Practical Tech - Under the Radar News

Alibaba’s Qwen chatbot halts coupons amid overload, highlighting scaling issues in AI services — https://www.reuters.com/technology/alibabas-overloaded-ai-chatbot-stops-issuing-coupons-asks-shoppers-patience-2026-02-09/
Montage Technology surges in Hong Kong debut, underlining investor interest in memory interconnect chips — https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/worlds-biggest-memory-interconnect-chip-supplier-montage-set-hong-kong-debut-2026-02-09/
China legalises real‑world asset tokenisation offshore, boosting related stocks — https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinas-legalisation-real-world-asset-tokenisation-sends-related-stocks-higher-2026-02-09/
Australian AI infrastructure developer Firmus lands $10B funding, showing capital flow into AI infrastructure — https://www.reuters.com/business/australian-ai-infrastructure-developer-firmus-lands-10-bln-debt-package-2026-02-09/
Ocado plans up to 1,000 job cuts amid automation business cost pressure — https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/uks-ocado-axe-up-1000-jobs-cost-cutting-drive-sunday-times-reports-2026-02-08/
Investors rotate into smaller tech names amid risk aversion, reshaping market focus — https://www.reuters.com/legal/legalindustry/investors-chase-cheaper-smaller-companies-risk-aversion-hits-tech-sector-2026-02-08/
SpaceX prioritises lunar self‑growing city over Mars missions, a strategic pivot in space infrastructure — https://www.reuters.com/science/musk-says-spacex-prioritise-building-self-growing-city-moon-2026-02-08/
Chinese vacuum maker Dreame pushes its planned EV strategy, reflecting cross‑industry expansion — https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-vacuum-maker-dreame-pushes-072730341.html
Global chip sales expected to hit $1 trillion in 2026, driven by AI demand — https://www.reuters.com/business/global-chip-sales-expected-hit-1-trillion-this-year-industry-group-says-2026-02-06/
Meta faces EU antitrust threats over blocking AI rivals on WhatsApp, reshaping competitive platform dynamics — https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/

y 10:Thomson Reuters reported higher fourth‑quarter revenue and projected solid full‑year growth, even as AI entrants encroach on its legal and data services markets. The operational implication is that legacy data and intelligence providers can leverage AI‑augmented solutions to defend and expand their offerings amid competitive inflection points.
Outro:That’s today’s Tech Under the Radar. From AI market repricing and chip consolidation to platform monetization momentum and capex race dynamics, these signals highlight the complex tech landscape unfolding right now. Thanks for listening — and we’ll be back with more tomorrow.
(2) Show Notes — All Links Included
All links are in the show notes:
Software stocks extend sell‑off; U.S. tech value slips $1 trillion this week — https://www.reuters.com/business/us-software-stocks-stabilize-after-bruising-selloff-ai-disruption-fears-2026-02-05/
Microchip Tech forecasts quarterly profit below estimates as memory shortages bite — https://www.reuters.com/business/microchip-tech-forecasts-quarterly-profit-below-estimates-memory-shortages-bite-2026-02-05/
Texas Instruments in advanced talks to buy Silicon Laboratories for about $7 billion — https://www.reuters.com/technology/texas-instruments-advanced-talks-buy-chip-designer-silicon-laboratories-ft-2026-02-03/
Amazon projects $200 billion capital spending in 2026 despite shares tumbling — https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/amazon-projects-200-billion-capital-spending-this-year-2026-02-05/
Reddit forecasts revenue above estimates as AI tools drive ad sales — https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/reddit-forecasts-revenue-above-estimates-ai-fuels-ad-sales-2026-02-05/
Gen Digital raises annual revenue forecast on strong security software demand — https://www.reuters.com/technology/gen-digital-raises-annual-revenue-forecast-strong-security-software-demand-2026-02-05/
Anthropic releases AI upgrade as market punishes software stocks — https://www.reuters.com/business/anthropic-releases-ai-upgrade-market-punishes-software-stocks-2026-02-05/
Spain’s Sanchez: we won’t be swayed by tech oligarchs on social media ban — https://www.reuters.com/technology/spains-sanchez-we-wont-be-swayed-by-tech-oligarchs-social-media-ban-2026-02-05/
Tech‑led selloff drags Asian stocks; Indonesia tumbles on Moody’s outlook cut — https://www.reuters.com/world/china/tech-led-selloff-drags-asian-stocks-indonesia-tumbles-moodys-outlook-cut-2026-02-06/
Thomson Reuters reports higher fourth‑quarter revenue, shares slip — https://www.reuters.com/business/thomson-reuters-reports-higher-fourth-quarter-revenue-2026-02-05/

