News & Updates
The latest news and updates from companies in the WLTH portfolio.
Inside The SpaceX AI1 Orbital Data Center: Can It Compete With Terrestrial? Here's The Full Math
Last December, when SpaceX's plan to IPO was still a distant vision (amid rumors of a valuation of "only" $800BN, or less than half where the company finally landed), we laid out a blueprint of what data centers in space would look like, and also recommended a handful of public companies for those who wanted to invest in this theme. Fast forward nearly 7 months later when, with SPCX now public (if briefly dipping below its IPO price earlier today), we refresh on the sector and the cost model, and share some further analysis around optical/lasers, spectrum, solar, radiator, and compute density. Additionally, we use the latest Deutsche Bank research on SpaceX (available to pro subs) to factor in the latest thoughts and disclosures from the Musk regarding its AI1 satellite and Starmind constellation.
JPMorgan CEO Dimon says Anthropic's Mythos AI risks are a 'real issue'
Mr. James Dimon is a Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at JPMorgan Chase Bank, NA and JPMorgan Chase & Co. and a Member at The Business Council. He became Chairman of the Board on December 31, 2006, and has been Chief Executive Officer and President since December 31, 2005. Mr. Dimon is on the Board of Directors of Harvard Business School and Catalyst; Chairman of the Business Roundtable; and a member of The Business Council. He is also on the Board of Trustees of New York University School of Medicine. He does not serve on the board of any publicly traded company other than JPMorgan Chase. Mr. Dimon was President and Chief Operating Officer following JPMorgan Chase's merger with Bank One Corporation in July 2004. At Bank One, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from March 2000 to July 2004. Before joining Bank One, Mr. Dimon held a wide range of executive roles at Citigroup Inc., the Travelers Group, Commercial Credit Company and American Express Company. He graduated from Tufts University and received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
SpaceX shares drop below IPO price for first time as blistering rally unravels
SpaceX shares dropped below their initial public offering price for the first time on Wednesday before closing just above that level, just over a month after the rockets-to-AI firm completed the biggest IPO ever and made Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. The shares slid 0.6% to close at $135.27, after falling as low as $132.28 -- below the $135 IPO price and well below last month's high that briefly propelled the company's market valuation above those of tech giants Microsoft and Amazon, firms with longer public track records and stronger financial results. It is the latest reminder that Wall Street's enthusiasm can cool quickly, even for a company whose vast ambitions and Musk backing briefly helped it fetch a valuation above $2.6 trillion last month, compared with $1.78 trillion on Wednesday afternoon. "I think the elephant in the room is there's a lot of folks that are in the stock and maybe some of them or a good number of them are wanting to take some liquidity, which is essentially putting a lot of pressure on the stock," said Justus Parmar, CEO of SpaceX investor Fortuna Investments. "You're probably seeing a little bit of it and through the course of the year, we'll be seeing more of that." Debt concerns The about-face in SpaceX reflects in part investor concern over debt-funded AI spending and what potential Federal Reserve rate hikes might do to stretched tech valuations. SpaceX turned to the bond market last month to raise $25 billion, becoming the latest tech giant to sell bonds to build out costly technology infrastructure whose return prospects are hotly debated on Wall Street. The stock's retreat "seems to be a combination of profit-taking, valuation reassessment and the unwinding of extremely bullish positioning following one of the most anticipated listings in recent years," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com. It is not uncommon for a stock to fall below the IPO price, especially during periods of broader market stress. Still, the drop could bolster critics who have argued that SpaceX's valuation was stretched, given that it lost $4.9 billion last year and many of its ambitions are untested. Nasdaq inclusion fails to lift shares "There hasn't been anything lately to remind people of some of the catalysts for why they bought SpaceX," said Steve Sosnick, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers. "The fact that a stock has fallen a couple of dollars below its IPO price in itself is not a tragedy, but SpaceX is heavily watched and has an important role in investor psyche." The stock's addition to indexes such as the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 didn't reverse the retreat. SpaceX's shares have dropped some 13% since they were included in the Nasdaq 100. Investor focus will shift to the company's first results after listing. Analysts expect the report to happen in the first week of August. After the report, the first phase of the IPO lock-up period is set to expire, allowing eligible employees and some early shareholders to begin selling portions of their holdings, an event that analysts say could weigh further on the stock. Investors are also closely watching the company's 13th Starship test flight as the rocket's successful development is critical to lowering launch costs and enabling many of its most ambitious long-term projects, including orbital data centers and lunar missions. "We're really on maybe 30 days or so into this experiment, still so very early," said Parmar. "The big thing is Elon got his $85 billion to take SpaceX to the next level of growth, which will take many years to see how that plays out. Not 30 days of trading."
