NEW YORK, January 5, 2026, 18:41 (EST)
- Zeta Global rises after unveiling a partnership with OpenAI for its Athena marketing “AI agent”
- Traders highlight elevated short interest as a possible amplifier of the move
- Chip-linked stocks also advance as investors lean back into AI themes
Zeta Global shares jumped nearly 9% on Monday after the marketing technology firm said it will collaborate with OpenAI to power Athena, a tool it says can answer marketing questions and recommend actions for teams. The announcement, made at CES 2026, included expanded beta access for Athena’s first two applications and a plan to launch the product to all customers by the end of the first quarter, the company said. “We’ve formed many partnerships throughout Zeta’s history, but none will be more instrumental than the one we are embarking on with OpenAI,” CEO David A. Steinberg said. 1
The tie-up underscores how OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is pushing its models deeper into business software beyond chatbots. It also shows how smaller software firms are trying to keep pace by plugging into big-model providers rather than building everything from scratch.
The timing matters for investors. CES is one of the year’s loudest stages for new AI products, and the market has been quick to reward companies that can tie their story to automation and “AI infrastructure,” from chips to the software that sits on top.
Zeta’s rally also revived short-squeeze speculation among traders. Benzinga said the stock carried short interest of about 10.6% and roughly 5.03 days to cover — measures that track how much stock has been sold short and how long it might take bears to buy shares back at normal volumes if the price kept moving against them. 2
Chip-linked shares moved higher as well: Teradyne gained about 5.7%, Entegris rose 4.2%, IPG Photonics added 2.7% and Magnachip climbed 4.7%, while Power Integrations was up about 1.1%. A Yahoo Finance report earlier this month highlighted a similar chip-led bounce tied to AI demand, naming several of the same companies. 3
Wall Street’s benchmarks finished higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.23% to 48,977.18, the S&P 500 up 0.64% to 6,902.05 and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.69% to 23,395.82. 4
A market note carried on Nasdaq.com on Friday said chipmakers and AI-infrastructure companies had been underpinning gains in U.S. equities, even as moves in Treasury yields limited the rally. 5
Zeta’s deal also raises competitive stakes in marketing software, where larger vendors such as Adobe and Salesforce have been adding generative AI features to campaign and customer-data tools. For smaller firms, tapping OpenAI’s models can help close the feature gap, but it can also deepen reliance on an outside platform.
The upside case depends on whether customers adopt Athena in day-to-day workflows and whether the added computing costs eat into margins. Enterprises can also move cautiously when AI tools touch sensitive consumer data and when pricing for third-party models can change quickly.
Investors will watch for updates on Athena’s rollout and any impact on Zeta’s outlook, while the stock’s short positioning leaves it vulnerable to fast reversals if momentum fades.
