State & Federal Update – January 27, 2025

Good Morning FGMC,

It’s Monday, January 27, 2025. There are 100 days left in the 2025 Colorado General Assembly and 193 items introduced thus far with more on the way soon  (bills, resolutions, rules, etc.) according to State Bill Colorado

For your convenience, this update is also attached as a PDF

These updates are curated from a variety of news sources and designed to be a “choose-your-own-adventure.” I do the research so you don’t have to.

Feel free to read any coverage that interests you and skip what doesn’t. Hyperlinks are included to provide additional context. With the nonstop news cycle, I aim to keep us all informed about important topics we may want to know more about or better understand. Please share this if you think someone else should be aware of the information.

Disclaimer: The news and articles featured in this update do not reflect the political positions or policy opinions of Foster Graham Milstein & Calisher, LLP. This update is intended for informational purposes only.

Serving in Congress is no easy task—it’s a constant race. And now, the 2026 race for Colorado’s 8th Congressional District is officially on, with Representative Manny Rutinel announcing his candidacy for the seat.

In a social media post this morning, Rutinel shared his reasons for running and outlined his platform. “I’m Manny Rutinel—advocate for working families, attorney, and Colorado State Representative—and I’m running to represent Colorado’s 8th Congressional District,” he wrote. “I grew up in a working-class family, faced foreclosure as a child, and worked my way through school. Now, I’m running to tackle rising housing and healthcare costs, create good-paying jobs, protect Social Security and Medicare, and defend our rights and freedoms.”

Rutinel, who has served as the Colorado State Representative for the 32nd District since October 2023, pointed to his work in the state legislature as evidence of his ability to deliver results. “As your State Representative, I’ve delivered results for Colorado families. In Congress, I’ll fight to make sure hardworking people get the support they deserve.”

Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, created after the 2020 Census as part of the state’s redistricting process, is one of the newest (and most competitive) in the country. The district was established to accommodate the state’s growing population, particularly in the suburban and rural areas of northern Colorado. Before the creation of the 8th District, Colorado had only seven congressional districts, but the population boom in the northern regions required the addition of a new district to ensure proper representation. 

According to those in-the-know, other Democrats interested in running in the 8th District in 2026 include:  

• Adams County Commissioner-elect Julie Duran Mullica of Thornton
• State Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet of Commerce City
• Adams County Commissioner Steve O’Dorisio
• Colorado Treasurer Dave Young, who is term-limited come 2026

And maybe more. Still, Rutinel’s decision to enter the race marks a pivotal moment in what is expected to be a fiercely contested battle for Colorado’s 8th District. Currently held by Republican Gabe Evans, who narrowly defeated Democrat Yadira Caraveo in the November election, the seat is now a major focus for both parties. Although the election is still years away, both parties are already anticipated to invest substantial resources into contesting this district in the 2026 race.

And now – here’s what else you need to know today:

Today’s Big Three Things-To-Know:

1. Colorado lawmakers try to tackle algorithms – again. A bill aimed at banning landlords from using services that aggregate apartment data to set rent prices is back in the legislature after failing to pass last year. Democratic lawmakers are framing this year’s bill as part of a broader effort to address Colorado’s rising cost of living. It is sponsored by Reps. Javier Mabrey and Steven Woodrow, along with Sen. Julie Gonzalez, who also backed the previous version. The bill seeks to curb what state representatives describe as collusion that has been driving up housing costs. Specifically, lawmakers are targeting companies like RealPage, which collect data from landlords across the metro area—including details about vacancies and rent prices—and then provide recommendations on rental rates based on this data. Critics argue that RealPage not only shares these suggested prices but also pressures landlords to follow them. Realpage is being sued by Colorado’s Attorney General, the Justice Department and seven other states.  “I do just want to take the opportunity to thank Attorney General (Phil) Weiser for fighting in the courts and taking on some of these corporate bad actors. But, we cannot wait for the courts to settle this,” Rep. Mabrey said during a press conference. “We believe a lot of this is already illegal, but we’re going to (take a) stand this legislature and say ‘enough is enough’ and change the law right now to be absolutely clear.”  However, opponents of the bill dispute the idea that the practice of using rent algorithms amounts to unfair collusion.