Get Razer's Kraken Kitty V2 wired or wireless headset while they're starting at just $58 (Nearly 50% off)
We are now tracking a deal at Amazon, which drops the wireless Razer Kraken Kitty V2 Hello Kitty headset down to $102.98 shipped. Don't forget to clip the on-page coupon to see the discounted price during checkout. That is down from its $140 list price and roughly $6 below the previous $109 low, marking the best price we have tracked for it so far. The wired USB version of this headset is also discounted to $57.95 shipped with a similar promo code. Amazon lists that model at $110, so today's offer takes just over $52 off and delivers up to 47% in savings. This remains one of the more popular headsets in Razer's catalog, and it's available at a solid price today at nearly 50% off. The USB model connects directly to a PC and includes 7.1 surround sound, 40mm drivers, a cardioid microphone, and RGB lighting that can react while you stream. It is the better option if you mainly play at a desk and want a dedicated mic for voice chat. The Bluetooth version skips the cable and works with phones, tablets, laptops, and other compatible devices. It also uses 40mm drivers and includes RGB lighting, but its main advantage is the rated 40-hour battery life and USB-C charging. Both headsets carry a similar Hello Kitty styling and cat-ear design, though the wired model is more focused on gaming and streaming, while the wireless version is easier to use on the go. Looking for more battlestation upgrades? CHERRY's XTRFY M68 lightweight wireless gaming mouse is just $20 today. Also, the Glorious GMMK barebone DIY kit is still at $60, down from its usual price of $80. Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BT Wireless RGB Headset features:
Every SpaceX Starlink satellite has to dodge a collision almost weekly, and experts fear the worst
Experts warn that the rapid growth of satellite constellations, such as Starlink, and the overall increase in operational spacecraft in orbit pose a risk of collisions that may become unmanageable in the future. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. SpaceX's Starlink satellites made over 355,000 collision avoidance maneuvers throughout the past year, with each satellite now dodging debris and other spacecraft on an almost weekly basis. The numbers are based on disclosures made by SpaceX in its latest semiannual report to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). According to the latest report, Starlink satellites performed an overall 207,152 avoidance maneuvers between December 2025 and May 2026, up nearly 60,000 from the 148,696 reported in the previous half year. That brings the yearly total to over 355,000, more than three times as many as the constellation performed in 2024. On average, each Starlink satellite performed more than 40 space dodging maneuvers per year between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2026. Experts fear the situation might soon get out of hand. "I think we're heading towards a situation where there will be a collision involving an operational satellite in the constellation," Hugh Lewis, a space sustainability expert and professor of astronautics at the University of Birmingham in the U.K., told Space.com. "And it will not be for the lack of trying to avoid those things. It will be in spite of all those maneuvers." The increase coincides with the growth of the internet-beaming constellation and the overall number of satellites in space in the past five years. Starlink grew from about 6,000 satellites in 2024 to more than 10,000 as of June 2026. Over the same time period, the overall number of operational spacecraft in orbit rose from around 10,000 to about 16,000. The SpaceX constellation orbits at altitudes between 298 miles (480 km) and 342 miles (550 kilometers) and uses an autonomous collision avoidance system that initiates a maneuver when the probability of a collision appears higher than 3 in 10 million. Lewis says that although SpaceX is "doing an excellent job" managing orbital traffic, the steep growth cannot continue without risks. "The avoidance maneuvers reduce the probability of a collision to about one in a million, which is so small that it's negligible," Lewis said. "The problem is that if you make a million maneuvers and you have a residual probability of one in a million, you end up with an aggregate risk across your entire constellation that you can't get rid of." Lewis points out that with the expected continued rise in avoidance maneuvers (SpaceX has applied to the FCC to increase the size of its constellation to 100,000 satellites), SpaceX will have made a million avoidance maneuvers over the lifetime of the Starlink constellation as early as June 2027. By 2030, the constellation may be making more than a million maneuvers every year. At that point, the one in a million risk of a collision may no longer be negligible at all. Tommaso Sgobba, the Director of the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety, told Space.com that the increase in collision avoidance maneuvers is a predictable certainty. "The more satellites you pack into [an orbital] shell, the more pairs of satellites exist that could potentially cross paths," Sgobba wrote in an email. "Adding satellites does not just add risk one unit at a time, it multiplies the number of possible pairings. Double the satellites in a shell and you roughly quadruple the number of pairs that need to be watched." Sgobba also said that the collision probabilities predicted are highly inaccurate as the effects of air drag, which change frequently with space weather, are currently impossible to predict. He said that due to the vast uncertainties in satellite trajectory predictions "operators lack tools to tell a real threat from statistical confusion," adding that "satellites are frequently dodging ghosts, burning fuel and shortening their operational lives in the process." SpaceX, being the largest constellation currently in orbit, takes the bulk of responsibilities for orbital maneuvering. Instead of communicating with the other operator to decide who will make the dodge, Starlink satellites automatically avoid other objects -- both space debris fragments or operational satellites -- whenever there is a conjunction alert. Other ambitious constellations, such as Amazon LEO or China's Thousand Sails, or Qianfan, are currently being deployed, actively adding to the high number of satellites operating in low Earth orbit. Lewis said that the only way to safely manage multiple constellations is to make sure their orbits do not intersect. That, however, is not the case based on available information. The Thousand Sails constellation, in particular, is expected to occupy similar regions as Starlink. Many of the recently announced orbital data center projects want to launch into particular orbital regions that are convenient for their operations and are therefore likely to overlap. "The safe thing to do is to separate the constellations," Lewis said. "But then you are talking about orbital carrying capacity and the first mover benefit, because if I go into a particular altitude with my constellation, then nobody else can use it." Sgobba calls for predicted numbers of collision avoidance maneuvers based on satellite numbers to be mandatorily disclosed to regulators before applications are granted. "Right now, there is no clear requirement for a company to say, before launch, how many collision avoidance maneuvers a constellation of this size and density will need every year and whether the satellites carry enough fuel and automation to actually perform them all," Sgobba wrote. "In short, the crowding of orbit is not an accident waiting to happen. It is a manageable, predictable engineering workload and the argument worth making publicly is that regulators should be treating it that way, by asking for these numbers up front rather than reacting to headlines about near misses after the fact."
Aramco Awards Halliburton Company Long-Term Contract for Unconventional Gas Program
Aramco awarded Halliburton Company a multi-year contract to deliver integrated stimulation and completion services for unconventional gas development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This award is part of a broader multi-billion contract, supporting one of the largest unconventional gas development programs globally. Across many of the Kingdom?s unconventional plays, Halliburton Company delivers a comprehensive suite of drilling and completion solutions. Its integrated service model is designed to support high-intensity development programs and improve operational efficiency, workflow predictability, and execution reliability. Beginning in the third quarter of 2026, Halliburton Company will deploy the Kingdom?s first fully integrated intelligent fracturing platform through OCTIV Auto Frac and Sensori fracturing monitoring services to contribute to asset value for one of the world?s largest unconventional fields. Under the program, Halliburton Company will deploy intelligent automation solutions for fracturing to optimize performance in real time and support disciplined implementation across multi-well campaigns. These technologies support digital integration across operations while advancing efficiency and operational reliability. Development activities in the Jafurah Basin are underway. To support this effort, Halliburton Company plans to increase its investment in local manufacturing, improve its supply chain, and expand workforce development programs within the Kingdom, aiming to scale operations and sustain high performance as unconventional activity accelerates.
