Google wants Intrinsic to be 'Android of robotics' as it pushes into physical AI
Google folds Intrinsic robotics project into core business, positioning it as infrastructure layer for physical AI. Strategy mirrors Android's platform approach, aiming to standardize robotics software across hardware manufacturers while maintaining control over the operating layer that mediates between sensors and actuators.
CNBC • Mar 2
CORPORATE NEOCORP AI
‘Attempted corporate murder’: Trump’s threats against Anthropic chill AI industry
President Trump ordered a government-wide boycott of Anthropic's Claude AI and threatened prosecution against the company after CEO Dario Amodei refused to permit military use of the technology for mass surveillance or autonomous armed drones. Defense Secretary Hegseth had suggested invoking the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to force compliance, which legal experts warned would constitute effective partial nationalization of the AI industry.
POLITICO • Mar 1
CORPORATE NEOCORP REGULATION
The billion-dollar infrastructure deals powering the AI boom
Major AI providers and cloud hyperscalers are negotiating multi-billion dollar infrastructure partnerships as the compute demands of frontier models reshape vendor relationships. OpenAI has formally diversified beyond exclusive reliance on Microsoft Azure, securing right-of-first-refusal terms while reserving capacity to use other providers if Azure cannot meet infrastructure demands; Microsoft has reciprocated by exploring other foundation models for its own AI products. Meta, Oracle, Google, and emerging players are racing to lock in the physical capacity—data centers, power agreements, and network backbone—that will determine which entities control the next phase of AI deployment.
TechCrunch • Mar 1
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Jack Dorsey's 4,000 Job Cuts at Block Arouse Suspicions of AI-Washing
Block Inc. eliminated nearly half its workforce—approximately 4,000 positions—this week, with co-founder Jack Dorsey attributing the cuts to AI-driven efficiency gains. The announcement sits at the center of an emerging critique that companies are exploiting AI anxiety to rebrand traditional cost-cutting as technological modernization, while labor advocates question whether the deployed AI capabilities actually justify the scale of displacement.
Bloomberg • Mar 1
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Google is building a bevy of renewable energy in Minnesota—including the world's largest battery system providing power for a whopping 100 hours
Google is developing a data center complex in Minnesota powered by 1.4 gigawatts of wind, 200 megawatts of solar, and Form Energy's 300-megawatt iron-air battery system capable of 100 hours of storage—enough to power 200,000 homes. The project relies on a new green tariff agreement allowing Google to self-finance its clean energy mix without passing costs to residents. Form Energy's multiday battery technology aims to solve renewable intermittency problems that have limited grid-scale adoption.
Fortune • Mar 1
CORPORATE NEOCORP INFRASTRUCTURE
Meta won’t let morality get in the way of a product launch
Meta has introduced "Name Tag," a facial recognition feature for Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses that identifies people in real-time using cameras and AI. The launch comes as ICE expands surveillance operations and the administration weaponizes deportation infrastructure, with the company maintaining close ties to federal authorities. Unlike previous facial recognition controversies that sparked public backlash, this deployment arrives amid normalized surveillance conditions where biometric identification is becoming ambient infrastructure embedded in consumer devices.
The Verge • Mar 1
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OpenAI's Sam Altman announces Pentagon deal with 'technical safeguards'
OpenAI has reached an agreement with the US Department of War to deploy its AI models within the Pentagon's classified network. CEO Sam Altman stated the deal includes prohibitions on domestic mass surveillance and maintains human responsibility for autonomous weapon systems. The agreement follows the collapse of negotiations between the Pentagon and rival AI company Anthropic, which refused to remove safeguards against surveillance and autonomous weapons use.
TechCrunch • Mar 1
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Ultrahuman bets on redesigned smart ring to win back US market after Oura dispute
Ultrahuman unveiled the Ring Pro, a redesigned smart ring engineered to work around Oura's patents following a US International Trade Commission ruling that blocked Ultrahuman's previous models from the American market. Ring Pro features 15-day battery life, on-chip machine learning for data processing, and ProRelease safety technology allowing the device to be cut off in emergencies. The company launched Jade, a real-time biointelligence AI system analyzing health data across devices to generate personalized recommendations. Global smart ring shipments grew 80% year-over-year in 2025.
TechCrunch • Feb 28
CORPORATE NEOCORP TECH
How a million new satellites could turn night into day
SpaceX has proposed deploying up to one million satellites to create orbital data centers, while a separate startup seeks FCC approval to deploy reflective satellites that would beam sunlight to Earth at night. The Washington Post reports these proposals threaten to transform the night sky into a permanent artificial twilight, with satellites outnumbering visible stars and fundamentally altering humanity's relationship with the cosmos.