1. Another blast from the past – wage theft. Ed Sealover covered this in a great post from The Sum & Substance. After Governor Jared Polis vetoed a 2024 construction wage-theft enforcement bill, citing concerns that it could burden law-abiding contractors, supporters are back with a new version. This time, the bill doesn’t target one specific industry, but some business leaders warn it could still have unintended consequences for many sectors. House Bill 1001, sponsored by House Majority Leader Monica Duran of Wheat Ridge and Democratic Rep. Meg Froelich of Greenwood Village, is set for its first hearing Thursday afternoon before the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee. The bill already has more momentum than last year’s proposal, thanks in part to its mention in Governor Polis’s State of the State Address, giving it a stronger foundation. One key reason the bill has gained support from both the governor and some in the construction industry is its departure from the provision that led to last year’s veto. That provision would have required general contractors to pay workers of subcontractors if an unscrupulous subcontractor failed to do so, effectively making large contractors potentially liable for wages they hadn’t caused to be withheld. In response to feedback from the construction sector, Duran explained that the bill’s supporters, including several unions and the Towards Justice law firm, realized that consensus on that provision was unlikely. They chose to take a different approach, which Duran hopes will alleviate concerns from industry leaders. However, business groups outside the construction industry are raising alarms about what’s replaced the controversial provision. They argue that the new bill contains multiple provisions that could create legal and financial challenges, particularly for small businesses that may unintentionally violate the law.

1. Trump wins his first trade-war. President Trump’s early executive actions focused on topics like energy policy and TikTok but notably avoided imposing new tariffs or taxes on imported goods, which he had previously viewed as key tools for government revenue and global leverage. Instead, he signed an order to investigate the causes of the U.S.’s trade deficits and recommended potential future measures, including tariffs. He also announced that North American tariffs he had promised would be imposed by February 1, though it remained unclear whether he would follow through. On Sunday, Trump appeared to be on the brink of imposing tariffs on Colombian goods in retaliation for Colombia’s refusal to accept deported migrants. The dispute arose when Colombian President Gustavo Petro revoked authorization for two deportation flights carrying Colombians, citing concerns over the use of military aircraft and handcuffing. Trump threatened 25% tariffs, escalating to 50%, and other sanctions. However, by Sunday night, Colombia backed down, agreeing to accept the deportees and avoid the trade conflict. The tariffs were held in reserve, contingent on Colombia’s compliance with the agreement. The brief trade dispute ended with the resolution of the deportation issue.

***Bonus Story – Trump’s agenda is about to face a crucial test. House Republicans are heading to President Donald Trump’s Miami-area resort for their annual policy retreat, but it’s not for the sunshine. Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP members face crucial decisions in the coming days that will determine if Trump and Republicans can push through their ambitious legislative agenda before the 2026 midterms. They’re already behind schedule. The main task for the retreat at Trump National Doral: finalizing a budget plan for a major, party-line bill that covers energy, border security, and tax policy. But to move forward, Republicans need to decide what to include in that package—which could cost $10 trillion over 10 years—versus what should go into a separate, bipartisan government funding bill that will be negotiated with Democrats in the next seven weeks. The fate of a critical debt ceiling increase is also at stake. Johnson has been gathering feedback from members for weeks while privately discussing various options with GOP leaders. However, House Republicans are growing impatient and are eager to learn what the strategy will be.

***Bonus, Bonus Story – What is DeepSeek, the AI model taking the internet by storm? Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is causing a stir in Silicon Valley after unveiling its new AI model, R1, which appears to rival leading U.S. companies like OpenAI and Google at a fraction of the cost. Launched just last week, the R1 model quickly drew comparisons to popular systems from major tech giants, contributing to a sharp decline in U.S. stocks during after-hours trading over the weekend. The app rocketed to the top of Apple’s App Store, claiming the No. 1 spot for free apps by Monday morning, with OpenAI’s ChatGPT coming in at No. 2. Founded in May 2023, DeepSeek reportedly spent only $5.6 million to train its latest model, according to The Wall Street Journal. This budget is a small fraction of the billions typically invested by U.S. companies to develop and maintain their AI systems. For comparison, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently revealed that his company plans to invest between $60 billion and $65 billion in AI development this year. Following DeepSeek’s rise, Meta’s stock dropped by about 3.5 percent on Monday. The swift emergence of DeepSeek has raised alarms in Silicon Valley, with some fearing that China could challenge the dominance of the U.S. tech industry. As a result, U.S. markets opened sharply lower, with the S&P 500 falling over 2 percent and the Nasdaq dropping 3.5 percent. The ripple effect also impacted markets in Europe and Japan.

And now, more news…

A concerning trend…Metro Denver’s office vacancy rate worsens.

As reported by Axios, Metro Denver’s office vacancy rate is reaching new — and unfortunate — highs.