Anthropic, Blackstone bet the next trillion-dollar AI business is implementation, not models
AI models are becoming ever more capable, but exactly what enterprise adoption will look like remains a big question. In a bid to shape that future, labs like Anthropic and OpenAI have spun up separate businesses dedicated to deploying AI engineers to their customers' offices -- a bet that assisting businesses in figuring out how to use their AI models is the next trillion-dollar category. One of those businesses now has a name: Ode with Anthropic is the $1.5-billion, AI implementation company that the AI lab launched in May as part of a joint venture with Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, Goldman Sachs and others. The move follows OpenAI's own take on this, The Deployment Company, underscoring a growing acknowledgement among frontier AI labs that winning enterprise customers requires far more than shipping better models. Ode was originally conceived by Blackstone, which noticed a gap when it had roped in large consulting firms and small AI services boutiques to implement AI across its portfolio companies. One of those boutiques, AI engineering services startup Fractional AI, apparently stood out, and the joint venture acquired the startup shortly after it was announced. (Fractional ended an 11-month partnership with OpenAI when it was acquired.) Fractional has become the foundation of what is now Ode -- a kind of "scaled boutique" AI services firm. And its leaders have ambitious goals. "It's pretty easy to imagine this as a trillion-dollar company someday if we execute well," Chris Taylor, CEO of Ode and co-founder of Fractional, told TechCrunch in an exclusive interview. "The key challenge of the business is how do you go through that phase of hyper growth without losing the emphasis on quality?" Ode currently employs 100 engineers, and works closely with Anthropic's applied AI team to identify where the tech can have an impact on different businesses, and create systems tailored to each organization's operations. Anthropic's internal team will continue to focus on strategic, mission-aligned deployments, a spokesperson told TechCrunch. The private equity firms backing Ode will funnel their own portfolio companies to the joint venture as potential customers, though Ode will not limit sales of its services to those companies. For Ode, an ideal customer is one whose CEO buys into the promise, according to Taylor. "A lot of the work that we're doing is the top one or two priority for the CEO of the company," Taylor said. "It's the most important product feature that the company is going to build over the course of the next two years, or it's reworking the most important business process they have."
Scottish Mortgage: Broker warns on SpaceX concentration
Canaccord Genuity (TSX:CF, LSE:CF) has initiated coverage of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC (LSE:SMT) with a 'hold' rating, warning that SpaceX now dominates the portfolio to an uncomfortable degree. Analyst Iain Scouller said the rocket company accounted for 28% of net assets at 30 June, once the trust's 8% balance sheet leverage is taken into account. He suggested investors who now view their holding as outsized after strong share price gains could top-slice their positions. The shares trade at 1446p against a net asset value of 1538p, a discount of about 6%. Canaccord thinks a discount of 5% to 10% is reasonable given the risk and reward attached to private companies and the potential volatility from the large SpaceX position. The trust has performed strongly, with the share price up 38% and net asset value up 36% over the year to 13 July. SpaceX contributed 14.9% to absolute performance over the year to 31 March, just over half the 27.4% net asset value return. Its valuation rose by £1.91 billion to £2.98 billion, equivalent to 79% of the £2.43 billion total increase in fair value across the private portfolio. Almost all of that gain remains unrealised. The realised gain over the year was just £0.8 million. Beneath the SpaceX number, the private portfolio was mixed, with 21 investments falling in value and only 14 rising. Scouller scored the trust's 126-page accounts eight out of 10, praising improved disclosure on unlisted holdings following a Financial Reporting Council thematic review. He would like to see a vintage year breakdown for private investments, more detail in regulatory announcements when valuations change, and industry classifications for each holding. SpaceX is currently classified as an industrial rather than a technology company, which helped lift the industrials weighting to 29% from 17%. Canaccord noted the trust applies a typical 10% illiquidity discount to unlisted valuations, and a further 10% for execution risk where a transaction has yet to close. The cost of debt is low at 3.6%, up from 3.1%, helped by long-dated debentures issued in 2020 and 2021 at rates below 3%. Gearing fell to 11% of net asset value from 13%. Scottish Mortgage spent £3.1 billion buying back 318.6 million shares, or 22% of share capital, over the two years to 15 March 2026. The board has reviewed the fee structure and rejected a performance fee, with the ongoing charge ratio at 0.33% of net assets.
Polymarket Traders May Be Manipulating Crypto Bets, Study Says
(Bloomberg) -- Researchers at Stanford University identified signs that traders may be manipulating one of Polymarket's most popular Bitcoin betting markets by briefly influencing the cryptocurrency's price used to decide the wagers. Most Read from Bloomberg The working paper, co-authored with a researcher at Singapore Management University, examined about two months of five-minute Bitcoin bets on Polymarket. It found repeated bursts of one-sided trading on the Binance exchange that temporarily moved Bitcoin's price in the final seconds before bets closed, benefiting traders positioned in the same direction. The activity was heaviest at times when small, temporary moves in Bitcoin's price could determine whether a bet paid out. The researchers described the pattern as a "transitory push to manipulate the spot price." Prediction markets have traditionally been used to forecast elections and sporting events, where traders cannot easily influence the outcome. The researchers argue bets tied to financial assets are vulnerable to manipulation because participants can trade the very asset that determines whether they win or lose. "These contracts have a structural vulnerability," Singapore Management University assistant professor Shihao Yu, one of the paper's authors, wrote in a LinkedIn post about the research. "They settle on a price that traders can move by trading the underlying asset itself." The findings come as exchanges expand prediction markets tied to financial assets. Cboe has begun rolling out products tied to stock indexes, while Nasdaq has sought approval for similar contracts, potentially extending the questions raised by the paper beyond crypto and Polymarket. "Polymarket uses multiple independent pricing oracles to aggregate data and ensure accuracy," a company spokesperson said. The company is looking to transition certain markets in the next year to settlement methods that use prices over a longer period rather than a single point in time. The change would "further ensure market integrity," the spokesperson said. While the researchers document unusual Bitcoin trading around when Polymarket's short-term Bitcoin bets settled, the paper does not prove that the trading necessarily came from Polymarket users who stood to gain from momentary moves in Bitcoin's price. The research also stops short of proving traders' intent but still presents evidence consistent with manipulation, according to Elton Shehdula, head of research at crypto analytics firm Allium.
Anthropic, Blackstone bet the next trillion-dollar AI business is implementation, not models
AI models are becoming ever more capable, but exactly what enterprise adoption will look like remains a big question. In a bid to shape that future, labs like Anthropic and OpenAI have spun up separate businesses dedicated to deploying AI engineers to their customers' offices -- a bet that assisting businesses in figuring out how to use their AI models is the next trillion-dollar category. One of those businesses now has a name: Ode with Anthropic is the $1.5-billion, AI implementation company that the AI lab launched in May as part of a joint venture with Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, Goldman Sachs and others. The move follows OpenAI's own take on this, The Deployment Company, underscoring a growing acknowledgement among frontier AI labs that winning enterprise customers requires far more than shipping better models. Ode was originally conceived by Blackstone, which noticed a gap when it had roped in large consulting firms and small AI services boutiques to implement AI across its portfolio companies. One of those boutiques, AI engineering services startup Fractional AI, apparently stood out, and the joint venture acquired the startup shortly after it was announced. (Fractional ended an 11-month partnership with OpenAI when it was acquired.) Fractional has become the foundation of what is now Ode -- a kind of "scaled boutique" AI services firm. And its leaders have ambitious goals. "It's pretty easy to imagine this as a trillion-dollar company someday if we execute well," Chris Taylor, CEO of Ode and co-founder of Fractional, told TechCrunch in an exclusive interview. "The key challenge of the business is how do you go t ...
Anthropic, Blackstone, and Hellman & Friedman Introduce Ode with Anthropic, an Enterprise AI Services Firm
Today, Anthropic, Blackstone, and Hellman & Friedman introduced Ode with Anthropic ("Ode"), the AI services firm announced earlier this year, now launching under its official name and brand. Ode is a standalone company that combines Anthropic's frontier AI models, a team of experienced AI engineers and operators, and the backing of a consortium of leading investors. Alongside the founding partners, the investor consortium includes Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic, Leonard Green & Partners, Apollo Global Management, GIC, and Sequoia Capital. Ode is built on the foundation of Fractional AI, the applied AI services firm acquired in May 2026, whose team, alongside engineers from Anthropic, forms its operational core. The company is led by Chris Taylor as CEO and Eddie Siegel as CTO, who co-founded Fractional AI and held those same roles there.
Anthropic, Blackstone, and Hellman & Friedman Introduce Ode with Anthropic, an Enterprise AI Services Firm
All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here Today, Anthropic, Blackstone, and Hellman & Friedman introduced Ode with Anthropic ("Ode"), the AI services firm announced earlier this year, now launching under its official name and brand. Ode is a standalone company that combines Anthropic's frontier AI models, a team of experienced AI engineers and operators, and the backing of a consortium of leading investors. Alongside the founding partners, the investor consortium includes Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic, Leonard Green & Partners, Apollo Global Management, GIC, and Sequoia Capital. Ode is built on the foundation of Fractional AI, the applied AI services firm acquired in May 2026, whose team, alongside engineers from Anthropic, forms its operational core. The company is led by Chris Taylor as CEO and Eddie Siegel as CTO, who co-founded Fractional AI and held those same roles there. "Companies everywhere see the potential for what AI can do for their businesses, the challenge is making it real," said Ode CEO Chris Taylor. "Our teams partner closely with CEOs and across organizations to define and execute the highest priority AI initiatives. By pairing the deep subject matter expertise of our clients with our top applied AI talent, we're able to drive transformation level impact. There's enormous demand for Anthropic's technology, and we're scaling quickly to help clients adopt AI with a focus on outcomes." "As mid-size companies move from experimenting with AI to building it into their operations, they need partners with real implementation depth and a clear understanding of how their businesses actually work," said Garvan Doyle, Anthropic's Head of Forward Deployed Engineering, Americas. "Ode was built to be that partner, adding to Anthropic's growing ecosystem of partners that help enterprises put Claude to work." The team behind Ode brings years of experience helping organizations across financial services, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, software, and other industries put AI to work. Many employees are former technical founders, and the majority hold advanced degrees with a decade or more of hands-on experience in engineering and AI. Until now, this caliber of frontier AI engineering talent has been effectively inaccessible for most organizations, and Ode was built to change that. As Ode scales to meet growing enterprise demand, the company is actively hiring engineers, product leaders, and operators who want to build high-impact AI systems in real-world settings. About Ode with Anthropic Ode with Anthropic is an AI services company launched in 2026 through a partnership between Anthropic, Blackstone, Hellman & Friedman, and a consortium of global investors including Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic, Leonard Green & Partners, Apollo Global Management, GIC, and Sequoia Capital. Ode combines Anthropic's frontier AI models with a team of experienced AI engineers to help organizations identify where AI can have the greatest impact, and then build the systems that deliver it. For more information, visit ode.com About Anthropic Anthropic is a frontier AI company whose mission is to steer the trajectory of AI to advance human progress. We are best known for building Claude, the intelligence platform trusted by millions of people and businesses worldwide. Anthropic is a public benefit corporation -- a for-profit committed to operating in service of social and public good -- and controlled by a Long-Term Benefit Trust, a group of independent experts in AI safety, national security, public policy, and social enterprise. About Blackstone Blackstone is the world's largest alternative asset manager. Blackstone seeks to deliver compelling returns for institutional and individual investors by strengthening the companies in which the firm invests. Blackstone's over $1.3 trillion in assets under management include global investment strategies focused on real estate, private equity, credit, infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, secondaries and hedge funds. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com . Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn , X (Twitter) , and Instagram . About Hellman & Friedman Hellman & Friedman is a preeminent global private equity firm with a distinctive investment approach focused on a limited number of large-scale equity investments in high-quality growth businesses. H&F seeks to partner with world-class management teams where its deep sector expertise, long-term orientation, and collaborative partnership approach enable companies to flourish. H&F targets outstanding businesses in select sectors, including technology, financial services, healthcare, consumer services & retail, and information, content & business services. H&F was founded in 1984 and has over $115 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2025. Learn more about H&F's defining investment philosophy and approach to sustainable outcomes at www.hf.com . View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260715205134/en/
