News & Updates
The latest news and updates from companies in the WLTH portfolio.
Stakpak Joins Vercel To Build Agentic Infrastructure And Self-Driving DevOps Systems
Stakpak is joining Vercel to help develop infrastructure designed for deploying, operating and managing AI agents. Financial terms and the structure of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded by George Fahmy in 2023, Stakpak was created around the idea that software infrastructure should be able to operate and maintain itself. The company described this vision as "self-driving infrastructure." Stakpak initially operated from Egypt with a small team and remained bootstrapped for approximately two years. The company later raised venture capital and expanded its presence to San Francisco. The startup raised its first funding round in 2024 to advance its self-driving infrastructure technology. Its backers included P1 Ventures, 500 Global and Digital Currency Group, along with several individual supporters. Stakpak developed an open-source agent harness, a production-ready DevOps agent and agentic security systems. These tools were designed to help AI agents perform infrastructure and software delivery tasks that traditionally require continuous manual work from engineering teams. A DevOps agent can assist with activities such as deploying code, configuring infrastructure, monitoring systems and responding to operational problems. Agentic infrastructure extends that concept by allowing AI systems to execute multistep workflows and manage portions of the development environment more autonomously. Stakpak spent approximately two years building and operating agents in production environments. Fahmy said the company introduced features months before similar capabilities became more widely available across the industry. By joining Vercel, the Stakpak team will apply that experience to a broader platform serving developers and companies building AI applications. The companies share a vision of infrastructure that can increasingly be deployed, optimized and maintained by software agents. Vercel is expanding beyond its historical focus on frontend application infrastructure. Stakpak views the company as developing a wider agentic infrastructure platform where customers can build and operate their own agents. That strategy also includes providing the infrastructure on which agents can deploy applications and perform operational work. Stakpak's technology and production experience are expected to support Vercel's efforts to make these capabilities available at greater scale. The move also brings Stakpak's open-source development work and DevOps expertise into Vercel. Fahmy credited the open-source community with helping Stakpak become a widely used DevOps agent. Fahmy did not disclose whether Stakpak's products will remain available independently or be incorporated into Vercel's existing platform. Additional details about the team's responsibilities and the integration roadmap were also not announced. KEY QUOTES: "I started Stakpak in 2023 believing software should drive itself. We raised our first round in 2024 to make 'Self-Driving Infrastructure' possible, and with a small team out of Egypt, we built one of the first open-source agent harnesses, a production-ready DevOps agent, and first-of-a-kind agentic security systems from scratch." "Vercel is no longer just the frontend cloud. They're building the Agentic Infrastructure company, the platform where agents deploy, where you build and run your own agents, and where infrastructure itself is managed by agents." "Vercel is making self-driving infrastructure possible at scale. We're excited to join and help build the best agentic infrastructure in the world." "This journey started in Egypt, bootstrapped for two years, before raising venture capital and moving to San Francisco. Grateful to P1 Ventures, 500 Global, Digital Currency Group, Ahmed Saafan, Moataz Soliman, Omar Gabr and Hazem EL Agaty for believing early, and to the open-source community that made Stakpak one of the most popular DevOps agents out there." George Fahmy, Founder of Stakpak
SpaceX Starlink Communications Will Be in Every Tesla Cybercab
SpaceX Starlink V5 satellite terminal directly integrated into the Cybercab's roof structure (alongside the GPS antenna, 5G LTE antenna, FSD computer, and various cameras). This is a clean, factory-integrated design rather than the external Starlink Mini dishes spotted on earlier prototypes/testing vehicles (often mounted on the trunk lid). Higher-Resolution/Dual GPS The Cybercab includes a dedicated dual GPS (or dual-frequency GPS) system for significantly higher positioning accuracy and redundancy compared to standard consumer Tesla vehicles. This supports SAE Level 4 autonomy requirements (full self-driving in defined conditions without constant human oversight). Dual GPS helps with instantaneous heading determination (two separated antennas give direction without needing vehicle movement). Better performance in challenging environments (urban canyons, parking structures). Overall telemetry reliability is improved for a driverless vehicle. The Starlink V5 terminal sits alongside the GPS antennas in the roof (per the Tesla diagram), so they are co-located and complementary. Starlink terminals themselves include GNSS receivers for satellite acquisition/pointing, and broader research explores using Starlink signals as a GPS backup or augmentation for positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT). However, the primary "higher-resolution GPS" upgrade in the Cybercab is the vehicle's dedicated dual GPS hardware. Research (primarily from Ohio State University's ASPIN lab, led by Zak Kassas, with results featured in GPS World and ION papers) demonstrates strong opportunistic use of Starlink's Ku-band downlink signals (OFDM beacons). With an average of ~3 simultaneously visible Starlink satellites, ~2-meter 3D positioning accuracy is achievable in ~20 seconds (from a poor initial guess, using Doppler observables from the full OFDM beacon after advanced signal processing). Earlier work (2021-2025) was 8-10 meters with 6 satellites over longer periods and improved to meter-level with IMU (inertial measurement unit) aiding and ephemeris/timing corrections. Expected PNT accuracy improvements by 2028. Standalone Starlink PNT will likely have routine sub-meter to low single-digit meter accuracy, with faster convergence (seconds instead of tens of seconds), higher availability, and better performance in challenging environments. Denser constellation + V3 signals (stronger, better processed) will improve Doppler/pseudorange quality and geometry. With DTC and hybrid systems, Starlink GPS could potentially exceed standard GNSS robustness, with meter-level or better accuracy in many scenarios. Multi-frequency or differential techniques could push toward sub-meter. Long-term vision with ~1,000× more satellites eventually, Starlink PNT could be far more robust than GPS (over 10×-100X visible satellites and much stronger signals). Centimeter-level (or better) positional accuracy with Starlink PNT by 2029-2030 is plausible under SpaceX's long-term vision of massive constellation growth, especially if they evolve from today's opportunistic use of communication signals toward a dedicated or hybrid PNT service. Broadcast of precise ephemeris/clock corrections, support for carrier-phase tracking, or a network-assisted/PPP service. Research shows that providing real-time corrections turns performance from limited to near-GPS or better Data Transfer for Fleet Learning This is one of the biggest practical benefits. Starlink provides high-bandwidth, low-latency bidirectional connectivity (far superior to cellular in coverage and uplink speed in many scenarios). For Tesla's end-to-end neural net training approach (vision-only, fleet-scale learning). Vehicles can upload massive amounts of camera/sensor data, video clips, telemetry, and edge cases much faster. This accelerates the "fleet learning" loop. More data → faster model improvements → quicker iteration toward reliable unsupervised operation. It also enables reliable over-the-air (OTA) software/FSD updates and real-time fleet monitoring/telemetry, even in remote or cellular-dead-zone areas. Earlier prototype testing with Starlink explicitly highlighted faster data uploads as a way to speed up development. Benefits for Unsupervised Robotaxi For a purpose-built, no-steering-wheel/no-pedals robotaxi fleet aiming for unsupervised (Level 4+) operation at scale. Redundancy and reliability -- Cellular coverage has gaps (rural roads, tunnels, dense urban areas, disasters). Starlink provides an independent satellite link, ensuring the vehicle stays connected for safety, remote support (if ever needed), and operations. Waymos have stopped operation in San Francisco when they lost cellular communication. Faster AI improvement -- High-speed uplink directly speeds up the data pipeline that trains Tesla's FSD models. Tesla's core advantage has always been fleet-scale data. Starlink removes a major bottleneck. Operational scalability -- Supports wider geographic deployment, 24/7 uptime, and global expansion without depending solely on terrestrial networks. Passenger experience -- Bonus high-speed Wi-Fi (potentially a differentiator for robotaxi service). Future-proofing -- Aligns with Tesla's vision of always-connected physical AI systems. Write-Ups, Technical Papers, and Related Research Tesla's own patent (US 2025/0368267, filed ~2024, published Dec 2025). Details an RF-transparent roof assembly using polymer materials (polycarbonate, ASA) to embed satellite antennas (and other electronics) directly into the roof without signal blockage. This is the foundational technology enabling the clean Starlink V5 integration shown today. It explicitly mentions facilitating communication with satellites. IEEE paper (2023) Improving the safety of autonomous driving by using Direct-to-Satellite connectivity. The case of Iridium and Starlink satellite constellations. It presents real-world measurements of vehicular data transfer via Starlink (and Iridium), latency analysis, and concludes that satellite links can improve road safety through better situational awareness sharing. Broader Trend: Physical AI + Starlink + IoT Integration ==> Global Internet of Things This fits a clear, accelerating trend. All Tesla's physical AI (Cybercab robotaxis, Optimus humanoid robots, FSD) gains a global, high-performance connectivity backbone via Starlink. Enables edge devices (vehicles, robots, sensors) to reliably upload training data to centralized AI systems, receive updates, and operate in remote/IoT-scarce environments. There will be a seamless global internet of physical things where autonomous systems, robotics, and infrastructure stay continuously linked for collective intelligence and scalability.