Sell‑off in global software stocks on AI disruption fears — https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/global-software-stocks-hit-by-anthropic-wake-up-call-ai-disruption-2026-02-04/
“Software‑mageddon” weighs on tech markets — https://www.reuters.com/business/software-mageddon-leaves-investors-bargain-hunting-wary-2026-02-05/
Alphabet’s capital spending could double for AI and cloud — https://www.reuters.com/business/google-parent-alphabet-forecasts-sharp-surge-2026-capital-spending-2026-02-04/
Britain partners with Microsoft to build deepfake detection system — https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-work-with-microsoft-build-deepfake-detection-system-2026-02-05/
Super Bowl preps for AI‑powered cybersecurity threats — https://www.reuters.com/technology/super-bowl-prepares-potential-ai-cybersecurity-threat-2026-02-04/
AI research highlights autonomous driving challenges and opportunities — https://quantumzeitgeist.com/ai-steers-towards-fully-autonomous-driving-overcoming-complex-real-world-obstacles/
AiR EV and ST Engineering unveil heavy‑lift cargo eVTOL drone — https://www.jpost.com/defense-and-tech/article-885691
Tech stocks pressured amid weak market sentiment — https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/global-markets-global-markets-2026-02-05/
Anthropic’s AI push threatens IT services revenues — https://www.reuters.com/world/india/anthropics-ai-push-raises-analyst-concerns-over-it-services-revenues-2026-02-05/
Google Cloud & Liberty Global multi‑year AI partnership — https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/google-cloud-liberty-global-strike-five-year-ai-partnership-2026-02-03/

Nvidia AI chip sales to China stall pending U.S. security review — https://www.reuters.com/world/china/nvidia-ai-chip-sales-china-stalled-by-us-security-review-ft-reports-2026-02-04/
Texas Instruments in advanced talks to buy Silicon Laboratories for ~$7 billion — https://www.reuters.com/technology/texas-instruments-advanced-talks-buy-chip-designer-silicon-laboratories-ft-2026-02-03/
KKR, Singtel pay $5.2 billion for full control of ST Telemedia Global Data Centres — https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/kkr-singtel-consortium-pay-52-billion-take-full-control-stt-gdc-2026-02-04/
OpenAI CEO Altman dismisses Moltbook as likely fad, sees tech potential — https://www.reuters.com/business/openai-ceo-altman-dismisses-moltbook-likely-fad-backs-tech-behind-it-2026-02-03/
Ford and Geely in talks for manufacturing, tech partnership — https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/ford-geely-talks-manufacturing-technology-partnership-sources-say-2026-02-04/
AMD shares fall after lower revenue guidance — https://www.reuters.com/business/amds-frankfurt-listed-shares-fall-after-weaker-sales-2026-02-04/
Anthropic’s AI plug‑ins deepen sell‑off in software and analytics stocks — https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/ai-concerns-pummel-european-software-stocks-2026-02-03/
Oracle plans to raise up to $50 billion for AI cloud expansion — https://www.reuters.com/business/oracle-plans-raise-45-billion-50-billion-2026-2026-02-01/
S&P 500 tech stocks rally with chip and small‑cap gains — https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-slide-commodity-rout-rattles-markets-2026-02-02/
Tether retreats from $20 billion funding ambitions after investor pushback — https://www.reuters.com/technology/tether-downplays-20-billion-funding-amount-after-investor-pushback-ft-reports-2026-02-04/

Google Cloud, Liberty Global strike five‑year AI partnership — https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/google-cloud-liberty-global-strike-five-year-ai-partnership-2026-02-03/
Snowflake partners with OpenAI in $200 million AI deal — https://www.reuters.com/business/snowflake-partners-with-openai-200-million-ai-deal-2026-02-02/
SpaceX, xAI set share exchange ratio at 0.1433 — https://www.reuters.com/technology/spacex-xai-set-share-exchange-ratio-01433-source-says-2026-02-03/
SpaceX acquires xAI in record‑setting deal — https://www.reuters.com/business/musks-spacex-merge-with-xai-combined-valuation-125-trillion-bloomberg-news-2026-02-02/
Montage Technology to price HK listing at top of range — https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/montage-technology-set-price-hong-kong-902-million-listing-top-range-2026-02-03/
OpenAI launches Codex desktop app to gain ground in AI coding race — https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/openai-launches-codex-app-gain-ground-ai-coding-race-2026-02-02/
Palantir CEO defends surveillance tech as US government contracts boost sales — https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/palantir-ceo-defends-surveillance-tech-us-government-contracts-boost-sales-2026-02-02/
Publicis forecasts seventh straight year of outperformance as tech pivot drives growth — https://www.reuters.com/business/publicis-forecasts-seventh-straight-year-outperformance-tech-pivot-drives-growth-2026-02-03/
Australia reverses course with rate hike, markets bet on more — https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/australias-central-bank-raises-rates-first-time-two-years-2026-02-03/
S&P 500 flirts with record high; chipmakers and small caps jump — https://m.economictimes.com/markets/stocks/news/sp-500-flirts-with-record-high-chipmakers-and-small-caps-jump/amp_articleshow/127873611.cms
Five AI agent predictions for 2026 — https://www.techradar.com/pro/five-ai-agent-predictions-for-2026-the-year-enterprises-stop-waiting-and-start-winning

