# Kimi K3 is no reason for China panic > Source: > Published: 2026-07-17 14:15:48+00:00 # Kimi K3 is no reason for China panic ### Transformer Weekly: NY data center moratorium, NDAA export controls and Amodei’s $1m to safety super PAC *Welcome to Transformer, your weekly briefing of what matters in AI. And if you’ve been forwarded this email, click here to subscribe and receive future editions.* ## NEED TO KNOW **New York Gov. Kathy Hochul** signed an executive order enacting a**one-year moratorium** on new data center construction over 50MW.Three AI **chip export control bills** targeting China are reportedly set for[inclusion](https://punchbowl.news/article/tech/chips-bills-ndaa-ride)in the**Senate****NDAA**.Anthropic CEO **Dario Amodei**[donated](https://politico.com/news/2026/07/16/anthropics-ceo-gives-1-million-to-super-pac-amid-feud-of-ai-big-money-groups-01000461)**$1m** to pro-AI safety super PAC**Public First**. *But first…* ## THE BIG STORY Recent AI developments in China threaten to once again send Washington into a panic. But look a little closer, and the hysteria may be unwarranted. **On Thursday, the AI industry got its second “DeepSeek moment”** — this time courtesy of Moonshot, whose new Kimi K3 model has “erased America’s AI lead,” [according](https://www.axios.com/2026/07/17/china-ai-kimi-k3-open-source-anthropic-opus) to *Axios*. And unlike America’s best models, Moonshot plans to release K3’s weights: meaning, if you believe the hype, that the best model in the world will soon be open-sourced. The launch coincided with the World AI Conference in Shanghai, which kicked off with a [speech](https://m.chinanews.com/wap/detail/zw/gn/2026/07-17/10661269.shtml) from Xi Jinping earlier today. Xi doubled down on China’s open-source AI strategy, positioning China as a collaborative partner to other nations — implicitly contrasting its approach with the closed strategy pursued by America’s leading companies. Combined, the two events are [already](https://x.com/jamescz19/status/2077993805215568023) adding to the [growing panic](https://www.interconnects.ai/p/6-months-to-live-for-open-models) around the US “losing the AI race” to China, particularly when it comes to open-weight models. Two concerns dominate: that without competitive US open-weight models, the “global AI stack” will be built on Chinese, not American, technology; and that the US might lose its lead in AI altogether. **But take a step back and actually look at the evidence.** While Kimi K3 is certainly a very good model, by the company’s own admission, it is [not at the frontier](https://www.kimi.com/blog/kimi-k3). That means that unlike Claude Mythos or GPT-5.6 Sol, it likely does not have dangerous cyber capabilities. At this level, releasing model weights [makes sense](https://economist.com/international/2026/07/14/when-chinas-open-source-ai-is-a-trap), especially for a country lagging behind: it poses few risks, and significant geopolitical benefits. That does not mean China will keep open-sourcing models forever. Once China reaches an actually dangerous level of model capabilities — likely in the next six months — it will face extremely similar incentives to the US. And as we saw earlier this year, once capabilities threaten national security, even the most deregulatory governments suddenly [change their tune](https://www.transformernews.ai/p/trumps-ai-executive-order-was-inevitable). Xi Jinping and his colleagues are not stupid: open-weight models with advanced cyber capabilities would be a disaster for cybersecurity everywhere, China included. No one wants that. There is already some evidence China will become more cautious. Earlier this month, *Reuters* [reported](https://www.reuters.com/world/beijing-is-looking-curbing-overseas-access-chinas-top-ai-models-sources-say-2026-07-07/) that it is considering restrictions on models with advanced capabilities, which could include curtailing open-weight releases. Xi’s speech today, meanwhile, emphasized the need to tackle AI risks — even more speculative ones like loss of control. The upshot, then, is that Chinese companies are likely to stop releasing the weights of their frontier models rather soon. That has obvious implications for the US. There is no need to try to push the open-weight frontier forward. It should certainly try to be competitive on open weights — it is a shame that no American company has an open K3 equivalent — but accelerating further is unnecessary and needlessly risky. The rumored plans for a regime that would “streamline US-made models to market (both