Samwise Tech/AI/Robotics Newsletter
Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Apple Presents New Evidence of AI Data Theft by Former Engineer Now at OpenAI
In a new filing in its trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, Apple says it has “shocking evidence” showing former employee Chang Liu used a confidential Apple circuit schematic in his work at OpenAI. Liu’s old Apple laptop, turned over earlier this month, also contained a tool sharing the name of an internal Apple engineering application. Apple claims OpenAI was “well-aware” of Liu’s access, and that Liu enlisted OpenAI colleague Yu-Ting Peng to destroy evidence in June when he learned he was under investigation. Apple is seeking a preliminary injunction and expedited discovery. More than 400 former Apple employees now work at OpenAI.
Sources: TechCrunch
Pentagon Adds ChatGPT Mil and Grok for Government for 3 Million Personnel
The Pentagon has launched ChatGPT Mil and Grok for Government — custom versions of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and xAI’s Grok — giving 3 million civilian and military personnel access to generative AI tools. They join Google Gemini on GenAI.mil, a centralized secure portal that has already onboarded 1.7 million unique users. The tools are exempt from consumer data collection. ChatGPT Mil covers administrative tasks, logistics, and policy; Grok for Government, delivered via SpaceX’s Starshield AI satellite network, is positioned around operational and mission-support capabilities. Absent is Anthropic’s Claude — the Trump administration labeled Anthropic a supply-chain risk after the company refused unrestricted use of its tools.
Sources: TechCrunch
U.S. Tariffs on Chinese Drones Take Effect as China Claims 86% of Global Humanoid Shipments
Washington imposed steep tariffs on imported drones and components in August, with drone tariffs taking effect in September and additional component tariffs following in 2027. The FCC also expanded its Covered List — previously targeting Huawei, ZTE, and Hikvision — to cover foreign-made drones and advanced robotic devices. Yet China’s manufacturing scale remains formidable: the five largest humanoid robot makers by first-half 2026 shipments — AgiBot, Unitree, Galbot, UBTECH, and Leju Robotics — were all Chinese, accounting for 86% of global volume, per Counterpoint Research. Analysts expect U.S. restrictions to fragment global markets rather than cleanly divide them, with Chinese manufacturers expanding into Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.
Sources: TechCrunch
Nvidia Invests $3.5 Billion in MediaTek to Extend Its Reach Into Custom AI Chips
Nvidia is investing $3.5 billion into Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek. As part of the deal, MediaTek will adopt Nvidia’s NVLink Fusion technology, enabling it to design custom AI chips for cloud companies and AI labs that plug directly into Nvidia-based data centers. The investment comes as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic build their own chips to reduce dependence on Nvidia’s GPUs. Nvidia senior director Dion Harris called the company “an AI infrastructure company” that has “expanded beyond pure computing chips.” The companies will also collaborate on consumer AI PCs and AI-powered software-defined vehicles. MediaTek expects its custom data center ASIC business to generate $2 billion in revenue in 2026.
Sources: TechCrunch
Instagram Renames AI Creator Label and Will Reduce Reach of Undisclosed AI Profiles
Instagram announced Monday it is renaming its “AI creator” label to “AI-generated profile” and will reduce the reach of accounts featuring AI-generated people without proper disclosure. Creators who use the updated label won’t be penalized; those who fail to disclose AI-generated subjects will see reach reduced. The label applies only to profiles featuring AI-generated people — not general AI editing of photos, captions, or graphics. The change comes as frustration with AI influencers grows: a Wired investigation found over two dozen apparent AI influencer accounts promoting a dating app via direct message, while a New York Times report identified hundreds of AI-generated wellness personalities making health claims on social media.
Sources: TechCrunch
Caterpillar Brings Mining Autonomy to AI, Investing $100M to Train 118,000 Employees
Caterpillar CTO Jaime Mineart told the Ai4 conference in Las Vegas that the company is applying decades of autonomous mining experience to broader AI deployment. Its Cat AI Assistant lets field technicians use voice commands to pull up repair procedures, troubleshoot problems, and identify parts — and is now used by customers, operators, and technicians. The company has 1.6 million connected assets globally and more than 16 petabytes of structured data, and plans to spend $100 million over five years training 118,000 employees in AI and robotics. Caterpillar’s Q2 2026 revenue hit an all-time high of $20.5 billion, with power-generation sales spiking 72% to $3.1 billion on data center demand.
Sources: TechCrunch
On-Device AI Media Search Startup Clipto Raises $15M at $250M Valuation
Clipto, a three-year-old startup that uses AI to index and search videos, audio, images, and documents on users’ computers, has raised $15 million at a $250 million post-money valuation. Investors include HSG (formerly Sequoia China), GL Ventures, Palm Drive Capital, and Hans Tung. Founder Henry Kang — whose previous startup ZenVideo was acquired by Tencent in 2020 — says Clipto reached $15 million in ARR at the start of 2026 and remains profitable. More than 30 million people have used the product since its 2023 launch. The new funding will go toward AI models, local computing infrastructure, and integrations with more AI agents including ChatGPT and Claude.
Sources: TechCrunch
⚡ Tech Pulse — Tuesday, September 1, 2026
| Frontier Models | Claude Opus 5 (96.9%) | GPT-5.6 Sol (96.2%) | Claude Fable 5 (95.0%) |
| Open Source | DeepSeek V4-Pro (80.6%) | Qwen3-235B-A22B (79.2%) | Llama 4 Maverick (75.8%) |
| Small 15–50B | Qwen3.6-27B (77.2%) | Llama 4 Scout 17B (71.5%) | Mistral Small 3.2 (68.0%) |
| Edge 0–15B | Phi-4-mini 3.8B (83.7%) | Gemma 3 9B (78.4%) | Qwen3.5-9B (72.3%) |
| AI Leaders | Nvidia $5.31T | Alphabet $4.55T | Microsoft $3.69T |
| Robotics Leaders | Intuitive Surgical $175B | ABB $69B | Fanuc $48B |
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency