Oct 16, 2025 5 min read Daily Rundown

⛵ Tokyo Calls Out OpenAI

Plus: IPO in Shutdown, Nscale Joins the Giants

Good Morning, Early Adopters!

From regulation to ambition to infrastructure, the new AI order is being negotiated in real time, and no one wants to blink first.

COPYRIGHT

Tokyo Calls Out OpenAI, Saying “Hands Off Our Anime”

👀 What’s the move: The Japanese government has formally asked OpenAI to stop Sora 2 from generating videos that feature copyrighted anime and game characters. The request, led by Minister of State for Intellectual Property and AI Strategy Minoru Kiuchi, describes manga and anime as “irreplaceable treasures.” The controversy began after Sora 2’s viral clips filled social media with realistic renditions of One Piece, Pokémon, and Mario characters, none of which were officially licensed.

💡 Why it’s not boring: This dispute is not only about copyright but also about cultural sovereignty. Japan’s global influence depends heavily on anime, and OpenAI’s technology has now automated its visual identity. The irony is striking because Japan recently introduced one of the world’s most AI-friendly laws, yet its first major enforcement challenge involves protecting human-made art from digital imitation. This moment could set a global precedent as studios, rights holders, and regulators look to Japan for guidance on how far “creative AI” can go before it begins to consume the very industries it depends on.

⛵ Key takeaway: AI can remix the world’s culture in seconds, but the world’s culture is starting to fight back.

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SNEAKY

Beta Files IPO While Washington’s Lights Are Out

👀 What’s the move: Electric aircraft maker Beta Technologies quietly filed for an $825 million IPO during the U.S. government shutdown, aiming for a $7.2 billion valuation. With the SEC staff on hold, Beta took advantage of a new 20-day automatic effectiveness rule that allows IPOs to move forward without a formal review. It is a rare and risky play that few companies have dared to test.

💡 Why it’s not boring: This move looks less like confidence and more like a well-timed hustle. Beta is rushing its debut while regulators are out of office, betting that investors will reward speed over scrutiny. The company turned a government freeze into a launch window, using clever timing to avoid the questions that usually slow down pre-revenue electric vehicle startups. It is a stealth IPO disguised as strategic boldness, and the timing could not be more calculated.

⛵ Key takeaway: When oversight shuts down, the hustlers file up.

DATA CENTER

Microsoft Just Handed a 200,000 GPU Golden Ticket to Nscale

👀 What’s the move: AI infrastructure startup Nscale has finalized a deal with Microsoft to deploy nearly 200,000 Nvidia GB300 GPUs across data centers in Europe and the United States. The partnership will involve Nscale building and managing large-scale GPU clusters in Texas, Portugal, Norway, and the United Kingdom. This agreement places Nscale among the few non-hyperscaler companies trusted to deliver hyperscale compute infrastructure. Founded in 2024, the company has already raised 1.7 billion dollars and is considering an IPO by the end of 2026.

💡 Why it’s not boring: Nscale is not a simple GPU leasing company; it is building a parallel cloud ecosystem with backing from Aker, Nokia, and Nvidia. Its “AI hyperscaler” model is quietly redefining who can participate in the global compute race. By partnering with Microsoft instead of competing, Nscale positions itself as a strategic supply chain node in the growing GPU economy, connecting capital-intensive chip manufacturing with the fast-growing demand for AI infrastructure. The deal shows that even major cloud players may increasingly rely on external partners to accelerate their data center expansion.

⛵ Key takeaway: Owning compute capacity is no longer the ultimate goal. The real advantage lies in controlling how it scales.

STARTUP SPOT

⚙️ Nscale
“Europe’s Nvidia-powered AI hyperscaler.”
Builds sovereign AI data centers delivering GPU clusters and serverless inference for enterprise and government workloads.
→ Founded 2024 in London; raised $1.1B (2025) from Nvidia, Aker, Dell & Nokia; signed $14B deal to supply Microsoft with 200K Nvidia chips; planning £2B UK expansion ahead of IPO.

✈️ Beta Technologies
“Building the electric backbone of aviation.”
Designs eVTOL and eCTOL aircraft plus the charging and logistics network to power them—full-stack electrified flight.
→ Founded 2017 by Kyle Clark; backed by Amazon and Fidelity; FAA-certified CX300 in 2024; filed 2025 IPO targeting $7.2B valuation after first all-electric JFK landing.

🧠 Viven
“Your AI twin at work.”
Creates personal digital twins trained on your docs, emails, and chats so teammates can ask “you” questions when you’re offline.
→ Founded 2025 by Eightfold AI’s Ashutosh Garg & Varun Kacholia; raised $35M seed led by Khosla Ventures & Foundation Capital; early pilots running inside Fortune 500 enterprises.

BAY AREA MEMOS

Oura has raised over $900 million, reaching an $11 billion valuation, to expand its AI-driven smart-ring health platform.
Oracle will deploy AMD’s new MI450 chips in its cloud to power next-gen AI workloads, boosting AMD’s challenge to Nvidia.
Apple adds 650MW of renewables in Europe and invests $150M in China to boost clean energy use.
Self-driving car companies Pony.ai and WeRide received regulatory approval to pursue secondary listings in Hong Kong after debuting on Nasdaq last year.
Apple’s AI search head Ke Yang has left to join Meta weeks after taking charge of the company’s new AKI team.

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