Elon Musk promises 'no exceptions' after Sam Altman's one word response on xAI's Grok 'uploading' customer code to its own servers
Elon Musk has promised total transparency after a security researcher revealed that xAI's coding assistant, Grok Build, was secretly uploading entire private customer code repositories to a company-controlled Google Cloud storage bucket. In response, the billionaire promised to make the entire codebase of X (formerly Twitter) open source with "no exceptions". Musk's push for absolute transparency follows a sharp online critique from rival OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who publicly labeled the data privacy issue as "concerning"."Once we have completed our review for security vulnerabilities, we will make the entire codebase of 𝕏 open source, with no exceptions," Musk said in the post. "Moreover, we will invite third party reviewers to examine the system that is running to confirm that the open source code is what is running. Trust through total transparency is the only thing that should be believed," he added.The controversy erupted over the weekend when a security researcher discovered that xAI's tool was harvesting vastly more information than was actually required to answer standard coding requests. In one extreme test, as per a report by Axios, Grok Build uploaded a massive 5.1GB of data for a task that only needed 192KB, essentially collecting up to roughly 26,000 times more data than necessary.Security experts warn that this excessive data grab likely scooped up proprietary source code, private database passwords, API keys and cloud credentials. The breach quickly caught the attention of OpenAI's Sam Altman, who posted a blunt, one-word response on X calling the situation: "Concerning". In a separate post, Altman added that the incident was "a reason to favor open-source harnesses".Shortly after the security researcher published the findings, the uploads stopped without users needing to download a software patch, indicating that xAI had quickly shut down the system from its end.xAI released an official statement on Monday claiming that "no trace and code data is ever retained" for enterprise customers who hold strict zero-data-retention agreements.Furthermore, Musk announced a total purge of the collected information to pacify outraged developers. "As a precautionary measure, all user data that was uploaded to SpaceXAI before now will be completely and utterly deleted. Zero anything whatsoever will remain," Musk stated.
IBM stock plunges 11% as Anthropic's Claude Code threatens its COBOL cash cow
The AI startup's new tool automates legacy code modernization, rattling IBM investors and dragging Bitcoin down 5% in the process IBM just got a brutal reminder that being a pioneer in AI doesn't guarantee you won't get disrupted by it. Anthropic's newly unveiled Claude Code tool, designed to automate COBOL modernization, sent IBM shares tumbling 11.2% on February 23 and triggered a cascade across equities and crypto markets alike. Bitcoin dropped 5% to $64,000 on the same day. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all fell more than 1%. What Claude Code actually does, and why it matters Here's the thing about COBOL: it's a programming language from 1959 that somehow still runs the world. It underpins roughly 95% of US ATM transactions. Hundreds of billions of lines of COBOL production code execute daily across finance, government, and insurance systems. Modernizing that code, translating it into newer languages or restructuring it for cloud environments, has been one of the most lucrative consulting gigs in enterprise tech for decades. IBM has been the dominant player in that space, charging premium rates for teams of specialists who understand both the ancient code and the modern systems it needs to talk to. Anthropic's Claude Code aims to automate the exploration and analysis phases of that modernization process. In English: the tool can read through massive COBOL codebases, understand what they do, and map out how to update them, work that previously required expensive human consultants billing by the hour. IBM's AI identity crisis IBM has been synonymous with artificial intelligence since long before the current AI boom. Watson, its flagship AI platform, was beating humans on Jeopardy back in 2011. The company has been pursuing AI-blockchain integration strategies since at least 2016, restructuring its organization and launching dedicated Watson centers to position itself at the intersection of enterprise AI and emerging tech. But there's a meaningful difference between building AI tools and being disrupted by them. IBM's AI strategy has historically been about augmenting its consulting business, using machine learning to make its own teams more efficient while preserving the high-margin, people-intensive model that generates revenue. Claude Code represents a fundamentally different approach: replacing parts of that human workflow entirely. The market's reaction suggests investors see this distinction clearly. An 11.2% single-day decline isn't a gentle repricing. It's a signal that the market believes Anthropic's tool poses a genuine structural threat to one of IBM's most reliable revenue streams. The crypto spillover effect Bitcoin's 5% decline to $64,000 on the same day might seem unrelated at first glance. But the correlation makes more sense when you look at how institutional money moves during periods of tech sector uncertainty. When a major blue-chip stock like IBM gets hammered on AI disruption fears, it raises broader questions about which other established business models might be next, triggering risk-off behavior across portfolios. During previous episodes of tech equity volatility, digital assets have frequently moved in tandem with equities rather than serving as the uncorrelated hedge that crypto maximalists have long promised. This episode reinforced that dynamic.
Terrafab is 'critical' to SpaceX's valuation and future, Oppenheimer says (SPCX:NASDAQ) | Seeking Alpha
Since it was first announced, there has been much ink spilled on the Terafab project between SpaceX (SPCX) and Tesla (TSLA). Now, Oppenheimer believes the semiconductor project is "critical" to the valuation -- and future -- of SpaceX. "In typical SPCX fashion, the pitch is The Terafab project enables supply independence, scaling of AI capabilities, and positions SpaceX as the only vertically integrated AI company, which is central to its AI growth story and potential market dominance. Terafab faces complexity in building fabs, workforce expansion needs, high equipment costs, limited fab experience at Tesla, and potential execution risks due to the speculative nature and dependency on Intel's technology. The co-funding of Terafab by SpaceX and Tesla could set the stage for a future merger between the two companies according to some analysts.
