🤖 HackAI Newsletter — March 2026

Missed our last update? Read the February newsletter →

🗓️ Upcoming Events

• 🎤 Applied AI Live #3: Building Production-Grade OpenClaws, Claude Computer Use & Jensen's 'AGI' Announcement (Tonight March 26 at 5:30pm) — Our friends at Applied AI Society are back with another banger. This session dives into building production-grade autonomous agents with OpenClaw, hands-on Claude Computer Use demos, and a lively discussion on Jensen Huang's bombshell claim that "we have achieved AGI." Gary and the rest of the crew always put on a great event. Don't miss it! RSVP here →

• 🚀 Hack AI x PostHog — Monday, Apr 20 at Capital Factory — Dive into the world of product analytics and AI with insights from PostHog! Learn how to measure what matters, ship faster, and build better AI-powered products. Networking, pizza, and great conversations. RSVP here →

🌐 Big AI Headlines

⚔️ Update: Pentagon Officially Blacklists Anthropic — Lawsuit Underway

Last time: We covered the Pentagon demanding "all lawful use cases" from its AI providers and threatening to label Anthropic a "supply chain risk."

Big update: It happened. On February 27, President Trump directed all federal agencies to "immediately cease" use of Anthropic's technology, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth designated Anthropic a "supply chain risk" — a label historically reserved for foreign adversaries like Huawei. Anthropic's crime? Refusing to allow Claude for fully autonomous weapons or mass surveillance of Americans. Anthropic sued the Trump administration on March 9. At a hearing this week, a federal judge said the Pentagon's actions "look like an attempt to cripple" the company and questioned whether Anthropic is being "punished for criticizing the government's contracting position in the press." Meanwhile, Palantir CEO Alex Karp confirmed Claude is still being used in the Iran conflict despite the blacklist, calling the situation a mess. Hours after Anthropic was blacklisted, OpenAI stepped in with its own Pentagon deal. A ruling on the preliminary injunction is expected within days. Learn more →

🧠 New: Jensen Huang Declares "We Have Achieved AGI"

On the Lex Fridman podcast released March 22, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang dropped four words that shook the AI world: "I think it's now." When Fridman asked if an AI could build and run a billion-dollar company, Huang said it's already possible — pointing to OpenClaw, the viral open-source AI agent, as an example. He noted an AI could create a viral app used by billions, generating massive revenue, even if temporarily. The caveat: "The odds of 100,000 agents building NVIDIA is zero percent." At GTC earlier in March, Huang also projected $1 trillion in chip sales through 2027 via Blackwell and Vera Rubin platforms. Industry reactions were swift and divided — Andrej Karpathy says AGI is still a decade away, while Sam Altman says OpenAI has "basically built AGI." Do you think we’ve achieved AGI? Learn more →

💰 Update: OpenAI's Record $120B+ Raise & IPO Push

Last time: We covered OpenAI closing a ~$100B round at $850B valuation.

The numbers keep climbing. CFO Sarah Friar confirmed on March 24 that the fundraise now exceeds $120 billion — the largest private funding round in history. New participants include Andreessen Horowitz, D.E. Shaw, and Microsoft. OpenAI hit $25B in annualized revenue as of late February (up from $13.1B in 2025), with 900 million weekly active users and 9M+ paying business users. The company shut down its Sora video app to prioritize more profitable initiatives. An IPO targeting a $1 trillion valuation could land as early as Q4 2026. Meanwhile, Anthropic raised its 2026 revenue target to $18B and is also weighing an IPO. Learn more →

🦞 New: OpenClaw — The AI Agent Taking Over 2026

If you haven't heard of OpenClaw yet, you will soon. This open-source autonomous AI agent — originally called Clawdbot, then Moltbot (Anthropic sent a trademark complaint over the "Clawd" name) — has exploded to 145,000+ GitHub stars and is being called "the closest thing to Jarvis we've seen." Unlike chatbots, OpenClaw actually does things: manages your email, automates workflows, controls smart home devices, and executes shell commands — all running locally on your machine. Creator Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI, and the project is moving to an open-source foundation. Security researchers have flagged real risks (512 vulnerabilities found in an early audit), so proceed with caution — but this is the agentic AI future arriving in real time. Jensen Huang even name-dropped it in his AGI claim. Learn more →

🇨🇳 Update: DeepSeek V4 — The Most Anticipated Model Nobody Can Launch

Last time: We covered DeepSeek expanding to 1M token context and V4 expected imminently.

DeepSeek’s V4 is now the most-anticipated model of 2026 — and the most delayed. Originally slated for mid-February, the 1-trillion-parameter multimodal model has missed every launch window since. A "V4 Lite" stealth update appeared on March 9, and a mysterious model called "Hunter Alpha" briefly excited the community before being traced to Xiaomi's MiMo-V2-Pro. Latest reports now point to an April launch, with native text, image, and video generation. DeepSeek gave early access to domestic chip suppliers Huawei and Cambricon while reportedly withholding it from NVIDIA — a strong signal of China's push for chip independence. Both Anthropic and OpenAI have accused DeepSeek of conducting "distillation attacks." Learn more →

🤠 Texas AI Spotlight

🏭 New: Elon Musk Unveils $20B+ "Terafab" AI Chip Facility in Austin In a dramatic Saturday-night event at the Seaholm Power Plant, Musk announced the Advanced Technology Fab — a joint Tesla/SpaceX/xAI venture on Tesla's campus in Eastern Travis County. The facility will design, manufacture, and test AI chips, aiming to produce one terawatt of computing power annually. Economists estimate the total economic impact, including surrounding infrastructure, could top $40 billion. "Austin is going to be right at the center of the U.S.," one UT professor said, "and because the U.S. drives AI, that means the center of the world." Learn more →

🎓 New: UT Austin Hosts Inaugural AI & Robotics Symposium — 600+ Leaders Attend The Texas Symposium on Machine Learning, Responsible AI, and Robotics brought together 600+ leaders from academia, industry, and government earlier this month. Organized by Texas Robotics, the Machine Learning Lab, and Good Systems, the event showcased UT's position as a national AI research leader. The Horizon supercomputer (4,000+ NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs) is being installed at TACC and expected online this year, enabling UT to "train close to frontier-size models," according to ML Lab director Adam Klivans. Learn more →

🏗️ Update: Texas on Track to Have More AI Data Centers Than Anywhere on Earth by 2030 Last time: We covered Stargate building in Milam and Shackelford Counties and the rising water concerns. The boom continues to accelerate. ERCOT now expects 24 gigawatts of new data center power demand by 2031 — roughly equivalent to adding another Houston metro to the grid. Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Diamondback Energy are all building gas-fired power plants specifically for data centers in West Texas. A rally at the State Capitol in late February drew protesters concerned about environmental impacts. Texas permits faster than any other state — grid connections take ~3 years vs. 7 in Virginia — which is driving unprecedented demand. Learn more →

🚕 New: Amazon's Zoox Bringing Robotaxis to Austin Amazon's autonomous vehicle subsidiary Zoox is set to debut robotaxis in Austin and Miami later this year as it awaits paid ride approval. Austin's robotaxi scene is getting crowded — with Waymo, Tesla, and now Zoox all competing for the streets. The autonomous vehicle wars continue to heat up in the Texas capital. Learn more →

📚 New: Austin Community College Launches AI Partnership & Certifications ACC is embracing AI head-on, partnering to integrate AI tools into student services and launching a new AI technician certification designed to feed into the booming data center industry. "When the data center build-outs are complete, those students still have a career path waiting on them," said ACC Chancellor Russell Lowery-Hart. Learn more →

🗣️ This Month's AI Debate

Should AI companies prioritize national security contracts over strict ethical guardrails?

This is no longer hypothetical. The Pentagon blacklisted Anthropic — an American company — for refusing to allow Claude for autonomous weapons and mass surveillance, while rivals like OpenAI and xAI accepted "all lawful uses" terms. A federal judge is now weighing whether this amounts to illegal retaliation. The outcome could define how the government exercises power over the entire AI industry.

🛡️ Pro National Security: In a world with active conflicts and rising adversaries, the military needs access to the best AI tools without companies playing gatekeeper. Refusing government contracts cedes technological advantage to rivals and hostile nations. OpenAI's "safety stack" approach shows you can serve defense while maintaining guardrails.

⚖️ Pro Ethical Standards: Using the supply chain risk designation — meant for foreign adversaries — against a U.S. company for exercising its First Amendment rights sets a chilling precedent. As the ACLU noted, "Anthropic's public advocacy for AI guardrails is laudable and protected by the First Amendment — not something the Pentagon should be punishing." If no company can say no, who checks the government?

💬 What do you think? Bring your hot takes to the next HackAI meetup!

💬 HackAI Community

Got an AI project, job posting, or demo to share? Reply to this email or message us on Meetup — we'd love to feature you!

Stay curious, Austin 🤖💡

— The HackAI Team, Reid & Bryce