WSJ Tech News Briefing

Plus: Paramount wins bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix drops out. And Trump Media in talks to spin off businesses into a new publicly traded company. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wades into the standoff between Anthropic and the Pentagon. And how Jack Dorsey explained cutting nearly half of Block's staff. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once a bankable, buoyant sector, software is turning off investors spooked by an AI-powered future. WSJ markets reporter Jack Pitcher explains how we got here. Plus, personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen is here with tips to avoid those dreaded “storage full” alerts. Katie Deighton hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Nvidia stock falls after earnings, drags down shares of European chip companies. And Sam Altman's ‘human verification' startup leans on household brands to sell a far-out concept. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Mistral AI lands tech consulting group Accenture as latest big client. And Stellantis targets return to profit after scaling back costly EV investments. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Shares of Workday pare early losses. And Samsung releases a new line of flagship smartphones with AI features. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: DoorDash to wind down Deliveroo and Wolt operations in Qatar, Singapore, Japan and Uzbekistan. And Spain ramps up pressure on Apple and Amazon in a yearslong antitrust case. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Stripe sees more successful and high-growth businesses join its platform as AI coding tools continue to advance. And China's BYD sees blockbuster sales growth in Europe. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Apple to move some Mac Mini desktop computer production from Asia to Houston. And Anthropic announces updates to Claude Cowork. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chip makers and other suppliers are building plants on American soil, spurred on by the promises of Big Tech's investment in U.S. industry. WSJ reporter Rolfe Winkler takes us behind the scenes of the effort to manufacture technology onshore. Plus, how low can you go when it comes to headcount? Enterprise reporter Belle Lin explains why that's the question all AI startups are asking in their bid to prove efficiency. Katie Deighton hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Financial stocks also take a hit. And Anthropic accuses three Chinese companies of siphoning data from Claude. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Renault to take full control of Flexis electric-van. And Nvidia chips for laptop computers set to hit the market this year. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Google is looking to expand the market for its AI chips to better compete with Nvidia. And India joins Pax Silica, a group of nations aiming to counter China's influence in new technology and AI. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Apple's foray into smartglasses could be a boon, not a threat, for EssilorLuxottica. And theft of trade secrets is on the rise. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Data centers are a booming business, and their rapid expansion is being felt across industries. On today's show, we're taking a look at two. In some regions of the country, big tech is buying up a lot of land to build data centers. Reporter Will Parker explains why some developers and homeowners aren't happy. Plus, Heard on the Street columnist Jinjoo Lee tells us how every engine of the economy is getting recruited into the fight for AI dominance—and that includes ones made for jets. Patrick Coffee hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Walmart's investments in technology are paying off, according to its CEO. And India's Reliance Industries will invest more than $110 billion in AI over the next seven years. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Buy now, pay later company Klarna swings to a loss. And DoorDash is positioning for an AI-led future. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: FCC overhauls $3 billion Lifeline phone and internet subsidy program to curb improper payments. And Moody's rebuts concerns about AI disruption. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Mistral AI acquires infrastructure startup Koyeb. And the race to build data centers is fueling an "AI debt boom," analysts say. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Eric Trump invests in ‘low cost-per-kill' drone firm. And physical AI could become a trillion​-​dollar industry by 2035. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: India's Adani Group plans to invest $100 billion on AI infrastructure. And, Infosys and Anthropic to partner on AI for businesses in regulated industries. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI experimentation in the workplace is now showing tangible effects, from productivity gains to layoffs. Erik Brynjolfsson, a professor at Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered AI and cofounder of Workhelix, recently spoke with the WSJ Leadership Institute's Wendy Bounds at the WSJ Technology Council Summit. They discussed AI's influence on the labor market. Plus, WSJ Heard on the Street columnist Jonathan Weil says the AI boom is making it more challenging to analyze tech companies' earnings due to unclear depreciation expenses. Julie Chang hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: EV-maker Rivian expects to begin deliveries of its new $50,000 R2 model in the second quarter. And shares of Coinbase and Applied Materials close up, while DraftKings stock slides. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Pinterest stock slides after projected slower revenue growth. And Ubisoft shares jump on cash forecast. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thousands of students at Stanford are obsessing over Date Drop, a new platform that uses AI to match singles based on compatibility. WSJ's Jasmine Li joins us to break it down. Plus, WSJ consumer goods reporter Aimee Look sits down with Belle Lin to talk about why tariffs are jumpstarting a boom in the American used electronics market. Isabelle Bousquette hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Russia is blocking access to WhatsApp and Telegram to boost its own messaging app. And SoftBank says it took on another $27 billion in debt to pay for its investment in OpenAI. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Elon Musk announces a reorganization and staff departures at xAI. And Lenovo posts record revenue driven by device sales and AI. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Lyft logged mixed results in its latest quarter. And crypto lender BlockFills suspends client withdrawals. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Shopify expects revenue growth in the first quarter of 2026. And NetEase profit falls in the fourth quarter of 2025. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Paramount sweetens its hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. And wealth management stocks fall after AI tool announcement. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Honda's car business suffered a loss as EV impairments mount. And SMIC earnings topped expectations on strong chip demand, but the company gave a cautious outlook. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Anthropic's resident philosopher Amanda Askell spends her days trying to help AI understand morality. WSJ's Berber Jin joins us to discuss how she's doing it. Plus, WSJ's Belle Lin sits down with personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen to talk about how home batteries could be a better alternative to gas generators during a power outage. Isabelle Bousquette hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Alphabet sells bonds that aren't due for 100 years. And Australian startup Neara raises more than $60 million as data centers put pressure on power grids. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Eli Lilly to buy biotech Orna Therapeutics for up to $2.4 billion. And STMicroelectronics secures a multiyear, multibillion-dollar deal with Amazon. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today is the Super Bowl

Plus: The Justice Department probes Netflix's proposed acquisition of Warner Discovery's studios and HBO Max streaming service. And a jury orders Uber to pay $8.5 million in passenger sexual assault case. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Trump's tax law cuts Amazon's corporate tax bill by more than half. And Stellantis books $26 billion charges over bad EV bets. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Things have been getting weird on the internet. WSJ reporter Angel Au-Yeung explains what's behind Moltbook—the viral social network where AI assistants are talking to each other—and how it got started. Plus, WSJ reporter Isabelle Bousquette shares how AI is helping Olympic snowboarder Maddie Mastro improve her jump trick. Belle Lin hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Amazon to spend $200 billion as it accelerates AI projects. And Nvidia warns the Trump administration that chip export rules to China are too strict. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Spotify will sell physical books in the U.S. and U.K. And Germany fines Amazon over price-filtering tools. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

But Google beats Wall Street expectations. And Snap posts a profit of $45 million, compared with $9 million a year earlier. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus: Uber's fourth-quarter profit falls. And AI voice startup ElevenLabs raises $500 million. Julie Chang hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices