Amazon Drops New "AI Factories"

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Happy Thursday! When AI needs to handle sensitive data, the cloud isn’t always an option. Amazon now lets you run powerful AI on-premises, keeping everything under your control. Catch this story and more in today’s Top AI News!

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📣 TOP AI NEWS

AWS Brings “AI Factories” On-Premises

Amazon has introduced AI Factories, a new offering that lets corporations and governments run AWS-managed AI systems inside their own data centers. The setup keeps all data on-premise for maximum sovereignty while still tapping into AWS services like Bedrock and SageMaker. The system is built with both Nvidia Blackwell GPUs and Amazon’s Trainium3 chips, blending the two companies’ technologies (see Amazon’s announcement).

OpenAI Hits the Panic Button

CEO Sam Altman has reportedly declared a “code red” inside OpenAI, pausing side projects like ads and a personal AI assistant to rapidly boost ChatGPT’s speed, reliability, and personalization. The move signals mounting pressure as Google’s Gemini 3 and its booming AI ecosystem catch up fast. Daily war-room calls and internal team shifts are now in motion to regain ChatGPT’s momentum (read more).

Apple’s AI Shake-Up Deepens

Apple’s longtime AI chief John Giannandrea is stepping down after a rocky stretch marked by Apple Intelligence misfires and a stalled Siri overhaul. His replacement, Amar Subramanya — a veteran of Google and Microsoft’s Gemini Assistant — is stepping in as the company scrambles to regain momentum. Bloomberg reporting shows Apple had already sidelined Giannandrea months earlier amid internal dysfunction and delayed launches. The move underscores how urgently Apple is trying to catch up in a fast-moving AI race (see Apple’s announcement).

🛠️ THIS WEEK’S AI COMBO: 1 PROMPT + 1 TOOL

⚡️ MIND SPARK

🛒 ChatGPT Becomes a Bigger Holiday Shopping Gatekeeper: New data from Apptopia shows ChatGPT referrals to retailer mobile apps jumped 28% year-over-year during the Black Friday weekend. But most of that traffic flowed to giants: Amazon captured 54% of all referrals, up from 40.5% last year, while Walmart’s share surged from 2.7% to 14.9% (read more).

💡 Nvidia Doubles Down on Chip Design: Nvidia is investing $2 billion into Synopsys, buying shares at $414.79 each to strengthen a multi-year partnership. The collaboration aims to integrate Nvidia’s AI hardware into Synopsys’ chip-design software, helping the company shift from CPU to GPU computing for faster workflows (see Nvidia’s announcement).

📱 Android 16 Ushers in Rapid-Fire Updates: Google is rolling out new Android 16 updates to Pixel devices, shifting from yearly releases to a more frequent update cycle. The update introduces AI-powered notification summaries, smarter notification organization, and deeper customization options. Parents also gain new built-in controls for managing kids’ screen time and app usage (see Google’s announcement).

⚡ Data Centers Set to Triple Electricity Demand: According to BNEF, new data center projects could push electricity use from 40 gigawatts today to 106 gigawatts by 2035—nearly triple current levels. The largest facilities will draw over 100 megawatts each, some even surpassing 1 gigawatt, with AI workloads driving utilization rates up to 69% (see BNEF’s report).

💰 Washington Takes a Seat at the Silicon Valley Table: The Trump administration is set to inject up to $150 million into xLight. The Palo Alto startup is developing massive particle-accelerator-powered lasers aimed at pushing chipmaking far beyond today’s EUV systems. Critics worry about state involvement in startup cap tables, even as supporters frame it as essential for national security (see official announcement).

🎨 AI ART

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