The big picture: Average office vacancy rates across the Denver metro grew to 24.4% last year, exceeding the 20.4% average across the county’s top metro areas, per Moody’s latest tally.

While Denver saw a bump in people returning to office work last year, a staggering number of offices in metro Denver remain empty. Denver’s central business district’s vacancy rate sits at 34.9%, though local real estate brokers suggest the market is beginning to stabilize as leasing increases, per the Colorado Sun. A few miles from downtown, the Cherry Creek neighborhood is bucking the vacancy trend, securing leasing and tenants for office spaces under construction before they’re completed.

Data suggests office vacancies are nearing their peak as more commercial spaces are converted into housing and more office buildings are demolished

You can read more from Axios here.

Around the metro…Dozens arrested in Denver-area drug and immigration raid.

According to Colorado Newsline, federal law enforcement agents announced that they took almost 50 people, including many who were undocumented, into custody Sunday in Adams County.

An operation that involved members of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Drug Enforcement Agency; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and local law enforcement targeted what officials said was drug trafficking that involved members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, or TdA.

“DEA’s Rocky Mountain Field Division has been investigating TdA drug trafficking since last summer, and today’s successful operation shows that the men and women of DEA will not rest until our communities are safe from this gang and the drugs they peddle,” Jonathan Pullen, a local DEA special agent in charge, said in a press release Sunday.

You can read more from Colorado Newsline here.

More from around Metro Denver…RTD riders in 2025 face more delays, disruptions, and 10 mph trains.

Via The Denver Post, the Regional Transportation District enters 2025 with seven newly elected directors and a green light from voters to keep hundreds of millions in tax revenues to make moving around metro Denver easier and faster.

But public transit riders will face continued service disruptions that delay trips, including 10-mile-per-hour trains crawling through slow zones.

A $152 million reconstruction of RTD’s 30-year-old downtown rails will resume this summer, forcing diversions of trains and vehicle detours. A wider-than-expected deterioration of rails across the rest of RTD’s 60-mile system, which led to the imposition of the slow zones last summer for safety, requires more track replacement and repair. RTD’s annual ridership has decreased to 65 million, down from 106 million in 2019, and transit advocates demand better service.

“We want to see ambitious and robust goals,” said Rep. Meg Froelich, who chairs Colorado’s House Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee. “We need to have a conversation about not only how we can meet a standard that is appropriate for a world-class city, which is what we want to be, but also to meet the governor’s transportation goals. ….. There’s no reason to think we wouldn’t be able to return to that higher (106 million) annual ridership,” Froelich said.

You can read more from The Denver Post here.

On the campaign trail…Manny Rutinel announces bid for Congress.

This morning via social media, Representative Manny Rutinel announced he is running for CD8. “I’m Manny Rutinel—advocate for working families, attorney, and Colorado State Representative—and I’m running to represent Colorado’s 8th Congressional District. I grew up in a working-class family, faced foreclosure as a child, and worked my way through school. Now, I’m running to tackle rising housing and healthcare costs, create good-paying jobs, protect Social Security and Medicare, and defend our rights and freedoms” Rutinel wrote on Facebook. “As your State Representative, I’ve delivered results for Colorado families. In Congress, I’ll fight to make sure hardworking people get the support they deserve.”

Rutinel has been serving as the Colorado House of Representatives for the 32nd district. He assumed office in October 2023. Colorado’s 8^th congressional district is currently represented by Republican Gabe Evans (R) who defeated Yadira Caraveo (D) in November.

You can read more from The Colorado Sun here.

More from the campaign trail…Colorado Democrat Adam Frisch mounts bid for DNC vice chair after two runs for Congress.

As reported by Colorado Politics, after logging 77,000 miles on the odometer across two campaigns in one of the largest congressional districts in the country, Colorado Democrat Adam Frisch says he’s learned a few things that can help his party return to what he calls a better version of itself — and in the process win back rural voters Democrats have been hemorrhaging for more than a generation.

That’s why Frisch has spent the last month or so running for one of three at-large vice chair positions on the Democratic National Committee, set to be decided at the party’s winter meeting on Feb. 1 in National Harbor, Maryland, where the DNC will also elect a chair and other officers. Donald Trump anointed the Republican National Committee’s leadership this week at an RNC meeting in Washington prior to the president’s second inauguration, as is typical for the party that occupies the White House.

The DNC is faced with electing new leadership — incumbent Chair Jamie Harrison isn’t seeking another term — as the party grapples with its across-the-board setbacks in November, when Democrats lost the presidency, lost control of the U.S. Senate and failed to take back a majority in the House of Representatives.

