# capital markets

Lawmakers are advancing restrictions on AI companionship for minors while Europe signals a one‑year pause on enforcement of high‑risk AI rules. At the same time, artists push back on corporate experiments and investors weigh a $50 billion valuation for an AI firm, underscoring a split between capital exuberance and personal risk management.

Investors are escalating spending and targeting record offerings even as safety scandals, sexual content tensions, and moderation failures intensify scrutiny. Legal setbacks and a high-profile consumer win on a $195,000 hospital bill underscore that real-world outcomes, not demos, are defining AI's value proposition. Meanwhile, early deployments show agents can replace a 10-person inbound team when tasks are codified, but they stumble in messy markets.