Google Faces Legal Heat

🌟 TSMC’s AI empire expands

Friday’s AI Report

• 1. ⚖️ Google faces legal heat
• 2. 💼 Become an AI consultant from Innovating with AI
• 3. 🌟 TSMC’s AI empire expands
• 4. 🔒 YC giant backs safe AI
• 5. 📈 Take your business to the next level with Upscaile
• 6. ⚙️ Trending AI Tools
• 7. 🏗️ Practical AI Applications
• 8. 📑 Recommended Resources

Read Time: 5 minutes

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Google Faces Legal Heat

🚨 Our Report 

A U.S. judge has ruled that Google illegally dominates key segments of the online advertising market, ruling that the tech giant's practices in managing publisher ad servers and ad exchanges stifle competition. The decision may pave the way for further antitrust actions that could include divestitures to restore market fairness.

🔓 Key Points

  • U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema found Google guilty of "willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power" in the markets for publisher ad servers and ad exchanges on April 17, 2025.

  • The ruling pointed to Google's practice of tying publishers’ use of its exchange product to its ad server, a move deemed anticompetitive and harmful to both competitors and consumers.

  • While the court cleared a separate claim about advertiser networks, the decision clears the path for future hearings that could require Google to divest parts of its ad tech business.

🔐 Relevance 

This ruling represents the second court decision finding Google holds an illegal monopoly (following a similar judgment in online search) and signals increasing regulatory pressure on Big Tech. With Google potentially facing court-ordered divestitures in two separate cases, this marks a significant shift in how US courts are approaching tech monopolies. The bipartisan support for these antitrust actions (spanning both Trump administrations) suggests continued regulatory scrutiny for other tech giants like Meta, Amazon, and Apple, all currently facing their own antitrust battles.

The AI consulting market is about to grow by a factor of 8X – from $6.9B today to $54.7B in 2032. But how does an AI enthusiast become an AI consultant? How well you answer that question makes the difference between just “having AI ideas” and being handsomely compensated for your contribution to an organization’s AI transformation.

Thankfully, you don’t have to go it alone – our friends at Innovating with AI have welcomed 700 new students into The AI Consultancy Project, their new program that trains you to build a business as an AI consultant. Some of the highlights current students are excited about:

  • The tools and frameworks to find clients and deliver top-notch services

  • A 6-month plan to build a 6-figure AI consulting business

  • Students getting their first AI client in as little as 3 days

🚨 Our Report

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) reported a 60% year-over-year profit surge in Q1 2025, fueled by soaring demand for AI chips. Despite escalating U.S.-Taiwan trade tensions and Trump-era tariffs, the world’s largest contract chipmaker is holding firm on its annual revenue forecast and continuing to expand its U.S. manufacturing footprint.

🔓 Key Points

  • TSMC reported net earnings of NT$361.56B (up 60.3% year-over-year) and revenue of NT$839.25B (up 41.6%) for Q1 2025, exceeding analyst expectations despite facing 10% U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese goods.

  • CEO C.C. Wei confirmed the company is maintaining its forecast of "close to mid-20% revenue growth in 2025" despite trade uncertainties, stating they "have yet to see any changes in customer behavior."

  • TSMC's high-performance computing division, which includes AI applications, grew 7% quarter-over-quarter to represent 59% of total revenue, with advanced technologies (7nm and smaller) accounting for 73% of wafer revenue.

🔐 Relevance

TSMC's remarkable growth showcases AI's transformative impact on the semiconductor industry. As the primary manufacturer for AI giants like Nvidia and AMD, TSMC's achievement is a direct indicator of AI technology adoption and innovation. Their massive U.S. expansion signals a significant shift in global chip manufacturing, potentially reducing supply chain risks and accelerating AI infrastructure development in the West. This could lead to faster AI advancement and more accessible AI computing power for businesses and developers.

  • Former Y Combinator president Geoff Ralston has launched Safe Superintelligence Inc., an AI startup focused solely on developing safe superintelligent systems, distinct from general-purpose models.

  • The company is backed by prominent VCs, including Sequoia Capital and Lux Capital, and aims to operate with “singular focus,” avoiding product distractions and corporate bloat.

  • Ralston’s move reflects growing concern among top technologists that safety must be embedded into the foundations of AI development, not added later as an afterthought.

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STARTUPS

Name: Yellow.Ai
Value: $428.15M
Funding raised: $102.2M

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PODCASTS

Is connecting AI agents actually as easy as it sounds?

In this episode of Practical AI, Daniel sits down with Pavel Veller, Chief Technologist at EPAM, to unpack the real-world complexity behind agent orchestration. From internal tools like “DIAL” to the nuances of MCP servers, Pavel reveals why stitching together AI assistants via APIs is the easy part—and why making them useful is where most teams struggle.

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