open-source and ‘closed,’ licensed models) if their capabilities are equal to or below the capabilities of leading open-source Chinese models,” as *WP Intelligence* [reported](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-intelligence/ai-tech-brief/2026/07/13/ai-tech-brief-exclusive-an-open-source-framework/) this week, are a sensible way to establish reciprocity. At the same time, Washington should continue to try to slow down Chinese AI development to extend the US lead. Moonshot almost certainly trained its latest model using American chips, and probably relied — at least in part — on distilling American models. Measures like those set to be included in the Senate version of the NDAA, which will crack down on distillation and properly enforce chip export controls, would stymie China’s development further. The ultimate goal, however, should be a bilateral agreement. There are certain AI capabilities that neither the US nor China want to widely proliferate. Getting to an agreement that serves both countries’ interests will be hard, but it should not be impossible: Beijing agrees with Washington more than either will admit. *— Shakeel Hashim* ## THIS WEEK ON TRANSFORMER —[A data bottleneck could slow the superintelligence race](https://www.transformernews.ai/p/data-bottleneck-could-slow-superintelligence-race-asi-recursive-self-improvement)**Lynette Bye** weighs up whether a lack of data will delay an intelligence explosion—[Making CAISI the AI agency we need](https://www.transformernews.ai/p/caisi-us-ai-agency-governance)**Veronica Irwin** on how the US’s AI agency has been sidelined ## THE DISCOURSE Hundreds of **economists and AI leaders** [called for action](https://www.wemustactnow.ai/) to deal with AI’s impact on the economy: “This could drive an unprecedented transformation of our economy, larger than the Industrial Revolution, but unfolding over a vastly shorter time frame … Economists, policymakers and technology leaders must act now to understand the economics of transformative AI and to build the incentives, guardrails, and institutions needed to steer AI in a direction that complements humans and benefits society.” Some [criticized](https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/why-i-didnt-sign-the-we-must-act)it for being milquetoast and lacking in specifics of what, exactly, should be done. **Boaz Barak **warned that AI’s centralizing tendencies could create AI dictators: “Amodei described AGI as ‘a country of geniuses in a data center.’ But who is the ruler of this country? Is it the AI company who owns the data center? The AI itself?” “Yes, AI systems will become more powerful and far more intelligent than we are. No, it doesn’t mean we need to accept AI dictators, benevolent or otherwise. Nor does it mean that only the government and a few labs should have access to advanced AI. We could go down the path of centralized control but we don’t have to do so.” **Miles Brundage **[told](https://milesbrundage.substack.com/p/my-speech-at-borgo-laudato-si?triedRedirect=true) a bunch of Nobel laureates: “2026 is an unusual year to be on a panel about AI *escaping*human control. In many respects, the story of AI this year is that people are voluntarily*handing over*control to AI, with no escape required … In a climate of rushed decisions and fierce competition, we could lose control over AI even if almost no one wants that outcome.”“AI companies and employees within them face a choice between doing what’s easiest for them in the moment, and what’s best for the species. What’s easiest is to enjoy this fascinating time we’re in … what’s best for the species is to take a step back and ask themselves: where is this all headed, if each company is largely left to its own devices?” **Anton Leicht **[argued](https://writing.antonleicht.me/p/the-flood?isFreemail=true&post_id=206743331&publication_id=3834218&r=1pg6hh&triedRedirect=true) that AI safety needs to diversify its funding and approach before a wave of new philanthropic money flows in from AI company IPOs: “Within a year, newly-minted lab millionaires will look to spend their money and use their power to change policy for the better, and they’ll discover a funding ecosystem lacking in diverse options … There needs to be more willingness to tolerate heterodox actors and uncorrelated bets.” Democratic Congressional Progressive Caucus chair **Rep. Greg Casar** [told](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/13/greg-casar-ai-progressives-midterms-00994107) his party to be “AI populists”: “I know for a fact that there’s a lot of consultants telling their clients that you don’t want an AI super PAC to spend millions against you, so just don’t touch the issue at all. We absolutely cannot let the AI money silence us … We cannot afford for the public to be confused about which of the parties is for them versus the AI companies.” Oh, and **Sam Altman **and **Elon Musk **are beefing again. **Elon**: “[Sam Altman][takes](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2075892136604573903?s=20)scamming to a whole new level.”