You can read more from Colorado Politics here.

Freeze!…Colorado bank robberies down after charges went up.

According to CPR, Bank robberies in Colorado have fallen from a post-pandemic national high and people — including the convicted robbers themselves — say it has to do with increased federal prosecutions and the likelihood of federal prison time.

Colorado now ranks third highest in the nation when it comes to the number of bank robberies, behind Illinois and California. That is a decline from 2021, when Colorado ranked first in the country at 191 robberies that year. That was more bank robberies than in California or Texas or anywhere else. It was an embarrassing distinction for Colorado. Bank robbers were hitting multiple banks in single days. One robber hit 12 banks between November 2021 and January 2022 in Denver, Boulder, Longmont and Westminster. Another bank on East Colfax Avenue was burglarized four times in 2021, including twice in two days in October 2021.

You can read more from CPR here.

Across the state…Colorado water experts push for agreement on managing the Colorado River’s future.

Via The Colorado Sun, it’s time for an agreement in the Colorado River Basin, Colorado water and climate experts say.

Colorado River officials are at odds over how to store and release water in the basin’s reservoirs when the current rules lapse in 2026. Publicly, state negotiators stick close to their original, competing proposals, released early in 2024. Colorado experts watching the process understand the difficulty — it’s painful to talk about cutting water use — but time is of the essence.

“I have no idea what’s going to get them to agreement,” said Jennifer Pitt, the Colorado River program director for the National Audubon Society. “To me, the biggest pressure seems like time is running out.” But there seems to be a lack of trust between the state negotiators, said Jennifer Gimbel, senior water policy scholar at the Colorado Water Center at Colorado State University.

You can read more from The Colorado Sun here.

In business news…Colorado’s restaurant industry in crisis.

This from Axios, New Denver restaurant openings — like Mario’s Speakeasy Pizza in LoDo, Odie B’s in RiNo and Bamboo Sushi in Congress Park — are increasingly the exception, not the norm.

The food industry in Denver and across Colorado has been battered over the past five years — and it’s adding up. Rising costs for food, rent and property taxes combined with shrinking profit margins, growing regulatory pressures and budget-conscious diners are all pushing restaurants to the brink, industry experts tell us. More than 200 restaurants closed statewide in 2024, per the Colorado Sun. Denver alone accounted for 82% of those losses, according to the Colorado Restaurant Association (CRA).

In the past three years, the city has lost 22% of its restaurants, the Denver Post reports. Some of the most recent closures include longstanding institutions like Fruition, Lao Wang Noodle House and Melita’s. “We’re in this kind of perfect storm moment,” CRA spokesperson Denise Mickelsen tells us. “It’s death by a thousand cuts.”

One major pain point is Denver’s increased tipped minimum wage, which is creating ripple effects industrywide. Local restaurant consultant John Imbergamo says it disproportionately affects back-of-house staff and forces price hikes that turn diners off. The most recent wage hike on Jan. 1 added an average $82,412 in costs per restaurant, according to a new CRA survey of 135 operators first shared with Axios Denver. “That’s a huge cost jump,” Mickelsen says, especially for businesses already striving to hit slim 3%-5% annual profit margins.

You can read more from Axios here.

From the Gold Dome…Democratic lawmakers trying again to ban ‘rent algorithm’ websites

According to CPR, a bill to ban landlords from using services that aggregate apartment information to help them set rent prices is back again at the legislature, after failing in last year’s legislative session.

Democratic lawmakers are promoting this year’s bill as part of a larger package they say will help with the cost of living in Colorado. It’s sponsored by Reps. Javier Mabrey and Steven Woodrow and Sen. Julie Gonzalez, the same lawmakers behind the previous version of the bill.  The bill aims to stop what state representatives are calling a form of collusion that has been collectively driving up housing prices.

Lawmakers want landlords to stop working with RealPage and similar companies. RealPage collects internal data from landlords throughout the metro area, including information about vacancies, rents and more, and then shares recommended rental prices with them based on that market data. Critics also allege that the company pushed landlords to use the prices determined by the software.

You can read more from CPR here.

Democrats are also revamping another bill…Let’s talk about wage theft.

From The Sum & Substance, after Gov. Jared Polis vetoed a 2024 construction wage-theft-enforcement bill that he said could trip up law-abiding contractors, proponents are back with a follow-up that doesn’t single out one industry — but that may harm many sectors, some business leaders warn.

