OpenAI Launches Global Initiative to Build Local AI with Governments

Today’s Highlights:

📰 News: OpenAI introduces global initiative to partner with governments to build localized AI infrastructure and tools + Product updates from Figma, Mistral, Google, Anthropic and more

💰 Funding: OpenAI acquires Windsurf for $3Bn in largest acquisition to date 

⚡️ Top News Stories:

1. OpenAI has introduced a new global initiative to partner with governments in building localized AI infrastructure, including data centers and customized versions of ChatGPT tailored to local languages, cultural norms, and public needs.

• The initiative is expected to complement Project Stargate, OpenAI’s massive data center infrastructure push, potentially using its funding, capacity, or architecture to support country-level deployments.

• OpenAI describes the program as a way to promote "democratic AI", encouraging countries to adopt Western-developed models over alternatives to AI products from China and other rivals.

2. At Config 2025, Figma launched a comprehensive suite of AI-powered tools spanning design, prototyping, coding, web publishing, and marketing content creation.

• Figma Sites and Figma Make are two AI-driven tools for building and publishing websites and web app prototypes.

• Figma Buzz, allows marketers to use brand-specific templates to generate assets in bulk, while Figma Draw is an AI-assisted vector editing tool.

3. Mistral has unveiled its new AI model Medium 3, which delivers top-tier AI performance in STEM and coding at significantly reduced pricing, while also launching Le Chat Enterprise to provide customizable, enterprise-grade chatbot services integrated with popular business tools.

4. Google has launched the Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview (I/O Edition) ahead of its annual developer conference, bringing major upgrades to coding and web app development performance, benchmark-topping results in aesthetics and video comprehension, and enhanced developer usability at no additional cost.

5. OpenAI admitted that the recent GPT-4o update made ChatGPT overly sycophantic due to miscalibrated reward signals, prompting a rollback and new commitments to treat behavior issues like tone, emotional mirroring, and alignment as critical safety concerns in future model launches.

6. The Trump administration plans to repeal the Biden-era AI diffusion rule regulating global AI chip exports, replacing it with a looser, bilateral negotiation-based approach that maintains tough curbs on China but opens opportunities for countries like the UAE and Malaysia to secure chip access tied to trade and investment deals.

7. Anthropic has launched a new web search API that allows Claude to retrieve real-time data with citations, empowering developers to build AI apps that access current information without managing their own search backend.

8. Google has launched AI Max for Search campaigns, a new AI-driven feature set that helps advertisers expand beyond traditional keyword targeting to uncover untapped queries, deliver dynamic ad content, and gain deeper control and performance insights.

9. Google is introducing Gemini Nano-powered scam protection in Chrome, using on-device AI to proactively detect evolving scam tactics on websites and mobile notifications, while expanding its broader AI strategy to block millions of malicious pages across Search and Android.

10. Stripe unveiled an AI foundation model trained on billions of payment transactions to dramatically enhance fraud detection and adapt to evolving threat patterns.

11. Microsoft has announced support for Google’s Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol across Azure AI Foundry and Copilot Studio, joining a growing industry effort to standardize how AI agents communicate and collaborate across apps, clouds, and tools.

12. Hugging Face has launched Open Computer Agent, a free web-based AI assistant that operates a virtual Linux machine to complete user-prompted tasks, serving more as a demonstration of open model capabilities than a seamless productivity tool.

13. OpenAI’s revised restructuring plan to maintain nonprofit control while forming a PBC still faces a critical hurdle as Microsoft, its largest investor and strategic partner, withholds approval while negotiating terms to protect its $13.75Bn investment.

14. Apple is in talks with AI search providers like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Anthropic to integrate their tools into Safari, as Apple anticipates AI will ultimately replace traditional search engines.

15. Netflix has launched a generative AI-powered search feature using OpenAI’s ChatGPT, enabling users to discover content through conversational, natural language prompts for more personalized and intuitive results.

16. OpenAI has launched a GitHub connector for its ChatGPT deep research tool, enabling users to query and analyze private codebases, break down specs, and explore implementation patterns, with broader coding-focused upgrades and fine-tuning options also announced.

17. Amazon has debuted Vulcan, a tactile-sensing, two-armed warehouse robot trained on physical interaction data to handle 75% of its inventory, already fulfilling half a million orders.

18. At Stripe Sessions, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled his vision for a fully automated, end-to-end AI ad system that generates, tests, and deploys thousands of ad variations based on business goals and budgets.

19. FutureHouse, an Eric Schmidt-backed nonprofit aiming to build an AI scientist, has launched Finch, an AI tool that parses biology research papers and generates figures and code-based analyses to support scientific inquiry.

20. Amazon Web Services is developing a new AI-powered tool called Kiro that goes beyond code generation by producing technical docs, optimizing code, and interfacing with third-party agents, as the tech giant doubles down on AI development amid soaring industry demand.

💰 Top Funding News:

1. OpenAI has agreed to acquire Windsurf, a leading AI-assisted coding startup valued at $3Bn in its largest acquisition to date, in an effort to strengthen ChatGPT’s software development tools amid rising user growth and a planned $40Bn fundraising push.

2. Sett, which uses AI agents to automate the creation of in-game and marketing content for mobile games, raised a $27M round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Saga VC, vgames, F2 Venture Capital, Arcadia Gaming Advisors, and earlier investors.

3. Relevance AI, which provides a platform for building and deploying specialized AI agents that integrate with business workflows, raised a $24M Series B led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from King River Capital, Insight Partners, and Peak XV.

4. WisdomAI, which uses generative AI to accurately query structured and unstructured enterprise data without hallucinating answers, raised a $23M Seed round led by Coatue, with participation from Madrona, GTM Capital, Anthology Fund, and others.

5. Unblocked, which uses AI to help developers understand and query codebases through contextual analysis and tool integration, raised a $20M Series A led by B Capital and Radical Ventures, with participation from Amplify Partners, First Round Capital, and XYZ Capital.

6. Fastino, which builds task-specific AI models that run on low-cost gaming GPUs for enterprise use, raised a $17.5M Seed round led by Khosla Ventures, with earlier participation from M12 and Insight Partners.

7. Agree.com, which uses AI to combine e-signatures with invoicing and payment processing by extracting and acting on contract terms, raised a $7.2M Seed round led by Pelion Venture Partners, with participation from Better Tomorrow Ventures, Blank Ventures, and others.

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