💡 Microsoft-OpenAI Rift, DOGE Drama, $500B AI Bet
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, January 22. Today we are covering:
Microsoft is no longer OpenAI's exclusive cloud provider
'DOGE' revamp empowers Musk as frictions spur Ramaswamy's exit
OpenAI and Softbank are starting a $500 billion AI data center company
Trump Says He's Open to Elon Musk or Larry Ellison Purchasing TikTok
Amid war, vicious attacks and political turmoil, global fact-checkers fear the impact of the end of Meta's programme
Let’s dive in
Microsoft is no longer OpenAI's exclusive cloud provider
By Kyle Wiggers via TechCrunch
Microsoft is no longer OpenAI's exclusive cloud provider; the two companies have revised their agreement, granting Microsoft a "right of first refusal" for OpenAI's new cloud computing capacity needs.
OpenAI announced Stargate, a $50 billion AI infrastructure project with SoftBank, Oracle, and others, to address its growing compute demands, previously a source of tension with Microsoft.
Despite these changes, key elements of the Microsoft-OpenAI partnership remain intact, including Azure exclusivity for OpenAI APIs, revenue-sharing, and long-term access to OpenAI’s technology through 2030, unless artificial general intelligence (AGI) thresholds are met.
𝕏: "This new agreement also includes changes to the exclusivity on new capacity, moving to a model where Microsoft has a right of first refusal (ROFR). To further support OpenAI, Microsoft has approved OpenAI’s ability to build additional capacity, primarily for research and training of models." - Tibor Blaho (@btibor91)
'DOGE' revamp empowers Musk as frictions spur Ramaswamy's exit
By Faiz Siddiqui via Washington Post
President Donald Trump has established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), granting Elon Musk's team sweeping access to federal agencies, including the U.S. Digital Service, now renamed the U.S. DOGE Service.
Tensions over philosophical differences led to Vivek Ramaswamy's exit from DOGE, as Musk's technology-first approach clashed with Ramaswamy's focus on constitutional and regulatory reforms.
Musk's leadership positions DOGE to revamp government technology, leveraging his business expertise and AI, while raising concerns over access to sensitive federal data.
𝕏: NEWS - How Elon Musk's vision for DOGE prevailed, culminating in Ramaswamy exit: - Musk & Ramaswamy have had diverging ideas of how DOGE would work for months; - Musk wanted DOGE inside the WH, where it could obtain sensitive government information across agencies. Ramaswamy had wanted a nongovernmental body, as originally pitched;... - Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo)
The best way to reach new readers is through word of mouth. If you click THIS LINK in your inbox, it’ll create an easy-to-send pre-written email you can just fire off to some friends.
OpenAI and Softbank are starting a $500 billion AI data center company
By Richard Lawler via The Verge
OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX announced a $500 billion investment in "The Stargate Project," aimed at building AI-focused data centers across the United States, starting with Texas.
Key tech partners, including Microsoft, NVIDIA, Arm, and Oracle, will collaborate to build and operate the infrastructure, with Microsoft retaining a right of first refusal for OpenAI's new cloud capacity.
At the announcement, Masayoshi Son, Sam Altman, and Larry Ellison credited President Donald Trump for enabling the project, highlighting its alignment with the administration's tech initiatives.
𝕏: This is on the scale of the Apollo Program and Manhattan Project when measured as a fraction of GDP. This kind of investment only happens when the science is carefully vetted and people believe it will succeed and be completely transformative. I agree it’s the right time. - Noam Brown (@polynoamial)
Trump Says He's Open to Elon Musk or Larry Ellison Purchasing TikTok
By Alexandra S. Levine via Bloomberg
President Donald Trump stated he is open to Elon Musk or Larry Ellison purchasing TikTok through a joint venture with the U.S. government.
Trump proposed a deal where buyers would "give half to the United States," allowing them to secure permits and a strong government partnership.
TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, has publicly opposed a sale, adding to the tension surrounding the app’s future ownership.
𝕏: Trump is doing a reporter Q&A after the big Stargate AI co. announcement and Larry Ellison is in the room Questions are all over the place (LA fires, Gaza, Ukraine, etc.) Someone asks if Trump wants Musk to buy TikTok, Trump says yes but he also wants Ellison to buy it, jokes Ellison can afford it and they should negotiate it now on live TV, explains his US joint venture idea "Sounds like a good deal to me," says Ellison Next 4 years of this is gonna be insane - Alex Heath (@alexeheath)
By Gretel Kahn via Reuters Institute
Meta has announced the end of its fact-checking program in the US, replacing it with "community notes," raising global concerns among fact-checkers about the potential spread of misinformation, especially in regions reliant on Facebook for news.
Fact-checking organizations fear significant impacts on their work and funding, as Meta previously invested over $100 million in partnerships with global fact-checkers since 2016, supporting efforts in over 115 countries.
Critics argue that the shift will weaken the information ecosystem, particularly in countries like Ukraine, Brazil, and Nigeria, where accurate information is crucial, and misinformation poses threats to democracy and social stability.
Trending in AI
Microsoft secures deal to restore Amazon rainforest and offset AI emissions
OpenAI Hails $500 Billion Stargate Plan: 'More Compute Leads to Better Models'
AI-developed drug will be in trials by year-end, says Google’s Hassabis
Perplexity launches Sonar API, enabling enterprise AI search integration
Thanks for reading to the bottom and soaking in our Newslit Daily fueled with highlights for your morning.
I hope you found it interesting and, needless to say, if you have any questions or feedback let me know by hitting reply.
Take care and see you tomorrow!
P.S. Want to advertise with us? We’d love to hear from you.
How was today’s email?