Amrith Ramkumar

A ‘Fight About Vibes’ Drove the Pentagon’s Breakup with Anthropic The AI giant’s CEO Dario Amodei and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have contrasting personalities and worldviews.

Minutes after authorizing Iran strikes that used Claude, Trump ended Anthropic’s federal work. In their first meeting days earlier, Hegseth cut Dario off to say he was in charge. Our deep dive into the Anthropic-Pentagon saga:
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...

These Rural Americans Are Trying to Hold Back the Tide of AI Fearing rising utility costs, job losses and privacy violations, residents have blocked or delayed data-center projects around the country.

The AI backlash now spans red and blue areas from Arizona to Virginia, fueling fights over data-center construction while challenging Trump's industry-friendly tech strategy:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

The Crypto CEO Who’s Become Enemy No. 1 on Wall Street Coinbase chief Brian Armstrong is clashing with Jamie Dimon and other bank stewards over the future of finance.

Jamie Dimon told Coinbase's Brian Armstrong he is " full of s—" in Davos. Other bank execs blew him off. Inside their high-stakes policy fight with big implications for the future of finance:
www.wsj.com/finance/curr...

Taiwan’s Flagship Chip Maker Charts a Future Beyond Taiwan TSMC has for decades provided a “Silicon Shield” to its namesake island. Now it sees both business and geopolitical reasons for going big in the U.S.

TSMC is maybe the most important company few people have heard about. The chip manufacturer's expansion plans outside Taiwan have huge implications for the economy and the U.S.-China relationship:
www.wsj.com/tech/taiwan-...

The Silicon Valley Campaign to Win Trump Over on AI Regulation The debate marks a major flashpoint in Republican politics, stoking tension that could shape the party’s approach to AI in the midterm elections.

At an Oval Office meeting in November, Jensen Huang told Trump the patchwork of state rules could cost the U.S. the AI race. Shortly afterward, Trump suggested an executive order that’s now a flashpoint in MAGA world:
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/the-...

Nvidia, Microsoft Pour $15 Billion Into Anthropic for New AI Alliance Anthropic also commits to purchase $30 billion from Microsoft’s cloud computing business Azure.

A few months ago, Jensen Huang said he disagreed with almost everything Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said. Now he is investing $10 billion in Amodei's company as the AI dealmaking spree continues:
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/nvid...

Exclusive | Amazon and Microsoft Back Effort That Would Restrict Nvidia’s Exports to China The legislation in Washington would give tech leaders preferential access to chips at their data centers around the world.

An under-the-radar policy working its way through Congress has Amazon and Microsoft on one side and key chip designer Nvidia on the other. It's an unusual split that shows chip export policy is getting messier:
www.wsj.com/tech/amazon-...

Exclusive | Trump Officials Torpedoed Nvidia’s Push to Export AI Chips to China The president decided against discussing the matter with Chinese leader Xi Jinping after top aides opposed it.

Top Trump advisors shot down the idea of exporting a new Nvidia chip to China before the Trump-XI meeting, a setback for Jensen Huang in his quest to maintain access to the Chinese market:
www.wsj.com/world/china/...

Exclusive | Delays to Trump’s U.A.E. Chips Deal Frustrate Nvidia’s Jensen Huang The multibillion-dollar deal was announced in May, but Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has since pushed the U.A.E. for certain U.S. investments first.

Jensen Huang and some senior administration officials are frustrated a May deal to send Nvidia chips to the UAE isn't moving forward, increasing pressure on Howard Lutnick to finalize the agreement:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Inside Trump’s Chaotic Overhaul of the H-1B Visa Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sowed confusion over whether new fees were annual and applicable to existing visa holders.

Even after the White House said the $100,000 H-1B fee is a one-time payment, Howard Lutnick continues to support an annual fee and officials are still discussing that option. That and more nuggets on the policy in our latest story:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Exclusive | U.S. Government Expected to Get Multibillion-Dollar Fee in TikTok Deal Fee would be latest example of government getting paid for involvement in private-sector deals.

The Trump administration is expected to get a multibillion-dollar fee from investors in the TikTok deal, the government's latest lucrative deal with the private sector:
www.wsj.com/business/dea...

The AI CEO Fighting Trump Over the Future of Technology A battle between Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and the White House pits worries about safe development against a free-market approach.

One of the only CEOs taking on Trump is now in a battle that could shape the future of AI policy and threaten his government contracts worth billions. Deep dive into the fight between Anthropic's Dario Amodei and AI Czar David Sacks:
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-a...

Exclusive | FTC Prepares to Grill AI Companies Over Impact on Children The regulator is expected to send letters to makers of AI chatbots.

The FTC is getting ready to study the impact of AI chatbots on kids and request documents from tech companies, an initial action on the topic that could lead to further action. W/ @emilyglazer.bsky.social:
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ftc-...

Exclusive | Inside Intel’s Tricky Dance With Trump Just five months into his tenure as Intel’s CEO, Lip-Bu Tan was fighting for his job. Getting to a truce with the president was a two-week roller-coaster ride.

The Truth Social post, the White House meeting and the deal—How Trump took 10% of Intel and CEO Lip-Bu Tan saved his job. Our deep dive on the 2-week fracas:
www.wsj.com/tech/inside-...

Trump Dips into NVIDIA’s Chips The “government should leave private business alone” people sure are oddly quiet about this.

