DeepSeek Smuggles Nvidia Chips, ChatGPT Partners with Adobe

The Federal Reserve is expected to deliver its third straight rate cut today, but the real drama is unfolding in the chip world: Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has been training its next model on Nvidia's Blackwell chips that were smuggled into China piece by piece, according to reporting from The Information. The scheme involves ordering chips to countries like Singapore, installing them in data centers for inspection, then dismantling the servers and smuggling the chips into China after inspectors leave — a workaround that the host described as "the plot line to the next Ocean's Eleven movie."

The Fed and Oracle Loom

Markets have been quiet this week, with the S&P 500 down 0.1% and the Nasdaq up 0.1% on low volume, but that changes today. The Fed announces its interest rate decision at 2 p.m. Eastern, followed by a Jerome Powell press conference at 2:30. Markets overwhelmingly expect a 25-basis-point cut — the third straight reduction — but the real question is what happens in 2026. Powell's term as Fed chair ends in May, and his likely successor Kevin Hassett said yesterday he sees "plenty of room for rates to move lower" beyond today's expected cut. The host noted there are only about four Fed meetings left with Powell as chair, including this one.