Meta in talks to rent AI infrastructure, Chinese AI rivals surprise US tech

The artificial intelligence sector is experiencing significant shifts, with Meta reportedly exploring a deal to lease a substantial portion of its AI infrastructure. The tech giant is in early discussions with Anthropic to rent up to $10 billion in AI computing power over a two-year period, as part of Meta's emerging "Meta Compute" initiative. This move highlights the intense demand for high-performance computing resources within the AI industry, as companies seek to monetize their extensive hardware investments and AI developers look to secure the capacity needed to train and operate advanced models.

Concurrently, a new Chinese AI model is making waves, challenging the dominance of established U.S. leaders. Chinese startup Moonshot AI has unveiled its Kimi K3 model, featuring 2.8 trillion parameters, which is already demonstrating capabilities that rival and, in some frontend coding benchmarks, even surpass models like Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 and OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol. This development signals China's rapid advancements in AI, with the Kimi K3 also noted for its competitive pricing compared to its Western counterparts.

Adding to the dynamic landscape, the footwear company Allbirds has announced a dramatic pivot, abandoning its shoe business to fully embrace artificial intelligence. Rebranding as "NewBird AI," the company intends to focus on providing AI compute infrastructure, specifically GPU-as-a-Service. This strategic shift, announced in April 2026, saw a notable initial surge in the company's stock price, reflecting investor interest in its new direction within the booming AI market.