Startups news in February 2026

Who was in the news most?

1. NVIDIA 15
2. OpenAI 14
3. Anthropic 13
4. India 13
5. Amazon 9
6. IndiaAI Mission 8
7. India AI Impact Summit 2026 8
8. Google 7
9. Ashwini Vaishnaw 5
10. Donald Trump 5
11. Microsoft 5
12. AI Impact Summit 2026 5
13. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) 4
14. Sam Altman 4
15. Pentagon 4

Counts are events (one per story, however many outlets carried it) on this desk in February 2026 that named each person, company or body. Source: GetYourBrief's record of the outlets' reports.

The week of February 9 to 15, 2026: 2 events

A quiet week on the desk, so its events are kept here in full rather than in a week brief.

1. 0122:28 UTC

   Altman says OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI

   3 outlets · first: techcrunch.com Acquisition

   Machine summary Sam Altman announced that Peter Steinberger, the creator of OpenClaw, is joining OpenAI, according to The Verge. The Verge reported that Altman said Steinberger had "a lot of amazing ideas" about AI agents interacting, and that Altman called the future "extremely multi-agent." TechCrunch reported that OpenAI said OpenClaw will remain an open source project.

   Reported by The Verge, techcrunch.com and CNBC.

   • OpenAI
   • Sam Altman
   • OpenClaw

2. 0204:22 UTC

   Anthropic reaches $380 billion valuation after $30 billion funding round

   3 outlets · first: The Economic Times Funding

   Machine summary Anthropic has secured a $30 billion funding round, giving it a valuation of $380 billion. Anthropic reached a $380 billion valuation after a $30 billion funding round.

   1. Anthropic raised $30 billion in its latest funding round
   2. The company's post-money valuation has reached $380 billion

   Reported by The Economic Times, Modern Healthcare News and orrick.com.

   • Anthropic

Which stories did the most outlets carry?

1. Feb 18 thehindu.com: “Galgotias University asked to vacate AI Summit Expo immediately: Sources” 12
2. Feb 17 India seeks up to $200bn in data centre investment, minister says 9
3. Feb 18 Microsoft Pledges $50B to Bridge the Global South AI Divide by 2030 9
4. Feb 20 India pursues homegrown AI models 8
5. Feb 26 isp.netscape.com: “Asian shares mostly rise after Nvidia earnings beat expectations” 8
6. Feb 17 Thrive Capital raises $10 billion for new venture fund 7
7. Feb 26 Inside the data centers powering the AI boom 7
8. Feb 17 Fed’s Barr Challenges AI Productivity Narrative as Rate-Cut Catalyst 6
9. Feb 18 Qualcomm to invest up to $150M in India-focused AI venture fund 6
10. Feb 17 PM Modi says India should be among top 3 AI superpowers globally, sets 2047 vision 6
11. Feb 19 The Wall Street Journal: “Tata Group and OpenAI Form Partnership, to Develop AI Data Centers” 6
12. Feb 18 Department of Defense and Anthropic differ on AI safety protocols and military needs. 5
13. Feb 17 Elevate Prize winners gain more than $300,000 in funding 5
14. Feb 24 New US tariffs take effect after Supreme Court ruling 5
15. Feb 26 Nvidia reports quarterly financial results 5

What kind of news was it?

1. Market trends 38
2. Funding 34
3. Regulation 16
4. Product launch 8
5. Leadership 5
6. IPOs 3
7. Accelerator 2
8. Acquisition 2

Categories come from the pipeline's classifier; how they are assigned.

Week by week

1. Feb 9The week of February 9 to 15, 20262
2. Feb 16The week of February 16 to 22, 202664
3. Feb 23The week of February 23 to March 1, 202628