Anthropic and OpenAI cut the price of their new AI models. They are the first releases since both backed a call to slow down.

The rest of the day

21 more stories on this beat.

Each with its own sources. None of these is a link to the story above.

1. 02

   Customers sue AI labs over their slowdown pact

   Four people who pay for ChatGPT, Claude, Grok or Gemini filed a class action in a California federal court on 18 September. [5][6] They say Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI and Google broke US competition law by agreeing to slow how fast they improve their products. [5] The case is built only from public statements, starting with Amodei's essay and Altman's reply. [5] It asks for triple damages and a jury. [5]

   Why it matters — Amodei's essay had itself said such talks might need a legal waiver, and none exists. [5] Mistral, France's main AI company, said last week that big firms were using the moment to protect their market position. [7]

2. 03

   Universal and Sony sue Suno a second time

   Universal and Sony, two of the three biggest record companies, sued Suno again on 18 September, this time over 60,202 recordings. [8] Suno makes AI that writes songs from a typed request. [8] The labels say a forensic check of Suno's training data found the songs. [8] A judge told them to file a new case rather than add them to the first one, from June 2024. [8] They ask up to $150,000 per recording, a ceiling past $9bn in all. [8]

   60,202Recordings in the new case

   ++

   $150,000Most a court can award per recording

   Why it matters — The complaint lists three licence deals Suno signed since November 2025, with Warner, BMG and Believe, as proof that a market for training music exists. [8] If a court accepts that, Suno's own deals become evidence against it. [8]

3. 04

   AI labs ask Australia for a training exception

   Anthropic and OpenAI have asked Australia's parliament to soften rules that stop AI firms training on Australian creative work without permission, Reuters reported on Tuesday. [9] In October 2025 Australia's government ruled out a copyright exception for this kind of data mining. [9] Anthropic suggested a narrow, conditional approval and offered support for Australian creators, and OpenAI asked for a balanced framework. [9] Both tied the request to data centres they plan in Sydney and Queensland. [9]

   Why it matters — Papers released under Freedom of Information show Amodei raised copyright with Treasurer Jim Chalmers in April. [9] Officials noted that Anthropic would say its investment depended on clear copyright rules. [9]

4. 05

   A US appeals court wants AI filings checked

   The 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver proposed on 18 September that lawyers certify a human has checked any filing written with AI help. [10] The checker must confirm that every cited case exists and every quotation is accurate. [10] The rule would start on 1 January 2027 in six states, including Colorado and Utah, and cover people who represent themselves too. [10] It would be the first such rule among the 13 US federal appeals courts. [10]

   Why it matters — Courts keep receiving filings with case citations that AI made up, and the court's clerk says existing rules are not being followed. [10] The 5th Circuit dropped a similar plan in 2024 after lawyers objected. [10]

5. 06

   Waymo lets teenagers ride alone in Nashville

   Waymo, the driverless-taxi company owned by Google's parent Alphabet, now lets 13- to 17-year-olds ride without an adult in Nashville, Tennessee. [11] A parent or guardian must link the account, and a teen may bring up to three friends of the same age. [11] Phoenix was first, last year, and Waymo says more cities will follow where local rules allow. [11] Paid Waymo trips grew from 50,000 a week in May 2024 to more than half a million earlier this year. [11]

   Paid Waymo trips a week, May 202450,000

   Paid Waymo trips a week, early 2026500,000

   Why it matters — Teenagers who cannot drive rely on parents or buses, so this opens a new group of riders. [11] Waymo did not say how it checks the ages of the friends. [11]

6. 07

   Hyundai will build tens of thousands of robotaxis

   Hyundai will build tens of thousands of Ioniq 5 robotaxis for Waymo at its plant in Georgia, chief executive Jose Munoz said. [12] He said the robotaxi business is already profitable. [12] US electric-car demand slowed after the tax credit ended, and Hyundai is filling its plant with robotaxis instead. [12] Waymo runs about 4,000 cars in US cities today. [12]

   Robotaxis Hyundai says it will build for Waymotens of thousands

   vsvs

   1,500EU-wide approval limit, per model, per year

   Why it matters — Europe cannot take numbers like these yet: the only approval that works across the whole EU for a fully driverless car allows 1,500 a year per model. [12] Waymo's plan in Germany covers one city, Munich, from late 2027. [12]

7. 08

   Waymo will carry riders in Singapore from 2028

   Waymo will launch its first Southeast Asian robotaxi service in Singapore in 2028. [13] Its electric Jaguar cars arrive in the coming months and will be driven by hand until 2027, while the system learns local roads and monsoon rain. [13] It is working with Singapore's transport ministry and Land Transport Authority. [13] Waymo did not give a fleet size, fares, hours or service area. [13]

   Why it matters — Cyclists and scooter riders matter more on Singapore's roads than on most US streets Waymo drives. [13] Waymo says its US cars are in 94% fewer injury crashes than human drivers, a figure it publishes itself. [13]

8. 09

   Waymo returns to San Antonio after the floods

   Waymo restarted paid rides in San Antonio, Texas, five months after floods in April. [14] Several of its cars slowed but did not stop at flooded streets and got stuck, which led to a recall in May. [14] Waymo says it changed its software to spot and avoid standing water. [14] Dozens of cars now cover a 60-mile area that includes downtown and the airport. [14]