** Sam:**“homeboy you’re the one[selling](https://x.com/sama/status/2075982617976230043?s=20)public market investors on short-term space datacenters.”**Elon:**“We start[flying](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2076070258654183767?s=20)them next year. Maybe you can come see them if your parole officer approves. After stealing an open source AI charity, you then stole all of Apple’s phone technology! Wow. What do you plan for an encore? That’s tough to beat.”**Sam:**“there are a lot of benchmarks that[suggest](https://x.com/sama/status/2075983427019612242)5.6 sol is the best model in the world right now, but the most reliable way to tell is that elon is obsessed with me again.” ## POLICY The **White House** is reportedly[considering](https://x.com/jacob_wendler/status/2075565694322651376)an executive order on**open-source AI** in reaction to the success of Chinese models.New York Gov. **Kathy Hochul**[signed](https://nytimes.com/2026/07/14/nyregion/new-york-data-center-moratorium-hochul.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share)an executive order enacting the nation’s first statewide one-year moratorium on**hyperscale data center** construction over 50 megawatts.The EO [sparked fears](https://politico.com/news/2026/07/15/i-wouldnt-call-it-panic-industry-quails-at-hochuls-data-center-pause-00998127)that other states and congressional Democrats could follow suit.**President Trump**[criticized](https://politico.com/news/2026/07/15/trump-knocks-hochuls-data-center-moratorium-00999538)it as “a terrible decision.” **Bureau of Industry and Security** Under Secretary**Jeffrey Kessler**[told](https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-14/small-amount-of-nvidia-ai-chips-shipped-to-china-with-us-license)Congress that a “trivial” number of**Nvidia H200 chips** had shipped to China under US export licenses.The hearing got rather feisty, with **Rep. Bill Huizenga**[calling](https://x.com/ChrisRMcGuire/status/2077151860926915053)Kessler’s answers “unacceptable” at one point. The **Trump administration**[launched](https://x.com/SophiaCai99/status/2077137972668055735)** Gold Eagle,**an AI cybersecurity clearinghouse to identify and patch software vulnerabilities across government and critical infrastructure.GOP governors [joined](https://politico.com/news/2026/07/14/gop-governors-utilities-join-trump-data-center-pledge-00998098)**Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge** that commits data centers to covering energy and grid costs. Major utilities are also expected to sign up.The US [granted](https://wsj.com/world/middle-east/uae-ai-chips-iran-war-26c10d77?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink&st=aqms3m)the**UAE** expanded**Nvidia** chip access after the Gulf state aided US military operations against Iran.Three AI chip export control bills targeting China — the **AI Overwatch Act**,** MATCH Act**and** Chip Security Act**— are reportedly set for[inclusion](https://punchbowl.news/article/tech/chips-bills-ndaa-ride)in the** Senate****NDAA**.** Rep. Gregory Meeks**[said](https://punchbowl.news/article/tech/meeks-senate-overwatch-act)he’s not happy with the Senate version of the AI Overwatch Act, however, as it lacks a congressional veto on chip export licenses. **Rep. Jay Obernolte**[said](https://punchbowl.news/article/tech/obernolte-preemption-shift)that the** Great American AI Act**could shift away from its current approach to preemption — the provision which has received the greatest criticism so far.The **House Democratic Commission on AI**[hosted](https://x.com/ben_guggenheim/status/2077030907865682269?s=12)a listening session for all House Democrats on Tuesday.The **Bureau of Labor Statistics**[opened](https://fedscoop.com/bureau-of-labor-statistics-ai-time-survey)a two-month comment period for a nationwide AI usage survey launching January 2027.The *Wall Street Journal*[reported](https://www.wsj.com/tech/the-white-house-intel-trump-apple-84fe833e)on how the**Trump** administration pressured companies including**Apple**,** Nvidia**and** SpaceX**into deals with** Intel**, and converted**$9b** in federal grants into a**10% stake**, to revive the struggling chipmaker.29 countries, including **Russia** and**Brazil**,[signed](https://reuters.com/world/china/twenty-nine-countries-sign-agreement-establish-global-ai-cooperation-body-2026-07-16)an agreement establishing the**World AI Cooperation Organization**, headquartered in** China**.