Edition: June 25, 2026

The White House has asked OpenAI to limit the release of its new GPT 5.6 model due to safety concerns, with the company planning to share it only with select partners before a potential broader release. The move is part of the Trump administration's push for federal oversight of new AI models. This decision follows a similar approach taken by Anthropic with its powerful Claude Mythos model.

The Trump administration has requested OpenAI to delay the release of its GPT-5.6 model due to security concerns, and the company will comply by releasing it in limited preview form. The model will be available to a small group of enterprise customers, with the administration approving access on a case-by-case basis. This move marks a significant development in the regulation of AI technology.

Patronus AI, a startup founded by former Meta AI researchers, has secured $50 million in funding to develop 'digital worlds' for stress-testing AI agents, helping model makers fine-tune their models for complex tasks. The company's technology creates simulated digital environments to evaluate AI performance, and its revenue has grown 15-fold over the past year. Patronus aims to expand its services beyond software engineering and finance to other areas.

Anthropic's AI model Claude is gaining popularity among paid consumers, with a 75% increase in revenue since January 2026, and is now the most searched term on online education platform DataCamp. Despite this, ChatGPT remains the most popular AI with consumers. Claude's growth is a significant trend in the AI market, especially as Anthropic and OpenAI prepare to become public companies.

General Intuition, a startup, has raised $320 million at a $2.3 billion valuation to develop AI agents that can learn from video games and apply that knowledge to real-world situations. The company's AI model can navigate virtual environments and control robots, with potential applications in various industries. General Intuition's approach uses gameplay data to train its model, which it believes can learn causality and understand its surroundings more effectively than other methods.

Unconventional AI, led by former Databricks AI chief Naveen Rao, aims to revolutionize computing architecture with a new oscillator-based system, promising to reduce AI's power consumption by 1,000 times. The company has released its first model, Un-0, an image-generation system that replicates conventional AI systems. This innovation could address the growing energy demands of AI and potentially become a game-changer in the industry.

Researchers compared the performance of a hybrid language model and a standard transformer model, finding that the hybrid model excels at predicting tokens that carry meaning, such as nouns and verbs. However, the transformer model is stronger at predicting tokens that simply repeat earlier information. The study sheds light on the specific strengths of hybrid models over traditional architectures.

Adobe has acquired Topaz Labs, a company specializing in AI-powered image and video enhancement tools, to integrate its models into Adobe's Creative Cloud suite. The acquisition aims to enhance Adobe's image and video editing capabilities, particularly with its Firefly AI app. This move strengthens Adobe's position in the competitive image and video editing market.

Europe's record-breaking heat wave is pushing the power grid to its limits, with some power plants shutting down due to increased demand for cooling. Meanwhile, IBM has unveiled a new chip technology that could help extend Moore's Law for another decade, with a prototype chip featuring 100 billion transistors. This innovation could lead to faster and more energy-efficient computers.

Amazon has announced a $13 billion investment to expand its AI and cloud infrastructure in India through 2030, marking its third major commitment to the country in as many years. The investment will fund the expansion of Amazon Web Services' data center capacity in Mumbai and Hyderabad. This brings Amazon's total investment commitments in India to $48 billion.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is witnessing an unprecedented use of data and AI, with teams tracking over 150 million data points per match and utilizing bespoke AI agents to gain a competitive edge. This technological advancement is changing the game, from player scouting and contract negotiations to tactical lineups and penalty analysis. The use of AI is leveling the playing field, with even smaller nations like Curaçao leveraging technology to qualify for the tournament.

A British police force has been using a crime-prediction machine to assign risk scores to thousands of adults and children, but some results have been deemed untrustworthy and two models were abandoned due to lack of transparency and poor performance. The program, which has been shrouded in secrecy, has raised concerns about public trust and the potential for biased outcomes. An investigation has uncovered hundreds of pages of documentation revealing the extent of the program and its limitations.

A severe heat wave in Europe is straining the power grid, with a nuclear power plant in France forced to close due to high temperatures, and electricity demand expected to rise as more homes install air-conditioning. Climate change is squeezing the grid from both supply and demand sides, affecting power availability and transmission infrastructure. The situation highlights the need for grid planning and adaptation to meet increasing energy demands.

IBM has unveiled a new chip technology that could extend Moore's Law for another decade, featuring a nanostack architecture that vertically stacks transistors in two layers on a silicon chip. This design could lead to faster and more energy-efficient computers. The technology has the potential to be widely used in data centers, improving energy consumption management.

OpenAI has developed a custom chip called Jalapeño to reduce infrastructure costs, with the goal of mitigating the heavy capital expenditure associated with third-party hardware. The chip is designed specifically for large language model inference and is expected to lower operational costs. OpenAI aims to overcome the financial burden of running large language models at scale with this new technology.

The Netherlands is pushing back against the US's proposed MATCH Act, which would bar Chinese chipmakers from accessing Western semiconductor equipment, potentially harming Dutch company ASML. ASML is Europe's most valuable company and a key maker of sophisticated lithography machines used in AI chip production. The Dutch Trade Minister has met with US officials to express concerns over the bill's potential impact.

Netris, a network automation startup, has raised $15 million in a Series A round from Andreessen Horowitz to help AI neoclouds go live faster by automating setup, configuration, and operations. The company's software reduces the time it takes for data centers to provide cloud-computing services for AI inference and training. Netris aims to use the funding to hire more engineers and sales staff, and expand its platform's capabilities.

Artificial intelligence is transforming the retail industry by improving decision-making processes, enhancing customer experiences, and increasing operational efficiency. Macy's is at the forefront of this shift, adopting an 'AI-first' approach that embeds intelligence into its systems. This approach is enabling the company to provide more personalized and seamless experiences for its customers.

Ford, despite being ranked No. 1 in JD Power's initial quality ranking, faced challenges with its automated systems, requiring the company to rehire former engineers to correct errors made by robots. The reliance on AI was found to be prone to pitfalls, dependent on the quality of training data. This highlights the limitations of automation in complex manufacturing processes.

Amazon's MGM Studios has dropped a biographical movie about OpenAI's Sam Altman, while Google DeepMind invests $75 million in AI tools with film studio A24, and Meta pauses an employee-tracking program after a data leak. The tech industry is seeing increased intertwining with film and controversy over data centers.

Notion is shutting down its email app, Notion Mail, citing that most users rely on AI agents for their email needs. The move comes after Notion acquired Skiff, an encrypted email service, in 2024. Notion Mail will be discontinued on September 22.

Google Finance has introduced several new features, including a new Android app, to help users track their investment portfolios and stay updated on market intel. The updates include personalized portfolio tracking, a research tool, and customizable daily briefings. The new features are now available globally, with an iOS app to follow later this year.

Meta has revived Facebook's Creator Studio as a standalone AI companion app, aiming to help creators connect with their audiences and grow on Facebook. The app features Meta's AI Creator Assistant, which provides performance tracking insights and tailored recommendations. The app is currently not widely available.

The TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 is set to take place on November 4 in Boston, offering founders and investors a chance to learn, network, and grow. With only two days left, attendees can save up to $190 with Early Bird rates before they expire on June 26. The event promises tactical learning, candid conversations, and meaningful networking opportunities.