Kraken Borrow: spend more than your cash balance
Use your cash first. Then use the crypto already in your portfolio to cover the rest. * Kraken Borrow now works inside your normal buy flow. Your cash goes first, and eligible crypto you already hold covers the rest. * Your buying power combines your cash balance and your on-platform crypto, so you can buy more without selling anything. * Repayment is flexible: no fixed term and no early repayment fee. * A 1x leverage cap keeps the feature simple and accessible for everyday investors, not just professional traders. Every investor has faced this situation: You're holding an asset you believe in. Then something new catches your attention, but you don't have free cash on hand, and suddenly you're doing mental math about what to sell to fund this next move. It's a frustrating position. Not because the opportunity isn't real, but because the choice feels artificial. You don't have the dry powder to act on it. In an ideal world, you shouldn't have to exit a long-term position you believe in just to enter one you're excited about. That's the problem Kraken Borrow is designed to solve. What is Kraken Borrow? Kraken Borrow is a feature that extends your buying power beyond your cash balance, backed by the crypto you already hold on Kraken. Your portfolio now counts toward every buy, without having to sell anything. The mechanics are straightforward. You buy the way you always have, on the same screen. Your cash is spent first. When a purchase goes beyond your cash, Kraken Borrow covers the rest, backed by eligible assets in your portfolio. At confirmation, you see exactly what's cash and what's borrowed. When you're ready, you repay on your own terms, with no fixed repayment schedule and no rigid deadlines. It's a revolving structure, meaning you can draw, repay, and draw again as your needs change. Built for everyday investors Crypto-backed borrowing isn't a new concept, but it has historically skewed toward professional traders comfortable with complex instruments and high leverage. Kraken Borrow is built for a different audience. Designed for a range of everyday investors, the feature includes a 1x leverage cap, a familiar buy screen with borrowing built in, and a structure that prioritizes clarity over complexity. Whether you're a long-term holder looking to stay invested through a volatile period, or an active investor looking to capitalize on something new, Kraken Borrow gives you a practical trading tool without requiring you to navigate a steep learning curve. Collateral and margin levels are clearly defined throughout, so the experience stays transparent from start to finish. Put your portfolio to work The best financial tools remove tradeoffs that don't need to exist. With Kraken Borrow, selling a position to fund another doesn't have to be your only option. Now, instead of choosing between holding and acting, you can do both. Kraken Borrow is available in the Kraken app for eligible customers. Kraken Borrow is a crypto-collateralized borrowing feature. Borrowing involves risk, including the potential loss of collateral through liquidation if your Loan Maintenance Ratio falls below the required threshold. Interest rates are variable and may change over the life of an open-ended loan. An origination fee of 0.5% applies. Collateral assets are ring-fenced and cannot be withdrawn while a loan is active. Kraken Borrow is not available in all jurisdictions and is not currently available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, UAE, Brazil, or India. Geographic restrictions and eligibility criteria apply. See https://support.kraken.com/articles/borrow for full terms. These materials are for general information purposes only and are not investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell, stake, or hold any cryptoasset or to engage in any specific trading strategy. Kraken does not and will not work to increase or decrease the price of any particular cryptoasset it makes available. The unpredictable nature of the cryptoasset markets can lead to loss of funds. Tax may be payable on any return and/or on any increase in the value of your cryptoassets and you should seek independent advice on your taxation position.
Elon Musk Reverses Course and Calls Anthropic the AI Leader - Memeburn
For South African businesses, the deal shows how access to AI tools increasingly depends on a small group of foreign infrastructure providers. Elon Musk has made a sharp U-turn on Anthropic. After months of attacking the Claude developer as "woke," hypocritical and unlikely to win the AI race, Musk now says Anthropic has become the industry's clear leader. He also praised its newest models and promised that he wouldn't use his control over computing infrastructure to seriously harm the company. The warmer language matters because Anthropic isn't just one of Musk's competitors anymore. It's also a major customer. Musk admits he got Anthropic wrong Musk acknowledged the reversal in a post on X, writing that he was "clearly wrong about Anthropic." "They are obviously currently the leader in AI," he added, while praising Anthropic's Mythos and Fable models. The comments represent a dramatic change from his earlier public attacks on the company, as detailed in Business Insider's report on Musk's Anthropic reversal. Earlier in 2026, Musk accused Anthropic of stealing training data, promoting political bias and acting hypocritically. He also dismissed the company's chances of beating rivals such as OpenAI, Google and his own AI operation. Now, he's describing the company's technology as the best available. That doesn't mean the rivalry has disappeared. Musk continues to promote Grok as a serious challenger, especially after the release of Grok 4.5. You can read our breakdown of Elon Musk's Grok 4.5 "Opus-class" claims for a closer look at how his model compares with Anthropic's systems. The compute deal changed the relationship The friendlier tone emerged after Anthropic signed a major computing agreement with SpaceX. According to Anthropic's official announcement of the SpaceX compute partnership, the company gained access to more than 300 megawatts of capacity, representing over 220,000 Nvidia GPUs at the Colossus 1 data centre. Anthropic said the added infrastructure would increase usage limits for Claude subscribers and API customers. Reported contract documents indicate that Anthropic agreed to pay around $1.25 billion per month for capacity through May 2029. However, termination clauses may allow either party to leave the agreement with relatively short notice. That creates an unusual relationship. Musk responded to suggestions that he could simply cut Anthropic off. He said he wouldn't end access in a way that seriously damaged the company, even though Claude competes with Grok. Praise doesn't remove the business risk Musk's assurance may calm some concerns, but Anthropic still faces a clear dependency. A frontier AI company needs more than clever researchers and strong software. It needs enormous data centres, reliable electricity, advanced chips and enough cooling equipment to run those chips around the clock. Only a small number of companies can provide that infrastructure at the required scale. We think the real story here isn't Musk's change of heart. It's the growing power held by companies that control computing capacity. Musk can compete against Anthropic through Grok while earning billions from Anthropic's demand for GPUs. In other words, he can benefit whether customers choose his AI model or one built by a rival. That helps explain why public criticism may now matter less than commercial cooperation. What it means for South African AI users For South African companies, the dispute may feel distant. But the infrastructure behind Claude, Grok and other major models directly affects local pricing, reliability and availability. A startup in Cape Town or Johannesburg might build its customer service, coding or research workflow around Claude. Yet the servers powering that service sit overseas and may depend on commercial agreements between a handful of American technology companies. If those agreements change, local customers have limited influence. This matters because African businesses often access AI as imported infrastructure, rather than technology they control themselves. The Anthropic-SpaceX relationship offers another reminder that model access can