Today's show ... the Trump administration makes a big (unconstitutional?) about-face on China and AI with its NVIDIA deal. With @amrithramkumar.bsky.social slate.com/podcasts/wha...

Democrats Try to Halt Silicon Valley’s Swing to the Right Tech executives have been a reliable fundraising source for Democrats. Trump is complicating that.

The relationship between Democrats and Silicon Valley is at its lowest point in a long time. Here's what some are doing to fix it in the Trump era:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

With Billions at Risk, Nvidia CEO Buys His Way Out of the Trade Battle Jensen Huang tried diplomacy to sell chips in China, but it took a last-minute deal with the White House.

How did Jensen Huang change Trump's mind on chip sales to China? By getting him to see the world of AI his way and playing diplomat:
www.wsj.com/world/china/...

Trump Reminds CEOs Who the Ultimate Boss Is The president who ran on his business acumen isn’t holding back in telling corporate bosses how to run their companies—or when to resign.

Trump's call for the Intel CEO to resign adds to his pattern of weighing in on individual company decisions in unprecedented ways, fueling fear that he will target other executives he doesn't like:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Exclusive | Trump Administration Weighs Patent System Overhaul to Raise Revenue Commerce Department officials are discussing a new fee based on patent value, which could fuel backlash from businesses.

The Trump administration is considering a plan to charge patent holders tens of billions of dollars with a new fee. It'd be a radical overhaul of the patent system and their latest attempt to raise revenue:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Trump Goes to Bat for Big Tech in Global Trade Talks The administration hopes to use the threat of tariffs and access to the U.S. economy to stop countries from imposing new taxes, regulations and tariffs on U.S. technology firms.

Overseas taxes and regulations on U.S. tech companies are a sticking point in trade talks with several countries, highlighting Trump's focus on digital trade issues and a potential win for the tech industry:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Exclusive | White House Prepares Executive Order Targeting ‘Woke AI’<br> The order would be one of several expected to be released outlining the president’s vision for winning the AI race with China.

The White House's latest effort to go after DEI is an attack on "woke AI"—Trump is expected to ban biased AI companies from working with the government in an executive order:
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/whit...

Exclusive | National-Security Concerns Tie Up Trump’s U.A.E. Chips Deal Some administration officials worry China could get access to advanced Nvidia chips and are holding up efforts to iron out the agreement.

The US is changing a landmark deal to send Nvidia chips to the UAE due to national-security concerns. Now no chips will go directly to UAE firm G42, a change showing the challenges to Trump's AI agenda. Scoop w/ @eliotwb.bsky.social:
www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Nvidia Wins OK to Sell AI Chip to China Again After CEO Meets Trump The U.S. will grant licenses for the H20 chip after it had announced restrictions in April.

Jensen Huang told Trump his company needed freer access to global customers to stay ahead of Chinese competitors like Huawei. 4 days later, Nvidia had approvals it had been seeking for months:
www.wsj.com/tech/nvidia-...

Sam Altman Is Up, Tim Cook Is Down: Big Tech’s Trump Scorecard Technology CEOs and companies donated millions of dollars to the president, and the industry has been aggressive in trying to garner his appeal.

Many of the big tech execs who cozied up to Trump don't have much to show for it, while others have used splashy investments to appeal to him. Our industry scorecard 6 months into the administration:
www.wsj.com/tech/trump-t...

How a Bold Plan to Ban State AI Laws Fell Apart—and Divided Trumpworld A split among the president’s advisers helped give an opening to opponents of the ban.

When the ban on state AI laws fell apart, it showed the division between the pro-tech and MAGA wings of Trump's party. That split will make it hard to enact AI policy:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Hollywood Confronts AI Copyright Chaos in Washington, Courts Technology firms say using copyrighted materials to train AI models is key to America’s success, while creatives want their work protected.

Is training AI models on copyrighted material legal? A battle between tech companies and creative groups over the answer is simmering in DC:
www.wsj.com/tech/ai/holl...

Exclusive | U.S. Prepares Action Targeting Allies’ Chip Plants in China A U.S. official told top global semiconductor makers he wanted to revoke waivers they have used to access American technology in China, people familiar with the matter said.

A U.S. official told top chipmakers in allied countries he wants to end a process that lets them operate with American tech in China, a move that could complicate trade talks .
www.wsj.com/world/china/...

Senate Passes Stablecoin Bill in Big Win for Crypto Industry The legislation, known as the Genius Act, moves to the House, where passage is viewed in Washington as likely, before Trump’s desk.

The Senate passed a key crypto bill 68-30 yesterday, a move that's expected to help legitimize the industry after it poured money into last year's election:
www.wsj.com/finance/curr...

Exclusive | Trump Officials Weighed Broader China Tech Restrictions Ahead of Trade Talks Expanding export curbs on chip-making equipment was an option if London talks hadn’t gone well.

The Trump team recently considered much more aggressive China export controls on chipmaking equipment, adding to its arsenal if trade tensions flared again:
www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Exclusive | Tech Industry Fights to Save Clean-Energy Tax Credits Microsoft and Google have been leading backers of technologies such as solar projects and battery storage.

Tech industry groups are lobbying to save clean-energy tax credits, a signal that access to power is a top priority for the biggest AI companies. W/ @jenhiller.bsky.social:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...