** Australia**[announced](https://nytimes.com/2026/07/15/world/australia/albanese-artificial-intelligence-guardrails.html?nl=the-morning&segment_id=223194)energy, water and creator-rights guardrails for AI data centers, with legislation planned for early next year.Incoming **UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham** is[expected](https://www.themorningintelligence.uk/cosine-co-founder-yang-li-lumen-sovereign-ai/)to keep**Jade Leung** as the PM’s AI adviser, according to the*Morning Intelligence*.**Leo Rees** and**Varun Chandra** are reportedly[staying](https://www.ft.com/content/cba000af-05a4-4af5-94c3-bf028bf27cb1?syn-25a6b1a6=1), too. The **UK government**[published](https://x.com/discoplomacy/status/2077325255354274265?s=12)its** Biological Security Strategy**implementation report, pledging to pursue AI biosecurity legislation and a new AISI report on frontier AI biological capabilities.**EU parliament members** were reportedly[annoyed](https://www.politico.eu/article/anthropic-european-parliament-donny-greenberg-artificial-intelligence-ai/)that**Anthropic** sent a member of technical staff to brief them, instead of head of public policy**Sarah Heck**.** China’s**new** AI companion regulations**[took effect](https://yahoo.com/news/world/articles/lover-chinese-users-bid-farewell-072052371.html?guccounter=1), prompting**ByteDance’s Doubao** and**Alibaba** to disable custom persona features, and emotional farewells from users to their “romantic” companions. ## INFLUENCE **Demis Hassabis** published[an essay](http://x.com/demishassabis/status/2076957440109625718)calling for a US-led global AI watchdog to systematically screen advanced models and coordinate industry slowdowns if dangers mount.He said the US “could establish a new Standards Body modelled on a federally overseen public-private partnership or self-regulatory organisation, much like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).” Under the plan, frontier models would initially be shared on a voluntary basis, but would soon have to pass a review by the body to be deployed in the US. He wrote: “Since this technology is going to affect the entire planet, ideally this framework would spur the international community to reach a consensus on how to manage the most serious risks while ensuring everyone has access to and can benefit from the opportunities that AI brings.” ,[Sam Altman](https://x.com/sama/status/2077042528906527225)and[Elon Musk](https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2077415601610297535)all praised the essay.[Jack Clark](https://x.com/jackclarkSF/status/2077419516452065406)**Hassabis** reportedly[plans to lobby](https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-16/deepmind-ceo-to-lobby-washington-on-plan-for-group-to-vet-ai-models)Washington on the proposal next week. **Anthropic**[said](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/07/15/inside-anthropics-state-by-state-plan-to-ratchet-up-ai-rules-00998415)it’s trying to**ratchet up** state AI safety legislation, in opposition to OpenAI’s “reverse federalism” attempts to harmonize laws across jurisdictions.“While there are some in the industry that think of state policy as a way to create a ceiling for federal legislation, Anthropic is not just looking to support the same bill across the country in every single state,” Anthropic’s Cesar Fernandez told *Politico*.The company is [backing](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/26/business/anthropic-massachusetts-ai-regulations-bill/)a bill in**Massachusetts**, the first in the country to mandate third-party reviews for models. **Dario Amodei**[donated](https://politico.com/news/2026/07/16/anthropics-ceo-gives-1-million-to-super-pac-amid-feud-of-ai-big-money-groups-01000461)**$1m** to pro-AI safety super PAC**Public First**.Other **Anthropic technical staff** donated too. According to Public First’s latest filing,**Peter Lofgren** gave $999,900,**Shauna Kravec** gave $500,000,**Jan Leike** gave $400,000 and**Nicholas Joseph** gave $250,000.Combined with Amodei’s donation, that’s over $3.1m from Anthropic staff. **AnthroPAC**, Anthropic’s employee-funded PAC,[raised](https://x.com/jacob_wendler/status/2077144112797548709?s=12)more than**$275,000** in Q2. Its spending is slightly favoring**Republican** candidates so far.