Community | University 

Feb 17, 2026

Hello, GrowthHackers! 

Welcome to your daily unfair advantage.

Every morning, we cut through the noise to bring you sharp insights, fast news, and fresh sparks to light up your brain and fuel your hustle. From scrappy hacks to big tech moves, AI shifts to culture flips this is your intel to stay ahead, move fast, and break boring.

Think of it as your growth-fueled espresso shot.
Short. Smart. Addictive.

Let’s dive in.👇

Quick Hits

1. Snapchat launches creator subscription in the U.S.
   (Direct creator revenue entering the chat)

2. Airbnb expands its “Reserve Now, Pay Later” globally
   (Impulse trips about to spike)

3. OpenAI and Google reveal competing visions for AI ads
   (The battle isn’t for clicks. It’s for answers.)

The Growth joke of the day

Why are AI companies fighting over ads?
Because whoever controls the answer… controls the invoice.

What's New in Growth Hacking/Growth Marketing?

Strategies

• Sapiom raises $15M to help AI agents buy their own tech tools
  People without coding backgrounds are discovering that they can build their own custom apps using vibe coding solutions like Lovable that turn plain-language descriptions into working code.

• We will do battle with AI chatbots as we did with Grok
  Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to respond more quickly to close loopholes in laws designed to protect children online.

• Airbnb plans to bake in AI features for search, discovery and support
  Airbnb has taken its time to launch AI features within the app, but CEO Brian Chesky on Friday said the company is now planning to bake in features powered by large language models that would help users search for listings, plan their trips, and aid hosts in managing their properties.

• Cohere launches a family of open multilingual models
  Enterprise AI company Cohere launched a new family of multilingual models on the sidelines of the ongoing India AI Summit. The models, dubbed Tiny Aya, are open-weight

• GSC Data Is 75% Incomplete
  My analysis of 450 million impressions shows Google filters three-fourths of your data. Here is how to measure the gap.

  ____________________________________________________________

People

• OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger joins OpenAI
  Peter Steinberger, who created the AI personal assistant now known as OpenClaw, has joined OpenAI.

Did you hear?
The GrowthHackers New Podcast is live!🎙️

A Founder’s Journey in Microscope

In this episode, we sit down with Jack, the 22-year-old founder of ARK-STEM — the global community and marketplace built by STEM lovers, for STEM lovers.

ARK-STEM is a dedicated platform where makers, engineers, and innovators can share projects, collaborate, sell inventions, and preserve what they build in a way that’s deeper and more enduring than fleeting social posts or video snippets.

Jack opens up about his journey from a young tinkerer to launching a platform that bridges community, creativity, and commerce.

Are you ready?

What's New in Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

• Antitrust Filing Says Google Cannibalizes Publisher Traffic
  Antitrust filing by Penske Media Corporation claims Google is cannibalizing search traffic of sites repackaged into AI search answers.

• Discover Core Update, AI Mode Ads & Crawl Policy
  Google releases a core update targeting Discover only, Alphabet reveals AI Mode ad plans, and Mueller pushes back on bot-specific content.

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