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The Information

Related event timeline, sources and context from the news index.

EVENT TIMELINE

18

COMPANIES · 1 SOURCE · The Decoder

Huawei reportedly tells customers to source HBM3E for Ascend 960DT on the black market

The Information reports Huawei has told some customers to procure High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM/HBM3E) themselves amid shortages and U.S. export restrictions that limit purchases from Samsung and SK Hynix. Smugglers are allegedly bundling HBM with low-end processors routed through Hong Kong, driving black‑market prices to roughly $4,000 per HBM unit and raising memory costs per Ascend 960DT chip to as much as ~$32,000.

7.0

COMPANIES · 1 SOURCE · The Decoder

Anthropic's revenue rises 12× but posts $23.3B quarterly net loss

Anthropic reported nearly $17 billion in quarterly revenue, about 12 times year‑earlier levels, but operating costs of $17.5 billion produced a $23.3 billion net loss for the quarter. The company told investors its cost spike was driven by about $5 billion in short‑term compute capacity and $2 billion in employee donation matching; its updated prospectus shows $895 billion in compute and data‑center commitments and discusses an IPO that could raise roughly $100 billion with up to $3.5 billion expected from Japanese investors, amid new deals for capacity with Amazon, Google, SpaceX and others.

9.0

MONEY · 1 SOURCE · TechCrunch AI

Nvidia in talks to guarantee financing for Nscale’s Anthropic data center in West Virginia

Nvidia is in talks to provide a residual-value guarantee backing billions in debt financing for Nscale’s planned Anthropic data center in West Virginia, according to The Information and Bloomberg. Under the proposed arrangement Nvidia would temporarily take over the facility and help find a buyer or tenant if Nscale defaulted; Anthropic has a $44.6 billion contract for the project’s first building, per Nscale’s IPO filing.

8.0

MODELS · 1 SOURCE · The Decoder

Chinese AI labs reportedly shift to OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra after Anthropic tightens defenses

According to The Information, Chinese AI labs including DeepSeek and Moonshot AI have leaned on outputs from OpenAI's GPT-6 Astra to train recent models (reported examples include Kimi K3.1 Pro and V4.1-Flash 1017). The practice — a form of model distillation that can require eliciting hidden reasoning — has become more common after Anthropic says new defenses reduced extractable data from Claude by 90–99%; OpenAI also reported a coordinated distillation campaign in late September involving people it linked to Moonshot.

7.0

REGULATION · 1 SOURCE · The Decoder

Sam Altman reportedly pitched three possible governance 'endgames' for advanced AI

The Information reports that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman presented three internal scenarios for governing advanced AI: an IAEA-style international watchdog to inspect systems and monitor compute; a 'Demis Plan' modeled on CERN where leading labs merge or operate under a single umbrella; and an 'Eliezer Plan' in which one firm amasses dominant economic power and could withhold or disable others' compute. The report says OpenAI aims to pick a path within about a year while trying not to fall behind rivals and amid internal and policy pressures.

7.0

COMPANIES · 1 SOURCE · The Decoder

Anthropic reports Q3 revenue of $16.8B; growth slows ahead of planned November IPO

Anthropic told investors its third-quarter revenue was $16.8 billion (about a 45% increase from Q2) and reported an 11% adjusted operating margin for the year through Q3; the Financial Times says this was the second straight quarter of adjusted profitability and the company is cash-flow positive, generating $1.70 in revenue per $1 spent on compute. Management said 5–7% of revenue came from distillation; growth has slowed amid a summer weakness and competition from OpenAI’s Astra (Anthropic countered with Opus 5.5), and some investors now expect a lower valuation ahead of a planned November IPO, according to media reports.

8.0

MODELS · 1 SOURCE · The Decoder

OpenAI may ship one or two models this year while flagship still needs alignment work

Employees told The Information that OpenAI expects to release one or two new models before year-end, but its next flagship model remains delayed by alignment and testing work. The model family uses looped transformers (branded internally as Recurrent Depth/Astra), which improve math and coding performance but make chain-of-thought monitoring harder; a Microsoft write-up briefly leaked that GPT-6.1 Sol uses looping inference.

7.0

COMPANIES · 3 SOURCES · TechCrunch AI · The Verge AI · The Decoder

Fired OpenAI safety researchers deny misconduct, warn of chilling effect

Three recently dismissed OpenAI safety researchers — Jasmine Wang, Tomek Korbak, and Mikita Balesni — published an open letter denying the company’s claims that they mishandled sensitive information and warning that their abrupt firings are chilling internal collaboration and external engagement on AI safety. OpenAI has not formally responded to the letter; TechCrunch shared an internal memo praising their contributions and saying the terminations were not for raising safety concerns, while OpenAI has not clarified which policies were violated.

8.0

COMPANIES · 1 SOURCE · The Decoder

Anthropic's employee share-donation program cost >$660M Oct 2025–Mar 2026, diluting investors

Documents shared with potential IPO investors and reported by The Information show Anthropic lets employees donate shares and tops them up with additional company shares (early employees reportedly received triple value). Between October 2025 and March 2026 this practice cost the company more than $660 million; 2025 donations totaled $540 million, dwarfing major corporate donors and potentially rising to billions post-IPO if the stock appreciates.

