News & Updates
The latest news and updates from companies in the WLTH portfolio.
OpenAI races to raise $30 bln ahead of Anthropic IPO, Reuters reports By Investing.com
Investing.com-- OpenAI is accelerating fundraising to secure investor commitments before rival Anthropic's expected mid-November stock market debut, in a push that could value the ChatGPT maker at more than $1.4 trillion, Reuters reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company is seeking about $30 billion from investors, including existing backers SoftBank Group (TYO:9984) and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, as both artificial intelligence developers compete for capital from sovereign wealth funds and major institutional investors, the report said. OpenAI is pitching investors on annualized revenue of $50 billion, which it expects to reach $70 billion by year-end following the launch of its GPT-6 Astra model, Reuters reported. Anthropic's quarterly revenue rose to $16.8 billion in the third quarter from $11.6 billion in the second, though slower monthly growth has raised questions about its valuation. The accelerated fundraising could help OpenAI secure capital before Anthropic's financial disclosures invite comparisons between the businesses. OpenAI was valued at $852 billion in March after raising $122 billion, the report said. The funding push comes amid volatile technology markets, rising bond yields and scrutiny of the debt required to finance AI infrastructure, complicating both companies' ambitions for trillion-dollar valuations.
Anthropic to add US voting information to Claude before midterms (Oct 14) By Reuters
(Corrects paragraph 7 to say that chats about whom or what to vote for accounted for 0.01% of US conversations, not requests for recommendations on how to vote) Oct 14 (Reuters) - Anthropic said on Wednesday it would add official US voting information from nonprofit Democracy Works and election results to its Claude AI chatbot later this month, ahead of the November midterms. The AI company said its goal was to position Claude as a useful tool for political conversations, while preventing election-related abuse. "Today, conversations that touch broadly on politics, public policy or social issues account for about 5.75% of all conversations in the United States on Claude.ai, our consumer app," the company said in a statement, citing analysis of 250,000 US conversations. The move comes as AI companies increasingly position chatbots as sources of news and information, potentially helping Anthropic draw more users during the election cycle. About 0.51% of Claude conversations are specifically about elections or voting, Anthropic said, adding that it expects political and election-related queries to rise as election day approaches. Later this month, US users seeking voting logistics will receive answers drawn directly from Democracy Works' database of state and local election sources. Anthropic said chats on whom or what to vote for were 0.01% of U.S. conversations.
Hitachi joins Anthropic cybersecurity program By Investing.com
Investing.com-- Hitachi Ltd (TYO:6501) said on Friday it had joined Anthropic's cybersecurity program for critical infrastructure, flagging growing cyber risks from advances in artificial intelligence. The Japanese energy and transportation conglomerate said in a press release it had joined Anthropic's Critical Infrastructure Defense Program as a founding partner. The program, Hitachi said, is aimed at strengthening cyber defense for critical infrastructure such as utilities and transportation services. Get more breaking news on the biggest AI stocks by subscribing to InvestingPro The program seeks to strengthen cybersecurity by integrating Anthropic's Claude models into products and services in the sector. Hitachi said it had continued to expand its partnership with Anthropic after the two agreed to collaborate in June. Cybersecurity has emerged as a major point of focus in AI development, after a series of high profile hacks and breaches by AI agents earlier this year. Anthropic had called for a slowdown in AI development to prevent more such incidents, and had flagged mounting cybersecurity risks from AI.
Wall Street tests lender appetite with $60 billion Broadcom-Anthropic deal - FT By Investing.com
Investing.com -- Wall Street's major financial institutions have initiated the syndication of a record $60 billion debt package designed to back Anthropic's lease of Google semiconductors, marking the largest chip-financing transaction to date as technology giants race to secure artificial intelligence computing infrastructure. Bank of America, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley, having committed to fund the massive financing, have begun reaching out to peer institutions to offload portions of the debt, according to reporting from the Financial Times. The transaction is being widely watched as a crucial gauge of debt market appetite for capital-intensive AI ventures at a time when fixed-income investors are increasingly demanding higher risk premiums. Mounting skepticism surrounds the trillions of dollars pouring into advanced hardware, as market participants question whether these unprecedented capital expenditures will yield sustainable, long-term profitability. Broadcom is playing a pivotal role in the financing structure by providing credit support to help Anthropic manage its borrowing costs. The underlying capital will fund Anthropic's advanced chip orders scheduled for 2027 delivery, with lease payments commencing only after the hardware is fully deployed. Syndication began on Monday with $42 billion in senior secured loans backed by Broadcom's A-minus credit rating, a structure that could eventually allow the debt to be sold across private placement or investment-grade bond markets. An additional $18 billion junior debt tranche without Broadcom guarantees is expected to launch later, with Blackstone already committing approximately $9 billion while assisting in syndicating the remainder. Because the unbacked junior tranche exposes lenders directly to Anthropic's credit profile, underwriters may hold off on tapping broader markets until after the startup completes its planned initial public offering later this year. Public disclosures surrounding the offering would provide potential lenders with much-needed visibility into the company's balance sheet and operational trajectory. Alternatively, Broadcom's latest quarterly report and investor term sheets indicate Anthropic could issue up to $42 billion in convertible notes to Broadcom to cover its lease obligations. The multi-part agreement underscores how custom tensor processing units, co-developed by Broadcom and Google, are becoming central to challenging Nvidia's dominant position in the AI hardware market.
Former Anthropic researcher Coxon to testify at New York City AI hearing, Bloomberg News reports By Reuters
Oct 4 (Reuters) - Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon will testify at a New York City hearing on artificial intelligence, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Coxon will appear at the request of New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who has urged AI whistleblowers to testify as city lawmakers weigh a package of bills aimed at establishing safeguards around the technology, the report said. Coxon quit Anthropic last month, issuing warnings that the "people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade" and accusing his former employer and OpenAI of "gambling with our lives." Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Former Anthropic researcher to testify at NYC Council AI hearing - report By Investing.com
Investing.com -- Former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon is set to testify on Monday at a New York City Council hearing on AI safeguards, alongside representatives from Anthropic, OpenAI, Alphabet's Google and Meta Platforms, Bloomberg News reported on Sunday. Coxon will appear at the request of Council Speaker Julie Menin, who has encouraged AI whistleblowers to testify as city lawmakers consider a package of bills designed to create safeguards around the technology, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Coxon, who left Anthropic last month, has warned that increasingly powerful AI systems could become difficult for humans to control. He has also accused Anthropic and OpenAI of taking excessive risks in their race to develop more advanced AI. Former Google DeepMind researcher Alex Turner and Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI researcher and executive director of the AI Futures Project, are also expected to testify, the report said. The four major AI companies are expected to send policy and safety officials. The hearing comes as New York officials seek a greater role in overseeing an AI industry that has expanded rapidly in the city, despite much of the regulatory authority remaining with federal and state governments. One proposal backed by Menin would allow whistleblowers to receive a share of fines or penalties recovered from AI companies following reported violations. Other measures would allow people harmed by AI systems to sue developers in certain cases and require independent checks of some AI systems before they are deployed in the city. OpenAI, Anthropic and Google agreed to attend after Menin's office warned they could face subpoenas, while Meta had already committed to appearing, Bloomberg previously reported. The council also subpoenaed SpaceX's AI unit after it failed to respond to requests to testify.
