UAE and US to partner on AI campus

👋 Good morning/evening (wherever you are). It’s Thursday.

The UAE and US have unveiled a new 5GW AI campus in Abu Dhabi under the “US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership,” with the UAE’s G42 leading a consortium of US partners.

To put this into perspective, a 5-gigawatt (GW) AI campus is massive — enough to power 3.75 million homes.

For context, Microsoft’s largest data center in Virginia is 600 MW, and South Korea is planning a 3 GW facility. Abu Dhabi’s 5 GW campus is the largest of its kind anywhere.

Switching gears:

Check out this AI video I shared on LinkedIn. It’s called Home and it won the Grand Prix award from Runway's Gen:48 4th Edition.

OK let’s keep going ↓

Here’s what you should know:

• Meta delays release of its 'Behemoth' AI model

  Company engineers are struggling to significantly improve the capabilities of its “Behemoth” large-language model, leading to staff questions about whether improvements over prior versions are significant enough to justify public release, according to WSJ.

• Windsurf launches in-house AI models

  “first family of models, dubbed SWE-1, optimized for the entire software engineering process, not just the task of coding.”

• Google’s new AI and accessibility updates across Android and Chrome

  Most notably, TalkBack, Android’s screen reader, now lets you ask Gemini about what’s in images and what’s on your screen.

• Google hits 150 million users for subscription service with help of AI

  Alphabet's Google One subscription service, which charges consumers for cloud storage and artificial intelligence features, recently crossed 150 million subscribers, the company told Reuters. That represents a 50% increase since February 2024, when Google One crossed 100 million subscriptions nearly six years after the service launched.

• Walmart is preparing for its next customer, the AI shopping agent

  Walmart is building its own shopping agents that customers can access on its app and website. These agents will be able to execute basic repetitive tasks like re-ordering weekly groceries, and also fill a shopping basket in response to prompts like “I want to plan a unicorn-themed party for my daughter,” said Walmart U.S. Chief Technology Officer Hari Vasudev.

• Salesforce signs definitive agreement to acquire Convergence.ai

  Convergence’s team and technology are expected to play a central role in advancing Agentforce, a key pillar of Salesforce’s AI strategy.

• RFK Jr. says HHS is already using AI

  “The AI revolution has arrived, and we are already using these new technologies to manage health care data more efficiently and securely,” he told the House Appropriations Committee at Wednesday’s hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services’ budget.

• UK needs more nuclear to power AI, says Amazon boss

  AWS is the single largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world and has funded more than 40 renewable solar and wind farm projects in the UK.

• China launches first of 2,800 satellites for AI space computing constellation

  China launched 12 satellites early Wednesday for an on-orbit computing project led by startup ADA Space and Zhejiang Lab.

• Government-built “Humphrey” AI tool reviews responses to consultation

  A government-developed AI tool has been used for the first time to review public responses to a consultation – helping save time and improve efficiency.

The numbers:

• Beacon AI Centers plans to invest $10 billion in building six AI data centers across Alberta, led by new CEO Josh Schertzer, a former Blackstone executive.

• Vistra Corp. is buying seven natural gas-fired power plants for $1.9 billion to meet soaring electricity demand driven by AI, adding 2,600 megawatts of capacity across five states.

• Pathos AI has raised $365 million in Series D funding, boosting its valuation to $1.6 billion as it accelerates AI-driven oncology drug development.

• Legal tech startup Harvey is in discussions to raise more than $250 million in a funding round led by Kleiner Perkins and Coatue that would value it at $5 billion.

• Hedra has raised $32 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz’s Infrastructure fund, with participation from existing investors.

• Cartwheel raised $10 million led by Craft Ventures and others, launching its first AI-driven 3D animation tools.

Thought starters:

• The AI Revolution Is Underhyped | Eric Schmidt | TED

• Medical schools move from worrying about AI to teaching it

• With AI, researchers predict the location of virtually any protein within a human cell

• AI powers Expedia’s marketing evolution

Is OpenAI feeling pressured by Google’s recent AlphaEvolve announcement (see the previous email for details), or is this a serious teaser from Sam Altman?

Meme of the day:

Thanks for reading,

Eddie

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