BlueFive Capital closes $3 billion Onyx Fund I targeting US, Europe tech investments — https://www.reuters.com/technology/bluefive-capital-closes-3-billion-onyx-fund-i-targeting-us-europe-tech-2026-02-02/
Alibaba to spend $431 million for Lunar New Year AI push as chatbot war heats up — https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/alibaba-spend-431-million-lunar-new-year-ai-push-chatbot-war-heats-up-2026-02-02/
Australia’s Qoria to merge with US‑based Aura in $675 million deal — https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australias-qoria-merge-with-us-based-aura-675-million-deal-2026-02-02/
Two Chinese AI chip designers launch Hong Kong share sales seeking up to $1.3 billion — https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/chinas-montage-technology-seeks-up-902-million-hong-kong-listing-2026-01-29/
Polish officials blame Russian domestic spy agency for Dec 29 cyberattacks — https://www.reuters.com/technology/polish-officials-blame-russian-domestic-spy-agency-dec-29-cyberattacks-2026-01-30/
Emerging market stocks rally appears intact after buoyant January inflows — https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/emerging-market-stocks-rally-appears-intact-after-buoyant-january-inflows-2026-02-02/
Reuters tech index: Nvidia CEO praises, pushes suppliers — https://www.reuters.com/technology/ (latest tech index top stories)
French tech company Capgemini to sell US unit linked to ICE — https://www.reuters.com/business/french-tech-company-capgemini-sell-us-unit-linked-ice-2026-02-01/
Gold, silver extend free fall as CME margin hike fuels selling pressure (context tech reallocations) — https://www.reuters.com/world/india/gold-falls-15-firm-dollar-silver-recovers-over-three-week-low-2026-02-02/
Big Tech earnings to test AI rally as resurgent Alphabet takes lead — https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/big-tech-earnings-test-ai-rally-resurgent-alphabet-takes-lead-2026-01-27/

Microsoft‑Perplexity partnership talks – https://www.reuters.com/technology/perplexity-ai-microsoft-deal-talks-sources-say-2026-01-29/
SpaceX in merger talks with xAI – https://www.reuters.com/world/musks-spacex-merger-talks-with-xai-ahead-planned-ipo-source-says-2026-01-29/
Why Musk wants AI data centers in space – https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/why-does-elon-musk-want-put-ai-data-centers-space-2026-01-29/
China plans space‑based AI data centres – https://www.reuters.com/science/china-vows-develop-space-tourism-explore-deep-space-it-races-us-2026-01-29/
China greenlights Nvidia H200 chips – https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-gives-green-light-importing-first-batch-nvidias-h200-ai-chips-sources-say-2026-01-28/
Microsoft Maia 200 AI chip – https://www.reuters.com/technology/microsoft-launches-two-data-center-infrastructure-chips-speed-ai-applications-2024-11-19/
Chipmakers benefit beyond Nvidia – https://www.reuters.com/business/texas-instruments-shares-jump-first-quarter-outlook-signals-robust-ai-data-2026-01-28/
Meta and Microsoft capex surge – https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-markets-view-europe-2026-01-29/
Ukraine and SpaceX on Starlink drones – https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/ukraine-working-with-spacex-stop-russian-drones-use-starlink-kyiv-says-2026-01-29/
Blue Origin TeraWave satellites – https://www.reuters.com/science/bezos-blue-origin-deploy-thousands-satellites-new-terawave-communications-2026-01-21/

