WSJ’s new AI experiment

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

Remember when The Wall Street Journal made that 3-minute AI video?

They’re back, this time asking:

How much energy does it really take to generate a single AI video?

(Is hitting “enter” on an AI prompt the energy equivalent of grilling a steak?)

According to their estimates:

1 video generation ≈ 1 rare steak
2 video generations ≈ 1 medium steak

And what about that original 3-minute video?

1,000 clips = 110,000 watt-hours (Wh)

That’s enough to grill 478 steaks. Or power an average U.S. home for 3.5 days.

Joanna also gives a behind-the-scenes look at a $9M GPU superpod powered by 31 DGX H100s.

Watch the full breakdown.

💡 Here’s what you should know

• Google doodle promotes ‘AI Mode’ for the first time
  Google spotlights its Gemini-powered search experience directly from its homepage doodle, accelerating the shift toward AI-first discovery.

• Cloudflare debuts pay-per-crawl for AI bots

  Cloudflare’s new system lets publishers charge AI crawlers using HTTP 402, giving them full control to allow, block, or monetize bot access.

• Amazon deploys its 1 millionth robot

  A new AI model called DeepFleet will optimize Amazon’s robotic fleet, cutting travel time by 10% and reducing delivery costs.

• Grammarly acquires Superhuman

  The two companies will build an AI-native productivity suite with agentic workflows, starting with email.

• Premier League partners with Microsoft on AI fan experience

  Microsoft becomes the League’s official cloud and AI partner, powering real-time insights, Copilot features, and new digital platforms for 1.8B fans.

• X launches pilot program for AI-generated Community Notes

  X is now letting developers build AI Note Writers that can propose Community Notes, starting with a pilot that holds AI to the same standards as human contributors. Read the supporting research here.

• U.S. Senate removes state AI-regulation ban from Trump tax bill

  In a 99-1 vote, the Senate struck down a proposed 10-year moratorium on state AI laws, allowing states to move forward with their own regulations.

• OpenAI's first AI gadget could be a pen-like device

  OpenAI’s first hardware device, built with Jony Ive, is rumored to be a sleek pen-shaped tool with sensors, cameras, and a built-in projector.

💰 The numbers

• xAI raised $10B in debt and equity to fund data center expansion and scale Grok.

• Menlo Ventures is raising $1.4B across new funds to back AI-focused startups.

• Surge AI is seeking up to $1B in its first fundraise, targeting a $15B valuation as it positions itself as a premium alternative to Scale AI for data labeling.

• Genesis AI emerges from stealth with $105M seed funding to build a robotics foundation model using synthetic data generated by its own physics engine.

• North.Cloud, an AI-powered cloud optimization startup, raised $5M to automate real-time savings and reduce waste across AWS and GCP.

• Zango AI emerges from stealth with $4.8M led by Nexus to replace legacy compliance workflows with regulation-aware AI agents.

• Airial, an AI travel planning startup founded by ex-Meta and Waymo engineers, raised $3M to turn TikToks and social content into personalized, bookable itineraries.

🧠 Thought starters

• Can AI be as irrational as we are? (Or even more so?)

• Chai-2 achieves 20% hit rate in de novo antibody design with AI

• Altman on Meta’s poaching: “Missionaries will beat mercenaries”

😂 Meme of the day

Thanks for reading,

Eddie

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