Evening Scan

DeepSeek's V4 preview lands exactly a year after its original model prompted Silicon Valley into a months-long efficiency sprint. Canada secured 90% of the Aleph Alpha-Cohere combined entity; Germany extracted the "sovereign AI" framing both governments sought.

$600M — What Schwarz Group plans to invest in Cohere's Series E as part of the Aleph Alpha deal. (CNBC)

Cohere and Aleph Alpha announce merger in Berlin, creating a $20 billion transatlantic AI company

Canada gets 90% of the combined entity, Germany gets the "sovereign AI" talking points both governments wanted. (The Next Web)

DeepSeek returns with V4-Pro and V4-Flash, a year after its 'Sputnik moment'

The Hangzhou startup that pressured OpenAI is back with preview models claiming top coding and math performance. (The Next Web)

Amazon-backed nuclear startup X-Energy raises $1.02 billion in IPO

Priced above range at $23 per share, as small modular reactor betting replaces SPAC speculation. (The Next Web)

Companies, Not Consumers, to Cash In Big From Tariff Refunds

Families paid higher prices during the illegal tariff period. The $166 billion in refunds are flowing to corporate coffers instead. (NYT)