depend on corporate negotiations taking place thousands of kilometres away. It also strengthens the argument for more African investment in data centres, energy capacity and locally hosted AI systems. South Africa has a growing cloud and data-centre sector, but training a frontier model still requires infrastructure on a completely different scale. Musk's endorsement could shift again Musk's latest position combines praise with competition. He has acknowledged Anthropic's technical lead while continuing to argue that his younger AI business could catch up. The recent release of Grok 4.5 shows that Musk hasn't abandoned the race; he's simply recognising the strongest current opponent. What we're watching now is whether the cooperation survives the next major model launch. Anthropic needs stable computing capacity. Musk wants Grok to win. Those goals can coexist while the infrastructure deal remains profitable, but a closer contest could test that arrangement. So, is Musk genuinely reconsidering Anthropic, or has a billion-dollar customer simply become harder to criticise? FAQs Why did Elon Musk change his opinion about Anthropic? Musk admitted that he had misjudged Anthropic's progress and now considers it a leader in artificial intelligence. The company's newer Claude models have performed strongly in coding, reasoning and business tasks. Anthropic's commercial relationship with Musk-controlled infrastructure may also have softened the rivalry. Does Anthropic compete with Elon Musk's xAI? Yes, Anthropic and xAI are direct competitors in the advanced AI model market. Anthropic develops Claude, while xAI offers Grok across X and other Musk-owned platforms. However, the companies can still cooperate on computing infrastructure while competing for users. Why does Anthropic need so much computing power? Training and operating advanced AI models requires thousands of powerful chips, large data centres and substantial electricity. More computing capacity allows Anthropic to improve Claude and support more users without severe usage limits. It also helps the company compete with OpenAI, Google and xAI.
My favorite Razer Kraken Kitty headset has never been this cheap, but there's less than 50% left of this purr-fectly ridiculous deal
A meowvelous good deal for those after a cute, quality headset Razer is known for its cat-ear headsets, but the Kraken Kitty V3 Pro is the set I'd recommend the most for those after the purrr-fect pair. While the majority of the Kraken Kitty line is full of limiting wired or Bluetooth-only headsets, the Kraken Kitty V3 Pro is the first to bring 2.4GHz into the mix. Its extra wireless options don't make it an entirely no-brainer recommendation as its $179.99 MSRP is a bit much for its boasted features. However, today's discounted $104.99 rate at Amazon feels far more reasonable, especially as it's never been this cheap before. There's always a bit of an assumption that headsets that cater to players with a love of everything cute and cozy must be pretty rubbish, but the Kraken Kitty V3 Pro is proof that's not the case. While it's definitely priced a bit higher than I'd like on a normal discount-free day, this is still a fantastic wireless option. Finding a pair with a trio of connectivity options around the $100 mark isn't a difficult feat, but it's important when you consider that so many of Razer's other pairs aimed at 'cute and cozy' players are usually wired or Bluetooth only. Even the most recently announced Cinnamoroll Edition Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BT pair drops 2.4GHz. Those after a cute pair with customizable Chroma-powered RGB ears deserve to take advantage of a low-latency wireless connection as much as anyone. * Join GamesRadar+ Deals on WhatsApp for our top daily discounts The headset also features the brand's 40 mm Razer TriForce Titanium audio drivers, the very ones found in the Razer Barracuda X Chroma -one of my favorite Razer releases. Amazon states that today's Razer Kraken Kitty V3 Pro headset is a "limited time" deal, and as of typing, 53% of people have already claimed one for their own setups. That's not too surprising given this is the lowest I've ever seen for this headset, which I'm more used to seeing marked down to $129.99, as it was during March earlier this year. But with that in mind, you need to be quick if you want to pick this up for a price that seems more than reasonable for its specs on offer. * View all Razer Kraken Kitty gaming headsets at Amazon If you're not a cat person, I've also rounded up the best PC headsets for gaming, the best PS5 headsets, and the best Xbox Series X headsets for your setup.
Polymarket lifts US-Iran invasion odds to 18.5% after blockade, strikes
Polymarket Reprices "U.S. Invade Iran Before 2027?" After Blockade-and-Strikes Catalyst Polymarket traders have pushed the "Will the U.S. invade Iran before 2027?" contract up to 18.5% Yes (81.5% No) on $41.7M in volume. The move follows fresh headlines about a renewed U.S. blockade and expanded strikes, giving a read on how quickly the market reprices tail-risk escalation versus a still-dominant No base case. Key Takeaways * Prediction market pricing still favors No at 81.5%, with Yes at 18.5% on Polymarket. * Traders repriced upward after reports of a reimposed blockade and intensified strikes, lifting Yes from 11.5% to 18.5% (+7.0pp). * The contract resolves by 2026-12-31, so pricing reflects a multi-month escalation window rather than a near-term headline bet. A report says the U.S. military reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports and carried out another wave of strikes hitting dozens of targets over several hours, after Tehran's attacks on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz and as an interim deal to end the war unraveled. The report also describes Iranian threats to halt Middle East energy exports and cites Iranian officials on casualties and injuries from strikes. Market Reaction: Yes Jumps to 18.5% (from 11.5%) on $41.7M Volume as No Holds 81.5% This is a binary Polymarket contract: buying Yes pays out if the U.S. "invades Iran" before the 2026-12-31 resolution time, while No pays otherwise; today's 18.5% Yes price is the market's implied probability of that settlement outcome. The repricing is sharp in level terms (+7.0pp from 11.5% previously), but it still leaves a clear skew toward No at 81.5%, suggesting traders are treating the catalyst as escalation risk rather than a base-case shift. Volume sits at $41.7M, indicating the move is being expressed in a relatively well-trafficked venue rather than a thin, one-off print. The historical summary flags reversal_detected=true with moderate volatility and a "stable" consensus, consistent with a market that can jump on new information yet repeatedly mean-revert toward a lower Yes baseline (change_24h -2.0, change_7d -2.0) even after spikes. For pricing follow-through, watch whether Yes can hold above the recent 5-point average (avg_last_5 17.9%) or fades back toward the lower end implied by the bearish trend and negative 24h/7d changes; the longer time to 2026-12-31 also leaves room for repeated repricings as definitions of "invade" and escalation pathways become clearer to traders. What Traders Watch Next on Polymarket: Strait of Hormuz Disruption Odds, Oil Shock Contracts, and 2026 Macro Risk Market Beyond the headline invasion contract, traders are also spreading exposure across adjacent Polymarket lines that track the diplomatic and shipping aftershocks. "Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by July 31?" is priced at 98.85% (leading outcome: No) on $16.79M volume, while "US-Iran Final Nuclear Deal by...?" sits at 29.5% (December 31) on $10.11M. On the process side, "Iran announces withdrawal from MOU negotiations by...?" leads at 40.0% (August 15) with $5.78M traded, and "US charges Hormuz fees by...?" is just 9.5% (December 31) on $705K -- useful for gauging whether traders see escalation translating into policy and timeline shifts rather than just volatile headlines. Odds Trend By the Numbers * Platform: Polymarket * Market: Will the U.S. invade Iran before 2027? * Resolution window: Dec 31, 2026 (UTC) * Status: Active (open for trading) * Leading implied prob.: 18.5% * Volume: ~$41,700,626 * Top outcomes: Yes: Yes 18.5% / No 81.5%; No: Yes 18.5% / No 81.5%
SpaceX ushered in a 'new era' for investing in space. Why the stock is now cratering.
