Saudi eyes AI power, Australia sues Microsoft & more (October 27, 2025)

Good morning,

Today’s lineup dives into regulatory heat on Big Tech, record-breaking AI investments, and culture clashes inside OpenAI. We also look at a major push to make Saudi Arabia an AI data center hub plus ByteDance’s image to 3D leap and OpenAI’s rumored music tool.

Let's dig in👇

💰 Money Moves

🏛️ Australia sues Microsoft over alleged misleading conduct

Australia has taken Microsoft to court, alleging the company misled 27 million customers on subscription terms and cancellations. The case raises fresh compliance and refund risks while intensifying regulatory scrutiny on platform practices. Expect ripple effects across SaaS providers as consumer watchdogs tighten standards and push for cleaner off-ramps.

💰 Soft Bank approves remaining $22.5 billion of Open AI investment

SoftBank has officially approved the final $22.5 billion tranche of its OpenAI investment, marking one of the largest single private investments in AI history. The funding cements SoftBank’s position as a strategic backer of OpenAI’s infrastructure expansion and global partnerships. It also signals investor confidence in AI’s continued trajectory, even amid growing scrutiny over power usage and regulation.

🌍 Saudi Arabia pushes to become an AI data center hub

Groq’s CEO said at FII that Saudi Arabia is poised to be an AI data center hub, citing energy availability and capital. A regional build-out could attract chip makers, cloud providers, and model labs seeking diversified capacity. This signals a broader shift in AI infrastructure geography that may rebalance power and latency across markets.

🚀 New Launches

📢 Open AI reportedly developing new generative music tool

OpenAI is reportedly working on a new AI-powered music generator, expanding its creative suite beyond text and image models. The tool would compete with Google’s MusicLM and Stability AI’s Harmonai, enabling musicians to co-create with AI. If released, it could redefine how artists and creators compose, license, and remix digital music.

⭐ Seed3D, ByteDance’s image to 3D model

ByteDance introduced Seed3D, an image to 3D pipeline designed to generate textured models from photos. This unlocks faster asset creation for games, e-commerce, and AR, reducing expensive manual modeling time. As 3D becomes a default content type across apps, automated pipelines could accelerate virtual product catalogs and UGC worlds.

🧰 Tools of the Day

→ Mico, A vibrant new way to talk with Copilot
→ Phare Incident AI, Smart incident summaries powered by Magistral small
→ Velona AI, AI that finds hidden fleet costs before they hit your P&L

✍️ Prompt of the Day

"You're my compliance strategist. Review our internal audit checklist [paste it] and identify where AI automation could reduce manual effort or improve accuracy. Recommend three specific tools or workflows to implement within 30 days, ranked by impact and ease of deployment."

⚡ Quick Hits

→ Open AI might be testing GPT-5.1-mini upgrade for ChatGPT.
→ Atlas AI’s new web browser built with ChatGPT at its core.
→ Build vibe coding directly in Google AI Studio with Gemini.
→ Robot dogs and AI drones show China’s prep for an AI-powered era of war.
→ Is AI a bubble? Are we’re here for sustainable gains or destined for a crash.

🧾 TLDR

AI is touching every layer of the stack, from global data center strategy to courtroom compliance pressure. SoftBank’s capital keeps the gas on, while OpenAI’s internal debates show how fast mission and monetization can collide. ByteDance’s Seed3D hints at a 3D-first internet, and Middle East capacity could reshape where the next big models are trained. The winners will align infrastructure, regulation, and product velocity.

Cheers,
David