OpenAI's Bold Chip Strategy and Mandiant's New Security Tool Unveiled
OpenAI secures a $10 billion chip deal with Cerebras, California AG delivers a cease-and-desist to xAI over deepfakes, and the U.S. slaps a 25% tariff on Nvidia's AI chips.
EDITION #100, Jan 16
OpenAI secures a $10 billion chip deal with Cerebras, California AG delivers a cease-and-desist to xAI over deepfakes, and the U.S. slaps a 25% tariff on Nvidia's AI chips.
Image by: Getty Images
This week's key tech updates: OpenAI's $10 billion chip deal with Cerebras, California AG's cease-and-desist to xAI over deepfakes, and the U.S. imposing a 25% tariff on Nvidia’s AI chips.
This week brought significant developments in the tech landscape. OpenAI has secured a $10 billion deal with Cerebras to bolster its AI capabilities, complementing its existing partnerships with Nvidia and AMD. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has imposed a 25% tariff on Nvidia’s H200 AI chips exported to China, a move aimed at enhancing domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
Additionally, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a cease-and-desist order to Elon Musk’s xAI, demanding the halt of its Grok feature due to its involvement in generating nonconsensual deepfakes. This action reflects growing regulatory scrutiny over AI-generated content.
- OpenAI's $10 billion deal with Cerebras aims to enhance AI infrastructure and capabilities.
- The U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on Nvidia's H200 chips to support domestic manufacturing.
- California AG's cease-and-desist order targets xAI for generating nonconsensual deepfakes.
- Regulatory actions reflect increasing scrutiny of AI technologies and their implications.
Image Source: CNBC
CHIP STRATEGY EXPANSION
OpenAI Expands Infrastructure with Major Chip Deals
OpenAI is significantly broadening its AI infrastructure through multi-billion dollar chip partnerships, including a recent $10 billion deal with Cerebras. This move complements existing agreements with Nvidia and AMD, aimed at enhancing processing power and reducing reliance on any single supplier.
The company’s strategy emphasizes diversifying its hardware supply chain to support upcoming product ambitions, including consumer devices and robotics. As part of this initiative, OpenAI is also looking to strengthen relationships with domestic suppliers to accelerate AI deployment and ensure robust data-center capabilities.
Image credit: Ars Technica
PASSWORD CRACKING TOOL
Mandiant Unveils Cracking Tool for Weak Passwords
Mandiant has launched a publicly accessible rainbow table designed to crack Net-NTLMv1 passwords in under 12 hours using consumer hardware costing less than $600. This tool aims to assist security professionals in demonstrating the vulnerabilities of NTLMv1, which remains in use in some sensitive environments despite its known weaknesses.
Hosted on Google Cloud, the rainbow tables specifically target NTLMv1 hashes prevalent in Windows network authentication. This initiative allows defenders and researchers to showcase the ease of compromising these passwords, which have been a longstanding issue in cybersecurity.
Image source: Reuters
LEGAL ACTION
California AG Takes Action Against xAI
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Elon Musk’s xAI, demanding an immediate halt to the creation and distribution of non-consensual sexual images generated by Grok, xAI's AI tool. This action is part of an ongoing investigation into Grok, which has faced significant backlash for enabling explicit imagery, particularly targeting women and minors.
As regulatory scrutiny intensifies, xAI is expected to demonstrate compliance within five days. This move follows international probes from countries like Japan and Canada, highlighting the growing concern over AI-generated content and its potential legal ramifications.
Image via The Verge
NANO BANANA
The Playful Origin of Google’s Gemini 2.5
Google’s latest AI model, Gemini 2.5, has a quirky codename: "Nano Banana." This playful name comes from product manager Naina Raisinghani, blending her nicknames into a fun moniker. The light-hearted origin story reflects the model's innovative approach to AI development.
As Google continues to innovate in the AI space, the name serves as a reminder that even serious tech can have a sense of humor. The Gemini 2.5 model aims to enhance AI capabilities significantly, making it a notable player in the competitive landscape alongside OpenAI and others.
