AI Weekly News Update: 02/09/2026

Table of Contents

• This Week

  • The Executive Play (No consultant required)

  • The Radar (Fast scan)

• Use-Case of the Week (Business function spotlight)

  • The Bottom Line

This Week

The $1 Trillion "Software-mageddon": AI Moves from "Feature" to "Replacement"

What happened

• A massive stock market drop wiped $1 trillion from the value of software companies this week.

• Big companies like HubSpot and Atlassian saw their values fall by nearly 40%.

• This happened because Anthropic released "Cowork" tools that can do legal, finance, and sales work automatically, making some old software feel useless.

Why it matters

• The "Seat" Problem: Most software companies charge you for every person who uses the tool. If AI can do the work of 10 people, you don't need to pay for those "seats" anymore.

• Doing the Work: AI is moving from a tool you "talk to" to an agent that actually "does the job."

• The Trust Factor: Old software companies still have a "moat" because they are legally responsible for your data. AI models do not have this same accountability yet.

Impact in numbers

• $1 Trillion: Total value lost by the software industry this week.

• $18 Billion: The amount of money Anthropic expects to make this year as businesses switch to AI-first tools.

Meeting line "We need to check which software we pay for just to 'store data' and which ones actually protect us from legal risks."

Who owns it (roles) + budget line

• Roles: CEO, CFO, Head of Operations.

• Budget estimate: $0 for a review; potential 20% savings on software costs by the end of the year.

Decision: Adopt (AI Agents) / Watch (Old Software). Time horizon: Now.

The Executive Play (No consultant required)

Action (30–60 min)

1. List: Find your top 5 most expensive software contracts.

2. The Test: Ask your team if a new AI agent can do the main tasks of those tools.

3. Pause: Stop buying any new long-term software "seats" for 30 days while you look at cheaper AI options.

Success signal (7 days) Finding at least one software tool you can replace with a cheaper AI workflow.

The Radar (Fast scan)

1. Big Tech’s $650B Bet: Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are spending $650B on AI hardware this year. Why it matters: This means they will own the "pipes" that run all future business AI.

2. Super Bowl Ad War: Anthropic and OpenAI are fighting over ads. Why it matters: The industry is splitting between "Free AI with ads" and "Paid AI for work."

3. OpenAI Going Public: OpenAI is planning to join the stock market in late 2026. Why it matters: Both big AI companies are racing to prove they can make money.

4. AI on Mars: NASA used AI to drive its rover on Mars. Why it matters: If AI can drive on another planet, it can handle your delivery or warehouse tasks here on Earth.

5. Cheaper AI: New models like DeepSeek-R1 are proving that AI can be small, cheap, and very smart. Why it matters: You no longer need to pay "Big Tech" prices for top-tier intelligence.

Use-Case of the Week (Business function spotlight)

Function / use-case / payoff / effort

• Function: Group Research & Drafting.

• Use-case: Use "Agent Teams" to have multiple AI bots work on one big project (like a market report) at the same time.

• Payoff: Finishes days of work in a few minutes without needing humans to pass files back and forth.

• Effort level: Medium.

Inputs required

• A clear goal and the data you want the AI to look at.

The Bottom Line

AI is no longer just a helper; it is now a direct competitor to the software you pay for every month.

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