TL;DR

OpenAI launches ChatGPT Agent, Nvidia hits $4.2T, Meta rejects EU AI Code, Perplexity AI surges.

Highlights

• OpenAI launches ChatGPT Agent, enabling virtual computer-powered task automation for Pro users; EU rollout pending regulatory clearance 1.
• Nvidia’s market cap reaches $4.2 trillion, driven by AI chip demand and data center expansion 2.
• Meta declines to sign the EU’s voluntary AI Code of Practice for general-purpose models; compliance with the AI Act remains mandatory 3.
• White House prepares executive order requiring political neutrality in AI models used by federal contractors 4.
• UK activates Isambard-AI supercomputer, part of a £1 billion initiative to expand national AI compute capacity 5.
• U.S. House China panel Republican objects to resumed Nvidia H20 AI chip exports to China, citing security risks 6.
• Perplexity AI valued at over $18B after $100M funding round; annualized revenue jumps to $150M 7.
• Amazon cuts hundreds of AWS roles amid ongoing restructuring and continued investment in AI-related services 8.
• U.S. starts new Wyoming rare-earths mine, with Pentagon investing $400M in domestic processing to reduce reliance on China 9.
• Talen Energy acquires two major gas plants for $3.5B to meet rising AI/data center electricity demand 10.
• Adobe Firefly , Runway, and Netflix roll out new generative AI tools for multimedia and content creation 1112.
• Sonic Labs unveils Spark, a no-code AI builder for Web3 apps using Google Gemini 14.
• China-backed Salt Typhoon hackers breached U.S. Army National Guard networks for nearly a year, exposing infrastructure vulnerabilities 15.

Commentary

OpenAI’s ChatGPT Agent rollout marks a concrete step toward agentic AI, blending web navigation, code execution, and third-party integrations for enterprise automation 1. The staged release, with regulatory delays in the EEA, underlines the growing impact of compliance on product launches 1. Meta’s public refusal to sign the EU’s voluntary Code of Practice, despite looming AI Act enforcement, signals ongoing friction between U.S. tech firms and European regulators 3. This divergence could create fragmented compliance obligations and staggered feature availability across markets 3.

Nvidia’s rapid ascent to a $4.2 trillion valuation highlights persistent demand for AI hardware, but also brings attention to supply chain and policy risks 2. U.S. lawmakers’ renewed scrutiny of Nvidia’s chip exports to China 6 and the Pentagon’s $400M investment in rare-earth processing reflect the strategic importance of both compute and critical minerals 9. Meanwhile, Talen Energy ’s $3.5B acquisition of gas plants to support data center growth underscores the direct link between AI scaling and energy infrastructure, with electricity supply emerging as a limiting factor for AI expansion 10.

On the product and funding front, Perplexity AI’s valuation surge and revenue growth exemplify investor appetite for differentiated AI-native applications, particularly in search 7. Amazon ’s AWS layoffs, despite continued investment in AI, point to ongoing resource optimization as cloud providers adjust to shifting enterprise priorities 8. The wave of new generative AI tools from Adobe , Runway, and Netflix —spanning text-to-video, audio, and motion capture—demonstrates rapid progress in creative automation, with direct implications for media workflows and content production 111213.

Security and infrastructure remain critical. The year-long breach of U.S. Army National Guard networks by China-backed Salt Typhoon illustrates persistent vulnerabilities in critical systems, reinforcing the need for robust cybersecurity as AI becomes further embedded in government and enterprise operations 15. The launch of the Isambard-AI supercomputer 5 and Sonic Labs’ no-code Web3 builder also point to ongoing investment in domestic compute and developer tooling 14.