📰 News
AI News — page 5
Funding, launches, analysis, and interviews.
Sierra raises $1 billion at $15 billion valuation as AI character debate intensifies
Sierra secured roughly $1 billion in new funding at a $15 billion valuation while industry debates whether AI should be utility-focused like GPT or morally-guided like Claude.
Sierra Raises $950M at $15B Valuation in Tiger Global-Led Round
AI customer service startup Sierra secured $950 million from Tiger Global and Google Ventures, reaching a $15 billion valuation after three years.
Notepad++ Creator Disavows Unofficial Mac Port Built with Claude AI
Don Ho, creator of Notepad++, demands removal of unauthorized Mac port after developer Andrey Letov used AI tools to create app without permission, sparking trademark dispute.
OpenAI Raises $4 Billion from 19 Private Equity Firms for AI Consulting Venture
OpenAI secured $4 billion from TPG, Brookfield, Bain Capital and 16 other private equity firms to launch a specialized consulting company helping portfolio companies integrate AI.
Big Tech AI Spending Heads Toward $1 Trillion by 2027
Wall Street analysts project artificial intelligence investment will reach $1 trillion by 2027 as major technology companies increase capital expenditures by nearly 30% in 2026.
Musk v. Altman Trial Opens to Decide OpenAI's Nonprofit Future
Elon Musk and Sam Altman face off in a Northern California federal trial that could reshape OpenAI's corporate structure, board composition, and approach to its founding nonprofit mission.
OpenAI Codex Expands Beyond Coding as Claude Adds Creative Tools
OpenAI repositioned Codex for general knowledge work while Anthropic launched Claude Security and added support for creative applications like Blender and Adobe Creative Cloud.
Anthropic seeks $50B at $900B valuation with 48-hour investor deadline
Anthropic is asking investors to submit allocations within 48 hours for a $50 billion round at roughly $900 billion valuation, with the round expected to close within two weeks.
Apple Mac Revenue Hits $8.4 Billion as AI Workloads Drive Surprise Demand
Apple reported $8.4 billion in Mac revenue for Q2 2026, beating Wall Street estimates by roughly $400 million as demand for local AI workloads drove unexpected sales of Mac mini, Studio, and MacBook Neo.
Legora raises $50M extension at $5.6B valuation as legal AI rivalry with Harvey intensifies
Swedish legal AI startup Legora secured $50 million from Nvidia's NVentures and Atlassian, reaching $5.6 billion valuation and $100 million ARR as competition with $11 billion rival Harvey heats up.
OpenAI restricts Cyber access after criticizing Anthropic's Mythos gatekeeping
OpenAI will limit its GPT-5.5 Cyber cybersecurity tool to verified defenders only, mirroring Anthropic's restricted Mythos release that CEO Sam Altman previously criticized as fear-based marketing.
Elon Musk admits xAI trained Grok using OpenAI models
Musk testified in federal court that xAI used distillation techniques on OpenAI models to train Grok, calling it a general practice among AI companies.
Legora Raises $50M Extension From Nvidia, Bringing Series D to $600M
Swedish AI legal platform Legora secured a $50 million Series D extension led by Nvidia's venture arm, bringing the round total to $600 million at a $5.5 billion valuation.
Qualcomm Stock Jumps 16% on Hyperscaler Chip Deal and China Recovery Call
Qualcomm shares surged 16% after CEO Cristiano Amon said the company will ship data center chips to a major hyperscaler this year and called a bottom in China smartphone sales.
AI Startups Claim Half of New Unicorns Since 2024
An estimated 207 AI-focused companies have joined the unicorn board since 2024, representing roughly half of all new billion-dollar valuations during this period.
Google's Gemini Privacy Controls Buried Behind Dark Patterns and Forced Trade-offs
An Ars Technica investigation finds Google makes opting out of Gemini AI training unnecessarily difficult, forcing users to sacrifice chat history and navigate hidden settings to protect their data.