💸 AI Monetization Shift: ChatGPT Tests Ads, $650B Spending Spree & ElevenLabs at $11B

Welcome back to the AI Business Summary newsletter!

This week, we have more significant (and mostly positive) news in the world of AI.

The Big Lead: OpenAI begins testing ads inside ChatGPT for free and $8 Go users while keeping paid tiers ad-free, marking the company's first move toward advertising revenue as it navigates profitability pressures.

Here’s everything else you need to know this week in AI...

In Today’s Issue:

📢 ChatGPT begins testing ads

💸 ElevenLabs hits $11 billion valuation

💸 Big Tech plans $650 billion AI spending spree

🧱 Cerebras raises $1 billion at $23 billion valuation

🧠 Intel enters the GPU race

🏥 Epic rolls out AI charting at scale

💻 GitHub adds Claude and Codex agents

📈 Google Gemini surpasses 750 million users

🗣️ Amazon releases Alexa+ nationwide

🎬 Meta tests standalone AI video app

Business Models & Monetization

📢 ChatGPT begins testing ads

• Ads appear for Free and $8 Go users.

• Paid tiers remain ad-free.

• OpenAI says ads won't affect responses.

• No ads near health, politics, or minors.

💸 ElevenLabs hits $11 billion valuation

• Raised $500 million led by Sequoia Capital.

• Closed 2025 with $330 million ARR.

• Expanding beyond voice into video and agents.

• International expansion across Asia and Latin America.

Infrastructure & Hardware

💸 Big Tech plans $650 billion AI spending spree

• Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta are spending up to $665 billion in 2026.

• Roughly 70% increase from 2025 capex levels.

• The majority goes to AI chips and data centers.

• Investors demand clearer ROI timelines.

🧱 Cerebras raises $1 billion at $23 billion valuation

• Benchmark invested $225 million via special infrastructure funds.

• Valuation nearly tripled in six months.

• Wafer-scale chip packs 4 trillion transistors.

• Signed a $10 billion, multi-year OpenAI compute deal.

🧠 Intel enters the GPU race

• Intel CEO confirms in-house GPU development for AI workloads.

• Project led by new data center chief Kevork Kechichian.

• Targets the Nvidia-dominated AI training market.

• Strategy is still forming around customer demand.

Enterprise Tools & Applications

🏥 Epic rolls out AI charting at scale

• Ambient AI drafts notes and suggests orders.

• Deployed across 3,700 hospitals globally.

• 85% of customers live with generative AI.

• Usage of AI summaries has increased nearly 3x since November.

💻 GitHub adds Claude and Codex agents

• New agents available inside GitHub and VS Code.

• Requires Copilot Pro Plus or Enterprise plans.

• Supports assigning agents to issues and PRs.

• Reduces developer context switching.

Consumer Tech & Platforms

📈 Google Gemini surpasses 750 million users

• Gained 100 million users quarter-over-quarter.

• Driven by the Gemini 3 launch.

• Still trails ChatGPT's estimated 810 million users.

• Alphabet tops $400 billion annual revenue milestone.

🗣️ Amazon releases Alexa+ nationwide

• Alexa+ is now available to all US users.

• Costs $19.99 monthly, free with Prime.

• Handles multi-step tasks and agent actions.

• Engagement up 2–3x versus classic Alexa.

🎬 Meta tests standalone AI video app

• Spins Vibes into a separate consumer app.

• All content is AI-generated video.

• Competes directly with OpenAI's Sora.

• Subscription features under consideration.

🌱 Bonus Thought

AI captured 52.7% of global venture capital in 2025. That's not a trend; that's a tectonic shift. Mega-rounds from SoftBank, Meta, and others are funneling billions into a shrinking pool of winners. Deal counts are down. Check sizes are up. The message is clear: investors are betting on infrastructure dominance, not broad experimentation.

This concentration creates a paradox. Big Tech's $650 billion spending spree signals confidence in AI's long-term payoff. But when capital flows this heavily into one sector, every other industry starves. Startups outside the AI orbit struggle to compete for talent, attention, and funding. Meanwhile, the AI leaders absorb risk at scale: regulatory pressure, hardware bottlenecks, and the simple question of whether revenue can ever match valuation.

The real tension: speed vs. sustainability. Fast movers capture market share. But markets built on capital concentration are brittle. One regulatory shift, one hardware shortage, one trust crisis, and the whole system shudders.

The future favors those who can scale and adapt. Everyone else is just along for the ride.

📝 Business Prompt to Try

Why It Works

• Captures the monetization crossroads playing out right now: OpenAI introduces ads to free users while keeping paid tiers clean, Amazon bundles Alexa+ with Prime to reduce acquisition costs, GitHub charges premium for agent access that eliminates grunt work. Every AI company is re-pricing value as capabilities shift from novelty to utility.

• Forces honest assessment of your free tier's purpose: Is it a lead generation engine that should tolerate ads, a brand halo that must stay pristine, or a moat against competitors that justifies subsidy? ChatGPT betting on ads signals they see free users as monetizable inventory, not just future paid conversions.

• Tests pricing architecture before competitors do: GitHub's new agent tier shows how to capture mid-market revenue between prosumer and enterprise. Companies that wait for perfect pricing data lose to those who test, learn, and iterate while customer expectations are still forming.

• Builds competitive response scenarios: When one player moves, rivals follow or differentiate fast. Mapping the 3-6 month reaction window helps you anticipate whether your monetization experiment gets copied, undercut, or leapfrogged before it pays back.

💡 Quote of the Week