Ex-ByteDance Robotics Lead Joins Xiaomi to Head Foundation Model Development
According to 21st Century Business Herald, multiple independent sources have confirmed that Kong Tao, the former head of ByteDance’s robotics team, has joined Xiaomi and now serves as the leader of the company’s robot foundation model team. After coming aboard, Kong Tao held extensive one-on-one conversations with numerous employees to gauge where the Xiaomi robotics unit stands within the broader industry landscape. The Xiaomi robotics division currently has around 200 staff members. The team is actively researching robot hardware, the “cerebellum” for motion control, the “brain” for decision-making, and even robot operating systems — with different sub-teams also exploring overlapping frontiers like world models. “The foundation model team at Xiaomi Robotics is quite secretive. Kong Tao’s crew operates out of a dedicated workspace, separate from the rest of the department.”
Report: SpaceX-Cursor Deal Could Close This Weekend, New Products May Adopt Grok Brand
On August 7, reports surfaced that SpaceX’s acquisition of AI coding tool company Cursor could be finalized as early as this weekend. The Cursor brand name may be phased out over the coming months, with new offerings potentially carrying a different label. Sources suggest Cursor’s upcoming general-purpose intelligent agent product might be christened “Grok Bot.” That said, existing Cursor tools won’t be renamed immediately. The transaction still requires regulatory approval, with completion expected no later than the end of this month. SpaceX first announced its $60 billion acquisition of Cursor back in June.
Altman Says OpenAI Is Pushing Forward with Astra’s Public Release but Needs More Time for Cyber Safety
On August 7, local time, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated the company is moving ahead with opening its next-generation model, Astra, to the public. However, given the model’s robust cybersecurity capabilities, the team needs “a bit more time” to guarantee a safe deployment. Altman emphasized that OpenAI doesn’t believe restricting powerful models to a select few users is the right approach, and he hopes Astra will eventually be widely accessible. He described Astra as a “powerful model” and reiterated the goal of getting it into more users’ hands as quickly as possible — without compromising on safety.
Nvidia to Invest Up to $3 Billion in Lancium to Power AI Data Center Infrastructure
On August 8, reports confirmed that Nvidia has agreed to invest $2 billion in power infrastructure developer Lancium, with a commitment to add another $1 billion once the company secures additional planned power resources. The deal values Lancium — including its land and power interconnection assets — at roughly $10 billion in enterprise value, factoring in both the investment and debt. Lancium is a Blackstone-backed power infrastructure firm responsible for developing electricity projects in Texas that serve AI campuses for OpenAI and Oracle.
China’s First Fully Domestic 100,000-Card AI Supercluster Goes Live
According to CCTV News, citing the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s computing infrastructure has taken another major step forward this year. The country’s first fully domestically produced 100,000-card AI supercluster has officially entered service — marking a new milestone in large-scale deployment. Multiple computing hubs across the nation are now gearing up for another round of capacity expansion.
