Super Bowl AI Wars: Anthropic vs OpenAI Feud, $70M AI.com Record & NY Data Center Moratorium | February 9, 2026

Daily AI Blog

February 9, 2026

📋 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.”

The Attack: Anthropic’s commercials painted dystopian scenarios of AI chatbots interrupting helpful responses with product promotions — a direct jab at OpenAI’s January announcement that it would begin testing ads with free ChatGPT users. The ads satirized a fictional AI assistant pushing products like “Step Boost Maxx” insoles mid-conversation.

The Response: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman fired back on X, calling the ads “funny” but “clearly dishonest.” Altman stated that OpenAI would “obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them,” adding that “Anthropic wants to control what people do with AI” and “serves an expensive product to rich people.” He argued that OpenAI’s larger free user base creates a “differently-shaped problem” requiring advertising revenue.

Strategic Context:

Anthropic recently signed a term sheet for a $10 billion funding round at a $350 billion valuation
OpenAI is reportedly eyeing a valuation above $800 billion
Both companies are planning IPOs by end of 2026
The rivalry traces back to Anthropic’s 2021 founding by former OpenAI researchers who left over strategic disagreements

Why It Matters: This marks the first time two frontier AI companies have engaged in direct, confrontational public marketing — a sign that the AI industry is entering a consumer branding phase where trust, privacy, and business model transparency are becoming competitive differentiators.

Source: CNBC | CNN | TechCrunch | Variety

📺 Super Bowl LX & AI Advertising

Super Bowl LX Becomes the Biggest AI Advertising Showcase in History

Record Spending: Super Bowl LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara became AI’s biggest mainstream stage yet, with ad slots averaging $8 million per 30-second spot — and AI companies were among the most aggressive buyers.

Major AI Advertisers:

Anthropic — Anti-ad campaign for Claude chatbot
OpenAI — One-minute Codex coding agent commercial
Google — AI product showcase
Amazon — Alexa and AWS AI features
Meta — Oakley-branded AI glasses for sports and fitness
Genspark and Base44 — AI startups making Super Bowl debuts

AI-Generated Ads Take Center Stage: Vodka brand Svedka made history with what it called the first “primarily AI-generated” national Super Bowl commercial. The 30-second spot, “Shake Your Bots Off,” featured AI-animated robot characters. Svedka’s parent company Sazerac spent roughly four months training AI to mimic facial expressions and body movements.

Cultural Significance: Following last year’s trend of AI appearing in Big Game ads, 2026 took it further by leveraging AI both to create commercials and to promote AI products — cementing AI as a mainstream consumer category alongside traditional staples like snack brands and movie trailers.

Source: TechCrunch | Tekedia | ABC7

OpenAI Debuts Codex Super Bowl Ad Focused on “Builders”

The Earnest Approach: OpenAI took a markedly different tone from Anthropic’s attack ads. The company aired a one-minute Super Bowl LX commercial showcasing everyday people using ChatGPT Codex, its coding agent, to build real projects — from personal apps to small business tools.

Creative Direction: “Our job was to make a film that feels like the beginning of a builder’s story — with the curiosity, the frustration, and the eventual breakthroughs,” said Michael Tabtabai, OpenAI’s VP of Global Creative. The ad drew from real stories of people using ChatGPT to build projects in their daily lives.

Strategic Positioning: Notably, the ad made no mention of Anthropic or its rival’s attacks. Instead, OpenAI positioned ChatGPT as a ubiquitous tool for creation — aiming to be the “Kleenex of AI” rather than engaging in direct competitor warfare.

The Goal: “If someone watching thinks, ‘I wonder if I can do that,’ we’ve done our job,” Tabtabai said.

Source: Business Insider | Ad Age

💰 Record Domain Deal

AI.com Sells for $70 Million — Most Expensive Domain Sale in History

Record-Breaking Transaction: Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek purchased the AI.com domain for $70 million paid entirely in cryptocurrency, shattering the previous record of $49.7 million held by CarInsurance.com. The deal makes AI.com the most expensive domain name ever sold.

Super Bowl Launch: The acquisition was strategically timed to coincide with Super Bowl LX, where AI.com debuted as a consumer AI agent platform offering messaging, stock trading, and app control capabilities — all with encrypted user data protection.

Platform Vision: Unlike existing AI chatbots, AI.com positions itself as a comprehensive AI agent that can execute tasks across multiple services, from financial transactions to application management, through a single conversational interface.