7.0

REGULATION · 1 SOURCE · The Verge AI

Judge dismisses Chegg and Penske Media antitrust suits over Google’s AI Overviews

A US federal judge, Amit Mehta, dismissed antitrust lawsuits filed by Chegg and Penske Media Corporation (parent of Rolling Stone) that alleged Google’s AI-powered search features and AI Overviews diverted traffic and coerced publishers into providing content for free. Mehta found the plaintiffs had pleaded only an expectation of search traffic rather than an agreement and said antitrust law cannot substitute for legislative responses to new innovation; Google has separately been reported to pilot payments to about 100 publishers for AI results.

7.0

MONEY · 2 SOURCES · The Decoder · The Verge AI

Report: Google pays about 100 publishers small, uneven fees for content used in Gemini and AI Overviews

The Information reports Google is running a pilot that pays roughly 100 digital publishers for content used in AI Overviews, AI Mode, and the Gemini chatbot, but payments vary widely (from under $1,000 for small sites to more than $1 million for one publisher) and many participants say they don't understand how amounts are calculated or why they change. Some large publishers are refusing to join; independent publishers filed an EC complaint in July 2025, Penske Media sued in September 2025, and the European Commission opened an antitrust probe in December 2025; a German court has also ruled AI Overviews are Google’s own content.

8.0

STARTUPS · 1 SOURCE · TechCrunch AI

Viral AI agent Instinct raises $1B Series C at $10B valuation

Instinct confirmed a $1 billion Series C led by investors including Sequoia, Benchmark and Coatue, valuing the SMS-based personal AI agent startup at $10 billion after launching its invite-only service in August 2026. The company touts features that let the agent act via its own phone/computer (calls, bookings, purchases), but has faced privacy-policy scrutiny and now competes directly with Meta’s Muse; Instinct has not disclosed user metrics.

8.0

COMPANIES · 1 SOURCE · TechCrunch AI

Anthropic founders seek special voting shares to retain control ahead of IPO

According to The Information, Anthropic is asking shareholders to approve a share structure that would give CEO Dario Amodei and six co‑founders a combined 50.1% of voting power on most corporate matters, provided at least three maintain a minimum stake; the shares would carry no extra economic value. The proposal would sit alongside the company’s Long‑Term Benefit Trust choosing most of the board, increase founders’ board seats from two to three, and give employees stock to break some tie votes.

7.0

MONEY · 1 SOURCE · The Decoder

AI drives up costs for the NSA, hospitals, and insurers

Reports say the NSA will spend billions this year testing advanced AI models, with compute and staffing cited as the biggest costs, while enterprise usage-based pricing from providers makes AI expensive for large customers. Separately, a Blue Cross Blue Shield report alleges hospitals used AI-assisted coding to upcode cases and collect roughly $1 billion extra over two years, prompting insurers to use AI to contest claims and increasing billing disputes.

7.0

STARTUPS · 1 SOURCE · WIRED AI

Instinct AI agent gains Bay Area buzz; reportedly in talks to raise $1B

Instinct, an invite-only AI agent that uses iMessage and WhatsApp and connects to email, calendar and messaging, launched in private beta in February and is reportedly in talks to raise $1 billion on top of $350 million it has already raised, valuing the company at about $10 billion per The Information. A WIRED reporter who tested Instinct praised its conversational form factor and described successful tasks like booking restaurants and cancelling a flight to secure a $550 refund, while the piece also contrasts Instinct with other agents (Muse, Claude Cowork, Lindy) and notes privacy and security concerns.

6.0

COMPANIES · 1 SOURCE · The Decoder

Meta’s personal AI agent Muse attracts 500,000 users in first week amid OpenClaw similarities

Meta's new personal AI agent Muse reached over 500,000 users (about 250,000 daily active users) in its first week after launching in the US, with more than two million prompts entered and a #1 spot on Apple's App Store. Meta acknowledged Muse was "heavily inspired" by the open-source project OpenClaw after users found nearly identical file names and contents; Meta staff said they rebuilt the product at scale while borrowing design ideas.

7.0

COMPANIES · 1 SOURCE · The Decoder

Anthropic reportedly postpones IPO from October to November 2026

Anthropic is reportedly pushing its planned IPO from October to November 2026; advisers say the company wants to present strong third-quarter results before listing. Investors expect a roughly $2 trillion valuation and up to $100 billion in proceeds, and the delay may also reflect high costs, competition (including OpenAI), rising rates, and safety/cybersecurity risks revealed during testing.

7.0

COMPANIES · 2 SOURCES · The Verge AI · The Decoder

Apple reportedly planning ARM-based servers with M8 Ultra chips and possible NVIDIA NVLink

The Information reports Apple is planning to re-enter the server market, potentially launching systems in 2029 that would use two or four future M8 Ultra chips; the machines are also rumored to support NVIDIA’s NVLink Fusion interconnect. The plans are described as tentative and could change, though Apple’s recent use of NVIDIA chips for Siri and strong demand for Mac Mini/Mac Studio among AI developers are cited as context.

6.0