Stock vs. AMD Stock: Which is the Best AI Chip Buy Right Now?
Analysts debate Nvidia vs. AMD as top AI chip plays, with AMD gaining ground but Nvidia dominating inference and training markets.
Wall St Week Ahead: Nvidia, software reports to test AI stock rally
Investors eye Nvidia's upcoming earnings and software giants like Microsoft as key tests for the AI-driven market amid recent volatility.
AI's populist moment
AI is fueling political campaigns across parties, framed as a battle over jobs, energy costs, and Big Tech power. Republicans push data center moratoriums, Democrats question AI benefits amid job displacement.
AI Leaders Weekly: Anthropic-Infosys tie-up, OpenAI India expansion
Anthropic partners with Infosys for enterprise AI agents; OpenAI eyes new India offices; DeepMind's Gemini 3.1 Pro leads benchmarks.
Avantos secures $25M Series A to scale AI platform for fintech advisors
Avantos raises $25 million in Series A funding to expand its AI-driven platform helping financial advisors manage client portfolios more efficiently.
cBrain Invited by California for 12-Week AI Proof of Concept
Danish AI firm cBrain will conduct a 12-week AI PoC for the State of California, focusing on enterprise applications.
Ascent raises $45M Series C to expand student lending
Fintech firm Ascent secures $45M to scale AI-enhanced student loan platform amid booming edtech demand. Led by global asset manager, funding fuels product innovation. Highlights AI's penetration into financial services.
Meta expands Nvidia deal for millions more AI chips
Meta secures multiyear supply of Nvidia GPUs, CPUs, and rack systems to fuel massive AI training at unprecedented scale.
Tech Mahindra and NVIDIA launch Hindi-first 8B education LLM under Project Indus
New 8-billion-parameter LLM tailored for Indian education, supporting agentic AI in Hindi with cultural context, addressing data scarcity via synthetic tokens.
Nvidia close to investing $30 billion in OpenAI's mega funding round
Nvidia is finalizing a massive $30 billion investment in OpenAI's ongoing funding round that could value the AI lab at over $850 billion, according to sources cited by Reuters and FT. This comes amid surging AI infrastructure demand.
Trump order looms as Virginia legislators consider AI regulation
State lawmakers debate bills on AI oversight amid anticipation of federal executive actions from the incoming administration.
Jump secures $80M Series B to scale AI platform for financial advisors
Fintech AI firm Jump raises $80M led by Insight Partners to expand advisor tools amid booming demand. Funding accelerates agentic AI for personalized client strategies.
Ohio Bill Targets AI Models Encouraging Self-Harm
New legislation in Ohio aims to prohibit the creation of AI models that encourage users to engage in self-harm, addressing emerging risks in generative AI.
Sometimes, It Would Be Unethical Not to Use AI in Medicine
Experts argue that ignoring proven AI tools in healthcare could constitute negligence, though blind adherence poses risks too.
G42 Joins Forces with Credo AI to Advance Responsible AI Adoption
Partnership focuses on governance tools for AI in Global South. Aims to scale ethical AI deployment.
Tech Mahindra launches Hindi-focused education LLM with NVIDIA
Under Project Indus, Tech Mahindra and NVIDIA release cutting-edge LLM for Indian education, supporting Hindi and regional languages.
AI to profoundly transform global economy: Mistral AI CEO
Mistral AI's CEO highlighted AI's potential to reshape economies at India AI Summit, urging bold strategies amid hyper-progress.
China's humanoid robots go from viral stumbles to kung fu flips in one year
Chinese firms like Unitree showcased humanoid robots performing acrobatic flips at the Spring Festival Gala, signaling explosive progress in AI robotics rivaling Tesla.
AI investment fears drag US stocks lower
Wall Street slips as worries over massive AI capex and infrastructure limits rumble, compounded by oil spikes.
'Fighting the AI Ghost Trade' – Dan Ives Lists 10 Catalysts to Reverse the Tech Selloff
Wedbush's Dan Ives outlines 10 catalysts, including AI advancements, to counter recent AI stock declines and reignite momentum.
