Good morning and welcome back to another edition of The AI Rundown by Lightscape Partners.

• Nvidia just printed another staggering quarter: $51.2B in data center revenue, 62% growth, and guidance of ~$65B next quarter as Blackwell demand keeps outstripping supply. Executives are now talking about $3–4T in AI infrastructure spend by 2030, while Celero and Nokia chase the “picks and shovels” layer with new optical interconnect and AI-ready networking bets in the U.S.

• On the model side, Google is pushing Gemini 3 straight into the heart of its business, wiring the new multimodal system into Search and the Gemini app on day one and debuting Antigravity as a first-class coding companion. At the same time, GPT-5.1 is beginning to roll out as OpenAI’s new flagship, with Instant/Thinking modes and deeper customization aimed squarely at enterprise workloads.

• And in startups, Suno just raised $250M at a $2.45B valuation on ~$200M in revenue while being sued by major labels over training data. It’s a clean stress test of whether “generate first, litigate later” is a viable business model at scale—and it’s unfolding right as Function Health, Physical Intelligence, Sakana AI, and others try to prove that vertical, domain-specific AI can justify multi-billion-dollar price tags of their own.

Stay tuned as we explore these stories and their implications for the future of AI, technology, and innovation.

If you haven’t yet, please support the newsletter by subscribing!

Hardware

Celero raises 140 million dollars to build optical networking chips for long distance AI data center links. Link.

• The Irvine based startup converts light pulses from fiber into electrical signals more efficiently than existing long haul systems.

• A new chip is intended to bridge the gap between short reach data center interconnects and costly telecom hardware.

• Investors include Alphabet's CapitalG fund and Sutter Hill, reflecting confidence in specialized networking silicon for AI supercomputers.

• Celero aims to cut latency and power consumption for geographically distributed AI clusters that increasingly span multiple regions.

Nvidia posts record data center revenue as demand for its Blackwell AI chips keeps outpacing supply. Link.

• Quarterly data center sales jumped 62 percent to 51.2 billion dollars, driving overall net income to 31.9 billion.

• CEO Jensen Huang dismissed AI bubble fears, saying cloud providers still cannot get enough of Nvidia's newest accelerators.

• The company guided next quarter revenue to about 65 billion dollars, far above analyst expectations for the period.

• Executives project global AI infrastructure spending could reach 3 to 4 trillion dollars by 2030 as adoption expands.

Models

Google launches Gemini 3, its most advanced multimodal AI model, and pushes it directly into core products. Link.

• Gemini 3 handles text, images, audio, and video, topping prior models on reasoning benchmarks like the HLE evaluation.

• The model now powers Google Search and the Gemini app from day one, turning flagship properties into Gemini front ends.

• Google also introduced Antigravity, a coding assistant that pairs chat, terminal, and browser views for building applications.

• CEO Sundar Pichai framed the release as the company's most intelligent model yet and central to its AI revenue plans.

Product Launches

Amazon introduces AI generated Video Recaps on Prime Video to summarize past seasons of its flagship shows. Link.

• The feature uses AI to analyze key plot points and character arcs, then stitches clips, dialogue, and music into summaries.

• Initial beta support covers a handful of English language Amazon Originals like Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Upload, Bosch, and Fallout.

• Viewers access recaps through a dedicated button on a show's detail page when starting the next season on Fire TV devices.

• Amazon plans to expand availability to more devices and potentially more series after testing, complementing its existing text based recaps.

Data Centers + Energy

Nokia commits 4 billion dollars to expand US based research, development, and manufacturing for AI ready network gear. Link.

• The multi year plan focuses on optical networking, routing, and data center interconnect equipment tailored for AI era traffic.

• Nokia will expand development and production across US sites as part of a collaboration with the Biden administration.

• Executives say strengthening domestic networking supply chains is critical for economic security and competitiveness in advanced computing.

• The investment aligns with wider efforts to onshore AI infrastructure and reduce reliance on overseas telecom equipment makers.

Startup Funding & Valuations

Norm AI wins 50 million dollar Blackstone investment and launches an AI native law firm for financial clients. Link.

• The startup builds AI agents that analyze regulations and legal documents so banks and asset managers can automate compliance.

• A new affiliated practice, Norm Law LLP, will use the technology while remaining structurally separate to satisfy bar rules.

• Norm AI has raised more than 140 million dollars since 2023 from investors such as Coatue and Bain Capital Ventures.

• Blackstone will use Norm's tools in house, betting AI can trim legal costs and accelerate contract and policy reviews.

AI music startup Suno raises 250 million dollars as demand and copyright questions grow around generative songs. Link.

• The Series C round, led by Menlo Ventures with NVentures and Lightspeed, values Suno at about 2.45 billion dollars.

