US electric utilities are significantly increasing their capital investment plans to expand power generation and strengthen the grid as AI and cloud computing drive up electricity consumption.
Companies such as PPL Corp, Dominion, and Exelon have revised their spending plans upward, with PPL announcing a nearly 40% increase to $20 billion through 2028.
The surge in demand is largely fuelled by data centres, which are now being built at an unprecedented scale, reaching capacities of up to 1 gigawatt per site.
Utility executives have dismissed concerns that market disruptions, such as Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s recent emergence, would weaken demand from major tech firms.
Instead, companies including American Electric Power (AEP) and Duke Energy have received assurances from technology customers that their expansion plans remain unchanged. AEP is considering adding $10 billion to its existing $54 billion capital plan, while Duke is increasing its five-year spending by $10 billion.
Rising demand for electricity is expected to reach record levels in the US by 2026, driven not only by data centres but also by manufacturing and electrification in sectors like transportation.
While utilities race to expand power supplies, regulatory approval remains a challenge, and increased investment could lead to higher electricity costs for households and businesses.
Some utilities are also exploring whether data centres should bear a greater share of the costs associated with grid expansion.
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AI is set to revolutionise wealth management by lowering the barriers to entry for new players, according to a Microsoft executive. Martin Moeller, head of AI for financial services at Microsoft, highlighted that AI’s ability to process vast amounts of data could allow small teams or even individuals to offer services that traditionally required entire teams at banks. This shift is expected to reshape the competitive landscape, much like the internet did decades ago.
AI is already being used in the financial sector, with Swedish payment provider Klarna employing AI from OpenAI to handle tasks previously carried out by 700 employees. UBS, the world’s largest asset manager, also sees significant potential in AI to boost productivity and ease job functions. AI is expected to reduce operational costs for startups and allow banks that have not been involved in wealth management to enter the market with minimal investment.
Customer behaviour is also changing, with younger entrepreneurs increasingly managing their own investments. In response, banks are using AI to enable customers to consolidate financial information independently. While AI currently does not provide specific investment advice, ‘agentic AI’ is expected to be developed in the next two years, which will make independent decisions without human input, further transforming the industry.
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Alibaba has announced a new partnership with Apple to support the development of AI services for iPhones in China, a move that aims to help Apple counter declining smartphone sales in its crucial market. The collaboration is seen as a significant win for Alibaba, which is gaining ground in China’s competitive AI industry, dominated by local players like DeepSeek. This deal comes after months of speculation regarding Apple’s AI strategy in the region, as the tech giant held discussions with other Chinese companies such as Baidu, ByteDance, and Tencent.
While the specifics of the partnership are still unclear, Alibaba’s chairman Tsai noted that Apple chose their AI technology to power its phones in China. The two companies have already submitted necessary regulatory materials to Chinese authorities, as consumer-facing AI products in the country require approval. Alibaba’s stock saw a notable rise following the announcement, reflecting investor optimism about the deal.
The timing of this collaboration is crucial for Apple, which has faced challenges in China, including falling iPhone sales and increased competition from domestic rivals like Huawei. Analysts suggest that Apple’s struggles in the region are partly due to the lack of advanced AI features in its phones, a growing demand in the Chinese market. Apple’s sales in Greater China dropped significantly in late 2024, and the company lost its top position in the market to local players like Vivo and Huawei.
For Alibaba, the partnership underscores its growing strength in AI, with its stock price surging in 2025. The company’s Qwen 2.5 AI model, which surpassed the capabilities of competitors, has become a focal point of its recent success. As Apple seeks to re-establish its presence in China, the effectiveness of this AI collaboration will likely play a critical role in its future in the market.
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The rise of DeepSeek’s AI models is offering Chinese chipmakers like Huawei a better chance to compete in the domestic market against the powerful processors from US companies like Nvidia. For years, Huawei and other Chinese manufacturers have struggled to match Nvidia’s high-end chips, which are essential for training AI models. However, DeepSeek’s focus on ‘inference’ rather than raw processing power has led analysts to believe that it could help close the gap between Chinese-made processors and their US counterparts. Inference refers to the phase where AI models use trained data to make predictions, a process less reliant on heavy computational resources.
Several Chinese AI chipmakers, including Huawei, EnFlame, and Moore Threads, have recently stated that their products will support DeepSeek models, although few details have been disclosed. Industry executives predict that DeepSeek’s open-source nature and its low fees will drive the adoption of AI, helping Chinese companies bypass US export restrictions on advanced chips. In fact, Chinese chips like Huawei’s Ascend 910B have already been recognised as better suited for inference tasks, which require less computational power than training.
Despite these developments, Nvidia still dominates the global AI chip market. Analysts point out that while Chinese chips are cost-effective for inference tasks, Nvidia’s superior chips remain the preferred choice even for inference. Nvidia’s CUDA platform, which provides developers with a robust software environment, remains a key advantage, and Chinese companies like Huawei have struggled to convince developers to abandon CUDA in favour of their platforms, such as Huawei’s Compute Architecture for Neural Networks (CANN). The software performance of Chinese AI chips continues to lag behind, making it challenging for them to directly challenge Nvidia’s dominance.
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Elon Musk has stated he will withdraw his $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI’s non-profit arm if the company halts plans to become a for-profit entity. Musk’s lawyers clarified in a court filing that if OpenAI’s board agrees to maintain the charity’s mission and remove the ‘for sale’ sign from its assets, he will retract his offer. However, if the conversion to a for-profit model continues, Musk’s consortium insists the charity must be compensated by what an independent buyer would pay for its assets.
