DeepSeek at $45B, Genesis AI Robotics, Apple $250M Siri Settlement

DeepSeek Targets $45B Valuation in First Funding Round

Chinese AI lab DeepSeek — which stunned the industry in early 2025 by training a competitive LLM at a fraction of US costs — is reportedly targeting a $45B valuation in its first external investment round. The move signals that even China's most efficient AI lab needs capital to compete in the infrastructure race.

Why it matters: Validates that the AI infrastructure cost race is escalating globally. DeepSeek's efficiency advantage was always a double-edged sword — without massive capital, even efficient labs can't keep up with training frontier models.

Genesis AI Unveils GENE-26.5 Robotics Model

Khosla Ventures-backed Genesis AI (raised $105M seed) unveiled GENE-26.5, its first model, with a demo showing robotic hands performing complex manipulation tasks. The company is going full-stack: from foundation model to hardware integration.

Signal: Robotics AI is entering a Cambrian explosion phase. Foundation models for robotics (not just LLMs) are attracting massive capital.

Apple to Pay $250M Over Siri AI Delays

Apple agreed to a $250M class action settlement for overpromising AI-powered Siri features that were significantly delayed. The settlement covers consumers who purchased devices expecting advanced AI capabilities that shipped years late.

Lesson: Overhyping AI capabilities has real legal consequences. Underpromise and overdeliver is the safer strategy.

SpaceX Proposes $119B "Terafab" Chip Factory in Texas

SpaceX proposed a massive multi-phase semiconductor fabrication facility in Texas — a vertically integrated chip factory targeting next-gen AI computing hardware. The scale ($119B) rivals TSMC's entire annual capex.

Ethos Raises $22.75M from a16z

Ethos, an AI-powered expert network onboarding 35,000 experts per week via voice AI, raised $22.75M from a16z and General Catalyst. Voice onboarding is becoming a validated category.

Snap & Perplexity $400M Deal "Amicably Ended"

The planned $400M integration of Perplexity's AI search into Snapchat has been called off. Both parties cited strategic differences.