OpenAI hiked the amount it expects to spend on data centers as the company prepares for an IPO and expands its cloud computing ambitions. The new projections — $750 billion through 2030, according to The Wall Street Journal — point to the speed and scale of US’ AI buildout: OpenAI ...
Category: Semafor
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US says China’s Moonshot stole from AnthropicUS says China’s Moonshot stole from Anthropic
The US accused a leading Chinese AI startup of exploiting American tech to create its latest model, threatening sanctions in response to what Washington described as “industrial-scale” theft of intellectual property. The White House alleged that Moonshot improperly used Nvidia chips and Anthropic’s Fable model to create Kimi K3, whose ...
An ode to trash collectorsAn ode to trash collectors
by Simon Paré-Poupart. This Montrealer and former journalist’s memoir of two decades in the bin collection business provides an intimate and unflinching look at a profession that many would care not to dwell on, but which nonetheless offers one of the last unionized workplaces for unskilled laborers. “Tightly written and ...
Key Democrat will oppose crypto bill absent stronger ethics languageKey Democrat will oppose crypto bill absent stronger ethics language
The News Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., on Wednesday vowed to oppose the Senate’s cryptocurrency regulation bill unless Republicans strengthen its ethics provisions, arguing the latest GOP proposal relies too heavily on the Justice Department. Speaking at Semafor’s World of Work event, Alsobrooks said a draft provision making the DOJ the ...
Democrats crash their own partyDemocrats crash their own party
David’s view What’s the point of a political party? We’ve received a few answers to that question this month. Maine Democrats threw together a mini-primary to replace their US Senate nominee. In Wisconsin, where the Democrat most party leaders were comfortable with blew up her campaign, Gov. Tony Evers yanked ...
PsiQuantum gets DARPA backingPsiQuantum gets DARPA backing
PsiQuantum is getting a $125 million cash infusion from DARPA, the startup announced today, a new vote of confidence for its efforts to build the world’s first large-scale quantum computer. PsiQuantum is part of DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative, which started as a way to evaluate the legitimacy of quantum startups ...
AI is just softwareAI is just software
Reed’s view The blast radius from Chinese open-weight model Kimi K3 continues to widen. President Donald Trump’s tech adviser Michael Kratsios and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are threatening China over what they deem as IP theft, while OpenAI’s Dean Ball is pushing the White House to stop US companies from ...
Africa’s data center growth needs power sector overhaulAfrica’s data center growth needs power sector overhaul
The News African countries must open up their power markets in order to court the private investors needed to supply the electricity that AI will demand, a data center executive told Semafor, as a new report warned the continent risks seeing little economic benefit from the technology. Africa’s economy is ...
Africa’s AI-driven lender to enter Ethiopia, EgyptAfrica’s AI-driven lender to enter Ethiopia, Egypt
The News An AI-driven lending platform backed by one of South Africa’s biggest lenders is expanding into two of Africa’s largest credit-starved markets, its CEO told Semafor, betting its machine-learning algorithms can maintain a default rate that is a fraction of traditional commercial banks. Optasia, which made its stock market ...
What I learned as Israel’s first Consul General in DubaiWhat I learned as Israel’s first Consul General in Dubai
Liron’s view Six years ago, the signing of the Abraham Accords was dismissed by skeptics as a fragile, fair-weather agreement, bound to shatter at the first sign of Middle Eastern turbulence. Yet, as we mark the latest anniversary of that historic breakthrough — and as I conclude my tenure as ...