William R. Timmons IV invests in SpaceX through SCH Invest By Investing.com
South Carolina's 4th district representative, William R. Timmons IV, has made a significant investment in SpaceX (SPCX), according to a recent congressional trade report. The transaction, which took place on June 15, 2026, was reported two days later. The report reveals that Timmons purchased SpaceX shares valued between $50,001 and $100,000. The transaction was made through SCH Invest, an investment vehicle that Timmons uses for his financial dealings. SpaceX, a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company, is not publicly traded and thus does not have a stock ticker available in the system. The company is known for its ambitious projects in space exploration and satellite internet service. This recent investment by Timmons is noteworthy as it indicates a continued interest in the space industry from lawmakers. It also highlights the growing trend of investing in private companies that are leading the way in technological advancements and innovation. The transaction was made as an initial public offering through SCH Invest. As per the STOCK Act, which mandates transparency in the financial dealings of lawmakers, Timmons has certified that the statements made in the periodic transaction report are true and complete. Investors and market watchers often look to the investment activities of lawmakers for indications of confidence in certain industries or companies. In this case, Timmons' investment in SpaceX may signal a bullish outlook on the future of the space industry and the role of private companies in it. However, it's important to note that such investments do not guarantee success and should always be considered as part of a diversified investment strategy. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
Elon Musk sends first warning to SpaceX short sellers
In a pointed message on X, Elon Musk warned that firms maintaining significant short positions in SpaceX over time face "very low" survival probability. The statement comes amid post-IPO volatility for the rocket company, now trading under the ticker $SPCX. Five weeks after what was described as the largest IPO in history, the stock had fallen roughly 30% from its peak above $2.6 trillion, briefly surpassing Microsoft and Amazon in market value. Short sellers celebrated gains of about $8.7 billion, but Musk's reply underscores his long-term conviction. The warning directly echoes a detailed bullish analysis arguing that Starship's cost reductions could unlock a multi-trillion-dollar space economy. Projects ranging from solar power beamed from orbit and asteroid mining to orbital data centers and Mars terraforming were projected to create over $100 trillion in new market capitalization. In this vision, SpaceX acts as the essential infrastructure provider, akin to AWS for cloud computing, capturing monopoly-like revenues from launches, crew transport, and data traffic across a rapidly expanding frontier. This is far from the first time Musk has targeted short sellers. With Tesla, he has repeatedly framed persistent bears as destined for major losses. In July 2024, Musk declared that once Tesla achieves full autonomy and volume production of Optimus robots, "anyone still holding a short position will be obliterated. Even Gates," referencing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' reported short bets. Elon Musk reveals what Tesla stock surge could do to Bill Gates Earlier, in 2018, he taunted shorts that they had "about three weeks before their short position explodes," a remark followed by sharp stock gains. Musk has also called short selling "value destroying" and once suggested it "should be illegal," viewing it as betting against innovation and progress. Critics often dismiss Musk's optimism as hype, especially when near-term metrics like quarterly deliveries or stock fluctuations disappoint. Yet his pattern remains consistent: framing short positions against his companies as fundamentally misjudging exponential technological leaps. For SpaceX shorts, the message is clear: betting against multi-planetary ambitions and the infrastructure monopoly they enable carries existential risk for the firms involved. As Musk and supporters see it, the space economy's upside dwarfs Earth-bound valuation models, making today's dips temporary in a decades-long ascent.
Anthropic's $1.5b copyright lawsuit settlement approved
A US judge has signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $US1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a US copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major US case to settle. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91 per cent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead lawyer, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet, used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found the company violated their rights by saving more than seven million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the lawyers more than $US101 million of the $US187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing.
Anthropic's $1.5b copyright lawsuit settlement approved
A US judge has signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $US1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a US copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major US case to settle. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91 per cent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead lawyer, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet, used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found the company violated their rights by saving more than seven million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the lawyers more than $US101 million of the $US187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing.
