📋 Quick Takeaways

• OpenAI officially begins testing ads in ChatGPT for Free and Go tier users in the U.S., marking a historic monetization shift for consumer AI
• Anthropic fires back with anti-ad manifesto and strikes AI partnership with Man Group, escalating the OpenAI rivalry to new heights
• $2 trillion wiped off software stocks in a week, yet AI bull market holds as hyperscaler capex guidance surges 24% YoY to $660B for 2026
• Alphabet raises $20 billion in its largest-ever bond sale — including a 100-year bond — to fund AI infrastructure buildout
• Firmus Technologies secures $10 billion Blackstone-led loan for Australian AI data centers, one of the largest private credit deals ever
• Melius Research downgrades Microsoft, saying CEO Nadella has “lost the AI narrative” with Copilot underperformance
• ChatGPT returns to 10%+ monthly growth, with OpenAI teasing an updated chat model shipping this week

💰 AI Monetization & Platform Strategy

OpenAI Officially Launches Ads in ChatGPT — A Watershed Moment for Consumer AI

Historic Shift: On February 10, OpenAI officially began testing advertisements inside ChatGPT, fundamentally changing the economics of consumer AI. The rollout targets logged-in adult users on the Free and Go subscription tiers in the United States.

📋 Quick Takeaways

• Anthropic aired savage Super Bowl ads attacking OpenAI’s new ChatGPT advertising — the “AI Bowl” featured 15 AI-related commercials out of 66 total spots
• ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 goes viral globally with cinema-grade AI video generation, multi-shot storytelling, and native audio sync in 8+ languages
• China unleashes 5 frontier AI models in one week before Lunar New Year: Qwen 3.5, GLM-5, Doubao 2.0, MiniMax M2.2, and Seedance 2.0
• Anthropic dominates prediction markets at 68% for best AI model by end of February after Claude Opus 4.6 launch; OpenAI collapses to 6%
• TSMC January revenue surges 37% to $12.7B on relentless AI chip demand, beating full-year growth forecasts
• OpenAI prepares confidential IPO filing for February, targeting $550–600B valuation for Q2-Q3 2026 debut
• $340M+ in AI startup funding including Harvey AI ($200M), Neural Concept ($100M), and multiple agent-focused rounds

🏈 Super Bowl AI Wars: Anthropic vs. OpenAI

Anthropic Launches Savage Super Bowl Ad Campaign Against ChatGPT Ads

The biggest story of Super Bowl LX wasn’t just football — it was the escalating war between AI giants. Anthropic spent millions on a multi-spot Super Bowl advertising blitz directly targeting OpenAI’s decision to introduce ads into ChatGPT.

📋 Quick Takeaways

• Anthropic attacks OpenAI at Super Bowl LX with “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude” campaign, sparking an unprecedented public feud between the two AI leaders
• Super Bowl LX becomes biggest AI advertising showcase ever, with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Amazon, Meta, and startups spending ~$8M per 30-second spot
• AI.com sells for $70 million — the most expensive domain sale in history — launching as a consumer AI agent platform during the Big Game
• OpenAI debuts Codex ad featuring its coding agent, positioning ChatGPT as the “builder’s tool” without acknowledging Anthropic’s attacks
• New York lawmakers propose a 3-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers, the strongest such bill in the country
• Fake OpenAI hardware video goes viral — Alexander Skarsgård ad debunked as OpenAI confirms its Jony Ive device is still in development

⚔️ AI Industry Rivalry

Anthropic vs OpenAI: Super Bowl Ad War Escalates Into Full Public Feud

The Biggest AI Rivalry Goes Mainstream: What started as a Super Bowl advertising campaign erupted into the most public conflict yet between the two leading AI startups. Anthropic aired a 60-second pregame ad and a 30-second in-game spot, both centered on the tagline: “Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude.”