The artificial intelligence industry witnessed one of its most momentous days in history as Anthropic approached a staggering $170 billion valuation, leading a wave of massive funding rounds that totaled approximately $5.6 billion across major AI companies. The day’s developments signal a dramatic acceleration in AI investment and infrastructure buildout, even as questions mount about sustainability and market fundamentals.
In what may be remembered as a defining moment for AI valuations, Anthropic is nearing a deal to raise as much as $5 billion in a new round of funding that would value the artificial intelligence startup at $170 billion AI chip startup Groq lands $640M to challenge Nvidia | TechCrunch, as reported by Bloomberg. The round, led by Iconiq Capital, an investment group that manages the wealth of Facebook co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey Groq, an Nvidia Rival, Nears $2.2 Billion-Valuation BlackRock Deal; Musk’s Mystery Company Revealed, as reported by the Financial Times, represents a nearly threefold increase from the company’s $61.5 billion valuation just four months ago.
Yet the valuation multiple of 42x revenue raises eyebrows even in an industry known for aggressive pricing. Despite Anthropic’s mission as a safety-conscious AI model developer, the company’s CEO, Dario Amodei, recently confessed in a memo to employees that he’s “not thrilled” about taking money from sovereign wealth funds of dictatorial governments AI chip startup Groq snaps $640M at $2.8B valuation to challenge Nvidia in hardware industry — TFN, as reported by TechCrunch citing Wired, highlighting the tensions between ideals and the massive capital requirements of AI development.
Microsoft and OpenAI Near Breakthrough on AGI “Doomsday Clause”
While Anthropic grabbed headlines with its valuation, equally significant developments unfolded in the complex relationship between Microsoft and OpenAI. Microsoft Corp. is in advanced talks to land a deal that could give it ongoing access to critical OpenAI technology, an agreement that would remove a major obstacle to the startup’s efforts to become a for-profit enterpriseOpenAI and Microsoft extend partnership | OpenAI, as reported by Bloomberg.
The negotiations center on the so-called “AGI clause” – a provision that would currently cut off Microsoft’s access to OpenAI’s technology once artificial general intelligence is achieved. The companies have been negotiating an equity stake for Microsoft in the low- to mid-30% range Samsung to Make Tesla AI Chips in Multiyear Texas Deal, according to Bloomberg sources cited by TechCrunch, with a deal expected within weeks.
The stakes couldn’t be higher for Microsoft, which has built its entire AI strategy around OpenAI’s models. Microsoft has built its Azure OpenAI Service around the smaller company’s models, and has integrated the startup’s tech into Copilot across Windows, Office, and GitHub Samsung to Make Tesla AI Chips in Multiyear Texas Deal, as reported by TechCrunch. The resolution of this negotiation will determine whether Microsoft maintains its AI advantage or faces a sudden technology cliff.
The Chip Wars Heat Up: Groq’s $6 Billion Ambition
As the software giants battle over models and partnerships, the hardware landscape saw its own seismic shifts. AI chip startup Groq is in talks to raise a fresh $600 million at a near $6 billion valuation Nvidia rival, AI chipmaker Groq secures $640 million and a Meta AI mentor, as reported by TechCrunch citing Bloomberg, marking another serious challenge to Nvidia’s dominance.
Groq’s Language Processing Units (LPUs) represent a fundamentally different approach to AI acceleration, claiming inference speeds up to 10 times faster than traditional GPUs. The company has already attracted over 360,000 developers to its platform and plans to deploy 108,000 LPUs by the end of Q1 2025.
Samsung Resurrects Foundry Dreams with $16.5 Billion Tesla Deal
In perhaps the day’s most concrete business development, Samsung Electronics has won a $16.5 billion deal to supply chips for Tesla by the end of 2033 Tesla signs $16.5 billion deal with Samsung for next-gen AI chips – ArenaEV, as reported by Nikkei Asia. The deal sent Samsung’s shares soaring 6.8% and marks a critical turning point for its struggling foundry division.
The deal creates a clear roadmap for Tesla’s AI evolution: AI4 (current, Samsung) → AI5 (2026, TSMC) → AI6 (2027-28, Samsung), demonstrating Tesla’s strategic supplier diversification while giving Samsung a lifeline for its Texas fabrication facility.