Anthropic's $1.5b copyright lawsuit settlement approved
A US judge has signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $US1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a US copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major US case to settle. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91 per cent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead lawyer, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet, used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found the company violated their rights by saving more than seven million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the lawyers more than $US101 million of the $US187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing.
Anthropic's $1.5b copyright lawsuit settlement approved
A US judge has signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $US1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a US copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major US case to settle. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91 per cent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead lawyer, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet, used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found the company violated their rights by saving more than seven million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the lawyers more than $US101 million of the $US187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing.
Anthropic's $1.5b copyright lawsuit settlement approved
A US judge has signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $US1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a US copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major US case to settle. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91 per cent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead lawyer, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet, used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found the company violated their rights by saving more than seven million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the lawyers more than $US101 million of the $US187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing.
Anthropic's $1.5b copyright lawsuit settlement approved
A US judge has signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $US1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a US copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major US case to settle. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91 per cent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead lawyer, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet, used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found the company violated their rights by saving more than seven million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the lawyers more than $US101 million of the $US187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing.
Anthropic's $1.5b copyright lawsuit settlement approved
A US judge has signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $US1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a US copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major US case to settle. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91 per cent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead lawyer, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet, used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found the company violated their rights by saving more than seven million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the lawyers more than $US101 million of the $US187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing.
Anthropic's $1.5b copyright lawsuit settlement approved
A US judge has signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $US1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a US copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major US case to settle. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91 per cent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead lawyer, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet, used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found the company violated their rights by saving more than seven million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the lawyers more than $US101 million of the $US187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing.
China's Moonshot AI Releases Open-Source Kimi K3 Model, Challenging Anthropic's Opus
The breakthrough sent ripples through global markets, causing chip stocks to tumble. A report from Zero Hedge described the release as the latest "DeepSeek moment" that sparked a chip meltdown. [1] Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 now ranks first on the Frontend code benchmark on Arena, according to the report. [1] Kimi K3 Specifications and Performance Kimi K3 contains 2.8 trillion parameters, serving as a measure of the AI's scale and processing power, according to a report by the BBC. [8] The model was trained on a dataset of 15 trillion tokens, according to Moonshot AI's technical report. The company stated that Kimi K3 achieved scores within 2% of Claude Opus on major benchmarks including MMLU, HumanEval, and GSM8K. Moonshot AI emphasized that Kimi K3 is available for free under a permissive license for both research and commercial use, with full open-source release scheduled for July 27, 2026. [8] The company's earlier Kimi K2 models had already been well received in the open-source AI market, and Kimi K3 is expected to close the gap with Anthropic's Opus 4.8, according to the Financial Times as reported by TechCrunch. [2] Open-Source vs. Proprietary: Industry Context The open-source release contrasts with Anthropic's decision to keep Opus as a proprietary, subscription-based model. Analysts noted that open-source models allow broader access but raise concerns about misuse and control. [9] A report from NaturalNews argued that China's open-source AI strategy could "crush the U.S. industry" and collapse the semiconductor bubble, as US AI companies raise prices and switch to per-token pricing. [4] Moonshot AI's move could pressure other companies to open-source their models, said analysts. Chinese tech companies have been rapidly advancing, with Beijing weighing restrictions on foreign access to China's top AI models. [3] The open-source nature of Kimi K3 could complicate enforcement of content controls that China's government imposes on domestic models, the report noted. Reactions and Expert Commentary "This is a significant step for the global AI ecosystem," said Dr. Li Wei, a professor at Tsinghua University, in an interview. "China is demonstrating its ability to compete at the frontier while sharing the technology." Some US-based researchers expressed caution. "Open-source models can accelerate innovation, but they also lower barriers for malicious actors," Dr. Sarah Johnson of Stanford University told Reuters. Moonshot AI officials defended the decision, stating that transparency fosters trust and collaboration, according to a company statement. Meanwhile, readers of The Epoch Times expressed wariness about AI's growing role in society. One reader said: "Truly, AI can be very beneficial if used correctly. Sadly, humans ruin most good ideas." [5] Implications for AI Competition and Regulation The release may intensify the technology race between the United States and China. A report noted that China currently leads in 37 of 44 critical technologies, including AI, defense, and quantum research, while the US trails in most areas. [11] China is also investing $295 billion over five years on a nationwide AI infrastructure network, according to Bloomberg News. [10] In addition, Russia and China have joined with 29 nations to create a new international body, the World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization (WAICO), headquartered in Shanghai, to promote a "people-centered" approach to AI. [6] The Trump administration has placed export controls on advanced US models such as Anthropic's Fable 5, potentially slowing technology transfer but also accelerating China's push for self-reliance. [7] A spokesperson for the US National Security Council declined to comment directly on Kimi K3 but reiterated support for responsible AI development globally. The implications for global AI governance remain uncertain as both nations pursue policies to regulate development and distribution.
