Amazon is reportedly in talks to invest $50 billion into OpenAI, while Elon Musk is said to be discussing merging SpaceX with his artificial intelligence firm xAI.

• Why it matters: Two of the biggest forces in tech are pushing massive AI bets — but from very different playbooks.

For Amazon — which entered into a seven-year, $38 billion cloud infrastructure deal with OpenAI in November — the investment "would be a giant bet on the hot AI startup," WSJ reported.

• The talks are taking place at the highest level — with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy leading the discussions with OpenAI chief Sam Altman, people familiar with the matter told WSJ.
• The investment would be part of larger funding round, with OpenAI seeking up to $100 billion at a potential $830 billion valuation.

With xAI, Musk's AI vision increasingly calls for the intertwining of his companies.

• "The combination would bring Musk's rockets, Starlink satellites, the X social media platform and ​Grok AI chatbot under one roof," per Reuters, which first reported the discussions today.

Zoom in: SpaceX is expected to pursue data centers in space, which could be crucial to running xAI.

• Meanwhile, Tesla, which is feverishly developing its own chips to power AI, disclosed yesterday that it has invested $2 billion in xAI. And Tesla is developing humanoid robots that Musk has said will be useful in his companies' factories.

What we're watching: Both OpenAI and SpaceX are considering IPOs.

Prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket are about to get new rules.

• Michael Selig, the newly sworn-in chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, today signaled that the agency will develop a new framework for how to govern event contracts.

Why it matters: Prediction markets are booming, but legal questions around them are too. The move could bring clarity to how event contracts are used to bet on sports, politics, entertainment and news.

The intrigue: Selig said he has directed CFTC staff to vacate a 2024 rule that would have banned event contracts on politics and sports.

• He also told them to withdraw a 2025 advisory that he said "cautioned registrants about offering access to sports-related event contracts due to ongoing litigation."

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One of Waymo's robotaxis struck a child near a school in Santa Monica, and federal safety officials are investigating, Axios' Joann Muller writes.

What they're saying: In a Jan. 28 blog post, Waymo said its driverless system performed as designed, detecting the child as they emerged and braking hard, reducing speed from about 17 mph to under 6 mph before impact.

The intrigue: Waymo said its modeling showed that a fully attentive human driver would have struck the child at roughly 14 mph.

The incident occurred on Jan. 23 within two blocks of an elementary school during morning drop-off hours, Waymo told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

• Waymo and a separate statement from Santa Monica police indicate the child ran across the street from behind a double-parked SUV toward the school into the path of the car.
• The child stood up immediately and walked to the sidewalk, according to Waymo and a statement from local police. The police statement said no injuries were reported, while Waymo's report to the NHTSA cited "minor injuries."

What to watch: NHTSA says it plans to investigate whether the Waymo robotaxi exercised appropriate caution in a school zone.

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🥙 Grubhub announced the latest move in the food delivery wars, saying it's removing delivery and service fees on all restaurant orders above $50. (Bloomberg)

🍏 Apple delivered blockbuster fiscal Q1 earnings, buoyed by strong demand for its iPhone 17 models launched in September. (Yahoo Finance)