Axios

The next phase of AI adoption and investment is expanding into the physical economy — factories, mines, utilities and oil rigs — Goldman Sachs says in a report exclusively shared with Axios.

Why it matters: Investor attention is still trained on frontier AI labs, but Goldman argues the next wave of deals and investment will come from deploying AI across the real economy.

For the first time, Uber drivers see charging access as a greater barrier to going electric than vehicle costs, a 13-country survey shows.

Why it matters: Public and residential infrastructure are persistent hurdles for the ride-hailing giant, which is behind on its electric vehicle targets.

• But its annual survey has bright spots, with drivers' concerns about EV prices consistently dropping.

New data underscores just how dominant Amazon, Google and Microsoft are when it comes to data centers in North America.

Why it matters: The data gives us a sharper understanding of the dominance by the top operators — including the three that have launched efforts to justify their water use.

U.S. corporate profits are surging as the AI boom broadens out, lifting companies outside Big Tech.

Why it matters: AI investment is boosting the economy and making the U.S. more reliant on a boom that could eventually peter out.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is set to get even less "industrial" on Monday morning, when the index of 30 stocks drops Verizon to add Google parent Alphabet.

The big picture: Though largely irrelevant to investors now, the 130-year-old blue-chip index is still the shorthand for "stock market" among many Americans, who gauge the economy based on whether the Dow went up or down that day.

Finance social media was honking over this one: billionaire SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's latest shareholder slide deck, replete with geese and dozens of their golden eggs.

Why it matters: It's fun — plus maybe a sign of rising animal spirits during a bubbly moment — and it offers some protein-rich food for thought.

Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) are introducing legislation that would let U.S. cloud companies flag suspected foreign misuse of advanced AI computing to the government, per a copy of the bill seen by Axios.

Why it matters: As the Trump administration works out its AI policy and frontier models rapidly advance, there's bipartisan interest on Capitol Hill in tackling thorny AI security issues.

CANNES, France — For years, media companies feared AI would make their content worthless. It turns out AI leads all others in needing that content, media and commerce leaders said at Axios House Cannes this week.

Why it matters: Publishers and creators spent years building content brands based on trust, which is exactly what AI companies require — and are willing to pay for.

• As search traffic remains key to advertising and affiliate revenue, some publishers want to block AI crawlers to protect their content, though.
• However, Neil Vogel, CEO of People Inc, pointed out, "we can't actually block Google," because it uses the same crawler for search and AI, which he called an "abuse of market power."

Axios' Sara Fischer and Kerry Flynn moderated discussions with Vogel; Clea Shearer, co-founder of The Home Edit; and Raina Penchansky, co-founder and CEO of Digital Brand Architects and co-head of United Talent Agency Creators. The June 23 event was sponsored by Mastercard.

Zoom out: Vogel described the two types of AI licensing deals in menu terms, saying People Inc. has "all-you-can-eat" deals with OpenAI and Meta, and an "à la carte" arrangement with Microsoft. Vogel expects each to renew.

• "Scarcity is key. AI needs three things: a model, power and inputs. We are the inputs," said Vogel.

Yes, but: Letting AI in the door cuts both ways. Shearer said The Home Edit uses AI for data and research but refuses to let it touch its content because "it doesn't replace personality [and] human connection."

• "I want to believe things are real… and I think that's what AI lacks in terms of actual content creation," Shearer said.

Between the lines: Vogel said the shift from digital to branded is the real story. People Inc.'s editors-in-chief no longer just pick stories, they define what a brand stands for across every platform.

• "In a world where things are increasingly fake and no one knows what's real, the value of the brand is going to increase," Vogel said. "That's what's happening."

What's next: Shearer bought The Home Edit back from private equity specifically to protect creative control, and said the lesson for any brand is the same.

• "It doesn't matter who owns it — I need the autonomy to operate the brand as I see fit," Shearer said.
• "When you're building the next brand, you want to be talking to someone who sees and understands cultural relevance and how to build from that place," Penchansky said.

Content from the sponsor's segment:

In a View from the Top conversation, Mastercard chief marketing and communications officer Jill Kramer said trust is the foundation of commerce, and AI is raising the stakes.

• "There's an accountability now for the level of knowledge you should have before you start marketing," Kramer said. "AI can be your best friend — but the real onus is on us to ask the next question."

CANNES, France — Creators are turning down brand partnerships and limiting AI to preserve audience trust, said Dhar Mann, founder of his eponymous studio, at a June 24 Axios event.

Why it matters: Sponsorship dollars and AI can help creators scale, but they can also erode the fan relationship.

Axios' Kerry Flynn moderated the conversation with Mann, which was sponsored by Adobe.

What they're saying: Creators "really care about authenticity in their community," Mann said. "They don't just chase the dollars, they actually chase connection."

• Dhar Mann Studios tried to "create AI-generated content, put it in our videos, no one's going to be able to tell the difference," he said. "Man, was I wrong."
• The response in the U.S. and China was so negative that "we now avoid creating AI-generated content."

Yes, but: AI has "helped us tremendously" in other ways, Mann said. "Everybody is able to come up with creative ideas and move at a much faster speed."

• The company uses AI to focus on audience insights, like identifying what viewers want and which scenes affect retention.

Stunning stat: Dhar Mann Studios reaches "an audience of about 1.5 billion people every single month," Mann said.

What's next: Its new partnership with Fox promises 40 films in the next year.

Content from the sponsor's segment:

"While AI is really, really great at creating content, I think there's still a gap in terms of making that content on brand," said Varun Parmar, Adobe senior vice president and GenStudio and Firefly Enterprises general manager. "You need to make sure that the agents have the same context that humans have."

Meta Superintelligence Labs is hiring three founders and other team members behind AI security startup Virtue AI, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: Amid a swell of AI safety concerns following the release and pullback of Anthropic's latest models, Meta is looking to beef up its security efforts around AI agents.