Anthropic's $1.5b copyright lawsuit settlement approved
A US judge has signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $US1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a US copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major US case to settle. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91 per cent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead lawyer, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet, used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found the company violated their rights by saving more than seven million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the lawyers more than $US101 million of the $US187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing.
Anthropic's $1.5b copyright lawsuit settlement approved
A US judge has signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $US1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a US copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major US case to settle. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91 per cent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead lawyer, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet, used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found the company violated their rights by saving more than seven million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the lawyers more than $US101 million of the $US187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing.
Anthropic's $1.5b copyright lawsuit settlement approved
A US judge has signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $US1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a US copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major US case to settle. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91 per cent of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead lawyer, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet, used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found the company violated their rights by saving more than seven million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the lawyers more than $US101 million of the $US187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing.
Elon Musk's SpaceX announces Q2 earnings date amid 45pc stock price slump
The earnings release coincides with the first insider share unlock, potentially increasing selling pressure despite Starlink's strong subscriber growth. NEW YORK, July 21 -- SpaceX will release its first quarterly earnings report as a publicly traded company on August 4, the rocket and AI giant said Monday on its investor relations website. The Elon Musk-led company, which trades under the ticker SPCX on the Nasdaq exchange, is scheduled to report results after markets close that day, at 2130 GMT. The figures will cover the second quarter, which ended June 30. The announcement comes as shares in the company have fallen well below their initial public offering price. SpaceX went public on June 12 at US$135 (RM552) a share, with the stock later soaring as high as US$225.64 and pushing the company's valuation above US$2.6 trillion. Shares have since tumbled, closing at US$119.85 on Monday - more than 45 per cent below their post-IPO peak. The company, which reported a loss of US$4.3 billion last year in its IPO filings, has a long-term goal of developing data centres in space. Analysts do not expect profitability anytime soon. SpaceX now operates three divisions: a launch and space unit, the Starlink satellite internet service, and an artificial intelligence arm that includes the Grok chatbot and social media platform X. Starlink, the company's only consistently profitable business, had 10.3 million subscribers as of the first quarter, with revenue up about 50 per cent year-on-year, according to SpaceX's IPO filing. The AI division, weighed down by heavy data centre spending, posted steep losses last year. Crucially, the earnings report will also trigger the first scheduled unlock of insider shares, freeing up stock that has been restricted from sale since the IPO. That could add further pressure on the price if shareholders decide to sell. -- AFP
SpaceX almost halves in value from its much-vaunted June launch
When SpaceX went public last month, it immediately became one of the most valuable companies on Earth, and turned its CEO Elon Musk into the world's first trillionaire. But in the six weeks since, it has been a stunning drop for the space company, with its value nearly halving from its first days on sale. When it first hit the market, SpaceX shares were selling at more than US$201 ($287). Now it's $US119 ($170). The company has now lost a trillion dollars in value in a month, and is now trading well below its initial public offering price. SpaceX derives much of its income from launching satellites into space, but two last-second aborts of its rockets in the past week have given investors the jitters. One of its Falcon 9 rockets aborted a takeoff even as its engines started firing up overnight. And last week, Musk's new-fangled Starship megarocket's launch was aborted. Much of the company's share market value is not tied to its current profitability but its future forecasts. But repeated failures after much hype has given investors cold feet, and many are starting to wonder why they put so much money in a company that still isn't profitable. For many traders, it represents a colossal loss of money. Among early investors is Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart, who reportedly sunk a billion US dollars in the company. It is not known if she sold her shares before SpaceX's precipitous fall. Musk meanwhile has been busy tweeting on X, promoting his AI program Grok, posting conservative opinions and reposting memes. SpaceX isn't the only tech company to have a bad run on the stock market. Last week the release of a new Chinese AI model rattled the big tech companies in the US. Kimi K3 from Moonshot AI appeared to outperform nearly all its rivals, triggering selloffs on Wall Street. And the Australian share market hasn't been immune, opening on Tuesday to a sharp drop.
