OpenAI vs. Microsoft, TikTok takeover & more (June 17, 2025)

👋 Good morning!

The AI world is boiling over. OpenAI and Microsoft’s long-standing partnership is cracking under pressure, and the consequences could reshape the future of AI. Plus: China’s AI video dominance, GPT-4 shaving years off research, and tools to turn your browser into your sidekick.

Let’s jump in.

🤝 Big Breakups, Big Contracts: OpenAI

💥 OpenAI & Microsoft Hit “Boiling Point”

OpenAI is considering launching antitrust complaints against Microsoft after the tech giant blocked parts of its restructure and bristled at OpenAI’s $3B Windsurf acquisition. At the heart of the rift: fears that Windsurf’s tech could give Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot an unfair boost. While both sides say they’re optimistic, insiders call it “the nuclear option” moment.

🛡️ OpenAI Lands $200M U.S. Defense Contract

For the first time, OpenAI is going defense. The Department of Defense awarded it a one-year, $200 million contract, putting it in the same lane as Anthropic and Anduril, who’ve also recently inked big military deals.

🇨🇳 China’s AI Models Are Stepping On Necks

🎬 Seedance 1.0 & Hailuo 02 Dethrone Veo 3

Google’s video model Veo 3 was the king, until now. ByteDance’s Seedance and MiniMax’s Hailuo 02 just took top spots on a major benchmark, leapfrogging the American favorite in both overall and image-to-video performance.

🛍️ TikTok’s New AI Marketing Suite

ByteDance launched new tools that let brands create avatar-powered video ads and animated product showcases from images or prompts. Think: upload a product pic, get a full AI-powered TikTok ad in minutes.

🔍 Adobe’s SEO for LLMs

Adobe’s new “LLM Optimizer” helps brands boost discoverability inside AI chatbots and browsers, tracking generative search traffic, which surged 3,500% in the last year. It's like SEO, but for GPTs.

🧰 Tools of the Day

• Assembly – Real time speech-to-text for voice agents
• Healy – Your AI health companion for you and your loved ones
• Pulz – Create AI agents and workflows without engineers
• Adobe LLM Optimizer – Visibility tracking across AI-generated search

🧠 Prompt of the Day

Simplify long articles like a pro

“You are a reading assistant. The user will provide an article. Read it thoroughly and generate a mind map, 400-word summary, and simplified version with visuals.”

⚡ Quick Hits

• Anthropic’s agents beat single-agent setups by 90% in complex tasks
• Meta puts ads in WhatsApp Updates to recoup $14.3B Scale AI investment
• ElevenLabs adds plug-and-play support for Salesforce, HubSpot, Gmail
• McKinsey: 80% of firms use genAI, most see no impact without agents
• Google may dump Scale AI post-Meta investment

Want to stay up to date on everything AI? Check out Aloa AI Resources.

🧾 TLDR

OpenAI and Microsoft’s relationship is on the brink, with threats of lawsuits over control, access, and independence. Meanwhile, China’s AI video models are racing ahead, TikTok is giving brands a new AI ad toolkit, and researchers are slashing timelines with GPT-4. We’re also seeing the rise of agent-based automation, and the fall of just “plug-in AI.”

Talk soon,
David