Morning Scan

Thursday's thread: AI is absorbing capital, policy attention, and vocabulary. Investors are financing AI-linked groups at record scale, regulators are changing course, and a government memo now says "Super Intelligence" with a straight face. In Seoul, the chip industry is holding its usual round of customer meetings.

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Machines & Minds

Goldman Sachs: investors have provided ~$500B in financing to AI-linked groups in 2026 so far (paywall)

Hyperscaler debt is now spilling into euro and Canadian-dollar markets, and the dollar bond market alone isn't enough to absorb it. (Financial Times)

AMD acquires World Labs AI startup, upping the ante against Nvidia

AMD's purchase of Fei-Fei Li's world-models company gives it a software story alongside its silicon. (Ars Technica)

Trump orders US government to call AI 'Super Intelligence'

The executive branch has officially retired the term "AI," a branding move for a technology that still can't reliably book a restaurant. (The Verge)

AI industry moves to thwart data centre backlash ahead of US midterms (paywall)

Google, Meta, and Microsoft are pledging to cover energy costs and cut water use, with an election calendar as the backdrop. (Financial Times)

OpenAI Dev Day, Dot and OpenAI's Product Transition, Sign In With ChatGPT

Thompson calls the product pitch confusing but sees more vision underneath, and "Sign in with ChatGPT" is the part to watch. (Stratechery)

Connected World

David Ellison won Warner. Next up: taking on Netflix and YouTube.

Two years from movie producer to media mogul is quick. Integrating two legacy studios while fighting streaming giants is harder. (Business Insider)

Ford CEO Jim Farley teams with Jamie Dimon on $2 billion initiative

A carmaker and a banker agreeing the skilled-trades shortage is too big for any single employer shows how bad it's gotten. (Fortune)

Ken Griffin donates record $3bn to Carnegie Mellon in push for Miami campus (paywall)

It's a record gift and a bid to make Miami a rival to New York and London. (Financial Times)

Robinhood to launch perps, weekend stock trading for US users (paywall)

Weekend equities plus in-app AI agents means the market never closes, and neither does your anxiety. (The Block)

Kalshi to end liquidity incentive program amid wash trading allegations (paywall)

Record September volume near $53B arrives as the incentive program that may have inflated it gets shut down. (The Block)

Connected World

Mesabi Metallics to build a $15B lower-carbon steel mill in Iowa

The company behind the first new US iron ore mine in 50 years is now going for the mill too. (Canary Media)

Samsung expects to quadruple its foundry customers by 2029

After years of burning cash, the foundry is pitching a growth story, and Lisa Su's Seoul trip suggests customers are listening. (SamMobile)

Hilton Tech Exec Says AI Agents Put OTAs 'Under Real Threat'

A hotel CIO cheering the decline of online travel agencies is the least surprising sentence in travel tech this week. (Skift)

Airbus gets a new freighter – and its giant door – into the air for the first time

The A350F is airborne, and the cargo door, per the headline, is the real celebrity. (The Register)

Connected World

Steam's Pyrowave Update To Remote Play Chases Latency At All Costs

Valve is cutting lag from remote play, so your couch can finally pretend to be your desk. (Aftermath)