24-07-2025
Silicon Valley bet on Trump. It's starting to pay off.
Happy Thursday! I'm Margot Amouyal, a news intern at The Washington Post, rounding up this week's top tech news with help from Andrea Jiménez. Don't forget to send news tips to my colleague Will Oremus at
A big week for tech leaders in Washington
As the White House on Wednesday revealed its plan to help the United States lead a global race to develop artificial intelligence, President Donald Trump signed three executive orders intended to boost the American tech sector, our colleagues Cat Zakrzewski and Hannah Natanson report.
Together, the actions will facilitate exports of U.S. technologies and boost the build-out of data centers — advancing the agenda of executives and investors seeking to cash in on an AI gold rush.
Trump announced the plan at an event co-hosted by the Hill and Valley Forum, an influential interest group founded by tech leaders, and 'All-In,' a popular Silicon Valley podcast co-hosted by White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks.
'America must once again be a country where innovators are rewarded with a green light, not strangled with red tape,' Trump said to an audience of administration officials and executives, including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya. The tech leaders cheered as Trump discussed executive orders intended to combat excessive regulation.
Administration officials later attended an after-party organized by the Hill and Valley Forum's co-founders at the upscale, members-only Ned's Club in D.C., according to an invitation viewed by The Washington Post. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was slated to speak briefly at the party, according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private event. (The Post has a content partnership with OpenAI.)
Trump has flaunted his administration's connections to the industry as a display of innovation and economic power. But consumer advocates warn that industries should not be able to write their own rules, amid concerns that AI could kill jobs, harm the environment and exacerbate existing social biases.
Meanwhile, more details are emerging about the global breach of Microsoft server software. Washington Post reporters Ellen Nakashima, Joseph Menn and Carolyn Y. Johnson have reported that the National Institutes of Health was among the targets in the breach. An investigation is underway to assess the scope and severity of the attack. The National Nuclear Security Administration, the federal agency responsible for securing the nation's nuclear weapons, including 5,000 warheads, also was targeted. A person familiar with the matter said no classified information was exposed in the breach.
Hackers with connections to the Chinese government are behind at least some of the global Microsoft server breaches, particularly in its SharePoint system, which is used to coordinate work on documents and projects, Menn and Nakashima reported.
Hegseth Signal messages came from email classified 'SECRET,' watchdog told (Dan Lamothe and John Hudson)
Two FTC commissioners are turning their firings into a resistance tour (Politico)
How Trump's war on clean energy is making AI a bigger polluter (The Verge)
Trade group asks Supreme Court to limit Mississippi's social media law (The Hill)
YouTube Shorts is adding an image-to-video AI tool, new AI effects (TechCrunch)
Amazon shuts down Shanghai AI research lab (Financial Times)
Meta updates safety features for teens. More than 600,000 accounts linked to predatory behavior (CNBC)
Microsoft poaches top Google DeepMind staff in AI talent war (Financial Times)
Tesla earnings show ongoing fallout from Musk's breakup with Trump (Trisha Thadani and Faiz Siddiqui)
U.K. regulator seeks special status for Apple and Google that could mandate changes for Big Tech (Associated Press)
Uber tests option in the U.S. to match female riders and drivers (Bloomberg)
Trump administration leans in on memes, AI and MAGA messaging online (NBC News)
Teens say they are turning to AI for friendship (Associated Press)
That's all for today — thank you so much for joining us! Make sure to tell others to subscribe to the Tech Brief. Get in touch with Will (via email or social media) for tips, feedback or greetings!
