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Epic and Google Have a Secret $800 Million Unreal Engine and Services Deal
A federal judge disclosed an undisclosed six‑year, $800 million partnership between Epic Games and Google focused on Unreal Engine services and joint marketing. The agreement, kept largely confidential, involves Epic paying Google for cloud and AI services rather than co‑creating a product. The timing coincides with Epic’s antitrust settlement talks that would force Google to cut Android app‑store fees and allow alternative stores. The judge questioned whether the deal could act as a quid‑pro‑quo influencing the settlement.
EBay Bans Illicit Automated Shopping Amid Rapid Rise of AI Agents
eBay has revised its User Agreement to expressly forbid third‑party “buy‑for‑me” agents and large‑language‑model (LLM) chatbots from placing orders on its platform without explicit permission. The new clause, effective February 20 2026, expands the previous ban on generic bots to specifically target...
Workday CEO Calls Narrative That AI Is Killing Software 'Overblown'
Workday chief executive Carl Eschenbach told CNBC from Davos that the idea AI is destroying software businesses is "overblown" and outright false. He framed artificial intelligence as a tailwind, not a headwind, for Workday’s cloud‑based offerings. The comment comes as...
Autodesk To Cut 1,000 Jobs
Autodesk announced it will cut approximately 1,000 jobs, about 7% of its global workforce, as the final stage of a multi‑year restructuring. The layoffs focus primarily on customer‑facing sales roles, reflecting a shift toward a more digital, data‑driven selling model....
AI Company Eightfold Sued For Helping Companies Secretly Score Job Seekers
Eightfold AI, a venture‑backed hiring platform used by firms like Microsoft and PayPal, faces a California class‑action lawsuit alleging it scores job applicants without informing them. The suit claims the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act and state law...
56% of Companies Have Seen Zero Financial Return From AI Investments, PwC Survey Says
PwC’s Global CEO Survey of 4,454 executives across 95 countries reveals that 56% of companies have seen no financial benefit—neither higher revenue nor lower costs—from AI investments over the past year. Only 12% reported achieving both revenue growth and cost...
Hundreds Answer Europe's 'Public Call for Evidence' On an Open Digital Ecosystem Strategy
The European Commission launched a public call for evidence on open digital ecosystems, running from 6 January to 3 February 2026. More than 370 submissions have already been received, reflecting strong stakeholder interest. The evidence will shape a Commission communication that outlines concrete...
AI Has Made Salesforce Engineers More Productive, So the Company Has Stopped Hiring Them, CEO Says
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff announced that the company’s engineering headcount has stayed mostly flat over the past year as internal AI tools dramatically boost developer productivity. He said the firm now has about 15,000 engineers who are "more productive than...
Ruby on Rails Creator Says AI Coding Tools Still Can't Match Most Junior Programmers
Ruby on Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson told a podcast that current AI coding assistants still fall short of the output produced by most junior developers. At 37 Signals, 95% of the code for their Kanban product Fizzy was written by...
Oracle Trying To Lure Workers To Nashville For New 'Global' HQ
Oracle is positioning Nashville as its new global headquarters, pledging a massive riverfront campus and a 8,500‑job creation target by 2031. The company is offering tens of thousands of dollars in relocation incentives to attract cloud and AI talent, making...
Beijing Tells Chinese Firms To Stop Using US and Israeli Cybersecurity Software
Beijing has ordered Chinese companies to cease using cybersecurity software from roughly a dozen U.S. and Israeli vendors, citing national security concerns. The directive targets products from Broadcom‑owned VMware, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, and Israeli firm Check Point. The move...
Bezos's Vision of Rented Cloud PCs Looks Less Far-Fetched
Jeff Bezos likened today’s desktop towers to obsolete generators, predicting a future where users rent cloud‑based PCs from providers like AWS and Azure. Recent market pressures—soaring DRAM costs, Micron’s exit from consumer memory, and tightening SSD supply—are making that vision...
UK Police Blame Microsoft Copilot for Intelligence Mistake
West Midlands Police admitted that Microsoft Copilot fabricated a non‑existent football match between West Ham and Maccabi Tel Aviv, which was then embedded in an intelligence report. The erroneous detail prompted the ban of Israeli supporters at a subsequent game....
Cloudflare Threatens Italy Exit After $16.3M Fine For Refusing Piracy Blocks
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince warned that the company could withdraw its free cybersecurity services from Italy and possibly exit the market after the Italian regulator imposed a €14 million fine for not complying with the Piracy Shield law. The penalty represents...
AI-Powered Social Media App Hopes To Build More Purposeful Lives
Former Twitter and Pinterest founders have launched West Co., a venture aimed at creating a more intentional social media experience. Their new platform, Tangle, leverages AI to help users discover life purposes, set related intentions, and receive community support. After...
More US States Are Preparing Age-Verification Laws for App Stores
A wave of state‑level age‑verification bills is targeting Apple and Google’s app stores, following Texas' blocked law. States such as Utah, Louisiana, Ohio, Michigan and South Carolina are drafting similar measures, while Washington DC pursues a federal‑style proposal. California’s alternative model...
