Tootfinder

Sources: Meta is pursuing a new Llama successor and frontier AI model, codenamed Avocado, set for release in Q1 2026, and it could be a proprietary model (Jonathan Vanian/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/09/meta-avocado-ai-strategy-issues.html

From Llamas to Avocados: Meta's shifting AI strategy is causing internal confusion
Meta’s push to develop its next frontier model, codenamed Avocado, under new AI leadership is creating internal friction as it races rivals OpenAI and Google.

Databricks raised $5B in funding and $2B in new debt at a $134B valuation and says its annualized revenue exceeded $5.4B for the January quarter, up 65% YoY (Jordan Novet/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/09/databricks-completes-5-bil…

Databricks completes $5 billion funding round at $134 billion valuation
Databricks is prepared to go public "when the time is right," CEO and co-founder Ali Ghodsi told CNBC in an interview.

Shares of Monday.com plunge 20% after the company issued weak Q1 guidance, as it battles rising pressure from agentic AI tools (Samantha Subin/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/09/monday-com-stock-ai-software.html

Monday.com drops 19% as AI disruption fears mount in software
Software companies are facing mounting pressure from disruptive AI tools threatening to replace them.

CrowdStrike buys identity management startup SGNL, in a deal valued at nearly $740M, to bolster identity security defenses on its flagship Falcon platform (Samantha Subin/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/08/crowdstrike-ai-cybersecurity-sgnl-acquisition.ht…

CrowdStrike buys identity security startup SGNL for $740 million in latest deal push
Last year's big cybersecurity deals include Google's $32 billion Wiz acquisition and Palo Alto Networks' $25 billion CyberArk takeover.

Lyft launches teen accounts in the US more than two years after Uber, with safety features such as PIN verification, real-time tracking, and audio recordings (Samantha Subin/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/09/lyft-teen-accounts-uber-rideshare-waymo.html…

Lyft debuts teen accounts more than two years after Uber
CEO David Risher also addressed the company's autonomous vehicle strategy amid rising competition from Waymo, Uber and Tesla.

China says it will investigate Meta's $2B Manus acquisition to assess compliance with laws on export controls, tech import and export, and overseas investment (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/08/china-investigate-meta-acquisition-manus-export.html<…

Meta faces China probe over acquisition of AI agent startup Manus
China to probe Meta's acquisition of artificial intelligence startup Manus to assess its compliance with export control laws.

Workday announces CEO Carl Eschenbach is stepping down and will be replaced by the company's co-founder, Aneel Bhusri, effective immediately; WDAY drops 8% (Ashley Capoot/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/09/workday-stock-carl-eschenbach-aneel-bhusri.htm…

Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach is stepping down, co-founder Aneel Bhusri to take over
The company's co-founder, Aneel Bhusri, who has previously served as chief executive, will replace Eschenbach.

Leaked letter: Tiger Global launches Private Investment Partners 17, a new fund targeting a raise between $2B and $3B, signaling a pivot away from megafunds (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/08/tiger-global-new-fund-ai-valuations.html

Tiger Global launches new fund eyeing between $2 billion and $3 billion as it takes more disciplined approach
Tiger first invested in OpenAI in 2021 at a valuation of less than $16 billion and in Waymo that same year at $39 billion.

Paramount launches a hostile bid to acquire WBD, offering WBD shareholders $30 per share in an all-cash deal; sources say WBD rejected the same bid last week (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/08/paramount-skydance-hostile-bid-wbd-netflix.html

Paramount Skydance launches hostile bid for WBD after Netflix wins bidding war
Netflix won a bidding war for the Warner Bros. film studio and HBO Max streaming service, but it doesn't plan to buy WBD's TV networks.

Internal memo: Sam Altman tells staff that ChatGPT is "back to exceeding 10% monthly growth", and OpenAI plans to release "an updated Chat model" this week (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/09/sam-altman-touts-cha…

Sam Altman touts ChatGPT's reaccelerating growth to employees as OpenAI closes in on $100 billion funding
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees that ChatGPT's monthly growth is back above 10%, as competition ramps up in generative AI.