Good morning from OWITH.ai, the podcast that gives you only what's important to hear in the AI and tech world. In 2026, a significant wave of investment is sweeping through the tech industry, primarily focused on artificial intelligence. Major players like Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are at the forefront of this movement, with projected spending on AI nearing $700 billion, a substantial increase from the previous year's $410 billion. This upswing is largely due to the necessity of developing robust data centers and infrastructure essential for AI systems. Notably, the quarterly capital expenditures of these companies exceed $130 billion. While Alphabet plans further increases in spending, investor reactions are varied. Alphabet and Amazon have seen stock rises due to strong cloud growth, whereas Meta and Microsoft have experienced declines as investors question the sustainability of such massive investments. This scenario underscores a division on Wall Street concerning the viability of ongoing AI capital expenditures. The industry is experiencing unprecedented spending levels on hardware, energy, and coordination required for AI systems. McKinsey forecasts that by 2030, global AI capital expenditure may reach $6.7 trillion to fulfill compute power demands. A significant portion of this investment is directed towards physical infrastructure such as specialized chips and data centers equipped with thousands of GPUs. These facilities demand electricity consumption akin to that of small cities. There are concerns about potential overbuilding in infrastructure investments outpacing actual demand, leading to an AI reckoning. The fast-depreciating nature of AI hardware adds to these concerns. Nonetheless, the spending spree continues into its third year without a clear end in sight. In addition to spending trends, SoftBank plans to list a new AI and robotics company in the US with a valuation target of up to $100 billion. This venture focuses on AI infrastructure using robotics as part of SoftBank's strategy to capitalize on investor demand for AI. Furthermore, OpenAI has faced scrutiny over its models' unusual references to mythical creatures like goblins—a result traced back to reinforcement learning processes rewarding whimsical language during model training. Meanwhile, Google's AI capabilities were tested as a travel planner. Though improvements were noted in generating complex itineraries and personalized recommendations, errors persisted in real-time context handling. Overall, confidence in deploying and governing AI at scale remains high among tech leaders according to Deloitte's study. However, there remains a gap between ambition and actual capability. This ongoing investment race suggests optimism about AI's future potential alongside significant challenges and uncertainties ahead. Transitioning into another innovative realm, Illuminant—a Los Angeles-based startup founded in 2021 by Eldrick Millares and James Hu—is transforming surgical procedures with cutting-edge technology that allows doctors to visualize beneath the skin. Their flagship product, Skylight, is a smart surgical lamp projecting real-time images onto a patient's skin, offering surgeons an augmented reality view comparable to "x-ray vision." This technology provides precise guidance on where and how deep to cut and the angle of approach, significantly reducing risks associated with surgeries like spinal operations. Spinal surgeries are particularly susceptible to minute errors leading to paralysis or fatal bleeding; approximately 1.2 million such surgeries occur annually in the U.S., highlighting Illuminant's potential impact. The company secured

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