Depending on foreign-made open models is both a supply chain risk and an innovation problem, experts say. Since 2022, America has had a solid lead in artificial intelligence thanks to advanced models from high-flying companies like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, and xAI. A growing number of experts, however, worry that the US is starting to fall behind when it comes to minting open-weight AI models that can be downloaded, adapted, and run locally. Open models from Chinese companies like Kimi, Z.ai, Alibaba, and DeepSeek are now rapidly gaining popularity among researchers and engineers worldwide, leaving the US as a laggard in an increasingly vital area of AI innovation. "The US needs open models to cement its lead at every level of the AI stack," Nathan Lambert, founder of the ATOM (American Truly Open Models) Project, tells WIRED.

Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon are investing tens of billions in data centers. AI infrastructure is now a key driver of US economic growth. The amount of capital pouring into AI data center projects is staggering. Last week, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Amazon reported their 2025 capital expenditures would total roughly $370 billion, and they expect that number to keep rising in 2026. The biggest spender last quarter was Microsoft, which put nearly $35 billion into data centers and other investments, equivalent to 45 percent of its revenue. Rarely, if ever, has a single technology absorbed this much money this quickly.

Three of the biggest US tech companies reported record profits and record infrastructure spending on Wednesday, fueling speculation about a possible AI market bubble. Three of the biggest US tech giants--Microsoft, Meta, and Google--sent investors a blunt message when they reported quarterly earnings on Wednesday: Their lavish spending on AI infrastructure is only just getting started. Meta said that its capital expenditure would total between $70 billion and $72 billion this year, up from its previous lower forecast of $66 billion to $72 billion. Next year, Meta's chief financial officer Susan Li said that she expected the company's spending would be "notably larger." The social media giant's soaring investment matches its soaring revenue: Meta reported raking in $51.24 billion last quarter, up 26 percent year-over-year.

Is artificial intelligence to blame for Amazon job cuts? Multinational technology company Amazon is laying off about 14,000 employees, the company has confirmed . A message sent out to staff on the company's website followed media reports that the group was planning 30,000 job cuts. News of the layoffs on Tuesday came just a few months after CEO Andrew Jassy said the rollout of artificial intelligence (AI) technology was likely to s pell job cuts . He also launched an "inefficiencies initiative" in which he invited workers to report unnecessary bureaucracy and inefficiencies that could be targeted for cost savings.

'Sovereign AI' Has Become a New Front in the US-China Tech War OpenAI has announced "AI sovereignty partnerships with governments around the world, but can proprietary models compete with Beijing's open source offerings? OpenAI has announced a number of projects this year with foreign governments to help build out what it has called their "sovereign AI" systems. The company says the deals, some of which are being coordinated with the US government, are part of a broader push to give national leaders more control over a technology that could reshape their economies. Over the past few months, sovereign AI has become something of a buzzword in both Washington and Silicon Valley. Proponents of the concept argue it's crucial that AI systems developed in democratic nations are able to proliferate globally, particularly as China races to deploy its own AI technology abroad.

AI investments are pulling the US economy forward. Despite United States President Donald Trump's tariff and immigration policies roiling businesses, the US economy is relatively stable. Experts say the country can thank the artificial intelligence (AI) industry for that. "AI machines--in quite a literal sense--appear to be saving the US economy right now," George Saravelos of Deutsche Bank wrote to his clients at the end of September. "In the absence of tech-related spending, the US would be close to, or in, recession this year." AI companies are investing hundreds of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure and development, and other US companies are spending billions on AI products.

OpenAI's Blockbuster AMD Deal Is a Bet on Near-Limitless Demand for AI OpenAI's latest move in the race to build massive data centers in the US shows it believes demand for AI will keep surging--even as skeptics warn of a bubble. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, Lisa Su, CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, and Michael Intrator, CEO of CoreWeave, arrive to testify during the Senate on Thursday, May 8, 2025.Photograph: Tom Williams; Getty Images Save this storyOpenAI announced on Monday that it will acquire several data centers' worth of chips from AMD in a blockbuster deal that could also give OpenAI the option to acquire a roughly 10 percent stake in the chipmaker. It's another bold bet from OpenAI that demand for generative artificial intelligence will continue rising--bubble be damned. "Excited to partner with AMD to use their chips to serve our users!" OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on X, adding that the company will also ramp up its investments in Nvidia chips. He added: "The world needs much more compute " OpenAI said in a blog post this morning that it would commit to purchasing 6 gigawatts' worth of AMD chips over the next several years.

US tech giant Nvidia will invest up to $100bn (£73bn) in OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT, the companies announced. Nvidia said it will supply high-performance chips needed for the processing power required by artificial intelligence (AI), of which OpenAI is a specialist. Described as a strategic partnership by Nvidia, it is the latest move by two high profile tech firms in the global AI race, where China is an emerging rival. The announcement comes after a series of high-profile investments by Nvidia, including a $5bn investment in Intel and a £2bn investment in the UK's AI sector. Nvidia said its latest investment will go towards growing data centres for OpenAI's next-generation AI infrastructure.

Is Chicago the violent crime capital of the US? Why did India-US relations decline so fast? Why is the US expanding in the Caribbean? The United States Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new measures aimed at speeding construction of infrastructure needed for the rapid buildup of data centres for artificial intelligence that would enable companies to start building before obtaining air permits. The EPA announced its new proposal on Tuesday.

Earlier today, Donald Trump unveiled his administration's "AI Action Plan"--a document that details, in 23 pages, the president's "vision of global AI dominance" and offers a road map for America to achieve it. AI companies such as OpenAI and Nvidia must be allowed to move as fast as they can. As the White House officials Michael Kratsios, David Sacks, and Marco Rubio wrote in the plan's introduction, "Simply put, we need to'Build, Baby, Build!'" The action plan is the direct result of an executive order, signed by Trump in the first week of his second term, that directed the federal government to produce a plan to "enhance America's global AI dominance." For months, the Trump administration solicited input from AI firms, civil-society groups, and everyday citizens.