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Interconnects examines the scale of the open model inference market by tracking public token volume disclosures from startups like Baseten, Fireworks, and Together AI alongside OpenRouter API metrics. The available data indicates near-exponential growth in usage, including Fireworks serving over 40 trillion tokens daily for customized models alone, which the author compares against Google's reported platform token volumes.

Google faces backlash from politicians and antitrust advocates after announcing that K-12 schools using its education software will lose access to Google Search unless they opt in to AI features. In response to criticism that it is coercing schools into adopting AI, Google stated that Gemini, Gemini Notebook, and Search will be turned off by default and can be enabled individually by schools.

Uber executives revealed during a third-quarter earnings call that third-party AI agents arranged only four rides on its platform last quarter. While AI agents placed slightly more Uber Eats orders—around 500 during the week of Halloween—the volume remains minuscule compared to the 320 million total rides and deliveries.

UK AI Minister Kanishka Narayan acknowledged that the government's frequently cited claim that AI would add £400 billion to the economy came from a 2023 report commissioned by Google. The government's own central projection estimates the economic boost by 2030 at £120 billion, less than a third of the industry-funded figure.

Alphabet's third-quarter earnings showed Google Search revenue growth slowing to 12 percent and paid click growth dropping to 8 percent, even as search queries rose at their fastest rate in five years. Following the report, Alphabet shares fell about 14 percent amid investor concern over the company's plans to spend roughly $200 billion on AI-focused infrastructure this year.

SemiAnalysis reports that SpaceX is rapidly constructing massive AI datacenter capacity across multiple locations, including expansions at Colossus 2 and new sites at Starbase and TeraFab in Texas, targeting roughly 13GW by 2027. To achieve record-breaking build times and bypass grid constraints, the company is utilizing modular equipment from Tesla, mobile gas turbines, and a nearly 6GWh battery energy storage system.

Facing multi-year delays for grid connections and new turbines, AI data center operators are turning to retired aircraft engines rebuilt to burn natural gas to generate electricity quickly. Companies including xAI, OpenAI, and Crusoe are deploying these converted jet engines to bring facilities online within two years, despite their lower efficiency and higher emissions.

U.S. tech giants including Google and Meta have seen their off-balance-sheet AI-related obligations grow by 90% in six months to approximately $3.2 trillion. These commitments for AI infrastructure now reach 80% of the companies' assets, raising concerns among investors over the scale of ongoing spending.

Palantir reported a 96% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.31 billion in the third quarter, with U.S. commercial revenue driven by its AI software surpassing U.S. government revenue for the first time. However, U.S. enterprise total contract value dropped from $2.13 billion in the previous quarter to $1.46 billion as corporate customers increasingly opt for shorter-term trials.