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In Today’s Issue:
💰 DeepSeek is reportedly raising outside capital at a $10 billion valuation
🕵️♂️ The NSA is quietly using Anthropic's Mythos model
🧠 Google is in talks with Marvell Technology to co-develop custom AI chips
🧭 Palantir publishes a new manifesto arguing that Silicon Valley has a moral obligation to support national defense
✨ And more AI goodness…
Dear Readers,
Half of all American workers now use AI on the job, a milestone that arrived faster than almost anyone predicted, and yet nine out of ten companies say it has done virtually nothing for their bottom line. That paradox sits at the heart of today's issue, where we unpack what Gallup's latest data and a sweeping NBER study of 6,000 executives actually reveal about the gap between AI hype and organizational reality.
But the news doesn't stop there: DeepSeek, the scrappy Chinese lab that humiliated Silicon Valley on a shoestring budget, is raising outside capital for the first time at a $10 billion plus valuation, a sign that even efficiency champions eventually need deeper pockets when talent is being poached and the pressure to ship on Huawei chips keeps mounting. Meanwhile, the NSA is quietly running Anthropic's Mythos model despite officially labeling the company a supply chain risk, Google is in talks with Marvell to co-develop custom AI chips that could challenge Nvidia's grip, and Palantir published a manifesto arguing that Silicon Valley owes a debt to national defense.
From adoption milestones to geopolitical chess moves, today's stories all point to the same underlying tension: the AI revolution is accelerating, but the nstitutions trying to harness it are still figuring out the rules, and the winners will be those who move fastest while everyone else is still debating.
All the best,
🧭 Tech Power Meets National Duty
This manifesto from The Technological Republic argues that Silicon Valley carries a moral obligation to support national defense, warning that an era defined by A.I.-driven hard power is rapidly replacing reliance on soft influence alone. It critiques cultural complacency - from consumer tech stagnation to political and moral hesitations - while urging renewed commitments to national service, innovation, and shared sacrifice.
At its core, the text reflects a tension between technological ambition and civic responsibility, suggesting that the West’s future hinges not just on invention, but on the values and resolve guiding its use.
Palantir's ambitions offer a glimpse into their future. We will continue to report on this.
🕵️♂️ NSA Quietly Uses Blacklisted AI
Despite officially labeling Anthropic a “supply chain risk,” the National Security Agency is reportedly using its powerful Mythos model, revealing a sharp contradiction inside the U.S. defense establishment. The situation shows urgent cybersecurity demands are overriding internal disputes, even as the Department of Defense argues in court that the same technology could threaten national security.
The tension traces back to disagreements over AI use limits, with Dario Amodei resisting applications like mass surveillance and autonomous weapons, while some officials push for unrestricted access. Behind the scenes, there’s a growing sense that strategic necessity may ultimately force a quiet reconciliation, regardless of the public standoff.
🧠 Google Eyes Marvell AI Chips
Google is reportedly in talks with Marvell Technology to co-develop two new AI chips, including a memory processing unit designed to pair with Google’s TPUs and a new TPU optimized specifically for running AI models. The move underscores Google’s broader effort to strengthen its hardware stack and position TPUs as a more serious alternative to Nvidia’s dominant GPUs, while also turning its heavy AI spending into clearer cloud revenue growth.
What stands out is the strategic emphasis on efficiency: this is not just about building more chips, but about shaping a more tailored AI infrastructure. If the talks progress, the memory-focused chip could reach the design-finalization stage by next year, suggesting Google is still investing deeply in custom silicon as a competitive lever.
Peter Steinberger explains how releasing his AI agent OpenClaw onto the internet sparked a rapidly growing open-source movement and demonstrates why autonomous agents represent a fundamental shift beyond chatbots, reshaping how people work, build, and create.
AI Adoption Hits Historic Milestone
The Takeaway
👉 Half of U.S. employees now use AI at work, up from 21% in 2023, with daily usage hitting a record 13%, but barely one in ten workers say it has fundamentally changed how their organization operates.
👉 A major NBER study of 6,000 executives across four countries confirms the gap: roughly 90% of firms report zero measurable impact on productivity or employment over the past three years, despite 70% actively using AI tools.
👉 Companies adopting AI are experiencing more workforce volatility, simultaneously hiring and cutting at higher rates than non-AI firms, with the largest employers (10,000+) slightly more likely to shrink than grow.
👉 Leaders and knowledge workers capture the biggest productivity gains, while service and administrative roles see little benefit, suggesting the gap between AI winners and laggards will widen before it narrows.
A major milestone just landed quietly: for the first time ever, half of all employed Americans use AI at work. Gallup's Q1 2026 survey of nearly 24,000 workers shows that adoption has more than doubled since 2023, when only 21% reported any AI use.
Now, 13% use it daily and 28% at least a few times a week. But here is the twist: 65% of employees at AI-adopting companies say the technology has boosted their productivity, yet only about one in ten say it has fundamentally changed how work gets done. That gap is real and consistent with an NBER study of nearly 6,000 executives across the US, UK, Germany, and Australia, where roughly 90% of firms reported zero measurable productivity impact over the past three years.
AI is clearly making individual tasks faster, think drafting, summarizing, brainstorming, but organizations have not yet redesigned workflows around it. Meanwhile, companies embracing AI are seeing more workforce churn: more hiring and more layoffs at the same time. Leaders and knowledge workers are reaping the biggest benefits so far, while service and admin workers report little to no effect. The real transformation, it seems, is still ahead. But it’s coming.
Why it matters: We have crossed a symbolic threshold, but the data reveals a productivity paradox reminiscent of the early internet era. The companies that figure out how to redesign work around AI, not just layer it on top, will define the next decade of competitive advantage.
Sources:
🔗 https://www.gallup.com/workplace/704225/rising-adoption-spurs-workforce-changes.aspx
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“Worker concerns about job displacement have grown alongside expanded AI adoption and organizational shifts. Eighteen percent of all U.S. employees say it is very or somewhat likely their job will be eliminated within the next five years due to AI or automation. Among employees working in organizations that have adopted AI, that share rises to 23%.”
DeepSeek Opens Its Wallet
The company that proved you don't need billions to build world-class AI is now asking for money. DeepSeek, the Chinese startup that sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley and Wall Street with its low-cost R1 model in early 2025, is raising outside capital for the first time.
The target: at least $300 million at a valuation north of $10 billion. Until now, founder Liang Wenfeng funded everything through his hedge fund High-Flyer Capital Management, famously rejecting offers from China's biggest VCs and tech giants. So what changed? For one, key researchers have been poached: Luo Fuli, a core V3 contributor, left for Xiaomi, and Guo Daya jumped to ByteDance for significantly higher pay.
Meanwhile, the much anticipated V4 model has been delayed multiple times as engineers work to make it natively compatible with Huawei's Ascend chips, a move that could prove China's ability to build frontier AI without Nvidia. The competitive pressure is enormous. ByteDance's Doubao already surpassed DeepSeek in monthly active users, and tech giants on both sides of the Pacific are outspending startups at record pace. Even the efficiency pioneer needs ammunition now.
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