Alibaba robots, Anthropic fundraise & more (February 10, 2026)

Good morning,

AI platforms are colliding with ads, funding, regulation, and global expansion all at once. Today is about where the big labs are pushing next, and where friction is starting to show up across markets, platforms, and policy.

Let’s dive in 👇

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Note from the author, David:

🤖 I Wrote a Guide on Claude Cowork

Anthropic quietly released 11 plugins for Claude. Most people have no idea these exist.

Each plugin turns Claude from a general chatbot into a role-specific teammate: Sales, Marketing, Legal, Finance, Product, Data, and more.

Here's what some of the plugins actually do:
→ Sales: /pipeline-review will analyze your deals and flag what's at risk
→ Marketing: /seo-audit analyzes search performance and keyword opportunities
→ Productivity: /start gives you a daily briefing across all your tools
→ Customer Support: /research pulls context across all tools before responding to a support ticket

That's one command per plugin, and I only touched on 4 out of 11.

Check out my post on LinkedIn so you can comment and get the full guide yourself.

🤖 Model Wars & Platform Shifts

🧠 Alibaba pushes AI deeper into robotics

Alibaba is accelerating its AI push by rolling out RynnBrain, a model designed to connect large language models with physical robotics systems. The company is positioning this as a foundation for autonomous machines in logistics, manufacturing, and consumer robotics. It signals China’s intent to compete not just in models, but in embodied AI systems.

📢 ChatGPT officially rolls out ads

ChatGPT has begun rolling out ads inside parts of its interface, marking a major shift in OpenAI’s monetization strategy. Ads are currently limited and context-aware, but the move confirms that scale now requires diversified revenue beyond subscriptions. This also raises new questions around trust, neutrality, and model behavior over time.

🌍 Gemini moves front and center on Android desktop

Google is putting Gemini front and center on Android’s desktop experience as it pushes AI deeper into everyday workflows. The integration signals a broader strategy to make Gemini the default interface layer across devices. It also tightens Google’s distribution advantage compared to standalone AI apps.

💰 Funding, Expansion & Friction

🚧 Anthropic’s India expansion hits naming conflict

Anthropic’s expansion into India has collided with a local company already operating under the Anthropic name. The dispute highlights how fast global AI labs are expanding, sometimes faster than legal and regional brand considerations. It also shows the complexity of scaling AI brands internationally.

🏦 Anthropic closes in on massive $20B round

Anthropic is closing in on a funding round that would value the company near $20 billion. The raise underscores continued investor appetite for frontier model labs despite rising compute costs. It also widens the gap between well-capitalized AI leaders and everyone else.

🕰️ OpenAI gives clearer AGI timeline signals

OpenAI has offered clearer signals around how it views progress toward more general intelligence. Leadership emphasized phased capability milestones rather than a single breakthrough moment. The framing suggests a longer, more incremental path than many headlines imply.

🧰 Tools of the Day

→ Thesys – Turn complex research into structured, readable reports with AI assistance
→ Norman – Monitor AI systems for risk, compliance, and policy alignment
→ Spawned – Generate and test AI agents designed for specific workflows

⚡ Quick Hits

→ Bretton AI raises $75M to standardize financial crime AI
→ Clemson expands OpenAI access across campus
→ Evogene expands Google Cloud AI agents collaboration
→ New York bills target AI labels and data centers
→ Databricks CEO says AI will reshape SaaS economics

🧠 TL;DR

AI leaders are pushing into ads, robotics, and deeper platform control while raising record-breaking rounds. Expansion into new regions is exposing legal and branding friction, even as capital keeps flowing to the biggest labs. The next phase of AI competition looks less about raw models and more about distribution, integration, and control of interfaces.

Cheers,
David