XAI's spending and Optimus ambitions

Grok dials back the AI image generation thing. Kinda. xAI just raised all that money cause it kinda has to. Looks like the next Deep Seek model is incoming. Why a16z is officially the biggest VC firm in all the world. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.

• No, Grok hasn’t paywalled its deepfake image feature (The Verge)
• Musk’s xAI Burns Almost $8 Billion, Reveals Optimus Plan (Bloomberg)
• Chinese Firms Dominated Global Humanoid Robot Shipments in 2025 (Bloomberg)
• DeepSeek To Release Next Flagship AI Model With Strong Coding Ability (The Information)
• Andreessen Horowitz raises $15 billion for new funds (Axios)
• A16z’s $15 Billion Fund Vacuumed Up A Fifth Of Venture Dollars Raised Last Year (Forbes)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

• The Man Who Could Be Apple’s Next C.E.O. (NYTimes)
• The cost of America’s nuclear revival (FT)

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