TL;DR

US may approve Nvidia chip exports to UAE/Saudi; OpenAI restructures as PBC; House GOP seeks 10-year state AI regulation ban.

Highlights

• US considers allowing UAE to import over 1 million advanced Nvidia AI chips, reflecting a shift in export controls1.
• Senator Tom Cotton’s Chip Security Act would require geo-tracking in AMD , Intel , and Nvidia AI chips to prevent smuggling to China2.
• House GOP proposes a 10-year federal ban on state AI regulations, preempting state laws and benefiting major tech firms3.
• Nvidia and Saudi AI firm Humain partner to build AI factories in Saudi Arabia; US lifts export restrictions, enabling shipment of 18,000 Nvidia Blackwell and GB300 chips56.
• Saudi Arabia launches Humain, a multibillion-dollar AI company backed by the $940B PIF, focused on Arabic-language LLMs and domestic AI infrastructure9.
• OpenAI restructures its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation, impacting Microsoft and SoftBank’s partnership terms and paving way for a potential IPO4.
• Perplexity AI nears $500M funding at a $14B valuation, with Accel and Nvidia backing, intensifying competition in AI search8.
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang to announce Taiwan HQ and ARM-based N1X AI PC processor with MediaTek at Computex 20257.
• NRG Energy acquires $12B in natural gas assets to meet surging AI/data center power demand; data centers projected to use 8.6% of US electricity by 203510.
• Apple to launch AI-powered battery management in iOS 19, debuting with iPhone 17 Air11.
• Chegg to lay off 22% of workforce and close offices amid AI-driven competition and declining revenue12.
• Mass General Brigham’s FaceAge AI predicts cancer survival from facial photos, outperforming clinicians but facing bias and adoption hurdles13.
• NHTSA investigates Tesla ’s June robotaxi launch in Austin, focusing on FSD performance in poor visibility14.
• Meta launches AssetGen 2.0, a generative AI model for high-fidelity 3D asset creation on the Horizon platform15.

Commentary

US policy on AI chip exports is in transition, as the administration weighs allowing the UAE to import over a million Nvidia chips1 and lifts restrictions for Saudi Arabia6. These moves open new markets for US chipmakers while raising questions about long-term technology transfer and security. The Chip Security Act’s proposed geo-tracking requirements for AI chips highlight growing US concerns over Chinese access to advanced semiconductors2, but will introduce new compliance burdens for hardware vendors.

Regulatory alignment is also shifting. The House GOP’s proposed decade-long preemption of state AI regulation would centralize oversight at the federal level, reducing compliance complexity for large AI firms like OpenAI, Meta , and Google3. This could delay state-led consumer protections and slow regulatory fragmentation, but may limit local innovation and responsiveness to sector-specific risks.

Strategic investments and partnerships are shaping the AI infrastructure landscape. Saudi Arabia’s Humain, backed by the PIF and partnering with Nvidia 59, is building out domestic AI capabilities and Arabic-language LLMs, with significant chip imports now possible6. OpenAI’s restructuring to a public benefit corporation and ongoing negotiations with Microsoft and SoftBank signal evolving governance and investment models, potentially influencing future AI IPOs and partnership structures4.

Product innovation remains robust: Nvidia and MediaTek are targeting consumer AI PCs7, Apple is embedding AI in battery management11, and Meta is advancing generative 3D asset creation15. Meanwhile, surging AI workloads are driving major energy investments, as seen in NRG ’s $12B acquisition to support data center demand10. In the application layer, Perplexity’s rapid valuation growth underscores investor appetite for AI-native search8, while Chegg ’s layoffs reflect the disruptive impact of AI on traditional edtech12. Healthcare AI advances, such as FaceAge, show promise but also highlight ongoing challenges around bias and clinical integration13.