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# The AI Money Machine, Regulators, Revelations, and Rulemaking, The Lighter Side
- URL: https://adjacent.media/scan/2026-07-01-am/
- Published: 2026-07-01T10:06:13.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-01T10:06:14.000Z
- Description: Half the news cycle this morning is AI money moving fast — a 4x valuation jump here, a $135M Series A there — while the other half is governments trying to figure out what to do about all of it. Happy Q3.
- Author: Jonathan Greene
- Tags: #scan-am, #scan

Half the news cycle this morning is AI money moving fast — a 4x valuation jump here, a $135M Series A there — while the other half is governments trying to figure out what to do about all of it. Happy Q3.

> **$50B** — The estimated total in taxes avoided by tech giants fueling the data center boom, per a new Zeteo investigation. *(Zeteo)*

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### Machines & Minds

#### [AI Video Startup Higgsfield in Talks to Raise at $5B Valuation](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/ai-video-startup-talks-quadruple-valuation-5-billion?ref=adjacent.media)

More than 4x its January valuation, and the round isn't even closed yet — AI video is running on vibes and very large checks. *(The Information)*

#### [Chamath Palihapitiya Raises $135M Series A for AI Coding Startup 8090](https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/29/chamath-palihapitiya-raises-135m-series-a-for-his-ai-coding-startup-takes-ceo-role/?ref=adjacent.media)

Salesforce Ventures led, and Chamath is taking the CEO seat himself — a vote of confidence or a red flag, depending on your priors. *(TechCrunch)*

#### [Rocket Lab to Buy Satellite Operator Iridium for $8B](https://siliconangle.com/2026/06/29/space-launch-provider-rocket-lab-buy-satellite-operator-iridium-8b/?ref=adjacent.media)

A launch provider acquiring an orbital network is a vertical integration play that would make Elon nervous — if he weren't already occupied elsewhere. *(SiliconANGLE)*

#### [Google's GV Bets $30M on Nebex, a Stock Exchange for Space](https://thenextweb.com/news/nebex-30m-seed-gv-space-economy?ref=adjacent.media)

The space economy keeps minting rockets; someone still needs to build the financial plumbing underneath them. *(The Next Web)*

> $5.6B\*\* — What five Chinese tech and manufacturing companies are seeking to raise across simultaneous Hong Kong listings, led by Apple supplier Luxshare's $3.15B offering. \*(Reuters)

### Connected World

#### [$50 Billion in Taxes Avoided by Tech Giants Driving the Data Center Boom](https://open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/50-billion-in-taxes-avoided-by-tech)

The infrastructure buildout everyone is celebrating comes with a subsidy tab that's now harder to ignore. *(Zeteo)*

#### [UK CMA Proposes Requiring Apple and Google to Relax App Store Payment Rules](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk-regulator-proposes-easing-apple-google-app-store-payment-rules-2026-06-30/?ref=adjacent.media)

The CMA wants Apple to open NFC and both companies to allow payment steering — Google says it already complied, which is a very Google thing to say. *(Reuters)*

#### [US House Passes Kids Online Safety Package, Setting Up a Senate Fight](https://thenextweb.com/news/us-house-passes-kids-online-safety?ref=adjacent.media)

The bill cleared the chamber that usually kills these things, which means the block has officially moved downstream. *(The Next Web)*

#### [Trump Administration Wants Medical Data for Its Drug War](https://open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/trump-medical-data-surveillance-drug-war)

The new fentanyl strategy includes data collection provisions that go well beyond the stated goal — worth reading past the headline. *(Zeteo)*

#### [Marc Andreessen Appointed to Pentagon's Defense Policy Board](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-29/trump-convert-marc-andreessen-gets-spot-on-pentagon-policy-board?ref=adjacent.media) (paywall)

The revolving door between Silicon Valley and defense policy keeps spinning, and a16z's fingerprints on DOD strategy are about to get a lot more official. *(Bloomberg)*

### Connected World

#### [WhatsApp Now Lets You Reserve a Username](https://www.macrumors.com/2026/06/29/whatsapp-username-reservations/?ref=adjacent.media)

The app with two billion users is finally moving toward handles, which means the land rush for @yourname starts now. *(MacRumors)*