House Bill 1001, sponsored by House Majority Leader Monica Duran of Wheat Ridge and fellow Democratic Rep. Meg Froelich of Greenwood Village, is scheduled for its first hearing Thursday afternoon before the House Business Affairs & Labor Committee. And its compromise efforts already have gotten a shout-out from Polis in his State of the State Address, starting it on much firmer ground than that on which last year’s effort began.

A major reason that the bill is getting praise from both the Democratic governor and the construction industry is because it doesn’t include the primary provision of the 2024 proposal that led to its veto. That bill sought to require general contractors to pay workers of subcontractors if an unscrupulous subcontractor stiffed them, essentially mandating that large contractors may have to pay wages twice for offenses they did not commit.

After hearing the concerns of construction leaders, Duran said the coalition behind the bill — which includes several unions and the Towards Justice law firm — realized they could not reach consensus on that idea and decided to go in another direction. She said in an interview she hopes that change “put their minds at ease.”

But business leaders outside the construction industry say that what’s replaced that proposal is a slew of provisions that could create legal and financial problems particularly for small businesses that may inadvertently break the law.

You can read more from TS&S here.

More from the Gold Dome…Colorado gun stores warn that semiautomatic weapons ban would make large share of their merchandise illegal.

Via CPR, Colorado gun stores say they may be forced to shutter should Democrats in the legislature this year pass a ban on the manufacture, sale and purchase of semiautomatic firearms with detachable ammunition magazines.

Senate Bill 3 would make a large portion of the merchandise at Colorado gun stores illegal to sell overnight, hitting their bottom lines but also presenting safety and liability issues. It has its first committee hearing Tuesday at the Capitol. The measure is aimed at making it harder for people to violate the state’s 15-round magazine limit, and in turn limit the violence someone can inflict during a mass shooting. It targets semiautomatic rifles and shotguns that are capable of accepting detachable ammunition magazines, like AR- and AK-style firearms, as well as some semiautomatic pistols that also can use detachable magazines.

The measure would not ban the possession of any firearms or require changes to guns Coloradans already own.

You can read more from CPR here.

Also from the State Capitol…Task force on disability rights recommends major changes to Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.

As reported by The Sum & Substance, following three months of deliberations, a task force studying the rights of Coloradans with disabilities has softened some recommendations to boost awards in antidiscrimination lawsuits but still offered proposals likely to stir significant business opposition.

Among the task force’s recommendations are to let plaintiffs in disability-related antidiscrimination suits seek emotional damages, to replace existing caps on noneconomic damages and to extend to three years the timeline for filing such legal action. The recommendations — along with about 50 less controversial suggestions involving housing accessibility, outdoor recreation and government services — are likely to end up in a bill during this legislative session.

During sometimes combative meetings of the task force’s executive committee this month, members reined in several other proposals issued in a lengthy report in October. They did not, for example, move forward a suggestion to allow for filing of lawsuits in discrimination cases before administrative remedies within the state government are exhausted, and they rejected an effort to remove non-economic damage caps altogether in these cases.

Still, the proposed changes to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act are sweeping enough that they already have elicited pleas for caution and restraint from five state agencies. And they certainly will produce pushback from business leaders concerned that loosening restrictions on lawsuits around alleged discrimination against those with disabilities will result in a flood of legal action that could hurt small business disproportionately.

You can read more from TS&S here.

From out of this world…Lockheed Martin Space satellite to orbit moon, help humans return there.

According to DBJ, a satellite made in Colorado and destined to orbit the moon for two years left for its Florida launch Sunday.

The Lunar Trailblazer satellite, made by Lockheed Martin Space at its Jefferson County campus, will examine the moon’s water supplies over the satellite’s two-year operational lifespan. To NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, the company’s engineers and executives, better understanding of lunar water cycles is essential to their long-term goal of supporting a self-sustaining human presence on the moon

“We think this is going to unlock a lot of secrets of water on the moon,” Ryan Pfeiffer, the Lunar Trailblazer’s program manager for Lockheed Martin Space said.

You can read more from Denver Business Journal here and Axios here.

One week in…Trump wins his first trade war.

As reported by Wake Up to Politics, President Trump’s flurry of initial executive actions covered topics ranging from energy policy to TikTok — but conspicuously stopped short of imposing any new tariffs, or taxes on imported goods coming into the U.S., which Trump has long viewed as his preferred source of government revenue and a key cudgel for getting his way on the world stage.

