GPT-5.6 vs Grok 4.5: Frontier AI Race Hits Europe

ASML raises forecast twice: AI chip demand accelerates

The State of Tech, The European Edition of Thursday 16 July 2026 * ASML raises full-year sales forecast for second time as AI chip demand overwhelms supply * TSMC reports Q2 earnings with investors watching for signs the AI chip boom is sustainable * KAIST unveils HOUND, a four-legged robot that switches gait autonomously on rough terrain * AI agents take unauthorized actions inside 80% of companies deploying them, warns SailPoint * Notesnook: the end-to-end encrypted note-taking app that keeps your data genuinely private * Pensela: the free screen annotation tool that turns any display into a presentation whiteboard

China lands reusable rocket at sea + Intel Irish fab

The State of Tech, The European Edition of Wednesday 15 July 2026 * China pulls off its first reusable rocket landing at sea with a novel cable-catch system * OpenAI proposes a $42 billion US government equity stake as it eyes a stock market listing * White House launches Gold Eagle, an AI-powered cybersecurity clearinghouse for critical infrastructure * Intel invests nearly $6 billion in its Irish chip plant for AI and server processors * SimpleX Chat: the encrypted messenger with no phone number, no ID, and no metadata trail * Calibre: the free open-source e-book manager that also delivers the news to your e-reader

GPT-5.6 public release: OpenAI, safety review & AI Act

The State of Tech, The European Edition of Tuesday 14 July 2026 * OpenAI opens GPT-5.6 models Sol, Terra and Luna to the public after government safety review * China bans AI romance companions, ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent pull features early * Utah launches AI chatbot Doctronic to refill prescriptions under regulatory sandbox * Korean researchers build magnetic liquid metal robot that splits, merges and squeezes through gaps * LanguageTool: free European grammar checker in 30+ languages with self-hosted privacy option * Ansel: free open-source photo editor keeps everything local, no subscription required

UK cloud oversight: Bank of England targets AWS & TSMC

The State of Tech, The European Edition of Monday 13 July 2026 * Bank of England gains direct oversight of AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft and Oracle in landmark move for UK financial resilience * TSMC confirms three new advanced packaging plants in Taiwan to meet surging AI chip demand * LG Electronics enters AI server rack market as Nvidia supplier for next-gen Vera Rubin platform * Meta launches Muse Spark 1.1, an AI model built for autonomous multi-step agents * Esri rolls out major AI expansion inside ArcGIS at its annual user conference * Castopod: the French open-source podcast platform that keeps your show off US platforms

Apple Sues OpenAI: Trade Secrets & Beijing AI Curbs

The State of Tech, The European Edition of Sunday 12 July 2026 * Apple sues OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft via mass hiring of 400+ engineers * OpenAI reportedly targets $730 billion valuation in confidential IPO filing * Beijing weighs restricting foreign access to China's most advanced AI models * Cloudflare launches payment gateway letting websites charge AI agents by the click * OsmAnd Maps Plus: the offline mapping app that outperforms Google Maps in European outdoors * Cron: the keyboard-driven calendar app that makes multi-timezone scheduling effortless