Apple-Google Gemini Partnership & Grok Global Crisis: Major AI News | January 13, 2026

Daily AI Blog

January 13, 2026

📋 Quick Takeaways

Apple selects Google Gemini to power next-generation Siri and Apple Intelligence in multi-year $1B annual partnership
Alphabet becomes 4th company to reach $4 trillion market cap, surpassing Apple as 2nd most valuable company
Malaysia and Indonesia become first countries to block Grok AI over non-consensual deepfake concerns
UK Ofcom launches formal investigation into X/Grok with potential fines up to 10% of global revenue or platform ban
xAI closes $20 billion Series E from NVIDIA, Cisco, Qatar Investment Authority despite Grok controversy
MSD (Merck) in talks for potential $28-32B acquisition of Revolution Medicines in pharma’s biggest deal since 2023
$3 trillion investment needed for AI data center infrastructure through 2030

🍎 Apple-Google Partnership Reshapes AI Landscape

Apple Selects Google Gemini to Power Next-Generation Siri

Historic Partnership: Apple and Google announced a multi-year collaboration where Google’s Gemini AI models and cloud technology will power the next generation of Apple Foundation Models, including a major Siri upgrade expected later this year.

Deal Structure:

Multi-year partnership with Apple reportedly paying approximately $1 billion annually
Gemini models will power Apple Intelligence features and enhanced Siri capabilities
Apple Intelligence will continue running on devices and Private Cloud Compute
Apple maintains its industry-leading privacy standards

Official Statement:

“After careful evaluation, we determined that Google’s technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and we’re excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for our users.” — Apple and Google Joint Statement

Strategic Context:

Apple delayed its Siri AI upgrade from 2025 to 2026 due to technical challenges
The company evaluated competitors including OpenAI and Anthropic before selecting Google
Apple’s existing ChatGPT integration for complex queries remains unchanged
Google reportedly built a custom 1.2 trillion parameter Gemini model for Apple

Source: CNBC | TechCrunch | Google Blog | CNN

📈 Alphabet Joins $4 Trillion Market Cap Club

Google Parent Becomes Fourth Company to Cross Historic Milestone

Market Milestone: Alphabet shares reached a record $334.04 on January 12, pushing its market capitalization above $4 trillion for the first time, making it the world’s second most valuable company after NVIDIA.

Key Drivers:

Apple-Gemini partnership announcement fueled investor confidence
Strong momentum from Gemini 3 model launch in November 2025
Growth in Gemini monthly users from 450 million to 650 million
Google Cloud Platform AI services showing strong enterprise adoption

Analyst Perspective:

“This is what the Street has been waiting for with the elephant in the room for Cupertino revolving around its invisible AI strategy, but we believe this is an incremental positive to both Apple and Google.” — Dan Ives, Wedbush

Historic Context:

Only NVIDIA, Apple, and Microsoft have previously reached $4 trillion
NVIDIA topped $5 trillion in October before pulling back
Google surpassed Apple in market cap for first time since 2019

Source: CNBC | Bloomberg | Yahoo Finance

🚨 Grok Deepfake Crisis Triggers Global Regulatory Response

Malaysia and Indonesia Become First Countries to Block Grok

Unprecedented Action: Malaysia and Indonesia became the first countries in the world to block access to Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot following widespread misuse for generating non-consensual sexual deepfakes.

Government Statements:

“The government views non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity, and the security of citizens in the digital space.” — Meutya Hafid, Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister

Key Findings:

Grok lacks effective safeguards against pornographic content generation
Reports include sexualized images of women, children, and minors
X’s responses relied primarily on user-initiated reporting mechanisms
Both countries have strict anti-pornography laws

Global Regulatory Pressure:

European Commission ordered X to retain all Grok-related documents until end of 2026
India IT Ministry ordered X to prevent Grok from generating obscene content
France prosecutors investigating proliferation of deepfakes
UK moving to criminalize “nudification apps”

Source: NPR | CNN | Fortune | Al Jazeera

UK Ofcom Launches Formal Investigation into X Over Grok

Regulatory Action: UK communications regulator Ofcom announced a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s X platform over allegations that Grok AI breached British law by generating and sharing sexualized deepfakes.

