# 182 - Alexa 2.0, MiniMax, Surskever raises $1B, SB 1047 approved

Our 182nd episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news! With hosts Andrey Kurenkov and Jeremie Harris.

Read out our text newsletter and comment on the podcast at https://lastweekin.ai/. If you would like to become a sponsor for the newsletter, podcast, or both, please fill out this form.

Email us your questions and feedback at contact@lastweekinai.com and/or hello@gladstone.ai

Sponsors:

- Agent.ai is the global marketplace and network for AI builders and fans. Hire AI agents to run routine tasks, discover new insights, and drive better results. Don't just keep up with the competition—outsmart them. And leave the boring stuff to the robots 🤖

- Pioneers of AI, is your trusted guide to this emerging technology. Host Rana el Kaliouby (RAH-nuh el Kahl-yoo-bee) is an AI scientist, entrepreneur, author and investor exploring all the opportunities and questions AI brings into our lives. Listen to Pioneers of AI, with new episodes every Wednesday, wherever you tune in.

In this episode:

- OpenAI's move into hardware production and Amazon's strategic acquisition in AI robotics.
- Advances in training language models with long-context capabilities and California's pending AI regulation bill.
- Strategies for safeguarding open weight LLMs against adversarial attacks and China's rise in chip manufacturing.
- Sam Altman's infrastructure investment plan and debates on AI-generated art by Ted Chiang.

Timestamps + Links:

• (00:00:00) Intro / Banter
• (00:05:15) Response to listener comments / corrections

• Tools & Apps
  • (00:07:32) Amazon Picks Anthropic to Power Alexa 2.0
  • (00:12:12) Forget Sora — MiniMax is a new realistic AI video generator and it’s seriously impressive
• Applications & Business
  • (00:14:56) Ilya Sutskever’s startup, Safe Superintelligence, raises $1B
  • (00:22:20) TSMC’s A16 Process Creates a Buzz Before Mass Production, as OpenAI Reportedly Secures Capacity
  • (00:29:13) Amazon hires the founders of AI robotics startup Covariant
  • (00:33:33) OpenAI weighs changes to corporate structure amid latest funding talks
  • (00:37:43) Chinese GPU-maker XCT, once valued at $2.1B, is on the verge of collapse — shareholders now suing founder
  • (00:40:34) TSMC aims to ready next-gen silicon photonics for AI in 5 years
• Projec