Our financial system is leaning on load-bearing AI spending that may never pay off, Axios' Madison Mills writes.

Big Tech companies are set to spend $700 billion on their AI ambitions this year, Goldman Sachs says — double last year's bill.

• That could swell to over $1 trillion next year, some estimates say.

📈 AI costs increased at four of the Big Tech companies that reported earnings last week.

• Computing power is constrained while demand is at record highs, so AI costs keep rising.

🤑 The big picture: Business AI spending is now contributing more to U.S. economic growth than consumer spending.

• AI's big spenders, meanwhile, make up nearly half of the stock market.

💰 There's more AI spending we don't even know about.

• The biggest tech companies are forking over half a trillion additional dollars on data center leases not on their balance sheets, per Moody's.

🏦 At least one top CEO — JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon — says the AI buildout is worth every dollar.

• Dimon, speaking at an Anthropic event this morning: "The technology is so powerful, it's worth the trillion-dollar investment."

🤖 Yes, but: If AI doesn't start showing results soon, Big Tech could slow down all that economically vital spending.

• PitchBook's Harrison Rolfes tells Axios: "The moment one of those hyperscalers doesn't succeed ... you break a link in the chain."
• That could cause a market correction with "ripple effects to everyone else."

Go deeper.

A high-level Trump administration official told Iran on Sunday about the impending U.S. operation to "guide" ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.

• The official warned Tehran not to interfere.

💥 The private message suggests the White House wanted to mitigate the risk of escalation.

• Despite the warning, the Iranians responded with a string of attacks on U.S. Navy ships, commercial vessels and the UAE.

🎙️ In a briefing this morning, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth downplayed the Iranian attacks and claimed the ceasefire remained in place.

The U.S. operation to guide ships through the vital waterway hasn't yet meaningfully increased traffic flow.

• Two U.S.-flagged ships traveled through Hormuz yesterday. None have followed today, as of this morning.

🚢 For now, shipping companies don't seem to trust the administration's assurances that the strait is safely navigable.

• Go deeper.

1. 🇲🇽 Some Mexican American business owners are emphasizing Cinco de Mayo's historical and cultural significance to fight anti-immigrant sentiment amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdowns. Go deeper.
2. 🤖 OpenAI is making the default ChatGPT more accurate and more personal, Axios' Megan Morrone reports. Go deeper.
3. 🛳️ Nearly 150 people aboard a cruise ship off Cape Verde, Africa, are awaiting help amid a hantavirus outbreak that's killed three people and left three others seriously ill. Get the latest.
4. 🦒 Hoax calls involving alleged bomb threats and claims of active shooters have prompted evacuations and closures at several U.S. zoos over the past few days. Go deeper ... More from Axios Columbus.

A humanoid robot was a big hit at last night's Met Gala, the annual haute couture fundraiser for the NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

• Yahoo News reports that the robot, from Chinese firm AgiBot, was a "guest" of designer Alexander Wang.

🛗 Video posted by People shows the bot briefly getting stuck in a hotel elevator — a reminder that humanoid robot tech has a long way to go.

• Go deeper.