AI 3 February 2026 - 9 February 2026

Europe’s AI-chip catch-up starts in Leuven with €2.5 billion NanoIC pilot line

Imec opened the €2.5 billion NanoIC pilot line in Leuven on Monday to develop chips beyond 2 nanometres. The EU and national governments are providing €1.4 billion, with the rest from ASML and industry partners. ASML’s High-NA EUV lithography tool will arrive in March for near-industrial testing. The facility covers 2,000 square metres.

February 9, 2026

AI·Compliance·Finance·News

Goldman Sachs brings in Anthropic “AI agents” to tackle compliance and accounting grunt work

Goldman Sachs is testing AI agents from Anthropic to automate trade accounting, transaction reconciliation, and client due diligence, the bank confirmed Friday. Chief Information Officer Marco Argenti said the project is in early stages and declined to give a launch date. The move comes as banks weigh automation in regulated areas and investors react warily to new AI tools.

February 8, 2026

AI·News·Technology·Voice Assistants

Apple set to open CarPlay to ChatGPT-style voice bots — but Siri keeps the button

Apple plans to let third-party voice-controlled AI chatbot apps run in CarPlay, Bloomberg reported Friday. Siri will remain the default voice assistant; users must open chatbot apps manually to use them. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google are among firms expected to bring their chatbots to the platform. Apple declined to comment.

February 8, 2026

AI·Investment·News·Technology

Anthropic’s $20B-plus funding round could close next week at $350B valuation, report says

Anthropic is nearing a funding round that could raise over $20 billion, valuing the AI firm at about $350 billion, Bloomberg reported Friday. Amazon disclosed a $14.8 billion stake in Anthropic and valued its convertible notes at $45.8 billion in its latest SEC filing. Anthropic and OpenAI have not yet turned a profit. Reuters has not confirmed the Bloomberg report, and Anthropic declined to comment.

February 7, 2026

AI·News·Startups·Technology

Intel and Vista jump into $350M+ SambaNova raise as AI chip fight widens

Vista Equity Partners is leading a Series E funding round of over $350 million for AI chip startup SambaNova, with Intel set to invest about $100 million, sources said. The round is oversubscribed and may reach $150 million from Intel. SambaNova sells inference chips for AI workloads. Final terms are still being negotiated.

February 7, 2026

AI·Business·News·Technology

Nvidia supplier Wistron says AI is no bubble, sees orders strong into 2027

Wistron Chairman Simon Lin said AI-related order growth will accelerate in 2026, with order visibility extending into 2027. CEO Jeff Lin confirmed volume production at Wistron’s new U.S. facilities will begin in the first half of 2026. Part of the new sites will support Nvidia’s planned AI server build-out.

February 6, 2026

AI·Business·News·Technology

Six-month waits: Intel and AMD warn China customers of server CPU delays as AI demand bites

Intel has warned Chinese customers that some Xeon server CPU shipments could be delayed by up to six months, sources say. Prices for Intel server chips in China have risen more than 10% in many cases. AMD server CPU orders now face lead times of eight to 10 weeks. The delays come as data-center operators in China expand AI infrastructure.

February 6, 2026

AI·Business·News·Technology

Chip sales seen topping $1 trillion in 2026 as AI data-center spending keeps demand hot

Global semiconductor sales reached $791.7 billion in 2025 and are projected to hit $1 trillion in 2026, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Logic and memory chips led growth, driven by AI demand. December sales rose 2.7% from November, with gains in the Americas and China but declines in Europe and Japan. Memory chip shortages are pushing up prices, impacting device makers like Apple.

February 6, 2026

AI·Health·News·Technology

Apple dials back AI “Mulberry” health coach, shifts plan to smaller Health app updates

Apple is scaling back its AI-powered health coach project “Mulberry,” Bloomberg reported, opting to add features gradually to its Health app rather than launching a standalone service. Apple shares slipped 0.2% in premarket trading. Eddy Cue, now leading health initiatives, has urged teams to speed up development and match competitors like Oura and Whoop.

February 6, 2026

AI·News·Software Development·Technology

OpenAI’s GPT-5.3 Codex lands with a 25% speed boost — and bigger ambitions than coding

OpenAI launched GPT-5.3-Codex on Thursday, claiming a 25% speed increase and improved performance on coding benchmarks. The update is live for paid ChatGPT users across multiple platforms. OpenAI says the model can handle longer, more complex coding and research tasks, and marks it as “High capability” in cybersecurity, with new safeguards and access checks for advanced users.

