The Information 汇总中国开源 AI 争议、Oracle 数据中心成本担忧及 Paramount 收购 WBD 受阻等多条科技媒体消息

Chinese models have accounted for 30% of tokens used by U.S. firms since February, according to a report from Wall Street firm William Blair published on Monday, citing OpenRouter data. And in some cases, companies have found Chinese models can do things the top U.S. models can’t do, thanks to guardrails imposed on U.S. technology, as former White House AI czar David Sacks [noted in an X post](https://x.com/DavidSacks/status/2078991100057141620?s=20) Sunday night.

In [a separate X post,](https://x.com/DavidSacks/status/2078984980588531855?s=20) Sacks said the guardrails put on American models are “only making ourselves less competitive.” On Monday, investors Chamath Palihapitiya and [Bill Gurley](https://x.com/bgurley/status/2079248692301926826?s=20) both warned of the damage to U.S. companies of banning Chinese open-source AI. As [Palihapitiya put it](https://x.com/chamath/status/2079236756365348888?s=20), forcing U.S. companies to spend “50-100X more than their competitors abroad” on American tech will make for “financially impaired” American companies, which will eventually lead to problems for the AI labs.

Hopefully Trump can be persuaded not to go down this route—although given his stance on tariffs, never say never.

### The Ellisons’ Bad Day

Spare a thought for Larry Ellison and his son David. Their main source of wealth, Oracle, is on the outs on Wall Street. Shares of the software and cloud firm fell 4% on Monday to $121.38, its lowest point since April of last year, amid growing worries about Oracle’s expensive AI data center expansion. (On Saturday, [The Information detailed some of the](https://www.theinformation.com/newsletters/ai-infrastructure/exclusive-oracle-data-centers-face-multibillion-dollar-cost-surprises?rc=9byxri) multibillion-dollar cost surprises the company was encountering in the expansion.)

Then on Monday, a judge [blocked the Ellisons’ Paramount Skydance](https://www.wsj.com/business/media/judge-temporarily-blocks-paramount-warner-deal-a9c6af43?mod=hp_lead_pos3) from completing its $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery for 14 days. Closing of the deal had appeared imminent: Paramount had received a spate of regulatory approvals from countries around the world.

The U.S. government had already signed off on the deal, but a bunch of states went to court to block it. And Monday’s ruling, by the judge hearing the case, suggests the states have a decent chance of winning.

That would be disastrous for Paramount. It’s already paying a high price for WBD—Netflix [abandoned a previously arranged purchase](https://ir.netflix.net/investor-news-and-events/financial-releases/press-release-details/2026/Netflix-Declines-to-Raise-Offer-for-Warner-Bros-/default.aspx) of half of WBD rather than try to match Paramount’s offer. If the court case delays Paramount’s completion of the purchase after Sept. 30, Paramount has to pay a fee of $650 million for every quarter the closing is delayed.

And if regulators kill the deal, Paramount will have to pay a $7 billion termination fee to WBD. That’s on top of the $2.8 billion it paid earlier this year to break up the WBD-Netflix deal. So you can imagine a scenario where the current deal falls apart and Paramount is out roughly $10 billion.

Paramount shares fell 2% to $8.57 today. That’s well below the $12 to $16.02 price at which a group of investors is putting in new equity to help fund the WBD purchase. The Ellisons’ investment in Paramount is suddenly looking a lot less promising.

### In Other News

• Chris Fall, director of the Commerce Department’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation, is resigning after just three months on the job, a Commerce Department spokesperson confirmed. Dr. Arvind Raman, director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which houses CAISI, will serve as acting director, the spokesperson added.

• Chinese startup Moonshot AI, whose powerful new open-source model is upending Silicon Valley, is seeking formal approval from investors to begin preparations for an IPO in Hong Kong, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

• Alphabet stock jumped 3% on Monday morning [after The Information reported](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/google-plans-new-frozen-chip-run-ai-models-efficiently?rc=9byxri) that Google was working on a new chip that could be 6 to 10 times more efficient than its current line of homegrown AI chips.

