Welcome back to Daily Zaps, your regularly-scheduled dose of AI news ⚡️ 

Here’s what we got for ya today:

• 💰 Elon Musk offering $97.4 billion for control of OpenAI

• ⭐️ France’s answer to US’ Stargate

• 📓 Google expands NotebookLM Plus to individual users

• 🎧 Apple prototypes AirPods with cameras

Let’s get right into it!

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STARTUPS

Elon Musk offering $97.4 billion for control of OpenAI

Elon Musk and a group of investors have offered $97.4 billion to acquire control of OpenAI, aiming to return it to its original open-source, safety-focused mission. Musk’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, submitted the bid on Monday, with backing from xAI and firms like Valor Equity Partners and Baron Capital. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman rejected the offer with a sarcastic counterproposal to buy Twitter, prompting Musk to call him a “swindler.”

The two co-founders have been embroiled in legal and public disputes, with Musk suing OpenAI over antitrust concerns. Meanwhile, OpenAI has secured major investments, including a $40 billion deal with SoftBank, and is involved in the AI infrastructure initiative “Stargate,” announced by former President Trump. Musk's bid, if accepted, could lead to a merger between OpenAI and xAI.

WORLD NEWS

France’s answer to US’ Stargate

French President Emmanuel Macron announced €109 billion ($112 billion) in private AI investments as Paris hosts the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit. The funds, largely aimed at building AI-focused data centers, come from major investors like the UAE, Brookfield, Bpifrance, and Iliad, with additional contributions expected from companies like Orange and Thales.

Macron compared the initiative to the U.S. Stargate project, emphasizing France’s competitive position in AI, despite some startups relocating to the U.S. Paris-based AI company Mistral also revealed plans to invest billions in a new AI cluster. With France’s nuclear-powered electricity surplus, Macron positioned the country as an ideal hub for AI data centers, leveraging its stable, low-carbon energy infrastructure to attract further investment.

BIG TECH

Google expands NotebookLM Plus to individual users

Google has expanded NotebookLM Plus, its premium AI-powered note-taking and research assistant, to individual users subscribed to the Google One AI Premium plan for $20 per month, with a 50% discount for U.S. students. Initially launched for enterprises, NotebookLM Plus offers five times the usage limits of the free version, including support for up to 500 notebooks, 300 sources per notebook, and enhanced AI-generated audio conversations.

Google plans to introduce support for additional languages and is developing a mobile app for the service. While NotebookLM Plus provides advanced features, Google remains committed to maintaining a high-quality free version. The AI assistant has gained significant traction, with 28.18 million visits in the past three months, as per Similarweb data.

BIG TECH

Apple prototypes AirPods with cameras

Apple is reportedly prototyping a version of AirPods with integrated cameras, though this technology is unlikely to debut in the upcoming AirPods Pro 3. Instead, Apple aims to integrate Visual Intelligence, allowing AirPods to analyze surroundings and provide AI-driven contextual information—similar to smart glasses but without the eyewear. This could enable hands-free Siri interactions for real-world insights. This would essentially be the smart glasses path — but without actual glasses.