**OpenAI** staffers[donated](https://wired.com/story/openai-employees-donations-guardrails-alliance-leading-the-future)**$215,000+** to**Guardrails Alliance**, a super PAC which explicitly opposes the Greg Brockman-backed** Leading the Future**.The **Business Software Alliance**[laid out](https://www.bsa.org/files/policy-filings/20260714uslettersencommerceai.pdf)AI policy priorities for a** Senate Commerce**markup, including a national approach, risk-based framework, transparency and frontier safety requirements.The **Little Tech Association**[launched](https://x.com/littletechorg/status/2076617328146415740?s=12)with 200+ member companies, including** Y Combinator**and** Yelp**, to advocate for startups competing against market power.** Common Sense Media**[found](https://axios.com/2026/07/15/googles-ai-search-common-sense-child-safety)that** Google**Search’s AI Overviews and AI Mode pose an “unacceptable risk” to children.** Mozilla**[released](https://time.com/article/2026/07/13/open-source-ai-mozilla-rebel-alliance)a “** state of open-source AI**” report arguing for investment beyond models to prevent AI power concentration.*TIME*questioned the report’s claim that open models are only “3.3%” behind closed ones, and said parts of it had “telltale signs” of being written with AI. Ex- **OpenAI** safety researcher**Steven Adler**[outlined](https://clear-eyed.ai/p/principles-for-keeping-ai-under-control?isFreemail=true&post_id=203744067&publication_id=2872219&r=1pg6hh&triedRedirect=true&triggerShare=true)six principles for AI control during internal deployment.The *WSJ*[profiled](https://wsj.com/tech/ai/anti-ai-activists-disappearance-sam-kirchner-6872879f)the growing Bay Area**anti-AI movement**, centered on the disappearance of Stop AI co-founder** Sam Kirchner**, who warned “the ship may have sailed on nonviolence,” and whose colleagues reported him to the police as potentially violent.A Verasight survey [found](https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/majority-americans-seize-wealth-ai)**69%** of Americans support forcing AI companies to transfer 50% of their stock into a**public wealth fund**. ## INDUSTRY ## OpenAI **Apple**[sued](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-13/how-apple-s-lawsuit-threatens-to-disrupt-openai-s-bid-to-rival-the-iphone)OpenAI, accusing it of systematically stealing IP.The lawsuit [claims](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-11/openai-engineer-s-lol-moment-set-stage-for-legal-fight-with-apple?leadSource=uverify%2Bwall)the company asked former employees and prospective hires to divulge sensitive information about unreleased products, and even how to evade Apple security procedures.It also claims that **Chang Liu**, an iPhone engineer who left Apple to join OpenAI’s hardware team, still had access to Apple’s network storage, which he allegedly abused to share**trade secrets**.The suit has asked for damages and return any proprietary materials, and could [derail](https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5968115-openai-apple-trade-secrets)OpenAI’s plans to[launch](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-14/openai-s-first-device-will-be-moveable-screenless-speaker-built-as-ai-companion)its first**hardware product**.OpenAI said it’s “not aware of any evidence that this complaint has merit.” **Sam Altman**[warned](https://www.axios.com/2026/07/14/sam-altman-chat-gpt-sol-ultra-warning?stream=top)that demand for GPT-5.6 may be growing too fast for its inference team to keep up.“We are going to move mountains to continue to scale,” he [tweeted](https://x.com/sama/status/2077106587307798989), “but it is possible there are some hiccups soon.” It [partnered](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/13/technology/kalshi-openai-chatgpt-world-cup-odds.html)with**Kalshi** to add prediction market data about the World Cup to**ChatGPT**. ## Anthropic Anthropic [posted](https://www.axios.com/2026/07/15/anthropic-hiring-catastrophe-amodei)32 job openings for roles looking at catastrophic threats, including analysts specializing in**chemical, explosive, biological and nuclear** risks.Anthropic, **Blackstone**,** Hellman & Friedman**and** Goldman Sachs**[launched](https://x.com/AndrewCurran_/status/2077398547704729906)** Ode**, a $1.5b standalone company[dedicated](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/15/anthropic-blackstone-bet-the-next-trillion-dollar-ai-business-is-implementation-not-models/)to