🚨A a16z-backed super PAC just fired its first shot at a state legislator over AI regulation, signaling the crypto-style political warfare playbook is now coming to AI policy fights. The gloves are officially off.

The resistance had its moment. Now the Empire has struck back.

Google officially launched Gemini 3.0 today, and it's already flipping the AI model narrative. For the first time since ChatGPT launched, OpenAI doesn't have an obvious claim to the state-of-the-art crown.

Here's what happened: Google deployed Gemini 3.0 across its ecosystem with what CEO Sundar Pichai is calling "the best model in the world for multimodal understanding." Early developer access shows it's not just marketing — the model is outperforming GPT-4 and Claude in reasoning, multimodal tasks, and agentic behavior.

This is classic Google strategy: shadow launch through preview endpoints, let developers discover it organically, then dominate when you announce.

State-of-the-art reasoning: Google DeepMind claims this is their most advanced reasoning model yet. Early hands-on reports back it up — complex logic, nuanced understanding, and long-form coherence that rivals or exceeds GPT-4.

Native multimodal processing: Gemini 3.0 processes text, images, and code simultaneously with improved accuracy. Not bolted-on multimodal. Native.

Agentic capabilities: The model can execute autonomous tasks, integrate with tools and APIs, and coordinate complex workflows without constant prompting. It's not just answering questions. It's doing work.

Coding experience: Significant improvements in code generation, debugging, and development environment integration. Developers are already reporting it handles complex refactoring and architecture decisions better than previous models.

Google has the resources to win wars of attrition. They can underprice, out-distribute, and out-integrate competitors until margins collapse for everyone else.

The phased rollout is strategic: Gemini 3.0 is live now in Google AI Studio for developers and select Gemini Advanced subscribers. Full public API access coming before year-end. By the time most people realize what's happening, Google will already be embedded in production systems.

This isn't just about model quality. It's about ecosystem lock-in. Google has the data, the compute, and the distribution to make Gemini the default choice for enterprises and developers who want stability at scale.

Independent benchmarking is still catching up. Google's claims are strong, but comprehensive third-party validation will take time. Early developer feedback is positive, but it's a limited sample.

The model is in phased rollout. Not everyone has access yet. Real-world performance at scale remains to be seen.

Competitors aren't standing still. OpenAI and Anthropic are both working on next-generation models. The lead Google has today might evaporate in months.

But the pattern is clear: Google can sustain this fight longer than anyone else. They have the resources, the infrastructure, and the patience to outlast competitors in a margin-crushing race.

What's next

Watch the narrative shift. Instead of defaulting to "ChatGPT" as the generic term for AI, we might start hearing "Gemini" as the benchmark.

Expect enterprise adoption to accelerate. Companies that were hesitant to go all-in on OpenAI now have a credible alternative backed by Google's infrastructure and compliance guarantees.

The AI race isn't over. But the Empire just showed up with a fully operational Death Star.

BTW: You can access Gemini 3.0 now through Google AI Studio if you're a developer, or through Gemini Advanced if you're a subscriber. The future isn't coming. It's already here.

There is no better time to learn how to use AI to build solutions businesses want. I’m hosting a workshop that will show you, step-by-step, how to build tools and solutions using AI without having to know how to code.

Learn more by clicking below.

The Recap: Jeff Bezos has returned to operational leadership as co-CEO of Project Prometheus, a new AI startup backed by $6.2 billion in funding—one of the largest war chests in private AI history. This marks the world's richest person's first frontline executive role since stepping down from Amazon, and he's targeting nothing less than generalized intelligence.

Unpacked:

Bottom line: This isn't Bezos writing checks from the sidelines—it's a full operational return to compete directly in the AI race. The $6.2 billion funding and explicit AGI ambitions position Project Prometheus as an immediate major player, not a gradual entrant. The question is whether Bezos's operational playbook from Amazon—ruthless focus on infrastructure, long-term thinking, and vertical integration—can translate to the fundamentally different challenge of building transformative AI.

Peec AI raises $21M as brands scramble to adapt to ChatGPT replacing Google Search for product discovery—the search paradigm shift is real.

Databricks reportedly raising at $130B valuation just months after $100B round—data infrastructure becoming as valuable as foundation models.

Ex-Intel CEO Gelsinger backs PowerLattice's chiplet claiming 50%+ power reduction—chip power consumption becomes critical AI infrastructure bottleneck.

Ramp jumps from $13B to $32B valuation in 2025 alone—fintech's AI-powered automation driving unprecedented B2B software valuations.

Google fights defamation lawsuit over AI chatbot errors while Meta settled similar case—defining AI liability becomes existential platform issue.

Ford partners with Amazon for used car sales online—traditional automakers surrendering direct customer relationships to tech platforms.

OpenAI finally allows employee equity donations to charity after years of restrictions—signaling resolution of internal governance tensions.

Mastodon CEO steps down as network restructures to nonprofit—decentralized social media experiments shifting from founder-led to institutional governance.

Best of AI™ Team

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.