A (0:01)

Want to get this show ad free? Head to dailytechnewshow.com subscribe to find out how.

B (0:12)

This episode is brought to you by Capital One Capital One's tech team isn't just talking about multi agentic AI. They already deployed one. It's called Chat Concierge and it's simplifying car shopping using self reflection and layered reasoning with live API checks. It doesn't just help buyers find a car they love, it helps schedule a test drive, get pre approved for financing and estimate trade in value. Advanced, intuitive and deployed. That's how they stack. That's technology. At Capital One.

C (0:41)

Everyone deserves to be connected. That's why T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com switch and now T mobile is in US cellular stores.

D (1:01)

Savings versus Comparable Verizon plans plus the cost of optional benefits, plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third line free via monthly bill credits. Credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying credit required.

E (1:11)

Big news Boost Mobile is now sending experts nationwide to deliver and set up customers new phones at home or work.

A (1:17)

Wait, we're going on tour?

E (1:18)

Not a tour. We're delivering and setting up customers phones so it's easier to upgrade.

A (1:22)

Let's get in the tour bus and hit the road.

E (1:24)

No, not a tour bus. It's a regular car we use to deliver and set up customers phones at home or work.

A (1:28)

Are you a groupie on this tour?

E (1:30)

We deliver and set up phones. It's not a tour.

A (1:32)

Oh you're definitely a groupie.

E (1:34)

Introducing store to door Switch and get a new device with expert setup and delivery wherever you're at.

A (1:39)

Delivery available for select devices purchased@boostmobile.com. These are the daily tech headlines for Thursday, February 19, 2026. I'm Rob Dunwood. Meta is reportedly planning to launch the Malibu 2 smartwatch featuring health tracking and AI later this year alongside an updated version of its Ray Ban display Smart Glass. This move intensifies competition with rivals like Apple, Google and Samsung. The push into new hardware comes as Meta has delayed its mixed reality glasses, codenamed Phoenix, until 2027 to streamline its roadmap. This new smartwatch may introduce a Neural Wish brand functionality to replace the gesture controls currently used by smart glasses. SeatGeek has announced a new partnership with Spotify, allowing music fans to buy concert tickets directly through the Spotify app initially for 15 major US venues where SeatGeek is the prim seller. This strategic move aims to convert Spotify's listeners into ticket buyers, leveraging the streaming service's growing role in live event discovery, which has already generated over $1 billion in ticket sales for its partners. Despite this win, SeatGeek continues to face strong competition from market leaders Ticketmaster and axs, who control a much larger share of the ticketing market. New York governor Kathy Ho has withdrawn a proposal that would have permitted commercial robo taxi services outside of New York City, delivering a setback to Alphabet Inc. S WA Waymo, which is aggressively expanding its driverless fleet. The decision, confirmed by the governor's office, was based on a lack of support from stakeholders, including the state legislator, disappointing Waymo, which stated its commitment to bringing its service to New York. This move hinders Waymo's plans to expand across 20 cities in 2026 and hit over 1 million paid weekly robo taxi rides by the end of the year, as approval outside of NYC would have represented a critical step toward entering one of the world's largest ride hailing markets. Rivian is releasing an Apple Watch companion app next week, letting owners control vehicle functions like locking doors, venting windows and adjusting charge and temperature settings via the Digital Crown. This is part of a larger software update that adds performance and accessibility features including nil mode drive mode changes without disabling driver assistance and a cold weather battery indicator. Rivian notes that first generation R1T and R1S locking unlocking functionality will be more limited. The update underscores Rivian's focus on software and its partnership with Volkswagen. OpenAI is finalizing the first stage of a new funding round projected to exceed $100 billion, which could raise the company's valuation past $850 billion. Key strategic investors like Amazon.com with a $50 billion investment, Southbank Group Corp. With a $30 billion investment, and Nvidia Corp. With a $20 billion investment, along with Microsoft, are committing nearly all of the initial capital expected to be finalized this month. A later phase invol further increase the total amount raised with corporate investments distributed in tranches over the current year. As part of the deal, OpenAI is expected to increase its use of Amazon's chips and cloud services. The massive power needs of AI data centers are driving companies, especially hyperscalers like Google and Meta, to invest in clean energy alternatives, with geothermal power becoming a significant focus. Google, a longtime proponent of geothermal energy, is dramatically increasing its commitment, including a new 150 megawatt supply agreement with Oromat Technology Technologies in Nevada following earlier trials with Fervo Energy, this enhanced geothermal technology, which uses deep drilling and rock fracturing to generate steam, is now scaling up and shows promise for meeting a substantial part of future data center power demand. Ravenna Hub, a student admissions website, exposed the personally identifiable information of over 1 million students, including names, birth dates, addresses and pictures due to an insecure direct object reference vulnerability. After being notified, developer Venture Ed Solutions fixed the flaw which allowed any login user to access other student application files by changing the student profile number in the web address. However, CEO Nick Laird refused to commit to notifying users, disclosing if data access could be checked, or confirming if third party security checks were performed. Microsoft Project Silica has developed a revolutionary optical storage system that uses femtosecond lasers to encode terabytes of data within a small square of durable Borosilica glass. This technology creates phase voxels or 4D pixels to store sensitive information for up to 10,000 years, offering high value unchangeable solutions for long term data archival preservation and effectively countering the problem of the digital dark age. And finally, Microsoft is rolling out a new Update to Windows 11 Insiders in the release Preview channel that introduces several new features including a convenient network speed test accessible by right clicking the network icon in the system tray. It also includes new camera settings options in the settings menu for controlling pan and tilt on supported cameras, new emoji, a full page widget settings menu, and the ability to set webp files as the desktop background. For more analysis of the tech news of the day, subscribe to dailytechnewshow.com and if you enjoy the show, remember to tell a friend to check us out. Thanks for listening. We'll talk to you next time.