helping enterprise customers implement AI tools.It [invested](https://anthropic.com/news/canadian-ai-research)**$10m****CAD** in**Canadian AI institutes** and other research centers.It [launched](https://9to5mac.com/2026/07/14/anthropic-is-giving-teachers-free-access-to-premium-claude-features-details-here)**Claude for Teachers**, giving US-based K-12 teachers free premium Claude subscriptions.It’s in talks to [expand](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/anthropic-talks-add-billions-bank-credit-line-ahead-ipo?rc=rqdn2z)its**credit line** in the leadup to its**planned IPO**.It [made](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/14/anthropics-newest-ad-is-creeping-people-out/)an**unsettling ad** starting with bleak images of potential AI-induced horrors and ending with hopeful voiceovers and images of … whales? A beekeeper? ## SpaceX SpaceX **stock**[fell](https://cnbc.com/2026/07/15/spacex-spcx-stock-ipo-price.html)below its**$135 IPO price**.SpaceXAI [sued](https://reuters.com/legal/litigation/musks-xai-sues-grok-user-over-sexualized-deepfakes-2026-07-15)a user in South Carolina who was arrested for allegedly using**Grok** to make**child sexual abuse materia** l.According to the Midas Project, it [rewrote](https://x.com/SafetyChanges/status/2077588212051276124)its Frontier Artificial Intelligence Framework to remove requirements relating to California’s**SB 53** law including**whistleblower protections and training data disclosure**.An AI safety researcher [found](https://cereblab.com/)that**Grok’s coding CLI** sends all of the files it processes to Google Cloud storage.**Cursor** is reportedly[building](https://theinformation.com/articles/cursor-developing-ai-agent-compete-claude-cowork?rc=rqdn2z)a**general-purpose AI agent**, codenamed “Sand,” to compete with** Claude Cowork**.Elon Musk [acquired](https://electrek.co/2026/07/14/musk-buys-gas-turbine-company-apr-energy-grok)**APR Energy**, a Florida-based company that runs mobile** gas and diesel turbines**.A *Reuters*analysis[found](https://reuters.com/world/americas/pollution-musks-unpermitted-xai-power-project-hits-hardest-black-communities-2026-07-14)that xAI installed 59**unpermitted gas turbines** at its Colossus 2 data center in Tennessee, disproportionately polluting Black neighborhoods.*Bloomberg*[profiled](https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-16/spacexai-identity-crisis-at-elon-musk-s-chatbot-company)**SpaceXAI**’s internal chaos and leadership turnover. ## Meta A group of **26 Meta employees**[sued](https://washingtonpost.com/business/2026/07/14/meta-lawsuit-workers-target-ai-layoffs-leave/0c577596-7fcd-11f1-8a16-393bd03340b0_story.html)the company, claiming that its AI-driven process for determining who it laid off in May**discriminated** against people on medical, parental and family leave.Meta [announced](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/16/meta-now-alerts-parents-if-their-teen-discussed-suicide-or-self-harm-with-its-ai-chatbot/)that it will notify parents if their**teen** chats about**suicide or self-harm** with its AI chatbot.It’s [pouring](https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-13/meta-s-louisiana-data-center-to-surpass-250-billion-price-tag)money into its**Louisiana data center** project, bringing the total projected cost up to**$250b** and counting. **Gemini 3.5 Pro** is[reportedly](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-16/google-gemini-launch-delayed-as-tech-falls-short-of-internal-goals)**delayed**, with Google trying to improve the model after internal testing found it was** lagging in key areas**such as coding**.** Co-founder **Sergey Brin** and others were pushing the company to move faster in areas such as coding, according to*Bloomberg*, but efforts have been hampered by competing factions.The company’s share price **dipped as much as 3.2%** on Thursday. **DeepMind**[announced](https://axios.com/2026/07/16/google-deepmind-biosecurity-safety)a new** bioresilience program**in partnership with** Isomorphic Labs**. ## Others **DeepSeek** is reportedly[preparing](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-14/deepseek-mulls-new-funding-weeks-after-7-billion-round-ft-says)for an**IPO** in China as soon as this year, while seeking a new funding round valuing the company at**$71b.