OpenAI raids Apple, Meta wins U.S. trust & more (September 22, 2025)

Good morning,

AI is rewriting the rules everywhere you look. OpenAI is chasing hardware dreams with Apple’s talent, xAI fast launches, Meta just secured U.S. government approval for Llama, and California has handed down a landmark fine over ChatGPT misuse in court. Add in big money deals, soaring valuations, and smarter prompting tools, and the race is only accelerating.

Let's dig in👇

🚨 Today’s Highlights

🚀 OpenAI raids Apple for hardware push
OpenAI is raiding Apple’s talent and supply chain partners to develop a new consumer AI device. The company has recruited from Apple’s hardware and manufacturing teams to accelerate its ambitions. This bold step signals OpenAI’s intent to compete directly with Big Tech hardware giants.

🧠 Meta’s AI system Llama approved
Meta’s AI system Llama approved for U.S. government use marks a milestone for open-weight models. The approval signals growing trust in Meta’s technology for sensitive public sector applications. It could also help accelerate adoption across enterprises looking for non-proprietary alternatives.

⚙️ xAI launches Grok 4 Fast cost-efficient model
xAI launches Grok 4 Fast with a two-million token context window and unified reasoning/non-reasoning architecture. It achieves Grok 4-level reasoning performance using ~40% fewer thinking tokens and slashes operating cost across frontier benchmarks. This frees up access for more users and developers at a much lower price point.

💰 Money Moves

⚖️ California issues historic fine over ChatGPT use in appellate briefs
California issues historic fine over a lawyer’s use of ChatGPT in appellate briefs. A court found that 21 of 23 quotations were fabricated by the model, leading to significant penalties. The case underscores the urgent need for regulation around generative AI in legal practice.

🔬 Figure soars to $39B valuation
The development marks progress in robotics and humanoid AI investment. The new funding round pushes Figure’s valuation to $39B, cementing its place as a leading player. Investors expect competition in robotics innovation to intensify.

💡 Metaprompt makes AI prompts more powerful
Metaprompt a simple tool designed to enhance prompt design and improve AI output quality. It enables users to craft smarter instructions with less effort. Observers say this reflects the accelerating pace of AI democratization.

🧰 Tools of the Day

→ Voiser – AI-powered voice tools for content creation and productivity
→ Pie – The first AI QA team designed to test software automatically
→ Klavis – Build and deploy AI-powered knowledge bases with ease

✍️ Prompt of the Day

Risk Assessment
"Identify top 5 risks for [project/initiative]. For each, provide probability, impact, and mitigation strategy."

⚡ Quick Hits

→ The research accelerator for frontier AI labs advances model training.
→ IBM reveals six strategic shifts in AI strategy to shape agentic AI and small models.
→ Google brings AI to Chrome with Gemini integration for smarter browsing.

🧾 TLDR

OpenAI poaches Apple’s talent for its hardware push, Meta’s Llama earns U.S. government trust, and California cracks down on ChatGPT misuse. Add in xAI, Figure’s $39B valuation, and Metaprompt’s new tool, and the AI race is only picking up speed.

Until tomorrow,
David