Instead, he signed an executive order directing his administration to “investigate the causes of our country’s large and persistent annual trade deficits in goods…and recommend appropriate measures, such as a global supplemental tariff or other policies” (bureaucratic-speak for “we’re buying time because we’re not ready do this yet”) and announced that the North American tariffs he had promised for Day One would be imposed by February 1 (although it is unclear if he will do so).

Then, on Sunday afternoon, Trump suddenly appeared to be hours away from implementing the first tariffs of his second term, to punish Colombia in a dispute over deportations. By Sunday night, however, the trade war had fizzled as quickly as it started, as Colombia’s president backed down in the face of Trump’s threats. Here’s what happened:

You can read more from Wake Up to Politics here.

From Washington DC…Hegseth confirmed as Pentagon chief after Vance breaks tie vote in U.S. Senate.

Via Colorado Newsline, veteran and former Fox News host Pete Hegseth will be the next secretary of defense, after he was confirmed late Friday by the U.S. Senate by the narrowest of margins.

Vice President J.D. Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie after three Republican senators — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky — parted ways with the rest of the GOP to vote against Hegseth. Every Democratic and independent senator also opposed Hegseth.

It was only the second time in history that a vice president’s vote was needed to break a deadlock for a Cabinet nominee — and the first one was also nominated by President Donald Trump, in his first term. In 2017, then-Vice President Mike Pence cast the deciding vote for Betsy DeVos as education secretary.

You can read more from Colorado Newsline here.

In Congress…Trump’s agenda is about to hit a make-or-break moment.

As reported by Politico, House Republicans are heading to President Donald Trump’s Miami-area resort for their annual policy retreat. They’re not going there for the weather.

Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP members have major decisions to make over the coming days that will determine whether Trump and Republicans can deliver on their sweeping legislative agenda before the 2026 midterms. They’re already running behind. The biggest task for the gathering at Trump National Doral: Finalize a budget blueprint plan for the massive, party-line bill they’re planning, touching energy, border security and tax policy.

But to do that, Republicans need to decide what will go in that package — with the price tag of Trump’s priorities reaching $10 trillion over 10 years — versus what might be included in a separate, bipartisan government funding bill that will be negotiated with Democrats over the next seven weeks. The fate of a necessary debt ceiling increase is top of mind.

You can read more from Politico here.

In tech…What is DeepSeek, the AI model taking the internet by storm?

According to The Hill, Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek is stirring up anxiety in Silicon Valley after launching a new AI model that appears to rival leading AI ventures in the U.S. for a fraction of the cost.

The one-year-old startup launched an AI model called R1 last week, quickly drawing comparisons to models offered by OpenAI or Google and sending U.S. stocks plunging during weekend after-hours trading. DeepSeek surged to the top of the Apple’s App Store in recent days. As of Monday morning, the application was the No. 1 free app on the store, while ChatGPT-maker OpenAI sat at No.2.

The company, founded in May 2023, allegedly spent just $5.6 million to train its latest models, The Wall Street Journal first reported over the weekend. The apparent price tag pales in comparison to the often billions of dollars being spent by U.S. companies to develop and maintain AI models.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said just last week his social media company plans to invest between $60 billion and $65 billion this year into AI development. The price of Meta stock fell about 3.5 percent Monday. The Chinese app drew the attention of several major players in Silicon Valley while spurring fear in some that China is threatening the perceived invincibility about the U.S. technology industry.

You can read more from The Hill here.

And let’s end with more on that…Tech stocks tumble as a Chinese competitor threatens to upend the AI industry; Nvidia down 17%.

Via The Associated Press, Wall Street’s superstars are tumbling Monday as a competitor from China threatens to upend the artificial-intelligence frenzy they’ve been feasting on.

The S&P 500 was down 1.9% in midday trading and heading for its worst day in more than a month. Big Tech stocks took some of the heaviest losses, with Nvidia down 17.6%, and they dragged the Nasdaq composite down 3.3%.

Stocks outside of AI-related industries held up much better, though, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down just 58 points, or 0.1%, as of 11:40 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow, which has much less of an emphasis on tech than the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, had briefly been on track for a small gain earlier in the morning.

The shock to financial markets came from China, where a company called DeepSeek said it had developed a large language model that can compete with U.S. giants but at a fraction of the cost. DeepSeek’s app had already hit the top of Apple’s App Store chart by Monday morning, and analysts said such a feat would be particularly impressive given how the U.S. government has restricted Chinese access to top AI chips.

You can read more from The Associated Press here and The New York Times here

That’s all for today! Have a wonderful start to your week!

Best,

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