On September 9, 2026, Apple launched its first foldable smartphone amid a surge of AI infrastructure deals, custom chip partnerships, and heightened safety concerns at leading labs, underscoring the intense global race for compute power, advanced silicon, and responsible AI development.
- Apple: Unveiled the foldable iPhone Duo (starting at about $1,999) along with iPhone 18 Pro models featuring the A20 Pro chip and enhanced AI capabilities at its “Surprise and Shine” event under new CEO John Ternus.
- Alphabet (Google): Announced its largest European investment—at least €13 billion (~$15.1 billion)—in AI infrastructure, data centers, and clean energy (including nuclear power deals) in Finland for 2027–2028.
- Amazon / Amazon Web Services (AWS): Partnered with Qualcomm on multiple generations of custom AI infrastructure chips, including warrants for up to 25 million shares tied to substantial purchase commitments.
- Qualcomm: Signed a multi-generation deal with Amazon/AWS to develop customized AI inference chips and optical networking for data centers.
- Meta Platforms: Launched Muse, a personal AI agent integrated with WhatsApp, Instagram, email, calendars, and other apps that can handle tasks such as scheduling, shopping, and booking travel.
- Anthropic: A senior researcher resigned, publicly warning that AI labs (including Anthropic and OpenAI) are “gambling with our lives” by racing toward self-improving superintelligence; the company also faced scrutiny for withholding its latest model from UK safety testing.
- OpenAI: Deepened cooperation with Samsung Electronics on joint research and production of next-generation custom AI chips; also noted for recent mathematical breakthrough claims involving AI agents and board-related safety appointments.
- Samsung Electronics: Expanded ties with OpenAI for next-generation AI chip research and production (beyond prior memory supply deals); also involved in High-NA EUV adoption plans and recent funding leadership in European AI.
- Nvidia: Completed or advanced its approximately $12.9–13 billion acquisition of Hugging Face to bolster open-source AI models and developer access while maintaining platform openness.
- Hugging Face: Agreed to be acquired by Nvidia for roughly $12.9–13 billion, with commitments to keep the open-model platform accessible and multi-hardware.
- ASML: Advanced industry collaboration with TSMC, Samsung, and Intel on High-NA EUV lithography tools and a shift to larger 12-inch photomasks to boost productivity for advanced AI and data-center chips.
- TSMC: Committed to High-NA EUV for advanced nodes (targeting high-volume around 2030) and joined ASML’s initiative for larger-format photomasks to support bigger, more complex chips.
