Welcome back to Daily Zaps, your regularly-scheduled dose of AI news ⚡️ 

Here’s what we got for ya today:

• 🖼️ Studio Ghibli memes take over the Internet

• 💾 OpenAI needs 5 exabytes of storage

• 💬 Nvidia creates gaming-centric AI chatbot

• 🤝 OpenAI adopts Anthropic’s Model context protocol (MCP)

Let’s get right into it!

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Studio Ghibli memes take over the Internet

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the viral popularity of ChatGPT’s new image-generation feature, launched earlier this week, is straining the company’s servers, prompting temporary usage limits. The high-quality tool, capable of generating everything from infographics to custom artwork using uploaded images, began rolling out Tuesday to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Team, and some free-tier users, with Enterprise and Edu access coming next week.

The surge in usage—fueled by anime-style photo edits going viral—has caused GPU overloads, even as Altman acknowledged the excitement on social media, where he updated his profile photo with an AI-generated image. The tool builds on OpenAI’s earlier image model, DALL-E, first launched in 2021 and integrated into ChatGPT in 2023.

STARTUPS

OpenAI needs 5 exabytes of storage

OpenAI is in talks to purchase billions of dollars' worth of data storage hardware and software, potentially making it one of the world’s largest storage customers overnight. The company is considering building its own data center for the first time, aiming to gain greater control over the storage critical for training advanced AI models and to reduce reliance on cloud providers like Microsoft.

The storage initiative is tied to the Stargate data center project, a $500 billion joint venture with SoftBank, which includes a major facility planned in Abilene, Texas. OpenAI plans to triple its data center capacity this year and increase its researchers’ computing power eightfold compared to 2024. The company is seeking up to 5 exabytes of storage, vital for saving AI training checkpoints, and is reportedly weighing offers from vendors like Pure Storage, Vast Data, and Dell. While no deal has been finalized, the move could cut costs and improve performance by enabling faster access to data than through third-party cloud services.

BIG TECH

Nvidia creates gaming-centric AI chatbot

Nvidia has launched an experimental AI tool called G-Assist, designed to run locally on Nvidia GPUs and help users optimize their PCs while gaming. Integrated into the Nvidia desktop app, G-Assist provides a floating overlay that responds to typed or spoken commands, allowing users to monitor system performance, adjust settings, and even overclock their GPUs with visual feedback on expected gains.

While its full in-game assistance—like offering gameplay tips—is currently limited to a few titles such as Ark: Survival Evolved, G-Assist supports third-party plug-ins, enabling control over compatible hardware from brands like Logitech, Corsair, MSI, and Nanoleaf. Though still experimental, G-Assist blends gaming and AI to enhance performance and personalization.

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OpenAI adopts Anthropic’s Model context protocol (MCP)

OpenAI’s adoption of the Model Context Protocol (MCP), originally developed by Anthropic, represents a major step toward greater interoperability and efficiency in the AI ecosystem. MCP allows AI models like ChatGPT to access and interact with a wide range of external data sources and tools in a standardized way, significantly improving response relevance and task execution. As an open-source standard, MCP promotes collaboration and faster innovation across the AI community, enabling developers to build more intelligent and connected applications.

By supporting MCP through its Agents SDK and planning integration into products like the ChatGPT desktop app, OpenAI is embracing a more open and dynamic approach to AI development. This shift moves away from closed systems and toward a more interconnected future, where AI assistants can seamlessly retrieve data, interact with software, and perform complex tasks in real time—making them more powerful, flexible, and useful in both everyday and enterprise applications.