February 5, 2026

AI·Investment·News·Technology

Google’s $185B AI spending bet spooks investors even as Gemini hits 750 million users

Alphabet shares fell 3% after the company said it may spend up to $185 billion on capital expenditures in 2026. CEO Sundar Pichai reported over 750 million monthly active users for the Gemini app in the December quarter. Fourth-quarter profit rose 30% to $34.5 billion, with revenue up 18% to $113.8 billion. Google Cloud revenue jumped 48% to $17.7 billion.

February 5, 2026

AI·Business·News·Technology

OpenAI launches Frontier AI agent platform for businesses — early users include State Farm and Uber

OpenAI launched Frontier on Thursday, offering companies a platform to create and manage AI agents integrated with internal systems. The rollout begins with select customers including HP, Intuit, Oracle, State Farm, Thermo Fisher, and Uber. No pricing was disclosed. Wider availability is planned in the coming months.

February 5, 2026

AI·News·Semiconductor Industry·Technology

TSMC’s $17bn Japan bet: 3nm AI chips slated for Kumamoto plant

TSMC will begin mass-producing 3-nanometre chips in Kumamoto, Japan, CEO C.C. Wei said Thursday. Local media estimate the investment at $17 billion. Japan is considering more support as it seeks to secure advanced chip supply for AI and other sectors. TSMC’s new plant marks its first move to manufacture cutting-edge chips outside Taiwan.

February 5, 2026

AI·News·Technology

UK turns to Microsoft for deepfake detection as Grok probes widen

Britain will work with Microsoft and researchers to develop a system for detecting deepfakes online, officials said Thursday. The government is launching a standardized testing framework to evaluate detection tools as deepfake content surges, with estimates of up to 8 million cases expected in 2025. The UK privacy watchdog has also opened a probe into xAI’s Grok chatbot over concerns about harmful AI-generated images.

February 5, 2026

AI·Cybersecurity·News·Technology

China’s OpenClaw alarm: Beijing flags hack risks as the viral AI agent spreads

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology warned Thursday that misconfigured OpenClaw AI agent deployments could expose users to cyberattacks and data leaks. The ministry urged audits and tighter controls but did not ban the software. Chinese cloud firms have rushed to offer OpenClaw hosting since November. Researchers recently found malware-laced add-ons in its ClawHub marketplace.

February 5, 2026

AI·News·Technology

ChatGPT outage hits thousands as OpenAI rolls out fixes and logs more glitches

More than 13,000 U.S. users reported ChatGPT outages Tuesday, according to Downdetector. OpenAI said it identified the issue, applied fixes, and restored service, with reports dropping to 309 by late afternoon. The company’s status page logged several incidents affecting ChatGPT and developer tools through early Wednesday, all later resolved.

February 4, 2026

AI·News·Semiconductors·Technology

MediaTek warns AI boom is squeezing chip supply, signals 2026 price changes

MediaTek will raise chip prices as AI demand strains global supply chains and boosts costs, CEO Rick Tsai said Wednesday. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 8.8% to T$150.2 billion, while net income fell 3.6% to T$23.1 billion. Tsai expects data centre ASIC revenue to exceed $1 billion in 2026. The company warned of weaker smartphone demand in the first quarter.

February 4, 2026

AI·Mobile Apps·News·Technology

Leak hints Google’s Gemini may soon book rides and order food inside Android apps

Beta code in the Google app reveals Gemini’s “screen automation” feature, allowing it to place orders and book rides in Android apps. Warning text says users remain responsible for Gemini’s actions and can interrupt tasks. Privacy notices state screenshots may be reviewed if activity tracking is enabled. Google has not announced a release date or which apps will support the feature.

February 4, 2026

AI·Entertainment·News·Technology

Netflix warns Germany could get subtitles-only as voice actors boycott AI contract clause

German voice actors are boycotting Netflix over a contract clause allowing recordings to be used for AI training, according to the VDS union. Netflix warned it may switch to German subtitles instead of dubbing if the dispute continues. The VDS has commissioned a legal review focused on privacy, copyright, and EU AI rules.

February 3, 2026

AI·Business·News·Technology

Western Digital adds a $4B buyback as AI servers squeeze memory supply

Western Digital’s board approved an additional $4 billion for share buybacks, with $484 million still left from a prior authorization. The move follows surging demand for memory chips in AI servers and a 57% stock jump this year. The new buyback plan is effective immediately. Rising AI server demand is straining the memory and storage market.

February 3, 2026