Google Gemma 4, Microsoft Japan AI investment & Chinese AI models surge

The State of Tech — The European Edition of Saturday 4 April 2026: Google launches Gemma 4, its most powerful open-weight AI models yet, lowering barriers for European developers and startups. Microsoft commits ten billion dollars to AI infrastructure and cybersecurity partnerships in Japan, raising questions about Europe's digital sovereignty strategy. Chinese AI companies like MiniMax and Zhipu AI are rapidly expanding their global footprint through agent-based systems, while data center spending reaches astronomical levels and Elon Musk proposes a "Terafab" semiconductor initiative.