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

• SoftBank is going all-in on U.S. AI infrastructure with a staggering $1 trillion commitment to build robot-powered manufacturing plants. Dubbed the “Stargate” initiative, the project brings in partners like OpenAI and Oracle, signaling an aggressive push to solve labor shortages through automation at massive scale.

• Runway has raised $308 million to push its AI-generated video tools into the mainstream. With Hollywood partnerships and a focus on production-grade consistency, the company is positioning itself as a serious player in the future of film—and possibly the creative economy more broadly.

• OpenAI is set to raise up to $40 billion in a SoftBank-led round that could bring its valuation to $300 billion. The raise will fund infrastructure and model development, including the rollout of GPT-5 and a suite of new models focused on reasoning, voice, and vision.

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

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Hardware + Software

SoftBank’s $1T plan for AI-powered US robot factories. Link.

• SoftBank will invest a staggering $1 trillion to build AI-equipped manufacturing factories across the United States.

• The factories will deploy advanced robots to tackle labor shortages in manufacturing.

• SoftBank’s $1T commitment doubles CEO Masayoshi Son’s earlier $500B pledge in January, far surpassing a prior plan to invest $100B over four years.

• The initiative (part of the “Stargate” project with OpenAI, Oracle, and others) signals SoftBank’s strategy on U.S. tech infrastructure, underlining Son’s confidence.

GitHub Copilot limits and ‘Pro+’ tier for premium AI models. Link.

• GitHub is adding rate limits when users switch to more advanced AI coding models on Copilot.

• Subscribers get unlimited use of the base GPT-4 model, but newer features like agentic coding will be capped.

• GitHub is launching Copilot Pro+ at $39/month for 1,500 premium requests and access to its best models, including GPT-4.5.

• The pricing reflects rising compute costs and aims to support GitHub’s AI revenue growth.

Models

Alibaba readies Qwen 3, signaling China’s AGI ambitions. Link.

• Alibaba will launch its most advanced model, Qwen 3, later this month, continuing its rapid model release cycle.

• Qwen 3 follows the launch of Qwen 2.5 and updates to its Quark assistant within weeks.

• CEO Eddie Wu said Alibaba will spend more on AI over the next 3 years than it has in the past 10.

• The company is aiming for AGI and pushing to close the gap with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro API debuts hefty price tag. Link.

• Google announced pricing for Gemini 2.5 Pro, with rates reaching $1.25 per million input tokens and $10 for output.

• The model supports long prompts and is positioned for complex reasoning and coding tasks.

• It’s more expensive than earlier Gemini models, but undercuts competitors like Claude 3.7 and GPT-4.5 in some cases.

• A limited free tier is available, but with strict rate caps to manage compute demand.

Content Creation

Midjourney releases V7, first new image model in a year. Link.

• Midjourney launched V7, its first major image generation model update in nearly a year.

• The new model includes personalization by having users rate images to fine-tune results to their style.

• V7 delivers more consistent and coherent outputs, handling complex prompts better than prior versions.

• The company plans rapid iteration and weekly updates based on community feedback.

Startup Funding & Valuations.

Runway grabs $308M to advance AI-generated video. Link.

• Runway raised a $308 million Series D to expand its generative video technology and AI film production tools.

• Its Gen-4 model can maintain characters and camera angles across scenes, aiming for more coherent AI-generated video.

• The funding will support Runway Studios and partnerships with Hollywood as the startup pushes into media production.

• Investors include General Atlantic, Nvidia, Fidelity, Baillie Gifford, and SoftBank.

SandboxAQ adds Google & Nvidia backing in $150M raise. Link.

• SandboxAQ raised an additional $150 million from Google, Nvidia, and BNP Paribas, extending its Series E.

• The company’s LQMs combine quantum and AI methods for calculations in biopharma, finance, and energy.

• Total funding now sits at $950 million with a valuation of $5.75 billion.

• The startup plans to expand partnerships and R&D for enterprise applications of advanced AI.

Israeli startup Unframe emerges with $30M for enterprise AI. Link.

• Unframe, founded by the ex-CTO of Noname Security, raised $30 million to help enterprises build custom AI tools quickly.

• Its platform promises AI-powered software development in hours instead of months.

• The company targets enterprises struggling with long deployment cycles and integration overhead.

• Backers include Bessemer Venture Partners and leaders with experience scaling companies to IPO.

Freed snags $30M to ease doctor burnout with AI scribes. Link.

• Freed raised a $30 million Series A to expand its AI assistant that automates clinical note-taking.

• The tool has saved over 2.5 million hours of doctor time by generating notes during patient visits.

• Over 17,000 clinicians now use the service, reflecting growing interest in AI for reducing burnout.

• The company plans to expand features beyond transcription to automate other admin tasks.

OpenAI

OpenAI reverses course on o3 model, delays GPT-5 launch. Link.

• OpenAI says it will release the previously paused o3 model and a new “o4-mini” model in the coming weeks.

• CEO Sam Altman confirmed that GPT-5 is delayed due to integration challenges and infrastructure readiness.

• GPT-5 will feature tiered access and combine capabilities like voice, vision, search, and advanced reasoning.

• OpenAI also teased an upcoming open-source model focused on reasoning, set to launch after additional safety checks.

OpenAI set to raise $40B at $300B valuation in SoftBank-led round. Link.

• OpenAI is planning to raise up to $40 billion, with SoftBank committing $10 billion upfront and more to follow.

• The deal nearly doubles OpenAI’s previous $157B valuation and depends on its corporate structure transition.

• Microsoft, Coatue, Thrive, and others are expected to contribute to the round.

• The funds will support infrastructure and product expansion as ChatGPT use continues to grow rapidly.

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