• Suno says annual revenue has reached roughly 200 million dollars through consumer subscriptions and a new commercial product tier.

• Major record labels in the United States and Europe are suing, alleging Suno trained its models on copyrighted music.

• The company plans to invest the capital into model quality, music tools, and scaling infrastructure while fighting those lawsuits.

Agentio raises 40 million dollars to expand its AI powered creator marketplace beyond YouTube campaigns. Link.

• Forerunner Ventures led the Series B, backing a platform that matches brands and creators using performance and audience data.

• Agentio plans to support more social and streaming platforms, giving advertisers a single hub for influencer sponsorships.

• The company will invest in creator tools and analytics that help influencers manage campaigns and understand which deals perform.

• Agentio says revenue growth from YouTube stars shows brands want scalable ways to reach fragmented creator audiences with data.

Function Health raises 298 million dollars at a 2.5 billion valuation to build AI powered personalized medicine. Link.

• The Series B led by Redpoint brings total funding to 350 million dollars for the Austin based consumer health startup.

• Function offers regular lab testing and consolidates patient data so its apps can deliver personalized insights about long term health.

• New capital will fund a Medical Intelligence Lab, a doctor trained generative model that powers an AI health assistant.

• Backers include a16z, Battery Ventures, and high profile athletes and entertainers, signaling investor confidence in AI led wellness.

Robotics startup Physical Intelligence raises 600 million dollars, valuing the company at 5.6 billion dollars. Link.

• The San Francisco firm develops AI software that helps robots learn a wide range of physical manipulation tasks.

• Alphabet's CapitalG led the round, with existing backers Lux Capital and Thrive Capital joined by Jeff Bezos and new investors.

• Index Ventures and T Rowe Price participated, signaling broad institutional confidence in physical AI for automation.

• Physical Intelligence focuses on collecting real world data to train models, contrasting with rivals that rely more on simulation.

Japan's Sakana AI secures 135 million dollars to build language models tuned to Japanese culture and industries. Link.

• The Series B values Sakana around 2.65 billion dollars and is backed by investors like MUFG, Khosla Ventures, and NEA.

• Founded by ex Google researchers including attention co author Llion Jones, the company focuses on sovereign Japanese AI models.

• Sakana plans to expand from finance into sectors such as manufacturing, defense, and government as demand for local models grows.

• The funding underscores Japan's push for domestic AI capabilities that reflect local language, regulations, and business practices.

Regulation + Legal

EU proposes a Digital Omnibus package that eases AI and privacy rules to spur innovation, alarming rights advocates. Link.

• The plan would delay high risk AI requirements from 2026 to late 2027, giving companies more time to adapt systems.

• It also loosens rules on using anonymized EU user data to train AI and relaxes some GDPR and cookie rules.

• Industry groups welcomed the changes, arguing Europe risks falling behind the United States and China without lighter regulation.

• Critics call the package a major rollback of digital rights and accuse Brussels of caving to Big Tech.

Safety + Ethics

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warns on 60 Minutes that advanced AI could cause serious harm without stronger safeguards. Link.

• He predicts AI could eliminate around half of entry level white collar jobs within five years absent thoughtful policy responses.

• Anthropic's red team probes whether Claude might help design biological or nuclear weapons, then uses findings to harden safeguards.

• Amodei argues a handful of companies currently make world changing AI decisions and urges greater transparency and oversight.

• Skeptics see his comments as alarmist, but they highlight growing debate over how aggressively to regulate frontier systems.

OpenAI

OpenAI begins rolling out GPT 5.1 to ChatGPT Plus and enterprise customers as its new flagship model. Link.

• GPT 5.1 comes in Instant and Thinking modes, balancing faster replies with deeper reasoning for complex business and coding tasks.

• User tests show higher satisfaction for writing, analysis, and data work, with fewer errors and better context retention across turns.

• OpenAI is also adding more persona and customization options so organizations can tailor responses to their brand voice.

• The older GPT 5 Pro model will remain available while customers move workloads to the newer system.

OpenAI partners with Foxconn to manufacture AI data center hardware in the United States. Link.

• Foxconn will build cabling, networking, and power systems for AI facilities at plants in states such as Wisconsin and Ohio.

• OpenAI will get early access to evaluate and buy the hardware, strengthening domestic supply for its massive data center plans.

• CEO Sam Altman says the goal is to support US manufacturing of core AI technologies for the coming decade.

• The partnership fits into OpenAI's trillion dollar infrastructure ambitions and broader US efforts to localize AI hardware supply.

Thank you for reading the AI Rundown by Lightscape Partners. Please send any questions, comments, or suggestions to [email protected].