Domain History: AI.com has changed hands multiple times. OpenAI previously used the domain to redirect to ChatGPT before the domain was acquired by its current owner. The premium price reflects the extraordinary brand value of owning a two-letter domain that represents an entire industry category.

Source: TechCrunch | Financial Times

🏛️ AI Policy & Regulation

New York Proposes Strongest Data Center Moratorium in the Country

The Legislation: New York Senator Liz Krueger (D) and Assemblymember Anna Kelles (D) introduced Bill S9144, proposing a 3-year moratorium on new permits for data center facilities consuming 20 or more megawatts of power. The bill is being called the strongest data center moratorium proposal in any U.S. state.

Key Provisions:

Pauses permits for private “hyperscale” data centers operated by Amazon, Meta, Google, and similar companies
Exempts public projects, including the Empire AI initiative in Buffalo
Requires an environmental impact statement from the Department of Environmental Conservation
Mandates a Public Service Commission report on utility bill impacts for residents

Why It Matters:

New York is the 6th state to propose data center restrictions (joining Georgia, Maryland, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Virginia)
National Grid NY reports a tripling of “large load” connection requests from data center operators
Over 130 data centers already operate across New York state
Household electricity rates increased 13% nationally in 2025, with 70% of areas experiencing rate increases having nearby data centers

Political Momentum: Sen. Bernie Sanders called for a national data center moratorium in December 2025, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also criticized data center energy consumption — demonstrating rare bipartisan concern over AI infrastructure’s environmental and energy cost.

Source: TechCrunch | Common Dreams | Food & Water Watch

📱 AI Hardware & Viral News

Fake OpenAI Hardware Device Video Debunked — Real Device Still in Development

Viral Hoax: A video circulating online appeared to show actor Alexander Skarsgård in what was purported to be a scrapped OpenAI Super Bowl ad featuring a new AI hardware device designed by Jony Ive. The video gained significant traction before OpenAI’s communications head confirmed it was “totally fake.”

The Real Device: OpenAI’s actual hardware project with Jony Ive remains in active development. OpenAI acquired Ive’s startup “io” for $6.5 billion in May 2025, with the first devices originally scheduled for a 2026 launch. However, reports indicate the timeline may extend into 2027 due to technical challenges.

What We Know:

The device is described as a palm-sized, screenless AI assistant that takes audio and visual cues from the environment
It may adopt an “always on” approach rather than requiring specific verbal prompts
Rumors suggest possible form factors including earbuds (codenamed “Sweet Pea”), a pen-like device, or a standalone assistant
The team has reportedly struggled with defining the device’s “personality” and privacy handling

Development Challenges: According to the Financial Times, OpenAI and Ive’s team face unresolved questions about computing infrastructure, privacy architecture, and ensuring the device responds helpfully without being intrusive — challenges that have complicated the originally ambitious timeline.

Source: Investing.com | 9to5Mac | TechCrunch

📊 Market Impact Analysis

The convergence of Super Bowl advertising, public corporate rivalry, and regulatory action reveals three defining themes shaping the AI industry in early 2026:

Consumer Trust as Competitive Moat: The Anthropic-OpenAI feud signals that AI companies are now competing not just on model performance but on business model transparency and user trust. Anthropic’s ad-free positioning and OpenAI’s accessibility-focused approach represent fundamentally different visions for how AI products should be monetized.

AI Goes Mainstream Marketing: With combined AI advertising spending likely exceeding $50 million at Super Bowl LX alone, the industry has graduated from developer conferences to the biggest consumer advertising stage in the world. The $70M AI.com domain purchase underscores the premium on owning AI’s consumer mindshare.

Regulatory Reckoning on Infrastructure: New York’s proposed data center moratorium — one of six state-level proposals — reflects growing bipartisan concern that Big Tech’s AI infrastructure ambitions are outpacing energy grid capacity and driving up costs for ordinary consumers.

🔮 Looking Ahead

Key Developments to Watch:

How the Anthropic-OpenAI rivalry evolves as both companies pursue IPOs in 2026
Whether OpenAI’s ChatGPT ad rollout impacts user growth or drives migration to competitors
Legislative progress on the NY data center moratorium and similar state-level proposals
OpenAI’s hardware device reveal timeline and potential 2026-2027 launch
AI.com platform adoption following its Super Bowl launch

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Last Updated: February 9, 2026, 6:30 PM CST