Robotics Reaches Its “ChatGPT Moment” with Skild AI
While most AI news focuses on language models and chips, a quieter revolution is brewing in robotics. Robotics startup Skild AI, backed by Amazon.com and Japan’s SoftBank Group, on Tuesday unveiled a foundational artificial intelligence model designed to run on nearly any robot — from assembly-line machines to humanoids Amazon-backed Skild AI unveils general-purpose AI model for multi-purpose robots, as reported by Reuters.
The “Skild Brain” represents a breakthrough in solving robotics’ data problem. “Unlike language or vision, there is no data for robotics on the internet. So you cannot just go and apply these generative AI techniques,” Pathak, who serves as CEO, told Reuters Amazon-backed Skild AI unveils general-purpose AI model for multi-purpose robots in an exclusive interview. Instead, Skild trains its model on simulated episodes and human-action videos, creating what co-founder Abhinav Gupta calls a “shared brain” that improves as more robots use the system.
Early clients include LG CNS and unnamed logistics partners, with SoftBank negotiating a $500 million investment in Skild AI at a $4 billion valuation Report: Skild AI Business Breakdown & Founding Story | Contrary Research, as reported by TechCrunch. The demonstrations – showing robots climbing stairs, maintaining balance when pushed, and manipulating objects in cluttered environments – suggest robotics may finally be approaching its mainstream moment.
Cohere’s Enterprise Strategy Pays Off: $200 Million Revenue Milestone
While consumer-facing AI companies grab headlines, Cohere’s laser focus on enterprise customers is yielding impressive results. Cohere has told investors that sales are picking up—enough to entice existing investors AI Startup Cohere Raises $500 Million at $5.5 Billion Valuation to support continued growth, as reported by The Information, with the company projecting a $200 million revenue run rate.
The growth trajectory tells the real story. Cohere generated $30 million in revenue in 2024 and is projected to reach $70 million in revenue in 2025 AI firm Cohere doubles annualized revenue to $100 million on enterprise focus | MarketScreener, according to data from Taptwice Digital, but recent acceleration has pushed projections much higher. According to reporting from The Information, Cohere’s annualized revenue run-rate (ARR) reached $70 million at the start of 2025, up from roughly $20 million a year earlier.
The key to Cohere’s success? 85% of revenue now comes from private deployments with margins reaching 80%, validating the enterprise-first strategy even as OpenAI and Anthropic increasingly target the same market.
Federal AI Policy Accelerates Infrastructure Boom
The Trump administration’s AI Action Plan continues to reshape the competitive landscape. The Trump administration released the AI Action Plan last week, unveiling a new roadmap to AI dominance and global leadership for the US. It highlights actions that remove regulatory barriers to prioritize developing AI infrastructure through data centers White House Unveils America’s AI Action Plan – The White House, as reported by The National Law Review.
Industry response has been overwhelmingly positive, with leaders from Nvidia, Dell, Box, and others praising the plan’s focus on removing bureaucratic obstacles. However, the plan gives federal agencies broad discretion to deny AI-related funds to states with “burdensome” rules on the technology Wide Acclaim for President Trump’s Visionary AI Action Plan, as reported by CFO Dive, setting up potential federal-state conflicts over AI regulation.
1. Valuations Have Officially Detached from Reality Anthropic at 42x revenue, Groq at near $6 billion with limited revenue – the market is pricing in transformative potential rather than current performance.
2. The Infrastructure Arms Race Is Real From Samsung’s Texas fab to Groq’s European expansion, the physical buildout of AI infrastructure is accelerating dramatically.
3. Enterprise AI Has Found Product-Market Fit Cohere’s growth and Anthropic’s revenue explosion prove that businesses are moving beyond experimentation to real deployment.
4. Partnership Structures Are Breaking Down The Microsoft-OpenAI AGI clause negotiations show how early partnership agreements are straining under the weight of AI’s rapid evolution.
5. Robotics May Finally Have Its Moment Skild AI’s universal robot brain could do for robotics what GPT did for language models – create a general-purpose platform for rapid innovation.
Looking Ahead
Today’s funding tsunami – approaching $6 billion across major rounds – represents more than just capital allocation. It signals a fundamental belief among investors that we’re still in the early innings of the AI transformation.
Yet warning signs are flashing. Valuations that assume perfect execution and market dominance. Infrastructure requirements that strain global chip supply and power grids. Talent wars that see companies poaching entire teams. And underlying it all, the question of whether these models can deliver the productivity gains that justify the investment.
One thing is certain: July 30, 2025, will be remembered as the day AI’s financial trajectory went vertical. Whether it marks the beginning of AI’s golden age or the peak of an unprecedented bubble remains to be seen.en.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
