THE DAILY BRIEF
MONDAY, MAY 18, 2026
GOOGLE EXPANDS DOD ACCESS TO GEMINI AI
Google has signed a deal allowing the US Department of Defense to use Google's AI for "any lawful government purpose," according to The Information. The Pentagon's AI chief confirmed to CNBC that DoD is expanding its use of Google Gemini, though he noted "overreliance on one vendor is never a good thing."
► WHY IT MATTERS: Defense AI adoption by big tech signals government endorsement while raising vendor lock-in risks for critical national infrastructure.
OPENAI-MICROSOFT DEAL LOSES EXCLUSIVITY TERMS
OpenAI and Microsoft have rewritten their partnership agreement, removing exclusivity clauses and the AGI clause that previously bound them. The shift comes as Amazon and other cloud providers seek deeper AI partnerships.
► OpenAI's willingness to abandon exclusivity signals AI capabilities are commoditizing and that no single vendor can maintain competitive moat.
OPENAI DEVELOPING CUSTOM SMARTPHONE CHIP
According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, OpenAI is collaborating with MediaTek and Qualcomm to develop proprietary smartphone chips, with Luxshare handling system co-design. Mass production is expected by 2028.
► OpenAI's hardware play suggests the company is hedging against chip supply constraints and seeking direct control over AI inference on devices.
GITHUB COPILOT SHIFTS TO USAGE-BASED BILLING
GitHub announced that all Copilot plans will move to usage-based billing on June 1, replacing traditional premium tiers with a monthly GitHub AI Credits model. The shift aligns developer costs more directly with consumption.
► Usage-based pricing for AI developer tools creates unpredictable costs for engineering teams and may accelerate adoption of competing solutions.
TRUMP FIRES NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD
President Trump has fired the entire National Science Board, the oversight body for the National Science Foundation. The action removes a key advisory body for federal science policy.
► Elimination of NSF oversight removes institutional checks on US science funding and signals potential shifts in how government shapes AI and tech research priorities.
■ COMPILED BY THE NEWSROOM ■ SOURCES: 12 RSS FEEDS