Friday Recap: Five AI & Business Stories to Close Out the Week

Here are five pivotal developments in AI and business that warrant your attention and what’s next.

1. Nvidia Meets China to Secure H20 Chip Sales

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, signaling resumption of H20 chip exports pending final approval. Huang acknowledged Chinese models like Deepseek and Alibaba’s AI are “world class,” and pledged deeper supply chain cooperation.

What’s Next: Approval could rapidly restore $17 billion in annual revenue. Watch for expanded RTX Pro releases tailored to China’s smart factory demand.

2. UK Boosts AI Supercomputing Power

Britain announced a £1 billion investment to increase public computing capacity twentyfold over five years, integrating systems like Isambard‑AI and Dawn to fuel breakthroughs in medical imaging and AI research.

What’s Next: Expect more public-private partnerships and a surge in AI-enabled healthcare and scientific innovation using next-generation compute.

3. Perplexity AI Valued at $18 Billion

Perplexity raised $100 million in new funding, bringing its valuation to $18 billion, a signal of an intense AI investment cycle and signs of potential overheat. CEO Aravind Srinivas urged professionals to stop doomscrolling and embrace AI tools to stay employable.

What’s Next: Watch whether rising valuations lead to excess or spark consolidation and whether AI-enabled browsers like Perplexity’s Comet gain traction.

4. EU Clarifies AI Act Rules for High-Risk Models

The European Commission issued guidelines for compliance with the AI Act, requiring high-risk models to submit risk assessments, incident reports, cybersecurity measures, and transparency documentation. Fines for violations can reach 7% of global turnover.

What’s Next: Companies deploying foundation models in Europe must formalize audit processes and ensure regulatory readiness before August 2026.

5. OpenAI Introduces Task-Automating ChatGPT Agent

OpenAI rolled out a new ChatGPT “agent” capable of handling tasks autonomously, such as booking appointments or auto-filling forms, a step toward agentic AI that can act beyond prompt response.

What’s Next: Organizations should explore use cases in customer service, HR, and internal automation, balancing benefits with observability and security controls.

Conclusions:

• Supply chain and trade: Nvidia’s China access may stabilize a key revenue stream.

• Compute democratization: The UK’s supercomputing expansion strengthens public sector R&D.

• Valuation caution: Investor enthusiasm or bubble risk?

• Regulatory buildout: The EU’s framework raises the bar for enterprise governance.

• Autonomous workflows: ChatGPT agents mark a leap into practical automation.

Forward-looking leaders should monitor approval timelines, develop EU compliance roadmaps, calibrate investment strategies, and pilot agentic AI with guardrails.