Intel still constrained on AI data center chip supplyhttps://www.reuters.com/business/intel-results-spotlight-turnaround-efforts-ai-data-centers-boost-chip-demand-2026-01-21/
China limits Nvidia H200 chip purchases to special approvalshttps://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-limits-nvidia-chip-purchases-172555875.html
U.S. House advances AI chip export oversight billhttps://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/1/21/us-house-panel-advances-bill-to-give-congress-authority-on-ai-chip-exports
China expands ban on U.S. and Israeli cybersecurity softwarehttps://securityaffairs.com/186920/intelligence/china-bans-u-s-and-israeli-cybersecurity-software-over-security-concerns.html
Nvidia builds chip location verification to curb smugglinghttps://www.reuters.com/business/nvidia-builds-location-verification-tech-that-could-help-fight-chip-smuggling-2025-12-10/
Big Tech earnings test AI monetizationhttps://www.reuters.com/business/big-tech-earnings-test-ai-rally-2026-01-27/
Investors shift toward power providers for AI demandhttps://www.reuters.com/business/investors-back-energy-providers-over-big-tech-2026-ai-bets-says-blackrock-2026-01-13/
Meta signs $6B fiber deal with Corning for AI data centershttps://www.reuters.com/business/meta-signs-deal-pay-corning-up-6-billion-fiber-optic-cables-cnbc-reports-2026-01-27/
Yahoo launches Scout AI answer enginehttps://www.axios.com/2026/01/27/yahoo-scout-ai-search-launch
Chip equipment demand may limit new fab capacityhttps://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/ai-boom-seen-lifting-chipmaking-equipment-sales-9-126-billion-2026-2025-12-16/

Anthropic hikes revenue forecast for 2026 — Signals stronger enterprise demand for foundation models.https://finance.yahoo.com/news/anthropic-hikes-2026-revenue-forecast-014019566.html
Nvidia invests $2B in CoreWeave — Tightens Nvidia’s influence over AI cloud infrastructure.https://www.reuters.com/business/nvidia-invests-coreweave-2-billion-valuation-sources-say-2026-01-27/
China approves Nvidia H200 AI chip imports — Keeps high‑end AI compute flowing into China.https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-approves-nvidia-h200-chip-imports-2026-01-27/
C3.ai in talks to merge with Automation Anywhere — Signals AI + RPA platform consolidation.https://www.reuters.com/business/c3ai-talks-merge-automation-anywhere-information-reports-2026-01-27/
WhatsApp unveils high‑security mode — Consumer apps add enterprise‑grade security options.https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/whatsapp-unveils-high-security-mode-latest-tech-firm-offer-users-stronger-protection-2026-01-27/
Meta, Corning sign $6B fiber‑optic deal — Physical AI infrastructure becomes a bottleneck.https://www.reuters.com/business/meta-signs-deal-pay-corning-up-6-billion-fiber-optic-cables-cnbc-reports-2026-01-27/
Yahoo launches Scout AI answer engine — A quieter entry into AI‑powered search.https://www.axios.com/2026/01/27/yahoo-scout-ai-search-launch
Bridgewater warns on massive AI spending cycle — Frames AI as long‑term industrial build‑out.https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bridgewater-dalio-warns-ai-spending-frenzy-2026-01-27/
Big Tech earnings test AI rally — Markets demand proof of AI monetization.https://www.reuters.com/business/big-tech-earnings-test-ai-rally-2026-01-27/
Georgia moves to restrict new data centers — Local policy becomes AI infrastructure risk.https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/27/georgia-data-centers-ban-proposal

Google must face U.S. consumer antitrust lawsuithttps://www.reuters.com/legal/government/google-must-face-consumer-antitrust-lawsuit-over-search-dominance-us-judge-rules-2026-01-22/
FTC scrutinizes Big Tech acqui‑hire dealshttps://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/us-ftc-scrutinize-big-techs-talent-acquisition-deals-bloomberg-news-reports-2026-01-16/
AI hyperscalers to drive U.S. corporate bond issuancehttps://www.reuters.com/business/finance/ai-hyperscalers-will-drive-higher-us-corporate-bond-supply-2026-analysts-say-2026-01-15/
TSMC forecasts strong 2026 growth and capexhttps://www.reuters.com/commentary/breakingviews/ai-bull-case-gets-its-biggest-booster-2026-01-16/
Qualcomm pushes new AI data center chipshttps://www.reuters.com/video/watch/idRW358620112025RP1/
AI startup Humans& raises $480M seed roundhttps://www.reuters.com/business/ai-startup-humans-raises-480-million-45-billion-valuation-seed-round-2026-01-20/
OpenAI expands dedicated compute strategyhttps://www.reuters.com/technology/openai-buy-compute-capacity-startup-cerebras-around-10-billion-wsj-reports-2026-01-14/
Investors back energy providers for AI demandhttps://www.reuters.com/business/investors-back-energy-providers-over-big-tech-2026-ai-bets-says-blackrock-2026-01-13/
AI boom lifts chipmaking equipment saleshttps://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/ai-boom-seen-lifting-chipmaking-equipment-sales-9-126-billion-2026-2025-12-16/
Open‑standard chips like RISC‑V gain tractionhttps://www.reuters.com/commentary/breakingviews/ais-2026-dark-horse-will-be-open-standard-chips-2025-12-17/