UN chief Guterres: AI can't be left to billionaires, launches control panel
UN promotes new AI panel to ensure 'human control' as technical reality amid global governance push.
AI ushers in hyper progress, can help emerging economies leapfrog: Google CEO Pichai
Sundar Pichai touted AI's potential to supercharge development in emerging markets, enabling leapfrogging traditional infrastructure.
Zhipu GLM-5 open-source: 744B params, tops SWE-bench Verified at 77.8%
New agentic engineering model excels in coding/autonomous tasks, surpassing Gemini 3 Pro on software evals with Slime RL and sparse attention. Trained on 28.5T tokens for long-horizon system building.
Remarks by Director Michael Kratsios at the India AI Impact Summit
White House official emphasizes US leadership in AI adoption, sovereignty, and exports while rejecting global governance.
US pushes AI adoption and sovereignty at India AI Impact Summit
White House announces initiatives for AI exports, training, and countering China at Delhi event.
Tech Mahindra & NVIDIA launch Hindi-first education LLM under Project Indus
Sovereign model embeds Indian culture/context for scalable learning in physics/subjects, using NVIDIA NeMo/NIM for millions of students.
Catch up on the AI stories you may have missed this week
Economic Times roundup highlights key AI developments including model launches and industry shifts.
Nvidia nears $30B equity investment in OpenAI amid massive funding round
Nvidia is close to investing $30 billion in OpenAI as part of a funding round potentially valuing the AI lab at over $850B, reviving talks after a prior $100B deal stalled.
AI Summit 2026 LIVE updates: Modi addresses global AI impact
India's AI Impact Summit 2026 continues with PM Modi emphasizing AI's permanence, alongside GPAI council meetings and Delhi Declaration discussions.
Seedance 2.0: China's latest AI is so good it's spooked Hollywood
Beijing-based Seedance unveiled version 2.0 of its AI video generation model, praised for unprecedented realism and user-friendliness, raising concerns in the film industry.
Michael Pollan says AI may 'think' — but it will never be conscious
Author Michael Pollan argues in NPR interview that while AI can mimic thinking, true consciousness remains beyond its reach.
UK charity Mind launches inquiry into AI's mental health risks after harmful advice exposed
Following Guardian investigation into dangerous Google AI Overviews on suicide and self-harm, Mind probes safeguards in AI chatbots.
Sarvam's 105-bn model puts India on the frontier AI map
Indian startup Sarvam AI launched Vikram, a 105-billion-parameter LLM trained on Indian languages and data, unveiled at the India AI Impact Summit to boost sovereign AI capabilities.
The best AI models in 2026: What model to pick for your use case
Pluralsight ranks top models across tasks, highlighting specialized picks amid the exploding frontier landscape.
Gemini 3.1 Pro is here, benchmarks says Google is once again leader in AI
India Today covers Google's latest LLM topping charts and reclaiming AI supremacy.
China AI Startups Surge After Holiday in Rotation From Big Tech
Chinese AI firms are rapidly updating models and features post-holiday, shifting focus from big tech dominance in the competitive landscape.
IndiaAI Summit unveils 3 sovereign LLMs: Sarvam Vikram/105B, Gnani Vachana, BharatGen Param2
India launches specialized models supporting 22 languages for governance, voice AI, and offline apps, with Sarvam's 105B rivaling Gemma 27B/GPT-OSS on math/coding. Trained on sovereign compute to reduce foreign reliance.
Rise of small language models: 2026's smartest AI going hybrid
Shift to SLMs and hybrid LLM-SLM systems for efficiency, as frontier labs optimize for specialized tasks over massive generalists.
Google Gemini Launches New AI Music Model, Lyria 3
Lyria 3 in beta via Gemini app generates music from text prompts. Competes with Suno in AI audio creation.
Corvic AI Joins NVIDIA Inception Program to Advance Enterprise-Scale Intelligence
The AI platform for enterprise data composition gains access to Nvidia's expertise and resources to scale its offerings.
