Surprising no one, DOGE was a trending topic across all tech coverage in February. As the current administration attempts to cut federal spending by reducing its workforce and eliminating pre-existing policies, questions around data privacy and security are dominating cloud, connectivity, and cybersecurity verticals in the media. We expect this trend to continue, especially as we see the implications of this activity take shape over the coming months. In the fintech and insurtech spaces, AI remained a major topic of discussion, particularly around regulation and customer experiences. Tariff threats and talks of downsizing the CFPB and FDIC also trended in fintech conversations.

Fintech moved ahead of cloud in share of voice this month, driven largely by the CFPB releasing new regulations around AI-powered financial products and consumer transparency. Cybersecurity also saw an increase following DOGE’s rollback of several IT security programs. As all federal employees were recently asked to document what work they had completed via email, even those that work with classified material, security coverage will likely continue to increase. Both cloud and connectivity had slightly slower months comparatively. However, we expect this downward trend to reverse coming out of SXSW in March when emerging technology and innovation are core focuses.

AI’s double-edged sword remained a key topic in February. Discussions centered on its transformative potential alongside concerns about cybersecurity, regulation, and ethics. Many alternative trending hashtags were linked to AI’s impact across various sectors. For instance, #Crypto gained traction as industry leaders explored AI’s fusion with finance. Both #tech and #technology also trended, often in the context of AI driving technological innovation. Additionally, #Web3 saw an uptick, with conversations focusing on AI’s influence on decentralized applications, cloud solutions, and blockchain innovations aimed at enhancing user autonomy, security, and transparent data management.

Fintech continues to dominate the social B2B tech conversation. There’s a lot of DeFi/blockchain/Crypto chatter happening, predominately due to X conversations. Removing X mentions shows a much more even breakdown of conversation (Fintech: 33%, Cloud: 22%, Cybersecurity: 18%, Connectivity: 15%, and Insurtech: 11%) vs. the breakdown reflected in our charts.

Including X posts and mentions in our search returns conversations focused on AI developments, cloud computing innovation, the fintech transformation and crypto revolution, and educational opportunities in tech (driven by bots and spam posts). Without X, discussions include the need for financial oversight, concerns about data and privacy, worry around corruption and accountability (and tech influence on political corruption), and AI developments.