Pulse

SoftBank's new venture, AGENTIC STAR, has won the Grand Prize at the 3rd Japan New Business Award for its strategic design in the expanding AI market. Separately, OpenAI has established a new subsidiary, OpenAI Deployment Company, to assist businesses in adopting AI technologies. AI

GitLab is undergoing a significant restructuring, dubbed "Act 2," to align with the rise of AI agents in software development. This strategic shift involves reducing the number of countries it operates in by up to 30%, cutting management layers, and reorganizing R&D into smaller teams. The company plans to reinvest most of the savings from these changes into developing AI agent technology, which will fundamentally alter how software is coded, reviewed, and deployed. AI

OpenAI has established a new company focused on enterprise AI adoption, aiming to provide dedicated support for businesses integrating AI technologies. This move signifies OpenAI's strategic push into the enterprise sector, offering specialized solutions and assistance. The initiative is expected to accelerate the deployment of AI within corporate environments, addressing specific business needs and challenges. AI

Robinhood is launching a second public venture fund, RVII, to allow retail investors access to early-stage startup deals. This follows the strong performance of its first fund, RVI, which has seen its market value double since its debut, partly due to its investments in AI companies like OpenAI. Unlike traditional venture capital, Robinhood's funds offer daily liquidity and do not charge profit-sharing fees, aiming to democratize startup investing. AI

Kuaishou Technology is planning to spin off its AI video generation business, KeLing AI, which is reportedly seeking to raise $2 billion at a $20 billion valuation. KeLing AI has already achieved an annualized revenue of $500 million, doubling its income since February. The company is in discussions with potential investors, including Tencent, though the deal is not yet finalized. If successful, KeLing AI would become the highest-valued independent video generation model globally. AI

Nscale, an AI infrastructure developer, has secured $790 million in financing for its data center campus in Narvik, Norway. The deal, backed by several Nordic and European banks, signals a shift towards treating AI infrastructure as long-term industrial utility rather than speculative tech. This funding will support the expansion of Nscale's GPU campus, highlighting the increasing competition for energy, capital, and grid access driven by AI development. AI

Canada is launching a "digital independence" initiative to bolster its domestic AI infrastructure, aiming to reduce reliance on U.S. tech giants. The country's AI Minister, Evan Solomon, announced up to $66 million in funding for 44 projects across British Columbia through the Compute Access Fund. This initiative supports Canadian data centers and companies, with a focus on sustainability and community benefit, including a partnership with Telus for new AI-focused data center sites. AI

Cellular Intelligence, an AI startup funded by Mark Zuckerberg, has acquired the rights to an experimental Parkinson's cell therapy from Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company known for Ozempic. This acquisition signifies a convergence of artificial intelligence and biotechnology in the pursuit of treatments for neurological diseases. The deal involves Cellular Intelligence taking over the development and treatment rights for the therapy. AI

Basata has secured $21 million in funding to advance its AI agents for healthcare and administrative tasks. Separately, AI agents are reportedly driving increased demand for Mac Minis, and a veteran investor is backing Ethereum due to AI agent growth. Google has also identified criminal hackers utilizing AI to discover major vulnerabilities. AI

Wall Street is experiencing a significant boom in AI-related memory chip stocks, with the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index surging and companies like Micron seeing substantial gains. This surge is driven by the high demand for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) chips essential for AI accelerators, which require significantly more memory than traditional servers. However, a Harvard Business School professor warns that this rapid price increase and demand curve are unsustainable and reminiscent of past memory market cycles, predicting a future correction. AI

OpenAI has launched DeployCo, a new venture aimed at assisting businesses in developing AI-driven solutions. Separately, Cowboy Space has secured $275 million in funding to construct data centers in orbit, addressing the growing demand for space-based computing infrastructure. AI

Cowboy Space Corporation has secured $275 million in Series B funding to develop its own rocket program, aiming to address the scarcity of launch capacity for orbital data centers. The company, formerly Aetherflux, pivoted from space-based solar power to focus on hosting AI computing workloads in orbit. CEO Baiju Bhatt believes building their own rockets is necessary to scale the business and compete economically with terrestrial alternatives, despite the significant challenge and competition from established players like SpaceX and Blue Origin. AI

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is in discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding a significant investment in AI data centers within France. This initiative is part of SoftBank's broader strategy to establish global AI infrastructure, with Son considering a multi-billion dollar commitment. The announcement is anticipated in the coming weeks, signaling a major move in the AI hardware landscape. AI

Arm has secured over $2 billion in commitments for its new AGI CPU, more than double its initial expectations, with $90-100 million slated for shipment in Q4 2026. Despite this strong demand, an analyst predicts Arm's market share in the data center CPU sector will remain in the low single digits. The company projects substantial revenue growth, aiming for $15 billion in AGI CPU sales by FY 2031, which would significantly boost its total revenue. AI

SoftBank is investing in water-based battery technology to power AI data centers. This initiative aims to provide a more sustainable and secure energy source for the growing demands of artificial intelligence computation. The company's strategy focuses on leveraging clean energy to support future AI infrastructure. AI

SoftBank is launching a battery manufacturing business in Japan to meet the escalating power demands of artificial intelligence applications. The company aims to produce battery cells and energy storage systems, targeting gigawatt-hour scale production by fiscal year 2028 and over 100 billion yen in annual revenue by 2030. This initiative involves partnering with South Korean startups to develop zinc-halogen batteries, which utilize water-based electrolytes for enhanced safety compared to traditional lithium-ion cells and to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains. AI