Investigation Scope:

Whether X failed to carry out suitable illegal content risk assessment
Safety duties around illegal content under Online Safety Act
Children’s risk assessment and protection duties
Content potentially amounting to child sexual abuse material (CSAM)

Potential Consequences:

Fines up to 10% of X’s qualifying global revenue
Court order blocking X access in the UK
Criminal prosecution for CSAM distribution

Political Response:

Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Grok images “disgusting” and “unlawful”
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall welcomed “swift” investigation
Business Secretary Peter Kyle confirmed platform ban is “possible”

Musk’s Response: Called UK government “fascist” and accused them of seeking “any excuse for censorship”

Source: Al Jazeera | Fortune | Deadline | NPR

💰 xAI Closes $20 Billion Series E Amid Controversy

Massive Funding Round Despite Global Grok Backlash

Funding Details: Elon Musk’s xAI completed its upsized Series E funding round, raising $20 billion—exceeding the original $15 billion target—valuing the company at approximately $230 billion.

Key Investors:

Strategic: NVIDIA (up to $2B), Cisco Investments
Institutional: Valor Equity Partners, Fidelity, Qatar Investment Authority, MGX, Baron Capital Group, Stepstone Group

Funding Structure:

Approximately $7.5 billion equity
Up to $12.5 billion debt in special purpose vehicle
GPUs used as collateral for debt portion

Company Highlights:

Over 1 million H100 GPU equivalents at Colossus I and II data centers
600 million monthly active users across X and Grok
Grok 5 currently in training
Expansion of Memphis data center to nearly 2 gigawatts capacity

Ironic Timing: The funding announcement came just days after the Grok deepfake controversy erupted, with xAI now under investigation in multiple countries.

Source: xAI Official | CNBC | Bloomberg | TechCrunch

🏥 Healthcare M&A Heats Up at JPM Conference

MSD (Merck) in Talks for $28-32B Revolution Medicines Acquisition

Potential Mega-Deal: Reports indicate Merck (MSD outside North America) is in advanced talks to acquire cancer-focused biotech Revolution Medicines for $28-32 billion, which would be the largest pharma M&A since Pfizer’s $43B Seagen acquisition in 2023.

Strategic Rationale:

Merck faces Keytruda patent expiration in 2028 (50%+ of pharma sales)
Revolution’s daraxonrasib targets RAS pathway in pancreatic and lung cancers
Drug could be $10 billion asset by 2035 according to Mizuho
Complements Merck’s existing oncology pipeline

Deal Status:

Not yet finalized; agreement several weeks away
Other large pharma companies also circling Revolution
Revolution stock up 33% since acquisition rumors began

Recent Merck M&A Activity:

Cidara Therapeutics: $9.2 billion
Verona Pharma: $10 billion
Multiple smaller deals in 2024-2025

Source: Financial Times | Bloomberg | Pharmaceutical Technology

Eli Lilly Eyes €15 Billion Abivax Acquisition

Emerging Deal: French media reported Eli Lilly is working on a potential €15 billion ($17.5B) acquisition of French biotech Abivax, which develops anti-inflammatory drugs including lead candidate obefazimod.

Market Response: Abivax shares surged on the news ahead of J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference 2026.

Pipeline Value: Obefazimod forecast to generate $1.8 billion in global sales by 2031 according to GlobalData.

Source: Pharmaceutical Technology

🏗️ AI Infrastructure Investment Boom

Data Centers to Require $3 Trillion Investment Through 2030

Industry Assessment: A new analysis cited by Bloomberg projects that AI data centers will require approximately $3 trillion in investment through 2030, covering servers, specialized compute, facilities, and power capacity.

Key Implications:

AI leadership increasingly constrained by power, real estate, and capital—not ideas
Governments and communities questioning who bears infrastructure costs
Grid connections and long-term power contracts becoming competitive advantages
Supply chain becoming the primary AI battleground

Supporting Developments:

New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced initiative ensuring data centers cover electricity costs rather than passing to ratepayers
BE Semiconductor Industries drawing takeover interest as AI packaging becomes strategic
Local politics increasingly becoming gating factor for AI infrastructure projects

Source: Tech Startups | Bloomberg

Chinese AI Leaders Warn US Lead is Widening

Geopolitical Shift: Chinese AI leaders are warning that the US lead is widening—a candid admission that capability, compute access, and ecosystem advantages may be compounding faster than many expected.

