AI shopping bots vs. DoorDash

OpenAI’s new tool threatens food delivery giants, China tightens its grip on DeepSeek, and Nvidia bets big on U.S. chips.

March 20, 2025

Your Thursday AI briefing, straight to the point…

1: OpenAI’s AI agents could eat DoorDash and Instacart’s lunch.

OpenAI’s new Operator tool–an AI that shops and plans trips—has food delivery and retail giants sweating. If AI bots start placing orders, companies like DoorDash could lose ad revenue and direct engagement.

The risk:

DoorDash makes money from ads on its platform–but if AI handles checkout, customers might never see them.

How they’re fighting back:

  • DoorDash pushed back when OpenAI invited them to be a launch partner.

  • Walmart’s solution? Build its own AI assistant to stay in control.

If AI shopping agents catch on, platforms relying on site visits and ads could take a big hit.

PRESENTED BY REDROB

Tired of chasing cold leads? Redrob helps you reach top clients, investors, and talent from a database of 700M+ verified profiles. Use natural language search to find the right people and put outreach on autopilot to book high-value meetings—fast. More conversations, less legwork. Try it free for up to 6 months!

2: China locks down DeepSeek as a national AI asset.

China’s hottest AI startup, DeepSeek, is now a state security priority. Employees can’t travel freely, and foreign investors need government approval to buy in.

Why it matters:

  • DeepSeek’s AI models are gaining traction in China’s public sector.

  • CEO Liang Wenfeng is now in rooms with President Xi Jinping.

With its next-gen model R2 in the works, the question is whether DeepSeek stays independent–or gets absorbed into China’s state-run AI push.

3: AI isn’t saving Salesforce—yet.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff is calling 2025 “the year of Agentforce.” But so far, AI isn’t driving real growth.

The struggles:

📉 Slow adoption: Revenue impact is expected to be modest this year.

💰 High costs: Every AI-powered customer interaction costs $2.

🔗 Bundling pressure: Some customers say Salesforce strong-arms them into AI adoption.

The takeaway: AI won’t automatically sell itself—especially when budgets are tight.

4: Nvidia’s AI boom fuels a massive U.S. spending spree.

Nvidia will spend hundreds of billions on U.S.-made chips over the next four years to reduce reliance on Asia and avoid tariff risks.

Why it matters:

  • Nvidia is now a $2T company controlling the AI chip market.

  • U.S. policies are pushing for domestic tech production.

Nvidia’s dominance isn’t slowing–but where its chips are made is about to change.

Axios — Tech and power giants launch new AI consortium.

Fortune – What the European Commission’s order means for Apple.

TechCrunch – Meta AI is finally coming to the EU, but with limitations.