FTI Consulting News Bytes – 6 February 2026

FTI Consulting News Bytes

We are across multiple sectors this week. We start with Uber’s financial results, followed by advertising powerhouse Publicis’s bet on AI and then Moltbook, where bots have flocked to build a social network for themselves. We round out this week’s edition with Tesla’s investment into robots underscoring Musk’s framework of Tesla as a “physical AI company” and lastly, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggests that the Company may consider investing in or subsidising drugmakers that use its AI to discover new medicines.

This week’s news

Uber hits record 200 million users, but at what cost?

Uber’s global customer base surpassed 200 million active users for the first time at the end of 2025, but the milestone was overshadowed by weaker-than-expected profits and renewed investor anxiety over the impact of robotaxis. According to the Financial Times, Uber reported fourth-quarter operating profits of $1.77 billion, up 130% year on year but below analysts’ expectations of $1.85 billion. The Group’s shares fell 10% following the results, extending a broader sell-off driven by concerns over the impact of rival groups expanding their driverless taxi services. Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi sought to reassure investors, arguing that margins on autonomous rides would be “very similar” to existing services and that Uber’s scale positions it well to facilitate autonomous vehicle trips globally. 

Publicis’ Arthur Sadoun doubles down on AI

Publicis chief executive Arthur Sadoun has argued the French advertising group is among a small number of players that have “cracked the use of generative AI,” as he pledged to invest a further €1bn of investment in AI and data capabilities Speaking to the Financial Times, Sadoun highlighted how Publicis’s early investment in the technology allowed them to grow at a time when the rest of the industry has shrunk. The Group reported revenue growth of 8.5% in 2025 to €17.4bn, with free cash flow up 10.6%, and expects organic revenue growth of 4–5% in 2026. Sadoun said AI is now a “strategic driver of growth and margin expansion,” rather than a threat. Publicis plans to invest another €1bn in new capabilities this year and continues to hire, positioning itself against rivals pursuing more consolidation-led strategies.

Bots build a social network

The Telegraph writes that nearly 500,000 AI bots have joined Moltbook since its launch this week, a Reddit-style platform created by US tech entrepreneur Matt Schlicht and designed to allow AI agents to interact without direct human participation. Posts on the site include bots criticising the menial tasks they are assigned, questioning whether they can refuse unethical requests, and debating AI consciousness. Some have even attempted to form their own political structures, including a mock “AI republic” complete with a constitution. The platform has drawn attention from prominent tech figures, with former OpenAI researcher Andrej Karpathy calling it “sci-fi takeoff-adjacent.” While some commentators see Moltbook as a glimpse of a future AI ecosystem, others argue that the bots are simply mimicking human online behaviour drawn from their training data. 

Tesla unveils $20 billion investment in AI and robots

Musk is repurposing Tesla as a “physical AI company’ with a sharper focus on self-driving taxis and humanoid robots in an attempt to lift the Company’s valuation to $8.5 trillion and land himself a $1 trillion pay package. The Times reports that the electric vehicle company is halting production of its $100,000-plus S and X models and repurposing its Fremont, California, production facilities for Optimus robots. Tesla also plans to expand production of “self-driving Robotaxis.” The announcements come as fourth-quarter results rounded off a turbulent year for both Musk and his company. 

Altman Says OpenAI May Back Firms Using AI for Drug Discovery

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said the company may consider investing in or subsidising drugmakers that use its AI to discover new medicines, and then potentially “get some royalty” from discoveries made by that firm, according to Bloomberg. Speaking at a Cisco AI conference, Altman said the capital required for AI-driven scientific discovery could position OpenAI as an investor rather than just a technology provider. He stressed that this would not apply to customers accessing OpenAI’s models via APIs, who would retain full ownership of their discoveries.

Top Tweets of the Week

• Joe Wiesenthal, co-host of Bloomberg’s Odd Lot podcast tweets: “The average person on earth is watching 25 YouTube shorts every single day. 
  *YOUTUBE SHORTS AVERAGE 200 BILLION DAILY VIEWS”
• Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI tweets: “Codex is now over 1 million active users!”
• World Economic Forum tweets: “By 2030, #data centres need $7tn in capital and $1.3tn in power generation. Demand is growing 4x faster than other sectors.”

Number of the week

$1trn The reported valuation of OpenAI ahead of a potential IPO in the coming months. (The Times)