US judge approves Anthropic's $1.5 billion settlement of copyright lawsuit
July 20 (Reuters) - A federal judge in San Francisco on Monday signed off on artificial intelligence company Anthropic's landmark $1.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by a group of authors who accused it of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin granted final approval of the settlement, the largest known settlement of a U.S. copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. The case is one of dozens brought by copyright owners including authors and news outlets against tech companies over the training of their large language models, and the first major U.S. case to settle. Now-retired Judge William Alsup initially approved the deal last September. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair use under copyright law -- which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said in a statement. "We are pleased that more than 91% of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward to bringing this matter to a close." The authors' lead attorney, Justin Nelson, welcomed what he called a "historic settlement." "It is the largest known copyright recovery in history. We look forward to making distributions to the Class as promptly as possible," Nelson said in a statement, referring to payments to authors covered by the settlement. The writers sued Anthropic in 2024, arguing that the company, which is backed by Amazon and Alphabet , used pirated versions of their books without permission to teach Claude to respond to human prompts. Alsup ruled last June that Anthropic made fair use of the authors' work to train Claude, but found that the company violated their rights by saving more than 7 million pirated books to a "central library" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. A trial was scheduled to begin last December to determine how much Anthropic owed for the alleged piracy, with potential damages running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The settlement spurred objections from some authors who argued it was not large enough, overcompensated the plaintiffs' attorneys or wrongly excluded some copyright owners. Judge Martinez-Olguin overruled those objections in her ruling on Monday. The judge said that complaints about the settlement's size were "not grounded in a realistic assessment of the overall risks and rewards of a trial," and awarded the attorneys more than $101 million of the $187.5 million they requested in fees. Some authors and publishers opted out of the settlement and have filed separate lawsuits against Anthropic that are still ongoing. (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Sanjeev Miglani and Stephen Coates)
SpaceX to report first earnings as public company on Aug 4 | New Straits Times
NEW YORK: SpaceX will release its first quarterly earnings report as a publicly traded company on Aug 4, the rocket and artificial intelligence (AI) giant said Monday on its investor relations website. The Elon Musk-led company, which trades under the ticker SPCX on the Nasdaq exchange, is scheduled to report results after markets close that day, at 2130 GMT. The figures will cover the second quarter, which ended June 30. The announcement comes as shares in the company have fallen well below their initial public offering price. SpaceX went public on June 12 at US$135 a share, with the stock later soaring as high as US$225.64 and pushing the company's valuation above US$2.6 trillion. Shares have since tumbled, closing at US$119.85 on Monday -- more than 45 per cent below their post-initial public offering (IPO) peak. What To Read Next The company, which reported a loss of US$4.3 billion last year in its IPO filings, has a long-term goal of developing data centers in space. Analysts do not expect profitability anytime soon. × 00:01 01:00 Tonton Non Stop, On Top! Player Insights Video- Viewport / Frames- Audio- Buffer Video / Audio- Time- Stream- Player version- Bitmovin PlayerAdaptive Streaming for the WebPlayer: 8.267.0UI: 4.17.0 Show Player Insights Copy link at current time Video Qualityauto Speednormal Audio Track- Audio Qualityauto Subtitlesoff (0) BackReset Font sizedefault Font styledefault Font familydefault Font colordefault Font opacitydefault Character edgedefault Character edge colordefault Background colordefault Background opacitydefault Window colordefault Window opacitydefault SpaceX now operates three divisions: a launch and space unit, the Starlink satellite internet service, and an artificial intelligence arm that includes the Grok chatbot and social media platform X. Starlink, the company's only consistently profitable business, had 10.3 million subscribers as of the first quarter, with revenue up about 50 per cent year-on-year, according to SpaceX's IPO filing. The AI division, weighed down by heavy data center spending, posted steep losses last year. Crucially, the earnings report will also trigger the first scheduled unlock of insider shares, freeing up stock that has been restricted from sale since the IPO. That could add further pressure on the price if shareholders decide to sell.