MiniMax's affiliated company, Shanghai Xiyu Jizhi, has significantly increased its registered capital from 1 billion to 4 billion RMB. This substantial 300% surge indicates a major scaling of AI infrastructure and operations for the company. The entity, established in November 2021, focuses on services including AI software development and computer systems. AI

OpenAI facilitated a significant stock sale for its employees in October, allowing up to 75 individuals to sell shares worth $30 million each. This event resulted in a total of $6.6 billion in shares being sold by over 600 employees, creating a new cohort of millionaires within the company. This move is seen as a way to provide pre-IPO liquidity and aid in employee retention as the company's valuation continues to climb. AI

A recent report indicates that automation, largely driven by AI investments, is the primary cause of job cuts in the US. In April alone, employers shed 83,387 jobs, a significant increase from the previous month, with the tech sector leading these reductions. Major tech companies like Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet are implementing substantial layoffs and workforce reductions, reallocating funds towards AI development and infrastructure. AI

The global economy is experiencing an unprecedented capital expenditure cycle, projected to reach nearly $5 trillion by the end of the decade. This boom is driven by a confluence of factors including energy security, rising electricity demand, and decarbonization efforts, alongside significant investments in AI infrastructure. Major tech companies like Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are investing heavily in AI, contributing to a surge in chip demand and related capital spending. AI

China is accelerating its efforts to bolster its AI-driven cybersecurity market in response to advancements by leading US firms like Anthropic and OpenAI. These US companies are releasing new models with improved security features, prompting China to scale up its own AI cyber defense capabilities. Industry analysts project significant growth for China's AI cybersecurity sector, anticipating a valuation of approximately $8.7 billion by 2030, driven by domestic vendors integrating AI into their security products. AI

Transsion has invested in Future Smart, a company that produces AI meeting earbuds powered by iFlytek technology. This collaboration is focused on developing advanced AI Agent hardware for global markets. The partnership aims to leverage Future Smart's existing user base of 1.5 million and expand into regions like Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. AI

OpenAI has significantly increased the pricing for its GPT-5.5 model, with real-world costs rising by 49% to 92% depending on input length, despite claims of shorter responses offsetting the hike. This price increase, mirroring Anthropic's earlier adjustments to Claude Opus 4.7, is attributed to both companies preparing for potential IPOs. In response, developers are exploring multi-model routing strategies to manage costs by directing simpler tasks to cheaper models like Kimi K2.6 or DeepSeek V4-Pro, while reserving premium models for complex or critical operations. AI

Anthropic is experiencing unprecedented growth, with revenue and usage increasing 80-fold in a single quarter, leading to infrastructure challenges. To meet demand, the company has secured a significant compute deal with Elon Musk's xAI, renting the entire Colossus 1 data center which provides 220,000 NVIDIA GPUs. This partnership aims to alleviate usage limits for its Claude Code and API services, despite past public criticisms from Musk towards Anthropic. AI

Anthropic has issued a warning to investors regarding unauthorized secondary platforms that are offering access to its shares. The AI company explicitly named several platforms, stating that any transactions facilitated by them are void and will not be recognized. This action comes as demand for shares in AI companies surges, with Anthropic being a particularly sought-after stock on secondary markets. The company is reinforcing its transfer restrictions, making it clear that any share sales or transfers not approved by its board are invalid. AI

Anthropic has secured a significant compute deal with SpaceX, taking over the entire capacity of the Colossus 1 data center, which houses over 220,000 NVIDIA GPUs. This partnership immediately doubles the rate limits for paid Claude Code users and removes peak-hour restrictions, addressing user complaints about service strain. The agreement also includes Anthropic's interest in developing orbital AI compute capacity with SpaceX, signaling a strategic move to secure infrastructure amidst rapid growth and intense competition. AI

The White House is considering an executive order that would require government review of new AI models before their release, a move reportedly prompted by Anthropic's Mythos model. This potential policy shift was discussed with executives from Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI. Meanwhile, major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are significantly increasing their AI spending, collectively up 71% year-over-year, though Meta's shares saw a dip after its plans were revealed. AI

Meta is experiencing record profits alongside historically low employee morale, with many workers anticipating layoffs and expressing dissatisfaction with company culture and policies. Employees are reportedly unhappy with widening pay gaps, mandatory role changes, and the use of their activity to train AI models. In response to these concerns, some UK-based employees are organizing to form a labor union, seeking better treatment and job security. AI

Eli Lilly has invested $2.75 billion in Insilico Medicine, a Hong Kong-based company that uses AI for drug discovery. This significant deal highlights the growing trend of major pharmaceutical companies committing substantial funds to AI-driven biotechnology. In a single week, the broader pharmaceutical industry reportedly invested $13.6 billion in AI biotech ventures. AI

Elon Musk initiated a $130 billion lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging CEO Sam Altman "stole a charity," while OpenAI's defense characterized the suit as "sour grapes." The trial began with opening statements, with Musk testifying about the potential damage to charitable giving if such actions are deemed acceptable. Concurrently, Google finalized a classified AI deal with the Pentagon, allowing its models like Gemini for "any lawful government purpose," despite internal employee protests. This Pentagon agreement follows similar deals by OpenAI and xAI, and comes as Google's AI principles have evolved since 2018. AI