Meta’s Llama joins US government’s AI arsenal
Meta’s Llama AI system has received federal approval for government agency use, marking another step in the Trump administration’s commercial AI integration push. The General Services Administration will add the large language model to its approved tools list.
Josh Gruenbaum, GSA’s procurement lead, confirmed agencies can now experiment with the free tool after security and legal vetting. Llama processes text, video, images and audio data across various applications.
The approval follows recent GSA sign-offs on competitors including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, Anthropic and OpenAI. These companies offered steep discounts while meeting stringent security requirements.
“It’s about that recognition of how do we all lock in arms and make this country the best country it could possibly be,” Gruenbaum said, dismissing favor-currying suggestions.
Federal agencies will deploy Llama for contract review acceleration and IT problem-solving among other operational tasks.
Nvidia takes $5bn stake in Intel in strategic tie-up
Nvidia announced a $5 billion investment in struggling Intel, creating one of tech’s most surprising partnerships while triggering a 23% surge in Intel shares. The stake grants Nvidia roughly 4% ownership and largest shareholder status.
The deal follows Intel’s turbulent leadership changes and the White House’s extraordinary 10% government stake arrangement. New CEO Lip-Bu Tan faces pressure to revitalize the once-dominant chipmaker’s fortunes.
Joint development plans include PC and data center chips, though Intel’s foundry won’t manufacture Nvidia processors. The collaboration could challenge Taiwan’s TSMC monopoly on Nvidia’s flagship chip production.
“This is a massive game-changer for Intel and effectively resets its position,” said eMarketer’s Gadjo Sevilla. The partnership poses risks to AMD and Broadcom’s market positions.
Nvidia paid $23.28 per share, adding to Intel’s growing capital reserves from recent SoftBank and government investments.
Trump’s $100K H-1B visa fee rewrites tech playbook
Trump announced H-1B visa fees will jump to $100,000 from the previous $2,000-$5,000 range, sending tech companies scrambling to assess workforce strategies. The dramatic increase applies only to new applications starting Sunday, 21st September.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified the payment is one-time, not annual as initially suggested by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Current visa holders and renewals remain unaffected by the fee structure.
The policy targets specialty occupations requiring bachelor’s degrees, with tech and finance sectors heavily reliant on skilled immigrants. India and China account for 71% and 11.7% of H-1B holders respectively.
Amazon leads H-1B sponsorship with over 10,000 fiscal 2025 applicants, followed by Microsoft, Meta and Tata Consulting Services exceeding 5,000 each. Apple and Google round out the top six.
Exceptions exist for positions deemed essential to national interest by Homeland Security.
Ericsson, Nokia split £2bn VodafoneThree 5G build
VodafoneThree awarded a £2 billion ($2.7 billion) contract to Ericsson and Nokia for 5G equipment supply extending into the next decade. The deal marks a significant win for both Nordic vendors amid challenging market conditions.
Ericsson secured the primary vendor role worth 12.5 billion Swedish crowns ($1.3 billion). Nokia returns as a UK supplier, providing radio access network and core equipment to approximately 7,000 sites nationwide.
The contract stems from Vodafone and CK Hutchison’s June merger creating VodafoneThree. The combined entity plans £11 billion ($14.8 billion) investment over ten years building Europe’s most advanced 5G networks.
Ericsson will deploy AI-optimised hardware and smart antennas across London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, promising significantly enhanced data speeds for customers.
The European win provides crucial momentum for both companies battling general market slowdown and US tariff pressures.
Oracle in talks on $20bn cloud deal with Meta
Oracle reportedly pursues a $20 billion multi-year cloud computing deal with Meta, highlighting the social media giant’s aggressive push for AI infrastructure capacity. The arrangement would supplement Meta’s existing cloud providers.
Oracle would supply computing power for Meta’s AI model training and deployment operations. The deal follows OpenAI’s recent $300 billion five-year Oracle contract, among the largest cloud agreements ever signed.
Oracle’s partnership revenue with Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft surged sixteen-fold in Q1 as customers run Oracle Cloud Infrastructure alongside native services. The company unveiled four multi-billion-dollar contracts last week.
CEO Larry Ellison expects several additional multi-billion-dollar customer signings within months. Oracle projects booked OCI revenue exceeding half a trillion dollars amid industry-wide AI infrastructure spending.
The potential Meta agreement underscores Oracle’s positioning in the intensifying AI computing arms race.