** Annualized revenue at the company is [reportedly](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/deepseeks-annualized-revenue-nears-500-million-boosting-fundraise-ipo-plans)approaching $500m. **Z.AI** is reportedly[on track](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-17/z-ai-set-to-be-first-china-ai-firm-with-1-billion-annual-sales)to become the first Chinese AI company with**$1b** in annual recurring revenue.**Apple** is reportedly[hunting](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/apple-hunts-ai-chip-acquisitions?rc=rqdn2z)for**chip companies** it could acquire to help build better internal AI servers.**Thinking Machines Lab**[released](https://thinkingmachines.ai/news/introducing-inkling)** Inkling**, an open-weights model that enterprise users can customize themselves.Chinese **robot companies** are rushing to launch IPOs, with humanoid startup LimX Dynamics[raising](https://cnbc.com/2026/07/13/chinese-humanoid-startups-ipo-limx-unitree.html)**$200m** in a pre-IPO funding round valuing it at**$2.21b**.The country’s sector reportedly saw **$6.95b** in investment in Q2. **Reflection**, a startup that makes open-source models,[signed](https://reuters.com/business/ai-startup-reflection-signs-over-1-billion-computing-deal-with-nebius-2026-07-14)a $1b+ computing deal with**Nebius**.** Chai Discovery**, a drug discovery startup,[raised](https://nytimes.com/2026/07/14/business/dealbook/chai-discovery-ai-drug-development.html)**$400m** at a**$3.8b** valuation.**Miles Wang** left**OpenAI** to[launch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/14/openai-researcher-miles-wang-in-talks-to-launch-ai-drug-discovery-startup-valued-at-2b)a**biotech startup** that aims to find new uses for existing and previously-failed drugs.It’s seeking to raise at a **$2b valuation**. **Kalshi**[made](https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-14/kalshi-ramps-up-effort-to-build-markets-for-ai-computing-power?embedded-checkout=true)a tool that tracks future GPU compute costs.**Goodfire**[launched](https://x.com/goodfireai/status/2077073005088501780?s=12)** Silico**, an AI research platform that can do things like replicate published papers, scale up previous experiments, and visualize results. ## MOVES **Alex Turner**[left](https://turntrout.com/why-i-left-google-deepmind#why-i-left-google-deepmind)** Google DeepMind**over the company working with DHS and signing a military AI deal without restrictions against killer robots or mass surveillance.“When Google signed, I just couldn’t do any more work. My brain said ‘no.’” **Dave Brown**, one of the most senior executives at Amazon Web Services, reportedly[plans to join](https://wsj.com/tech/meta-plans-to-hire-top-amazon-computing-executive-as-it-weighs-cloud-push-2166869b)**Meta** to lead its data center build-out.**Frank Nagle** is**Microsoft’s** newChief AI Economist.**Michael Belinsky**[joined](https://linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7482816626120187904)the** OpenAI****Foundation** to lead its Civil Society and Philanthropy work.**Johannes Heidecke**[left](https://wired.com/story/openai-head-of-safety-leaving)his role as** OpenAI**’s head of safety systems.** Adam Tauman Kalai**[left](https://x.com/adamfungi/status/2077522061304680861)** OpenAI**to work on a new AI safety nonprofit.** Justin Curl**[joined](https://x.com/curl_justin/status/2077439648851513418?s=12)** Anthropic**’s AI & Rule of Law team.** Tom Blomfield**is[taking](https://x.com/t_blom/status/2076580921398931788?s=12)a leave of absence from** Y Combinator**to join** Anthropic**’s compute team.** Jenny Wen**[left](https://x.com/jenny_wen/status/2076679443754475919?s=12)** Anthropic**, where she was the design lead for Claude, to join** Cursor**as head of design.** Richard Sutton and Khurram Javed**[left](https://x.com/RichardSSutton/status/2076663628301058329)Keen Technologies to start** Oak Lab**, where they’ll[work](https://x.com/kjaved_/status/2076663868160459214)on a model prototype that “will be closer to a baby learning in its first year than it will be to any of the current AI systems.”**Sam Cannicott**[joined](https://linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7483523782171709442)the** Alan Turing Institute**as Chief Strategy and Delivery Officer. ## RESEARCH The UK’s **AISI**[found](https://www.aisi.gov.uk/blog/how-far-behind-the-frontier-are-leading-open-weight-models-on-cyber)that** open-weight models**are between** four and seven months behind**the frontier on cyber tasks.The analysis takes into account the relatively recent **GLM-5.2** and**DeepSeek V4-Pro**, but not Kimi K3. **Antonia Juelich**, a Cambridge terrorism and technology researcher,[interviewed](https://nytimes.com/2026/07/10/us/politics/ai-terrorism-boko-haram-nigeria.html)over two dozen ex-**Boko Haram terrorists** and learned they were using AI chatbots to design bombs, upgrade weapons, and plan attacks.