Evening Scan

Adjacent Evening Scan — April 10

The AI industry had itself a week — venture hit a record $300B quarter while OpenAI backed Illinois legislation that would shield labs from liability for "critical harms." Meanwhile, Trump's trade wars got messier and TSMC proved chip demand stays strong even during Middle East conflicts.

OpenAI backs an Illinois bill shielding AI labs from liability, even for "critical harms" like 100+ deaths or $1B+ in damage, if they published safety reports 

Preemptive immunity for labs before the harms materialize. (Wired)

TSMC reports Q1 revenue up 35% YoY to ~$35.6B, vs. ~$35.2B est., signaling global chip demand stayed intact during the first weeks of the war in the Middle East 

Geopolitical chaos hasn't slowed the AI chip bonanza. (Bloomberg)

"The brand is now increasing the prices of its phones in the country once again, making it even harder for people to buy..." — SamMobile on Samsung's fifth price hike in India this year

Trump Administration Returns to Court for Yet Another Tariff Lawsuit 

Round two of tariff litigation after the Supreme Court struck down the first batch — states and small businesses aren't backing down. (NYT)

Charts of the Week: Venture's $300B Quarter 

Q1 marked the moment venture capital decided AI winter was over. (a16z)