Discord Files Confidentially For IPO
Discord, the 2015‑born chat platform for gamers and streamers, has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, according to Bloomberg and Reuters. The filing comes as the U.S. IPO market regains momentum after a three‑year slump, despite lingering volatility...
'Godfather of SaaS' Says He Replaced Most of His Sales Team With AI Agents
Jason Lemkin, the founder of SaaStr, announced that the company has replaced its traditional sales force with AI agents. Twenty autonomous agents now handle tasks previously performed by ten sales development representatives and account executives. Lemkin argues that AI agents...
Amazon's AI Assistant Comes To the Web With Alexa.com
Amazon unveiled Alexa+, an AI‑powered upgrade to its digital assistant, now accessible through the new Alexa.com website. The service, rolled out to early‑access users, lets customers chat with Alexa+ online similarly to ChatGPT or Gemini. Amazon also refreshed the Alexa...
Microsoft's Risky Bet That Windows Can Become The Platform for AI Agents
Microsoft introduced the Agent Launchers framework, letting developers register AI agents directly with Windows via a manifest that surfaces them in the taskbar, Copilot, and other apps. First‑party agents such as Analyst and Researcher already use the preview, demonstrating context‑aware...
Up Next for Arduino After Qualcomm Acquisition: High-Performance Computing
Arduino confirms its open‑source ethos and independent governance after Qualcomm's acquisition, while unveiling the Uno Q board that blends a Linux‑based compute system with a real‑time STM32 microcontroller. The board leverages Qualcomm's low‑power, high‑performance chipsets but remains silicon‑agnostic, avoiding vendor lock‑in....
Indian IT Was Supposed To Die From AI. Instead It's Billing for the Cleanup.
Two years after generative AI was predicted to make India’s $250 billion IT services sector obsolete, firms are instead capitalising on the ‘plumbing’ work required for large‑scale AI rollouts. Less than 15% of enterprises have meaningful AI deployments, meaning data cleanup,...
Cursor CEO Warns Vibe Coding Builds 'Shaky Foundations' That Eventually Crumble
Michael Truell, the 25‑year‑old CEO of Cursor, warned that "vibe coding"—letting AI generate software blind to the codebase—creates fragile foundations that can collapse as projects scale. He described the practice as building a house without seeing the wiring, suitable only...
Cursor CEO Warns Vibe Coding Builds 'Shaky Foundations' That Eventually Crumble
Cursor CEO Michael Truell warned that “vibe coding,” where developers let AI generate code without looking, builds shaky foundations that eventually crumble. He illustrated the risk by comparing it to constructing a house without understanding wiring or floorboards. Truell highlighted...
Wall Street Has Stopped Rewarding 'Strategic' Layoffs
Goldman Sachs analysts report that investors now punish, rather than reward, corporate layoff announcements, even when those cuts are framed as strategic or AI‑driven. Their study links layoff news to earnings releases and finds an average 2% stock decline, with...
Trump Administration To Overhaul Lottery System For H-1B Visas
The Trump administration announced it will replace the H‑1B visa lottery with a weighted selection system that gives preference to higher‑paid, higher‑skill applicants, starting in February. The change follows a broader immigration crackdown and follows earlier moves to limit H‑1B...
'Fragmented' Microsoft Tools Undercut Efficiency at Amazon and Whole Foods, Internal Deloitte Review Finds
A Deloitte review of Whole Foods’ Microsoft 365 usage uncovered fragmented toolsets, lax security, and a convoluted user‑management system that hinder collaboration with Amazon staff. The report recommends a 24‑month, phased migration that first moves Whole Foods corporate employees onto...
Europe's Public Institutions Are Quietly Ditching US Cloud Providers
European public institutions are accelerating migrations away from U.S. cloud and office suites, driven primarily by GDPR‑mandated risk assessments that flag the U.S. CLOUD Act as a data‑security threat. Austria’s Federal Ministry for Economy, Energy and Tourism shifted 1,200 employees...
China Bans E-Commerce Platforms From Forcing Lowest Prices or Abusing Algorithms
China’s regulators have issued a 29‑article rule that bars e‑commerce platforms from forcing merchants to offer the lowest price or from using algorithms to set discriminatory prices without consent. The National Development and Reform Commission, State Administration for Market Regulation...
Welcome To America's New Surveillance High Schools
Beverly Hills High School has installed a $4.8 million AI‑driven surveillance suite that combines facial‑recognition cameras, behavioral analytics, bathroom listening devices, drones and license‑plate readers. The district argues the system is essential for a high‑profile Los Angeles campus amid a wave of...
Is Xbox Betting on Cross-Platform Gaming?
Microsoft reported a 2% decline in overall gaming revenue and a 29% plunge in Xbox hardware sales for FY2026, with the Series X/S experiencing a 70% sales drop in November. CEO Satya Nadella signaled a strategic pivot toward an "everywhere"...