The Download: inside a deepfake marketplace, and EV batteries’ future

February 2, 2026
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Inside the marketplace powering bespoke AI deepfakes of real women Civitai—an online marketplace for buying and selling AI-generated content, backed by the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz—is letting users buy custom instruction files…

What’s next for EV batteries in 2026

February 2, 2026
MIT Technology Review’s What’s Next series looks across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them here. Demand for electric vehicles and the batteries that power them has never been hotter. In 2025, EVs made up over a quarter of new vehicle sales globally,…

Why Tether’s CEO is everywhere right now

February 1, 2026
For years, Tether’s CEO avoided the United States, watching from offshore as regulators circled and prosecutors investigated. Those days are over.