TL;DR

OpenAI open-sources LLMs; Claude 4.1 leads coding; US agencies approve ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude.

Highlights

• OpenAI releases open-weight LLMs—gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b—under Apache 2.0, enabling commercial use and local deployment; models run efficiently on Nvidia Corp H100 or consumer GPUs and are available via major cloud and AI platforms 12.
• Google DeepMind launches Gemini 2.5 Deep Think ($250/month), targeting advanced reasoning tasks; Anthropic releases Claude Opus 4.1, which leads coding benchmarks and revokes OpenAI’s Claude model access over TOS violations 2.
• Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.1 outperforms OpenAI o3 and Gemini 2.5 Pro on SWE-bench; available via API and major clouds, with unchanged pricing and classified at AI Safety Level 3 3.
• OpenAI explores a $500B secondary share sale as ChatGPT weekly active users reach 700M and annualized revenue hits $12B 5.
• US GSA approves OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic for federal procurement; OpenAI offers ChatGPT Enterprise to all federal agencies for $1/year per agency, with privacy guarantees 7.
• OpenAI removes ChatGPT’s search-sharing feature after 100,000 user chats were indexed by Google , raising data privacy concerns 10.
• Nvidia Corp rejects US and China proposals for hardware backdoors or kill switches, citing security risks 4.
• Advanced Micro Devices Q2 revenue rises 32% to $7.7B, but AI chip sales to China drop due to US export curbs; guidance excludes China MI308 sales pending approval 6.
• Super Micro Computer, Inc. Common Stock stock drops 15% after missing revenue targets and lowering sales guidance, citing Nvidia chip delays and capital constraints 8.
• Tesla, Inc. Common Stock trains a 10x larger Full Self-Driving model with improved video compression, aiming for September release 9.
• AI-driven layoffs in the US exceed 10,000 in July; entry-level corporate job postings decline as AI references in job ads surge 13.
• Astera Labs, Inc. Common Stock Q2 revenue up 150% YoY, raises Q3 guidance, driven by PCIe 6 ramp and AI infrastructure demand 14.
• Clay, an AI sales platform, raises $100M Series C at $3.1B valuation, projects $100M 2025 revenue, and promotes “GTM engineering” 15.
• Seven Republican senators urge Commerce to investigate Chinese AI model DeepSeek for security risks; Senator Cotton questions Intel Corp CEO’s China ties 12.

Commentary

OpenAI’s release of open-weight LLMs under Apache 2.0 marks a significant return to open model distribution, directly intensifying competition with Meta, Mistral, DeepSeek, and others 12. The models’ ability to run efficiently on both enterprise and consumer hardware, along with permissive licensing, will likely accelerate adoption, experimentation, and custom deployments across the ecosystem 12. This move comes as OpenAI’s commercial momentum continues—ChatGPT now serves 700 million weekly users, with annualized revenue doubling to $12B and a $500B secondary share sale under consideration 5.

Model innovation remains rapid. Google DeepMind’s Gemini 2.5 Deep Think and Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.1 both target high-value research and coding use cases, with Claude 4.1 leading key coding benchmarks and available on major cloud platforms 23. Anthropic’s decision to revoke OpenAI’s access to Claude models underscores the increasing competitive and contractual friction among top vendors 2. Meanwhile, the US government’s procurement approval for OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic—paired with OpenAI’s $1/agency ChatGPT Enterprise offer—signals growing institutional adoption, but also places a spotlight on privacy after OpenAI’s search-sharing feature exposed 100,000 user chats 710.

Supply chain and regulatory issues continue to impact the hardware landscape. Advanced Micro Devices posted strong Q2 results but is constrained by US export controls on AI chips to China, while Super Micro Computer, Inc. Common Stock ’s miss and guidance cut reflect ongoing Nvidia Corp chip delivery delays 68. Nvidia Corp ’s public stance against hardware backdoors, amid scrutiny from both US and Chinese regulators, highlights the ongoing tension between security, compliance, and global supply chain reliability 4.

Labor market impacts are increasingly visible, with AI-driven layoffs topping 10,000 in July and entry-level corporate roles shrinking 13. At the same time, new AI-native professions—such as GTM engineering at Clay, which just raised $100M at a $3.1B valuation—are emerging, reflecting a shift in workforce demand 15. Astera Labs, Inc. Common Stock ’s strong quarter and upward guidance further illustrate that AI infrastructure remains a growth engine, with institutional investors increasing exposure 14.

Geopolitical scrutiny is intensifying, as US lawmakers call for investigations into Chinese AI models and executives’ ties to China 12. For AI professionals, these developments underscore the need to track regulatory changes, model release cycles, and evolving enterprise adoption patterns—especially as open models and privacy practices become central to both competition and compliance.