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Jun 24, 2025
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Happy Tuesday! U.S. Senate weighs $25 million funding for AI infrastructure in the “big beautiful” bill. Elon Musk doesn't use a computer, according to his lawyers. Wealthfront submits confidential IPO filing.
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The U.S. Senate’s latest version of the “big beautiful” budget bill could include a fresh $25 million in funding for artificial intelligence infrastructure, according to a draft of the text, which has not yet been publicly released. The Commerce Department would then be able to use the funds to negotiate for bulk discounts with companies providing AI infrastructure, which typically refers to data centers and other computing resources. The modest funding proposal may help explain why the bill still includes a ban on states passing their own AI regulations for the next 10 years. The moratorium on state laws was originally expected to run afoul of Senate rules requiring provisions in the bill to relate directly to the budget. But earlier this month, the Senate Commerce Committee tied the ban to broadband and AI funding, though it did not previously include the $25
million for infrastructure, according to the latest versions of the bill. On Saturday the Senate determined that the latest version of the bill complies with Senate rules. AI companies have lobbied for such a ban on state laws on the grounds that it would simplify AI regulations. State lawmakers and attorneys general have opposed the ban, saying it would hamstring their ability to respond to the emerging technology and pointing out that Congress is not close to passing its own comprehensive AI legislation. The AI funds would come as part of a $42.5 billion broadband program that passed in President Joe Biden’s 2021 infrastructure bill. Under the proposed budget bill, states will only be able to access the broadband funding if they refrain from passing their own AI regulations.
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Despite running nearly a half dozen companies, Elon Musk doesn’t use a computer, his lawyers said in a filing made in court as part of the billionaire’s ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI. The response came days after OpenAI accused Musk of resisting discovery as part of the litigation over whether OpenAI violated its contract by prioritizing profits over its original nonprofit mission. Musk and his company xAI sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in February 2024. Musk’s lawyers said in the filing that they had searched his phone and emails. Musk has posted about a personal laptop used for video games in recent months, but employees at X have told reporters he primarily works from his phone. The Tesla CEO
appeared in a photo at the robotaxi launch in Austin on Sunday with two thumbs up.
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Wealthfront, the 17-year-old robo advisor that manages millennials’ money, confidentially submitted its paperwork to regulators for an initial public offering, the firm announced Monday. The potential fintech IPO could come as early as this fall, and would follow Chime’s IPO earlier this month. Other venture-backed companies planning to go public in the coming months include design software maker Figma, corporate travel startup Navan, and cybersecurity firm Netskope. Wealthfront was last valued at $2 billion in a stock buyback last year. The company generated about $290 million in revenue and more than $100 million of free cash flow, CEO David Fortunato previously said.
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Fiserv, a bank infrastructure giant, said it plans to launch a stablecoin by the end of the year, a move that will introduce stablecoin payments to its thousands of bank clients. Fiserv has set up a horserace between stablecoin companies Circle and Paxos to issue the token, which will be named FIUSD. “We haven’t decided whether it’s [Circle’s] USDC or [Paxos’s] USDG,” said Sunil Sachdev, Fiserv’s head of embedded finance, in an interview. The decision, which will be finalized in the coming
months, will be consequential for Circle and Paxos, which are both pushing for banks to adopt their stablecoins, a key step to gain mainstream acceptance. Circle’s USDC is the second largest stablecoin with $61 billion in circulation. Paxos issues Global Dollar, USDG, a stablecoin with $300 million in circulation, and shares revenue with a network of partners including Robinhood and Kraken. Fiserv intends to share a “large portion” of the interest income from reserve assets underlying its stablecoin with its clients. Stablecoins are pegged one to one with the dollar and backed by cash and short-term Treasurys. They are mainly used by crypto traders and for international money transfers. Banks and their vendors are bracing for the arrival of stablecoins pending legislation moving through Congress that would legitimize the tokens. FIS, another bank tech giant, also plans to launch a stablecoin platform for banks. Banks could use stablecoins for more efficient cross-border transactions, and merchants could use stablecoins as a means to accept payments, circumventing the traditional networks of Visa or Mastercard. Fiserv is also in talks with Visa and Mastercard to enable credit cards or debit cards
that are backed by stablecoins, Sachdev said.
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Readers of The Information were optimistic in June about prospects for the tech sector, though our overall sentiment gauge dipped slightly versus the prior month. Over 48% of respondents to our monthly survey told us they expect the environment for tech companies to improve over the coming six months. Meanwhile, 13% said they expect that conditions will worsen. Overall sentiment was even more upbeat last month when optimists outnumbered pessimists 54% to 15%, coinciding with a pause in steep U.S. tariffs; it was the first time overall sentiment was positive since February. Our June survey also asked readers their opinions about AI-powered devices. Roughly 70% said they would buy such a gadget. Read our full survey results here.
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