TL;DR

SoftBank ups OpenAI investment to $32B; Grok 4 launches; Google, Tencent, Salesforce, Goldman scale AI.

Highlights

• SoftBank raises its OpenAI investment to $32B, targeting ASI leadership and further OpenAI funding 1.
• xAI to launch Grok 4 in early July, skipping 3.5, with improved reasoning/coding and Tesla Optimus integration 2.
• Google DeepMind releases Gemini 2.5 (including Flash-Lite) and open-sources Gemma 3n, a sub-10B parameter multimodal model for edge devices 3.
• Tencent unveils Hunyuan-A13B, an 80B MoE LLM (13B active), with 256K context and dual reasoning modes, optimized for agentic tasks 4.
• Microsoft delays Maia AI chip to 2026, extending reliance on Nvidia as rivals advance proprietary silicon 5.
• CoreWeave revives talks to acquire Core Scientific , aiming for direct control of data center capacity amid surging AI compute demand 6.
• Trump administration drafting executive orders to accelerate U.S. power grid expansion for AI/data centers; AI Action Plan due July 23 7.
• Senate Republicans divided over a 10-year federal moratorium on state/local AI regulation, with bipartisan opposition and procedural hurdles 8.
• Germany asks Apple and Google to remove DeepSeek over data transfer/privacy risks; EU scrutiny of Chinese AI apps intensifies 9.
• U.S. judges rule in favor of Meta and Anthropic on AI training data fair use, but leave shadow library issues unresolved 10.
• Salesforce reports AI now handles up to 50% of its internal workload, targeting 1B virtual agents by end-2025 11.
• Redwood Materials powers a 2,000-GPU AI data center with repurposed EV batteries, targeting scalable, lower-emission AI energy infrastructure 12.
• Uber in talks to fund Travis Kalanick’s bid for Pony.ai’s U.S. unit, signaling renewed U.S. robotaxi interest 13.
• EU threatens Meta with daily fines over its “pay-or-consent” ad model under the Digital Markets Act 14.
• Goldman Sachs rolls out its GS AI Assistant firmwide after a 10,000-employee pilot, expanding generative AI use on Wall Street 15.

Commentary

Major AI players are accelerating both investment and product cycles. SoftBank’s expanded $32B commitment to OpenAI and hints at future IPO activity reinforce the centrality of foundation models and agent platforms in global AI strategy 1. xAI’s decision to skip Grok 3.5 and move directly to Grok 4, with a focus on advanced reasoning and coding, intensifies competition with OpenAI and signals a rapid pace of model iteration 2. Google DeepMind and Tencent are both pushing efficiency and accessibility: Gemini 2.5 emphasizes speed and developer tooling, while Gemma 3n and Hunyuan-A13B target edge and open-source adoption with strong multimodal and context capabilities 34.

On the infrastructure side, Microsoft’s Maia chip delay to 2026 cements Nvidia’s dominance in AI hardware for the near term, while Amazon and Google continue to benefit from their in-house silicon 5. CoreWeave ’s renewed pursuit of Core Scientific highlights the strategic value of direct data center control as AI compute demand outpaces grid and facility expansion 6. Energy supply is now a critical bottleneck, with the Trump administration preparing executive actions to accelerate permitting and grid build-out for AI workloads 7, and Redwood Materials demonstrating alternative energy models with large-scale second-life battery deployments 12.

Regulatory and legal developments remain fluid. The U.S. Senate is split over a proposed decade-long moratorium on state/local AI regulation, reflecting ongoing debate over federal preemption versus local oversight 8. Germany’s push to remove DeepSeek from app stores, along with broader EU scrutiny of Chinese AI, signals tightening data sovereignty and privacy enforcement 9. Meanwhile, U.S. court rulings have given AI developers some clarity on fair use for training data, but unresolved issues around shadow library sourcing mean legal risk persists 10.

Enterprise adoption is scaling rapidly. Salesforce reports that AI now handles up to half its workload and is targeting a billion-agent deployment 11, while Goldman Sachs ’ firmwide rollout of its AI assistant signals that generative AI is moving from pilot to core operational tool in finance 15. The sector is also seeing renewed interest in autonomous vehicles, with Uber and Travis Kalanick exploring a bid for Pony.ai’s U.S. unit amid ongoing U.S.–China tech tensions 13.