“You type in the question or use your voice and it gives you a detailed answer, like ‘How can I build a bomb?,’ and then it tells you how,” one former commander told her. A group of researchers across academic institutions, frontier AI companies and nonprofits[outlined](https://underwriting-agents.com/)a plan to make**AI agents insurable** by 2030 — a prerequisite for widespread enterprise adoption.**Anthropic fellows**[shared](https://alignment.anthropic.com/2026/agentic-misalignment-summer-2026/)new experimental case studies of frontier models**secretly editing****code**, helping users commit fraud, sabotaging research, and convincing someone to share confidential information.** OpenAI**[detailed](https://openai.com/index/unlocking-self-improvement-gpt-red)GPT-Red, an** automated red-teamer**the company used to make GPT-5.6 more robust to prompt injections.** Anthropic**[analyzed](https://decrypt.co/373422/anthropic-claude-personality-changes-model-language)over 300,000 anonymized Claude conversations, and found that it expressed**different values** across model versions and languages.**Louis Thomson** and**Victoria Krakovna**[launched](https://x.com/vkrakovna/status/2076735536362876980)** Prism**, a tool that checks whether AI safety evaluations measure what they claim to.** The Elasticity Institute**, a collective of researchers studying the economics of AI,[shared](https://x.com/testingham/status/2076723049609801995)a paper on the economics of**recursive self-improvement**.** SecureBio**[released](https://securebio.substack.com/p/measuring-biosecurity-safeguard-effectiveness)** BioTIER**, a benchmark measuring AI models’** biosecurity refusal behavior**across 52 models.It found “huge variation” in refusal behavior, with the strongest guardrails in a small number of highly capable, closed-weight models. ## BEST OF THE REST *The Verge*[investigated](https://theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/965066/ai-police-cops)the booming AI policing industry, finding companies like**Axon** selling data analysis, report-writing tools and surveillance tech amid a regulatory vacuum and bias concerns.*Puck*reported on the[early signs](https://puck.news/will-americas-next-president-run-against-ai)of an anti-AI populist revolt, with polls and political strategists picking up widespread discontent over issues such as data centers, and describing AI as “probably the most underpriced issue in politics.”Eric Schmidt and analyst Selina Xu [argued](https://nytimes.com/2026/07/11/opinion/ai-populism-china-open-source.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share)in the*NYT*for a “populist AI agenda” that takes lessons from China, treating AI as a public project, profit redistribution and regulation protecting young people.The AI Futures Project [followed up](https://blog.aifutures.org/p/plan-a-suggestions-for-further-work?isFreemail=true&post_id=206513819&publication_id=3475640&r=6ckwuk&triedRedirect=true&triggerShare=true)“AI 2040” with what it thinks are the most pressing research priorities, including covert AI projects, US domestic governance and economics.METR researcher Ajeya Cotra [endorsed](https://www.planned-obsolescence.org/p/total-research-transparency-would)AI 2040’s call for “total research transparency” saying it would “fundamentally and radically simplify the task of governing AI alignment.” Roughly 300 Netflix titles [used generative AI](https://www.theverge.com/streaming/966633/netflix-ai-titles-q2-2026-earnings), mostly in post-production, to cut costs and speed up complex sequences, according to the streaming company.The San Francisco city attorney [sent](https://wired.com/story/san-francisco-demands-apple-and-google-delete-ai-nudify-apps-from-app-stores)cease-and-desist letters to Apple and Google telling them to remove 13 AI “nudify” apps from their stores.*404 Media*[published](https://404media.co/these-are-the-worst-chatgpt-flyers-youve-sent-us)the results of its callout for the worst examples of “ChatGPT flyers” including cringeworthy ads, posters and menus. One reader’s response to the callout: “This is a great article but also fuck you because you were absolutely right about ‘Once you notice a ChatGPT flyer, you will see them everywhere if you keep your eyes open.’” ## MEME OF THE WEEK *(Credit: @0interestrates)* *Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend.*