80th Edition Download

This Week in AI:

No jargon, no filler—just the biggest AI developments worth knowing right now. Perfect for quick industry insights, so you can skip the buzzwords and get straight to the good stuff. Let’s dive into this week’s AI shake-ups, just as promised:

The AI battle got real this week. Elon Musk’s xAI and X sued Apple and OpenAI, accusing them of an anticompetitive deal that buries rivals like Grok in the App Store. Meanwhile, the U.S. government is doubling down on tech industrial policy, after taking a stake in Intel, officials may soon do the same in other chipmakers (and beyond), raising both hope and alarm. And on the innovation front, Meta's FAIR lab released reasoning AI with DeepConf, an open-source technique that hit 99.9% accuracy on the AIME benchmark and slashed inference cost in half.

Let’s get into it.

In This Issue:

• Musk Takes Apple & OpenAI to Court → xAI claims anti‑competitive “exclusive” deal blocks Grok from rising in the App Store. (link)

• U.S. May Buy Stakes in More Tech Firms → The Intel play could signal a new era of public-private tech partnerships (link)

• DeepConf: Deep Think with Open AI → A plug‑and‑play method hitting near‑perfect reasoning accuracy while cutting compute (link)

🟣 Musk vs. Apple & OpenAI: Court Clash Over AI Monopoly

TL;DR:

Elon Musk’s companies, X and xAI, filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI, alleging they conspired to suppress competitors like Grok by elevating ChatGPT in the App Store and integrating it deeply into Apple devices. The suit seeks billions in damages.

Our Take:

This lawsuit is more than legal drama; it’s a shot across the bow. If Musk’s claims gain traction, App Store rules and AI marketplace dynamics could shift radically. Anyone building or promoting AI should watch closely—your next platform win or loss may hinge on how antitrust law evolves here.

🟣 U.S. Government Eyes Deeper Stakes in Tech Companies

TL;DR:

White House adviser Kevin Hassett signaled that after investing in Intel via the CHIPS Act, the U.S. may replicate the playbook across additional chipmakers—and potentially other industries tied to national interests. Critics warn about government overreach and risks to corporate agility.

Our Take:

This reflects an ideological pivot: industrial policy meets venture capital. For AI hardware and infrastructure players, it could mean unprecedented public-sector partnership or interference. Track this closely if you’re in semiconductors or foundational AI compute, policy may now be your next competitor (or backer).

🟣 DeepConf: Deep Think with Confidence from Meta FAIR

TL;DR:

Meta FAIR’s DeepConf method achieved a stunning 99.9% accuracy on the AIME 2025 reasoning benchmark using open-source models without retraining. It also cut token usage by up to 84.7%, boosting efficiency while preserving accuracy.

Our Take:

Want best-of-class reasoning on a budget? DeepConf is a game-changer. It’s a “deploy now, think smarter” upgrade, particularly for teams using open-source LLMs. No retraining, no guessing on hyperparameters: just better and cheaper inference. Worth exploring if you're building reasoning layers.