The Washington Post • Feb 28
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FCC approves the merger of cable giants Cox and Charter
The Federal Communications Commission has approved Charter Communications' $34.5 billion acquisition of Cox Enterprises' residential cable, commercial fiber, and managed IT businesses. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr claimed the merger will expand rural connectivity and keep jobs in the U.S. The deal creates one of the largest cable and Wi-Fi providers in the country, consolidating significant telecommunications infrastructure under a single entity. The approval follows a pattern of merger-friendly decisions under the current FCC leadership.
Engadget • Feb 28
CORPORATE NEOCORP ANTITRUST
Mistral AI inks a deal with global consulting giant Accenture
French AI startup Mistral AI signed a multi-year partnership with Accenture, the global consulting firm that has also recently announced partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic. The deal positions Accenture as the dominant channel for enterprise AI deployment, giving it control over how businesses access and implement competing AI systems. Accenture aims to capture the consulting and integration market as enterprises struggle to find return on investment from AI tools and turn to consultants for deployment assistance.
TechCrunch • Feb 27
CORPORATE NEOCORP AUTOMATION
Trump announced a major deal on data centers. It's still unclear what's in it.
President Trump announced a "Rate Payer Protection Pledge" during his State of the Union address, claiming major tech companies agreed to build their own power plants for data centers so consumers don't pay for AI's energy appetite. Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, xAI, Oracle, and OpenAI are expected to sign the pledge on March 4. Lawmakers from both parties remain skeptical, noting the absence of enforcement mechanisms or policy specifics, and the Data Center Coalition spent nearly $1 million on lobbying in 2025.
Politico • Feb 27
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Microsoft's Japan Chief Stresses Compliance With Azure Antitrust Probe
Japan's Fair Trade Commission raided Microsoft Japan's Tokyo offices on February 25, investigating whether Microsoft's cloud service practices violate anti-monopoly laws. The probe examines allegations that Microsoft blocks Azure customers from using rival cloud services—tactics mirroring Microsoft's licensing practices already under scrutiny by UK, EU, and US regulators. Microsoft's Japan president stated the company is "fully cooperating" as regulators also seek information from Microsoft's US parent company.
Bloomberg • Feb 27
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Anthropic says Claude Code transformed programming. Now Claude Cowork is coming for the rest of the enterprise.
Anthropic launched Claude Cowork, expanding its enterprise AI platform with private plugin marketplaces, deep integrations with Google Workspace, Salesforce, and financial data providers, and administrative controls for usage and cost tracking. Early enterprise deployments show substantial efficiency gains: Novo Nordisk reduced regulatory documentation creation from 10 weeks to 10 minutes, while Thomson Reuters achieved 94% accuracy in legal research tasks using Claude.
VentureBeat • Feb 26
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The Media Merger You Should Actually Care About
Nexstar's proposed $6 billion acquisition of Tegna would create a broadcasting giant controlling more than 250 local TV stations across 44 states and the District of Columbia, requiring the FCC to waive or abolish ownership caps that have prevented excessive media concentration since the New Deal era. Trump-aligned FCC chair Brendan Carr supports lifting the ownership cap, while the merger faces opposition from both progressive groups and right-wing outlets including One America News and NewsMax.
The New Yorker • Feb 26
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Slater's departure at DOJ signals new era for antitrust under Trump
Gail Slater, the Department of Justice's top antitrust enforcer, has resigned after less than a year leading the division amid repeated tensions with top Trump officials. Her departure raises questions about the administration's approach to major anti-monopoly cases and controversial mergers, including the proposed $70 billion Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery deal. Trump had initially nominated Slater as part of a promised crackdown on Big Tech, declaring that "Big Tech has run wild for years."
The Hill • Feb 26
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OpenAI COO says 'we have not yet really seen AI penetrate enterprise business processes'
OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap stated that AI has not achieved meaningful penetration of enterprise business processes despite industry hype. Days later, OpenAI announced the "Frontier Alliance" — partnerships with Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey, Accenture, and Capgemini to deploy its agentic AI platform in enterprise environments. The company also signed an enterprise compute contract.
