xAI’s Colossus 2, Sahara’s mesh network, and peaq’s Edge all point to a new path where AI runs on token-incentivised clusters, not hyperscaler VMs. The GPU arms race is no longer just about size — it's about sovereignty, economics, and control of the power rails. The future may not be multi-cloud, but multi-chain.
👀In Case You Missed It
xAI confirmed it’s building Colossus 2 with 550,000 GPUs after Grok 4's success, and is seeking $12B in debt financing.
Trump’s AI Action Plan dropped, scrapping Biden’s order and calling for deregulation, infrastructure acceleration, and “anti-woke” model rules.
OpenAI revealed a modular GPT-5 router system, switching model subsystems per task; 2.5B ChatGPT prompts now handled daily.
Crusoe ordered 19 gas turbines to power fossil-fueled AI clusters — part of a rising trend in hybrid power solutions.
Amazon was confirmed as the builder for a 290-acre Arizona data centre campus, with more sites in Tucson planned.
Read more here
🧠 Cloud & Infrastructure Watch
💻 Hardware & Semiconductor Moves
Alibaba launches Qwen3-Coder: 480B params, 256K context, topping SWE-bench-Verified.
SourceMemories.ai reveals Large Visual Memory Model to give agents video memory.
SourceSambaNova expands support for open-source models via its SN40L chip and SambaCloud.
SourcePlasma cooling emerges as potential server fan replacement in data center R&D.
SourceGoogle reports $15B server spend in Q2 to meet AI compute demand.
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🧠 Insight of the Day
Data is no longer just input — it's labour.
Raiinmaker, Poseidon, and Sahara are paying people to collect, label, and validate AI training data. With smartphones as validator nodes and gamified ecosystems like Cloud Ciity, users are turning into the AI workforce. We’re entering an era where model quality depends less on scraped internet data and more on real-world, human-verified input — and that labour now has a token price.
🏢 Sovereign and Data Centre News
Menlo Equities unveils a new data center platform in Virginia, Arizona & California.
SourceHypertech’s 5C raises $835M for data center expansion via Brookfield & Deutsche Bank.
SourceWales aims to become a national data center hub.
SourceTrump signs EO to accelerate federal AI infra permitting and repeal Biden restrictions.
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🗓️ This Day in AI - July 25
🧠 2023 – Meta open-sources Llama 2
Meta made waves exactly one year ago by releasing Llama 2 in partnership with Microsoft, opening a new chapter for open-weight foundational models. This move ignited an open-source race that’s still reshaping how enterprises and governments think about AI sovereignty.
💽 2021 – AI beats human test-takers at college-level exams
Researchers announced an AI system capable of outperforming average humans on reading comprehension and reasoning tests like the GRE — sparking debates over AI benchmarking and academic integrity.
🏛️ 2020 – European Commission proposes AI white paper framework
The EU laid the groundwork for what would eventually become the AI Act, publishing its first draft proposals on regulating "trustworthy AI". It marked the beginning of Europe’s sovereign AI policy path — still being refined today.
💻 2015 – Amazon patents anticipatory package shipping
While not AI in name, this patent revealed early cloud-scale logistics powered by predictive algorithms — a foundational concept that would later inform reinforcement learning and edge AI for logistics.
🌐 1956 – Dartmouth AI Workshop ends, launching the field of AI
While not the 25th itself, July 25 was the final day of the now-legendary Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence. This six-week brainstorm ended with the belief that machines could simulate human intelligence — and laid the philosophical foundation for every model running today.
🏦 Global AI Investments
Poseidon raises $15M to source hard-to-find physical-world AI data.
SourceGaia Labs nets $20M to build decentralized AI stack and local AI smartphone.
SourceQuestflow raises $6.5M to power on-chain AI agent workflows with real-time pay.
SourceSamsung backs AI video startup analyzing large footage archives.
SourcexTAO now trades on TSX post-$22.8M raise, focused on Bittensor validator scaling.
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🛠️ AI Tools To Keep An Eye On
Hyperstack — A no-code agent framework that lets teams spin up internal AI workflows using natural language prompts and modular toolchains. Especially gaining traction in enterprise operations and product teams.
HeyElsaAI — Now supports real-time web search integration, allowing conversational agents to answer live crypto market queries and news tracking in-chat.
Magic Newton — Expanded its “Recurring Buy” and added “Recurring Sell” agent features for automated DCA (dollar-cost averaging) strategies on Base.
Opal by Google Labs — A public beta tool to build AI-powered mini apps via natural language + visual editor — no code required.
SimplAI — A fast and simple interface to create, train, and deploy custom agents with embedded memory and tool access.
Fraction AI — New “Space” feature for automating Polymarket strategies; users define custom rules for price, volume, or timing.
Elite Agents — Opened beta for its no-code MCP (Modular Command Platform) marketplace — build, deploy, and monetise agents with reusable logic blocks.
👀What To Watch Next
GPT‑5 debut imminent – With OpenAI teasing an August launch, expect leaks, early evals, or a surprise demo drop within days.
White House Action Plan fallout – Monitor state-level pushback, especially in red states facing federal funding threats over AI regulation.
xAI funding resolution – Watch for a formal announcement on its $12B Colossus 2 raise and potential Valor Equity involvement.
Google’s Gemini expansion – Gemini Flash Lite’s launch may signal further updates to Search Labs and Web Guide in the coming week.
Anthropic’s response moves – Now that Anthropic has publicly praised parts of the AI Action Plan, expect a broader strategy update or partnership reveal.
Infrastructure investment triggers – Hypertech’s $835M raise and Brookfield’s activity may signal new data centre land grabs in Canada and the US.
OpenAI’s open-weight model drop – Scheduled before the end of July. If released, it’ll be the first since 2019 and could reset open-source momentum.
🏁 Outro: Until Tomorrow…
From Google's $15B cloud capex to Trump’s AI deregulation blitz, the infrastructure race is heating up — and it’s not just chips anymore.
Decentralized pipelines, sovereign models, and real-time agents are rewriting the AI stack from the user up.
📊 Compute is the new currency.
🎭 Agents are the new apps.
⚡️ And power — grid, political, or silicon — is everything.
See you tomorrow for more signal.
