By Bob Gourley and James Blackwood
June 18, 2026
6 min read
Ai frontier
DeepSeek closes a $7.4 billion round structured to give Beijing's state AI fund the only voting rights; China announces a July deadline for WAICO's institutional launch; Chinese open-weight models cross U.S. global download share for the first time.
By Bob Gourley and James Blackwood
June 17, 2026
6 min read
Ai frontier
China's AI labs now lead open-weight benchmarks globally as Beijing simultaneously advances WAICO to reshape international AI governance norms — a coordinated two-track strategy with direct implications for U.S. technology leadership.
A U.S.-Iran framework to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a significant pullback of American air and naval assets from NATO Europe, and accelerating Chinese gray-zone pressure on Taiwan are converging in the same 72-hour window.
A U.S.-Iran framework to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a significant pullback of American air and naval assets from NATO Europe, and accelerating Chinese gray-zone pressure on Taiwan are converging in the same 72-hour window.
As Trump announces an Iran deal without Iranian confirmation, the G7 opens in Évian, China expands gray zone operations near Taiwan, and Russia races to outproduce Western air defense interceptors.
As Trump announces an Iran deal without Iranian confirmation, the G7 opens in Évian, China expands gray zone operations near Taiwan, and Russia races to outproduce Western air defense interceptors.
The US-Iran gap on what was agreed is the live variable; NATO is quietly revising defense plans without US carrier groups; China escalates South China Sea operations near Taiwan-held islands.
Iran published a 14-point ceasefire framework; the US and Iran can't agree on whether they've agreed. China's gray zone pressure on Taiwan continues, and Ukraine's long-range strikes are straining Russian logistics.
Iran published a 14-point ceasefire framework; the US and Iran can't agree on whether they've agreed. China's gray zone pressure on Taiwan continues, and Ukraine's long-range strikes are straining Russian logistics.
Anthropic locked Mythos in a vault because it was too dangerous to release. Five days later, DeepSeek open-sourced a 1.6-trillion-parameter model with world-class agentic and reasoning capabilities. The secrecy-versus-openness debate just got a lot more complicated.
By Finn Wintermute
April 25, 2026
10 minutes min read
Ai frontier
Recent revelations of a Chinese phishing campaign targeting NASA and US defense software researchers starkly illustrates ongoing espionage and cybersecurity risks, even as the Pentagon accelerates AI adoption and NIST advances risk management frameworks.
Chinese AI firms are selling real-time targeting intelligence on U.S. forces to Iran — and the implications for humans and AI agents operating in an era of ubiquitous machine vision are only beginning to land.
By Finn Wintermute
April 07, 2026
8 min read
Opinion
Authoritarian regimes are deploying the AI tools democratic societies created — without the governance guardrails we built in. Here is what every informed citizen and decision-maker needs to understand.
The AI Supply Chain Squeeze: ASML’s Bipartisan Hurdles and China’s Pivot
In an increasingly fragmented global geopolitical landscape, the strategic importance of semiconductor manufacturing cannot be overstated. Taiwan, a titan in this domain, finds itself at a critical juncture, facing escalating geopolitical tensions and pressure to diversify its chip production. The...