### Today on The Information’s TITV

Check out[today’s episode of TITV](https://www.theinformation.com/titv/) in which we unpack the 160-plus software companies we think could be well positioned for a takeover.

### Recommended Newsletter

Start your day with *Applied AI*, the newsletter from The Information that uncovers how leading businesses are leveraging AI to automate tasks across the board. [Subscribe now](https://www.theinformation.com/features/applied-ai) for free to get it delivered straight to your inbox twice a week.

### New From Our Reporters

[https://www.theinformation.com/articles/google-plans-new-frozen-chip-run-ai-models-efficiently](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/google-plans-new-frozen-chip-run-ai-models-efficiently)Exclusive

#### [Google Plans New ‘Frozen’ Chip to Run Its AI Models Much More Efficiently](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/google-plans-new-frozen-chip-run-ai-models-efficiently)

By Erin Woo and Qianer Liu

[https://www.theinformation.com/articles/samsung-new-memory-chip-underdog-now](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/samsung-new-memory-chip-underdog-now)True Value

#### [Samsung Is the New Memory Chip Underdog—for Now](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/samsung-new-memory-chip-underdog-now)

By Anita Ramaswamy

[https://www.theinformation.com/articles/chinas-windrose-needed-u-s-id-numbers-borrowed-georgia-address](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/chinas-windrose-needed-u-s-id-numbers-borrowed-georgia-address)The Electric

#### [China’s Windrose Needed U.S. ID Numbers. So It Borrowed a Georgia Address](https://www.theinformation.com/articles/chinas-windrose-needed-u-s-id-numbers-borrowed-georgia-address)

By Steve LeVine

### Upcoming Events

#### [Wednesday, July 22 — Creative Dealmaking in the Age of AI](https://www.theinformation.com/events/lvs-creative-dealmaking-in-the-age-of-ai)

Don't miss The Information's Dakin Campbell moderating an exclusive conversation on financing the AI infrastructure boom. Join leaders from Goldman Sachs, Blue Owl, and Skadden to unpack how Wall Street funds global computing.

[More details](https://www.theinformation.com/events/lvs-creative-dealmaking-in-the-age-of-ai)

#### [Wednesday, July 29 — Intimate Dinner with The Information and EY in New York City](https://www.theinformation.com/events/new-york-city-private-dinner)

Request an invitation to join The Information and EY for an exclusive dinner bringing together senior leaders for candid conversation on closing the trust gap in enterprise AI.

[More details](https://www.theinformation.com/events/new-york-city-private-dinner)

#### [Wednesday, September 23 — AI Agenda Live SF 2026](https://www.theinformation.com/events/ai-agenda-live-2026)

Get ahead of the story. Purchase your ticket to AI Agenda Live, where The Information's reporting team convenes the leaders driving the next era of AI. Early Access pricing available now.

[More details](https://www.theinformation.com/events/ai-agenda-live-2026)

#### [Tuesday, October 27 — The Information’s 2026 WTF Summit](https://www.theinformation.com/events/wtf-summit-2026)

Tickets on sale now: The Information returns to Napa Valley October 27–28 to convene senior women across tech, media, and finance. Join us for two days of intimate, candid conversations with the leaders navigating today’s global shifts.

[More details](https://www.theinformation.com/events/wtf-summit-2026)

## What We’re Reading

#### [Who’s Afraid of Chinese AI Models?](https://stratechery.com/2026/whos-afraid-of-chinese-models/)

#### [Expedia CEO on How the Travel Firm Deals With AI Disruption](https://www.ft.com/content/5abfc75f-f00b-465e-ab73-9c93f10412df?syn-25a6b1a6=1)

#### [Everyday Investors Are Over the Mag 7](https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/everyday-investors-are-over-the-mag-seven-and-into-new-ai-darlings-a112ea2b?mod=hp_lead_pos3)

#### [Z.AI Completes Giant Data Center With Chinese Chips](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-20/z-ai-completes-giant-data-center-with-chinese-chips-to-train-ai)