TechCrunch • Feb 25
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Orbital space race heats up in Arctic north
Europe's commercial space sector is accelerating with Norway's Andøya Spaceport now cleared for orbital launches. Munich-based Isar Aerospace, which saw its Spectrum rocket crash after 30 seconds in its first attempt last year, is targeting a March retry. The facility joins new spaceports in Portugal's Azores and other European locations as commercial companies displace government agencies in what could become 40,000-50,000 satellite constellations within years.
BBC • Feb 24
CORPORATE NEOCORP GEOPOLITICS
Falcon 9 rocket sets new reuse record on SpaceX's 2nd Starlink launch of the day
SpaceX demonstrated its rocket reusability dominance with a Falcon 9 booster completing its record-breaking 33rd re-flight during a Starlink satellite launch from Florida. The achievement came during a double-launch day, with another Falcon 9 simultaneously launching from California. The milestone reflects the consolidation of reusable orbital infrastructure technology in private hands, with SpaceX having deployed over 650 Starlink satellites to build its satellite communications network.
Space.com • Feb 22
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Apple's AI Wearables Push; What to Expect From March 4 Low-End MacBook Launch
Apple is accelerating development of three AI wearables including smart glasses, a pendant camera device, and AirPods equipped with cameras. CEO Tim Cook has positioned "Visual Intelligence" as the defining feature of Apple's push into wearable AI. The devices will integrate deeply with Siri and iPhone, extending Apple's ecosystem into always-on visual capture and contextual AI processing. All three products are planned for launch within the next year.
Bloomberg • Feb 22
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SerpApi asks court to dismiss Google web scraping lawsuit
A federal judge has allowed SerpApi's antitrust counterclaims against Google to proceed, finding the scraping company plausibly alleged that Google holds monopoly power in the search market and that its lawsuit against SerpApi could constitute exclusionary conduct. The ruling challenges the limits of how a monopolist can use Terms of Service to restrict access to information that has become essential internet infrastructure.
The Register • Feb 22
CORPORATE NEOCORP ANTITRUST
How A.I. Money Is Flooding Into the Midterm Elections
AI companies and allied groups have spent at least $83 million on federal elections and are positioned to deploy hundreds of millions more for the 2026 midterm elections in an extraordinary demonstration of political power from Silicon Valley. OpenAI, Anthropic, and affiliated executives are directing record political contributions as the industry moves to shape favorable regulatory frameworks and secure government contracts. The spending surge comes as AI companies face mounting regulatory scrutiny and competition for lucrative defense and infrastructure contracts. Some donors have broader political interests beyond AI policy, but the coordinated industry investment represents an unprecedented electoral mobilization by emerging technology firms.
The New York Times • Feb 22
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Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin proposes AI 'stewards' to help reinvent DAO governance
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed deploying AI "stewards" to manage decentralized autonomous organizations, using zero-knowledge proofs and secure computation environments to automate governance decisions while protecting sensitive data. The system would embed AI agents within multi-party computation or trusted execution environments, enabling them to process private information without exposing it on public blockchains. Buterin argues this architecture could overcome DAO governance failures caused by human attention limits, while privacy-preserving tools would prevent coercion and bribery in voting processes.
CoinDesk • Feb 22
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These gig workers are quitting apps like Uber and looking for full-time jobs or other side-hustles
Gig workers for Uber, DoorDash, and other platform apps are increasingly abandoning the sector due to unpredictable deactivations, declining pay, and lack of income stability. Workers report that platform algorithms can terminate their access without clear explanation, leaving them without recourse or notice. The trend signals growing disillusionment with the gig economy model as workers seek traditional employment with more predictable income and legal protections.
Business Insider • Feb 22
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Inside the Big Tech Lobbying Machine Aiming to Halt Social Media Bans
Meta and Google have dramatically escalated lobbying expenditures across Europe as governments move to implement teen social media bans. Tech industry lobbying in the EU surged 55% from 2021 to 2025, reaching €151 million annually with Meta alone spending €10 million last year. The campaign includes full-page newspaper ads invoking European icons, direct politician engagement, and advocacy for parent-controlled restrictions rather than government-imposed age limits as the industry fights to preserve youth market access.
The New York Times • Feb 22
CORPORATE NEOCORP GEOPOLITICS
Mark Zuckerberg's entourage threatened with contempt for wearing Meta AI glasses into a no-recording courtroom
A California judge threatened Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's entourage with contempt of court after they wore Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses into a Los Angeles courtroom where recording devices are prohibited. The incident occurred during a trial over whether Meta's platforms intentionally harm young users. Judge Carolyn B. Kuhl called the apparent product placement stunt "very serious."
Fortune • Feb 21
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