OpenAI, originally founded by Musk and Sam Altman in 2015 as a non-profit, is in the midst of restructuring. Altman, now CEO, has moved to create a for-profit unit within the organisation to attract investors like Microsoft.
Musk, who left the company over disagreements with Altman, is suing to block this transition. This legal battle intensified this week when Musk’s group made a bid to purchase the non-profit’s assets, which Altman has rejected, stating that the organisation is not for sale.
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OpenAI has announced plans to simplify its artificial intelligence product line by combining its o-series and GPT-series models into a unified system. CEO Sam Altman revealed the strategy in a post on X, highlighting the need for more accessible AI tools.
The decision marks a shift away from standalone releases, such as the previously unveiled o3 and o3 mini models.
The company aims to launch GPT-5 as a comprehensive AI system that incorporates the features of earlier models, addressing user concerns about complexity. Altman stressed the importance of creating tools that ‘just work’ while providing no exact timeline for the rollout.
OpenAI also plans to release GPT-4.5, codenamed ‘Orion’, as its final non-chain-of-thought model.
The announcement follows increased scrutiny over AI development costs, with competitors like China’s DeepSeek introducing more affordable alternatives. The move aligns with OpenAI’s efforts to remain competitive while addressing usability issues.
By streamlining its offerings, OpenAI hopes to deliver systems capable of handling diverse tasks and leveraging available tools seamlessly. The new roadmap reflects a broader industry trend towards efficiency and user-centric design.
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The European Commission has abandoned proposed regulations on technology patents, AI liability, and privacy rules for messaging apps, citing a lack of foreseeable agreement among EU lawmakers and member states. The draft rules faced strong opposition from industry groups and major technology firms. A proposed regulation on standard essential patents, designed to streamline licensing disputes for telecom and smart device technologies, was scrapped after opposition from patent holders like Nokia and Ericsson. Car manufacturers and tech giants such as Apple and Google had pushed for reforms to reduce royalty costs.
A proposal that would have allowed consumers to sue AI developers for harm caused by their technology was also withdrawn. The AI Liability Directive, first introduced in 2022, aimed to hold providers accountable for failures in AI systems. Legal experts say the move does not indicate a shift in the EU’s approach to AI regulation, as several laws already govern the sector. Meanwhile, plans to extend telecom privacy rules to platforms like WhatsApp and Skype have been dropped. The proposal, first introduced in 2017, had been stalled due to disagreements over tracking cookies and child protection measures.
The decision has drawn mixed reactions from industry groups. Nokia welcomed the withdrawal of patent rules, arguing they would have discouraged European investment in research and development. The Fair Standards Alliance, representing firms such as BMW, Tesla, and Google, expressed disappointment, warning that the decision undermines fair patent licensing. The Commission has stated it will reassess the need for revised proposals but has not provided a timeline for future regulatory efforts.
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Dario Amodei, CEO of AI firm Anthropic, has warned that the race to develop AI is moving faster than efforts to fully understand it. Speaking at an event in Paris, he stressed the need for deeper research into AI models, describing it as a race between expanding capabilities and improving transparency. ‘We can’t slow down development, but our understanding must match our ability to build,’ he said.
Amodei rejected the notion that AI safety measures hinder progress, arguing instead that they help refine and improve models. He pointed to earlier discussions at the UK’s Bletchley Summit, where risk assessment strategies were introduced, and insisted they had not slowed technological growth. ‘Better testing and measurement actually lead to better models,’ he said.
The Anthropic CEO also discussed the evolving AI market, including competition from Chinese firm DeepSeek, whose claims of dramatically lower training costs he dismissed as ‘not based on facts.’ Looking ahead, he hinted at upcoming improvements in AI reasoning, with a focus on creating more seamless transitions between different types of models. He remains optimistic, predicting that AI will drive innovation across industries, from healthcare to finance and energy.
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Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has praised the work of Chinese startup DeepSeek, calling it an example of how AI is a truly global field. Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, he noted that innovation in AI is happening across multiple regions and that competition will continue to grow.
Pichai reaffirmed Alphabet’s ambition to remain a leading force in AI but acknowledged that other players would also shape the industry. The rapid development of AI technology has led to increased competition between major tech companies and emerging startups worldwide.
The remarks highlight the expanding global landscape of AI, with companies from China, the United States, and other regions pushing forward advancements in the field. Pichai’s comments suggest that AI leadership will be defined by a diverse range of contributors rather than a single dominant player.
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Adobe has launched the first public version of its AI-powered video generation tool, Firefly Video Model, introducing competition to OpenAI’s Sora and Runway’s video-generation services. The tool is designed to integrate with Adobe’s Premiere Pro software, making it useful for film and television professionals. Instead of focusing on generating long video clips, Adobe’s model helps improve or extend real production shots that need adjustments.
The tool currently produces five-second clips at 1080p resolution, shorter than OpenAI’s 20-second limit, but Adobe argues that most production clips are only a few seconds long. Pricing starts at $9.99 for 20 clips per month and $29.99 for 70 clips, with a separate ‘Premium’ plan for high-volume users like studios to be announced later this year. Adobe is also working on 4K video generation, prioritising visual quality over longer clips.
Vice President of Generative AI Alexandru Costin emphasised that Adobe aims to make AI-generated video look as realistic as traditional filming. The company remains focused on improving motion, structure, and image quality rather than extending clip duration. Meta Platforms is also developing a video-generation model, but has not yet confirmed a release date.
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