2026 has already broken records for investment in the so-called 'space economy' with half a year left to go Rocket-launch businesses can enable companies like SpaceX or Rocket Lab to pursue more lucrative markets, experts say. SpaceX has paved the way for the space industry to flourish, and its initial public offering drove investment to new heights. Space Capital, a venture-capital firm, reported Wednesday that some $31.6 billion had been invested in 129 companies in what it calls the "space economy" in the second quarter of 2026. That includes companies developing space-related infrastructure and those making hardware and software connecting and using space-based assets, as well as ventures that benefit from those assets. In just six months, 2026 is already a record-breaking year for investment in the sector, according to Space Capital. Both the first and second quarters of 2026 are the top periods ever tracked by the firm, which declared a "new era" for the space economy marked by the SpaceX (SPCX) IPO. Much of that investment is tied to dozens of infrastructure-related funding rounds. That includes the orbital-data-center startup Cowboy Space's $275 million fundraise and orbital-transfer-vehicle maker Impulse Space's $500 million fundraise. Prometheus, the Jeff Bezos-backed physical artificial-intelligence startup, raised $12 billion last month in the biggest round tracked by Space Capital for the quarter. It's reportedly pursuing technology for aerospace activities; Bezos' Blue Origin is also raising outside cash to fund its own space business. Space investing has grown over the last few decades, largely thanks to SpaceX, according to Space Capital's Chad Anderson. The company "made the space economy an investible category," he told MarketWatch, when it began flying the Falcon 9 rocket. Leading up to SpaceX's record-breaking IPO in June, space stocks surged. But those gains were sharply reversed last month, and losses have continued this month. After soaring 26.5% in May, the Procure Space exchange-traded fund UFO fell 22.4% in June and has so far shed 9.7% in July, according to FactSet. The Tema Space Innovators ETF NASA has shown comparatively steeper losses of 24% in June and 17% so far in July, per FactSet, after running up 36.7% in May. Anderson and others chalk the recent selloff to a case of "FOMO," which stands for "fear of missing out." First, that drove investment in public space companies while SpaceX lingered in the private market, then sold those stocks to buy SpaceX's newly minted shares. One expert previously told MarketWatch that space ETFs are feeling an "investment coma" as investors grapple with owning volatile space stocks. "People wanted access to SpaceX and they couldn't get it, and so they got similar exposure to other companies playing in the space," Anderson said. While there's "a lot of opportunity" with some of those companies, he said, some investors probably sold their shares to buy SpaceX, which has been volatile since its IPO. On both Monday and Tuesday, SpaceX nearly retreated to its IPO price of $135 a share, which valued the company at more than $1.7 trillion. The stock closed on Tuesday at $136.08 a share, down 32.6% from its June 16 closing price of $201.80. On Wednesday, the stock bounced 0.7% to get back to the $137 level in premarket trading. Don't miss: SpaceX's stock threatens to fall below the IPO price. Do investors face a 'crisis' if it does? "There's going to be even more volatility," Anderson said, citing the immense demand around the IPO and interest in SpaceX, the "apex player" in the space economy. Thanks to SpaceX's complicated lockup schedule, a large portion of insider-held shares is set to be released for trading next month. But if investors can stick it out, they could reap the rewards, analysts say. The average target price for SpaceX stock is $241.80 a share, according to the FactSet consensus, implying about 78% upside to Tuesday's closing price. And some analysts see potential in its rivals as well. KeyBanc analyst Michael Leshock sees room for Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Firefly Aerospace (FLY) to compete in "niche" markets for rocket launches, according to a note to clients last month. Both companies are currently working on new vehicles. Rocket Lab has also agreed to buy Iridium Communications (IRDM), its latest acquisition - one it called a "shortcut" to offering space-based applications. It somewhat mimics Amazon's purchase of Globalstar (GSAT) in April, which includes valuable spectrum licenses. Anderson said his firm expects to see more mergers and acquisitions in this quarter as space companies expand their offerings in search of profits. "Launch alone doesn't make a great business," he said. Most of SpaceX's revenue comes from its Starlink internet business, which comes from its rockets that send satellites into orbit. SpaceX has also agreed to buy an AI-coding startup to boost its Grok models. It also plans to eventually give its AI offerings a boost with space-based data centers. -William Gavin This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 07-15-26 0758ET Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
