US AI Startup Goes All In on Chinese Mega-Model | Rewire News Morning Brief

Jensen Huang announced on a podcast, "I believe we have achieved AGI," with 80% of US AI startups running Chinese open-source models. The technological revolution is accelerating, but so are the cracks.

1 | Jensen Huang Announces "I Believe We Have Achieved AGI," Then Spends Half an Hour Explaining Why AI-Generated Things Are Not Junk

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang made a judgment on the Lex Fridman podcast that no one in the industry dares to make lightly. When Fridman asked, "How far are we from an AI that can found and operate a billion-dollar company," Huang replied, "I think it's right now. I believe we have achieved AGI." He cited the popularity of the open-source Agent platform OpenClaw as evidence, while also acknowledging that such systems may create short-term value rather than enduring businesses.

This statement distanced him from his peers who have been busy distancing themselves from the term AGI in recent months. While clauses triggering AGI in contracts between OpenAI and Microsoft are written, Huang chose this time to declare the term. The person announcing AGI sells GPUs, so the motive doesn't need to be guessed.

In the same episode, he also defended DLSS 5. This generative graphics enhancement technology, collectively criticized by the gaming community as "AI junk," Huang referred to as "artist-driven optional enhancement." Announcing that AGI has arrived while explaining why AI-generated things are not junk, this juxtaposition is the most accurate snapshot of the current AI narrative.

(Source: Lex Fridman Podcast / The Verge / Ars Technica / Tom's Hardware)

2 | 80% of US AI Startups Are Running Chinese Models, While the Pentagon Aims Its Gun at Anthropic

A report from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission provided a glaring figure that about 80% of US AI startups are using Chinese open-source models. Models from Alibaba, The Dark Side of the Moon, and MiniMax have dominated the global rankings of HuggingFace and OpenRouter. The Commission warned that this is forming a "self-reinforcing competitive advantage," where the open-source ecosystem and manufacturing data constitute a dual-loop that can approach the forefront even under chip restrictions.

The Cursor event last week was the most specific case. The AI programming tool valued at $29.3 billion claimed a self-developed breakthrough when releasing Composer 2, only to have developers discover through API debugging within hours that the underlying model was The Dark Side of the Moon's Kimi K2.5. The co-founder admitted that not disclosing the base model was a mistake.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon classifies Anthropic as a "supply chain risk," with Senator Warren writing to the Secretary of Defense calling it a "retaliatory action" and pointing out that the contract could have been terminated without the need for a punitive label. The real supply chain risk is not in Anthropic's contract terms, but in the model dependence of 80% of startups.

(Source: U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission / VentureBeat / TechCrunch / Reuters)

3｜IEA Chief: Iran Crisis More Severe Than Both 1970s Oil Shocks Combined, Putin Biggest Winner

IEA Chief Birol provided a quantitative comparison at the Australian National Press Club. The two oil crises of 1973 and 1979 collectively led to a global daily loss of around 10 million barrels of supply, while the current Iran crisis stands at 11 million barrels per day. Natural gas losses are around 140 billion cubic meters, nearly double the Russia-Ukraine conflict. At least 40 energy assets in 9 Middle Eastern countries have been severely damaged. The CEO of Chevron was more direct at CERAWeek, stating that oil prices have "not yet fully reflected" the actual shortage.

The biggest beneficiary of this crisis is not in the Middle East. According to CREA data, Russia earned about $7 billion from fossil fuel exports in the first two weeks of March. Urals crude oil spiked from around $57 per barrel to close to $100, almost on par with Brent, erasing the long-standing discount. Trump's 30-day sanctions waiver (expiring on April 11) allows countries to purchase Russian oil in transit. Treasury Secretary Benson claimed it would not bring "significant financial benefit," with analysts saying this restriction is "almost unenforceable."

(Source: IEA / Fortune / Al Jazeera / CNBC / Guardian / CREA)

4｜Fink Annual Letter: AI Will Worsen Wealth Inequality, Antidote is Getting More People Invested

BlackRock CEO Fink placed AI at the center of the inequality narrative in his annual letter to investors. His key argument is that the vast wealth created by the past few generations has mainly flowed to those who already hold financial assets, and the prosperity of AI will accelerate this trend. If market participation channels are not broadened, the dividend will only make the rich richer.

Fink's solution comes with a clear product logic. He proposes establishing a government retirement investment fund of about $1.5 trillion to operate parallel to existing Social Security trust funds. He also points to tokenization as a key tool to expand market access. This happens to be BlackRock's most core business bet in the past two years. The man managing $11.6 trillion in assets says "getting more people invested" translates to "getting more people's money into products I manage."

The signal is not just coming from BlackRock. On the same day, according to Bloomberg, JPMorgan launched a new tool to help clients hedge AI-related debt risk. As Wall Street begins to price hedge products for the AI bubble, the threshold of being "too big to short" is not far off.

(Source: BlackRock Annual Letter / CNN / Reuters / Bloomberg)

5｜Otman Resigns as Helion Board Chair, OpenAI Negotiates Fusion Power Purchase Agreement

Sam Otman has resigned as the board chair of the fusion power company Helion Energy to allow OpenAI to negotiate a power purchase agreement as an independent buyer. According to TechCrunch, the proposed agreement would give OpenAI access to 12.5% of Helion's total power output, corresponding to 5 gigawatts in 2030 and 50 gigawatts in 2035.

Just weeks after Otman admitted that "data centers are hard" following an outage at a Texas facility, OpenAI retreated from self-built infrastructure. The signal is now clearer that OpenAI is not looking to solve its energy bottlenecks within the traditional grid framework but is betting on the as-yet-uncommercialized fusion power. The 2030 target of 5 gigawatts means that Helion needs to go from the lab to full-scale power production in less than four years, something no fusion company has achieved.

Otman previously held dual roles as Helion chair and OpenAI CEO, with the decision-maker for both the selling and buying sides being the same person. His resignation was a prerequisite for the deal to proceed, signaling that commercialization is now close enough to require addressing conflicts of interest. As traditional energy loses 11 million barrels per day due to the Iran crisis, betting on fusion power is less science fiction and more hedge.

(Source: TechCrunch / CNBC / Axios)

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