SchoolQualityReview.ai fully launches AI charter renewal platform
AI tool analyzes charter school docs against 80+ indicators for renewals, entering edtech as AI aids governance and compliance.
Bill Gates pulls out of India AI summit amid Epstein scrutiny
Microsoft co-founder cancels keynote at India’s AI Impact Summit following renewed backlash over ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates Foundation and Novo Nordisk launch call for AI health tool proposals
New global partnership seeks proposals to evaluate AI tools supporting decision-making in primary and community health settings.
Philanthropic partnership funds AI health research in low-resource settings
RFP open for evaluations of AI decision tools for frontline health workers. Focus on country-led studies.
Taalas raises $169M in funding to develop model-specific AI chips
The startup's chips are designed to run particular AI models more efficiently, backed by investors including Temasek and Prosus.
US to launch Technology Prosperity Corps at India AI Summit to counter China's AI push
The initiative will deploy US tech experts to emerging markets, funded by corporations and charities, to promote American AI standards.
US State Dept launches Edge AI Package for Indo-Pacific
The US State Department announced an Edge AI initiative to bolster AI capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region amid geopolitical tech competition.
Jump raises $80M to scale AI platform for financial advisors
AI startup Jump secured $80M in funding to expand its platform automating investment research and portfolio management for advisors, tapping into growing demand for AI-driven fintech tools.
Meta exec urges bold strategies to unlock AI potential
Meta's Wang calls for aggressive moves in AI amid infrastructure buildout.
OpenAI and Tata Group forge multi-layered AI partnership spanning skills, enterprise, and infrastructure
OpenAI, Tata Group, and TCS announce a strategic partnership including AI skills training for 1M+ youth, Enterprise ChatGPT for thousands of employees, custom agentic AI solutions, and 100MW AI infra scaling to 1GW. Aims to boost India's AI ecosystem and global innovation.
Together AI launches Consistency Diffusion Language Models: up to 14x faster inference
New CDLM method accelerates diffusion-based language models 14.5x on coding and 11.2x on math while maintaining quality, solving KV cache and step count bottlenecks.
OpenAI Nears $100B Funding Deal as Valuation Approaches $850B
OpenAI is reportedly finalizing a massive $100B funding round that would value the company at over $850B, fueling further AI infrastructure and model development.
AI Trends 2026: LLM Statistics & Industry Insights
Visualized data on model performance, pricing, and global race, showing rapid evolution in capabilities and costs.
Stanford HAI and AWS launch marketing science lab focused on AI measurement
Stanford's Human-AI Institute and AWS debuted a new lab to pioneer AI/ML tools for marketing analytics, causal inference, and B2B customer analysis with open-source prototypes.
Nvidia and OpenAI abandon unfinished $100bn deal in favour of $30bn investment
Nvidia is close to finalizing a $30B equity investment in OpenAI as part of its funding round valuing the company at ~$830B, replacing a prior $100B multi-year commitment to reduce risk while locking in GPU demand.
AI companies drive record $13.6B convertible bond surge in early 2026
AI-focused firms have raised nearly $13.6 billion in convertible bonds through February 18, fueling a surge in equity-linked debt amid booming demand for AI infrastructure.
AI Seen Driving US Convertible Bond Sales to Another Banner Year
AI firms fuel record $13.6B convertible bonds YTD, signaling massive capex for compute and infra amid booming demand.
Microsoft Says 2026 Is the Moment for AI PCs
Microsoft positions 2026 as the pivotal year for AI-powered PCs, highlighting Windows 11 features like Recall, Copilot, and enhanced security.
Idaho National Lab Accelerates Nuclear Energy with NVIDIA AI
INL partners with NVIDIA on the Genesis Mission to deploy AI for faster nuclear energy development, addressing AI datacenter power demands.
AMC Theatres Will Refuse to Screen AI Short Film After Online Uproar
Major chain AMC pulls out of screening 'The Last Screenwriter,' an award-winning fully AI-generated short film set to play before features nationwide, citing backlash from artists and audiences.