Key Tensions:

Technology self-sufficiency goals vs. practical hardware dependencies
Export controls hardening supply constraints
Modest gaps at bottom of AI stack ballooning into major product gaps

Strategic Insight: National AI competitiveness increasingly determined by compute access and supply chains, not just talent.

Source: Semafor via Tech Startups

🛡️ Defense AI Reaches Unicorn Status

Harmattan AI Raises $200M, Hits $1.4B Valuation

Defense Tech Milestone: French defense tech startup Harmattan AI raised $200 million in Series B funding led by Dassault Aviation, achieving unicorn status at $1.4 billion valuation in just two years.

Technology Focus:

Autonomous mission-system software for military aircraft and drones
AI-driven capabilities for fighter jets and defense systems
Integration with next-generation Rafale fighter jets and UAVs

Strategic Partnership:

Validated by French and UK defense ministries
Will help Dassault integrate AI into combat systems
Addresses NATO priorities for advanced drones and smarter systems

Industry Significance: One of Europe’s largest defense AI funding rounds, signaling continent’s push for technological sovereignty.

Source: Tech Startups

💼 Enterprise AI Funding Roundup

Tebra Secures $250M for Healthcare AI Automation

Healthcare Tech: Newport Beach-based Tebra secured $250 million in new financing to expand AI-driven automation across its platform serving 140,000+ independent healthcare providers.

AI Capabilities:

Automated clinical note-taking
Revenue-cycle support
Practice management and EHR integration
Patient engagement automation

Investors: Hildred Capital (lead), Montreux Growth Partners, Toba Capital, Transformation Capital, with J.P. Morgan debt facility

Source: Tech Startups

Torq Raises $140M for Agentic AI Security

Cybersecurity AI: Security automation platform Torq locked in $140 million to expand its agentic AI capabilities for automating SOC (Security Operations Center) workflows.

Market Context: Reflects escalating demand for AI-powered autonomous security solutions as threat landscape grows more complex.

Source: Tech Startups

🇪🇺 EU Launches Open Source AI Infrastructure Consultation

European Digital Sovereignty Push

Policy Development: The European Union launched a consultation (January 6 - February 3) framing open source as core infrastructure for building “European Open Digital Ecosystems.”

Strategic Goals:

Reduce reliance on US-controlled platforms
Strengthen technological sovereignty through standards
Create procurement opportunities for open-source solutions
Establish interoperability requirements reshaping platform lock-in

Implications for Tech Companies: If backed with funding and enforcement, could shift enterprise buying toward European cloud initiatives and open-source stacks.

Source: Tech Startups

📊 Market Impact Analysis

The January 12-13 news cycle reveals several critical industry dynamics:

Platform Shifts: Apple’s selection of Google Gemini over OpenAI and Anthropic represents a major validation of Google’s AI capabilities and could reshape the competitive landscape for consumer AI assistants.

Regulatory Reckoning: The Grok deepfake crisis demonstrates that AI safety failures can trigger rapid, coordinated global regulatory responses—even for companies backed by influential figures.

Capital Concentration: The juxtaposition of xAI’s $20B raise against global Grok bans shows that AI funding continues regardless of safety concerns, raising questions about investor priorities.

Infrastructure Primacy: The $3 trillion data center investment forecast confirms that AI competition is increasingly about physical infrastructure, not just algorithmic innovation.

Healthcare AI Surge: The MSD-Revolution and Lilly-Abivax deals signal pharma’s aggressive pivot to AI-driven drug discovery as patent cliffs loom.

🔮 Looking Ahead

Key Developments to Watch:

Apple’s timeline for Gemini-powered Siri rollout
Ofcom investigation outcomes and potential X ban in UK
Additional country responses to Grok deepfake crisis
MSD-Revolution Medicines deal finalization
J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference dealmaking activity
EU open source consultation outcomes

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Last Updated: January 13, 2026, 11:59 PM CST