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AI executives testify before US Senate on regulations and infrastructure
Plus Perplexity set to close $500M round
Today’s Highlights:
📰 News: AI executives testify before US Senate on regulations and infrastructure + More AI updates from across the government
💰 Funding: Perplexity set to close $500M round + Google launches AI investing fund for startups using Deepmind
⚡️ Top News Stories:
1. In testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee, executives from OpenAI, Microsoft, AMD, and CoreWeave called on Congress to ease regulations, invest in AI infrastructure, and avoid restrictive export controls, warning that U.S. dominance in AI hinges on swift, supportive policy amid growing competition from China.
2. In high-stakes negotiations with Microsoft, OpenAI is working to revise its partnership terms — including equity and IP rights — to enable a corporate restructuring that would allow for a future IPO while maintaining nonprofit oversight, amid regulatory pressure, investor expectations, and internal tensions.
3. Sakana AI's Continuous Thought Machine (CTM) introduces a time-aware neural network that mimics biological brain functions through neuron synchronization, enabling transparent and adaptive problem-solving.
4. OpenAI’s $500M Stargate data center project is reportedly stalling due to investor caution around tariffs, rising construction costs, and fears of AI infrastructure overcapacity, with key backer SoftBank yet to solidify its financing plans.
5. President Trump’s upcoming Middle East trip signals a shift in U.S. AI strategy as he seeks to transform American dominance in AI chips into global political leverage, courting Gulf allies like Saudi Arabia and the UAE in return for billions in AI infrastructure deals and investment.
6. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince launched a $940B-backed AI company, Humain, to build national AI infrastructure just as Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, and Donald Trump arrive in Riyadh for a U.S.-Saudi investment forum centered on artificial intelligence.
7. House Republicans have slipped language into the Budget Reconciliation bill that would bar states from regulating AI for 10 years, potentially nullifying laws on AI transparency, safety, and bias audits, in what critics say is a radical pro-industry maneuver backed by Trump-aligned tech elites.
8. OpenAI is in discussions with the FDA to deploy an AI tool called cderGPT to streamline drug evaluations at the agency’s Center for Drug Evaluation, potentially shortening the lengthy review process — though concerns remain about the reliability of such models in medical contexts.
9. British musicians including Elton John and Dua Lipa have signed an open letter urging the UK government to scrap a proposal allowing AI developers to scrape copyrighted content unless artists opt out, warning it would hand their work to tech giants without consent or compensation.
💰 Top Funding News:
1. Perplexity is closing a $500M round led by Accel that values the AI search startup at $14Bn, with backing from tech titans and plans to build a Chrome-rivaling “agentic browser.
2. Google has launched its AI Futures Fund to invest in startups using DeepMind’s tools, offering early access to AI models, expert support, and cloud credits on a rolling basis, as part of its growing commitment to nurturing the next generation of AI innovation.
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