The New York team is also hiring! We are seeking passionate enthusiasts to join us supporting event planning, sales and sponsorships, and marketing.

Adapted from GovTech, February 13, 2025.

As of February 14, 2025, three states have banned DeepSeek, the Chinese-owned AI application, on government devices. Here's a quick rundown of the current situation:

In Oregon and North Carolina, state IT and risk leaders added DeepSeek to a list of banned applications on state devices. In the Kansas State House, HB 2313 is in hearings, with potential to head down a similar trajectory.

Where to watch next:

This coordinated push highlights deepening scrutiny of Chinese tech firms amid global AI hegemony struggles, prioritizing infrastructure security over cost-driven AI adoption—a trend likely to accelerate as states weigh open-source AI’s risks against its competitive allure. Concerns driving the bans include national security, data privacy, and potential ties to the Chinese government. As the situation evolves, more states are likely to follow suit in restricting DeepSeek and similar Chinese-owned AI applications.

Taken from X.com, February 14, 2025.

This week, OpenAI dropped its long-awaited announcement on the future of the ever-popular ChatGPT. As per a Feb. 12 post on X from Sam Altman, the company is on track to release GPT-5 to all users in a matter of months.

Here’s a few key details on what that roadmap looks like:

OpenAI's accelerated release timeline—with GPT-4.5 (Orion) launching imminently as the final non-chain-of-thought model and GPT-5's tiered intelligence system arriving by mid-2025—signals a strategic shift toward democratizing advanced AI access while further monetizing premium intelligence.

The unified architecture combining o-series and GPT-series models suggests a convergence of specialized reasoning systems, potentially redefining industry benchmarks amid intensifying competition from challengers like DeepSeek. As Fortune notes, this all comes at a pivotal moment for the company. Thanks to the DeepSeek bonanza that kicked off just two weeks ago, OpenAI’s dominance in the space appears uncertain. Altman has called the challenge from its Chinese-based rival ‘invigorating.’

Taken from TechCrunch, February 14, 2025.

Despite the domination of OpenAI’s GPT-5 announcement, this past week, Anthropic quietly dropped a bombshell of their own.

According to The Information, Anthropic’s newest ‘hybrid’ system, backed by the generous funding of Amazon and Google’s parent company, Alphabet, can easily switch between fast responses and deep reasoning.

Some reported features of this new model include:

Anthropic's upcoming hybrid AI model introduces a paradigm shift with its dynamic "sliding scale" for resource allocation, enabling enterprises to balance cost and computational depth in real time. Unlike OpenAI's consumer-focused o3-mini, Anthropic's model excels in enterprise coding tasks—mastering complex codebases and generating functional code on the first attempt—while offering developers granular control over reasoning time and token usage. The model uses more computational resources for complex queries while handling simpler tasks efficiently like a traditional LLM. Developers can adjust a sliding scale to control the model's "reasoning" time, with a "0" setting functioning as a general, non-reasoning AI similar to OpenAI's GPT-4.

Some outlets report that this new model could appear as soon as the next couple weeks, though the true timeline is not yet entirely known. Indicators like Google’s additional $1B investment into the AI startup may suggest something big is at play.

The GenAI Collective Toronto’s second-ever event was a resounding success! 🚀

Thank you to everyone who joined for our first fully Canadian GenAI Collective event. A special shoutout goes to the hosts, NextAI’s Alexandra McGregor and Fletcher McLaughlin, whose venue and hospitality created a perfect stage for the evening.

GenAI Collective Toronto is excited to continue pushing the boundaries of AI innovation in Canada. Come by their next event on Thursday, March 6th—venue to be announced!

We are a volunteer, non-profit organization – all proceeds solely fund future efforts for the benefit of this incredible community!

About Eric Fett

Eric leads the development of the newsletter and online presence. He is currently an investor at NGP Capital where he focuses on Series A/B investments across enterprise AI, cybersecurity, and industrial technology. He’s passionate about working with early-stage visionaries on their quest to create a better future. When not working, you can find him on a soccer field or at a sushi bar! 🍣

About Noah Frank

Noah is the co-founder of Aurix and has spent his career both working at startups and advising global leaders on innovation strategy. His work and body of research focus on AI policy, anticipatory governance, and effective decision-making. When not working to make emerging tech work for all, you can find him making music with his band.