   Why it matters — Waymo now offers paid rides in 15 US cities. [14] A flood stopped the service in one city for five months, a limit that no permit set. [14]

9. 10

   Zoox's 100-car limit in Nevada ends

   A Nevada permit that held Amazon's Zoox to 100 robotaxis expires on 25 September, a state official and Zoox confirmed. [15] Zoox builds box-shaped robotaxis with no steering wheel or pedals. [15] It began charging for rides in Las Vegas last month under a federal exemption that allows up to 2,500 such cars a year for two years. [15] A tracker estimates that just over 30 Zoox cars run in the city. [15]

   Zoox cars in Las Vegas, tracker estimate (just over 30)30

   Nevada's limit until 25 September100

   Why it matters — Waymo, Tesla and Uber all now hold driverless ride permits in Las Vegas, so Zoox gets room to grow as rivals arrive. [15] Zoox would not say how many cars it will add. [15]

10. 11

    A plane flies itself across the US

    Joby Aviation says an aircraft flew itself 3,199 miles across the United States, from California to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. [16] It used a converted Cessna Caravan fitted with Joby's self-flying system, which taxied, took off, cruised and landed. [16][17] A pilot sat on board to meet the rules but gave no control input, Joby says, and staff watched remotely. [16][17] The plane is now flying back west with stops. [16]

    Why it matters — Joby is best known for electric air taxis it plans to open to the public this year. [16] It says the same self-flying kit can be fitted to existing planes and used for freight, rescue and the military. [16][17]

11. 12

    Qualcomm's new phone chips are its first at 2nm

    Qualcomm, which designs the main chips for many high-end Android phones, launched the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 on Tuesday, with a faster Extreme version. [18][19] TSMC makes both on its 2-nanometre process, a first for Qualcomm. [18][19] Qualcomm says the Extreme chip can run AI models with 30 billion parameters on the phone itself. [19] Motorola, Xiaomi, ZTE and others will use them. [18][19]

    Why it matters — Counterpoint Research expects phone shipments to fall 14% this year, because memory costs have pushed prices up. [19] Phone makers are leaning on expensive models, and AI that runs without the cloud is their pitch. [19]

12. 13

    China's CXMT says its memory has caught up

    CXMT, China's biggest maker of DRAM, the short-term memory a phone or computer works in, says its fifth-generation process is now in mass production. [20] It says each silicon disc now has room for at least 50% more chips than before. [20] It got there without the advanced machines US export rules have kept from China since 2022, by repeating coarser printing steps four times. [20] The first products are memory chips for mid-range and high-end phones. [20]

    Why it matters — A new supplier matters while memory shortages push up the price of phones and PCs. [20] Nobody outside CXMT has tested its claim to match Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron, and it has published no figure for how many chips pass testing. [20]

13. 14

    DARPA gets its hands on Microsoft's quantum machine

    Microsoft said on Tuesday it will give DARPA, the US military's research agency, hands-on access to its quantum computer at a new centre in Maryland. [21] Until now DARPA tested Microsoft's machines remotely, in Washington state and in Europe. [21] The system uses Microsoft's Majorana 2 chip and can take newer chips later. [21] DARPA is judging whether any quantum design can be worth its cost by 2033. [21]

    Why it matters — Quantum computers might one day break the codes that protect messages today, which is why defence agencies care. [21] Microsoft says it will have commercial systems by 2029. [21]

14. 15

    A Singapore start-up grows chips a few atoms thick

    Nexstrom, a start-up in Singapore, raised $12m to build machines that grow ultra-thin chip materials directly on standard 12-inch silicon discs. [22] The materials are a few atoms thick and could let chips keep shrinking where ordinary silicon struggles. [22] Its chief scientist, Lance Li, used to lead research on chips beyond silicon at TSMC. [22] It expects its equipment to be ready for factories between 2030 and 2035. [22]

    Why it matters — Nexstrom plans to sell to chipmakers like TSMC, Samsung and Intel rather than compete with them. [22] It says some are already testing its samples, but will not name them. [22]

15. 16

    A data-centre supplier prices its share sale

    Accelevation, an Ohio company that makes power, cooling and ready-built units for data centres, wants a value of up to $5.37bn in its US share sale. [23] It and some shareholders aim to raise up to $720m, selling 30 million shares at $20 to $24 each. [23] Most of the money will pay off debt. [23] Olympus Partners, the private-equity firm that bought it in 2025, keeps about 85% of the votes. [23]

    Why it matters — It follows Nscale and SB Energy, which filed for share sales this month, as AI builders ask the stock market for money. [23] Goldman Sachs expects data-centre power demand to rise 170% by 2030 from 2025. [23]

16. 17

    A Silicon Valley investor opens a school

    Andreessen Horowitz, a large Silicon Valley investment firm, is opening a school for would-be founders just out of high school. [24] The first year is free for about 50 students, chosen on what they have built. [24] It is not accredited, so it gives no degree or college credits. [24] From 2028 a two-year course will charge fees close to an elite private university's. [24]

    Why it matters — Its ten founding partners, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and Nvidia, hope to hire its graduates. [24] It opens while AI is shrinking entry-level tech jobs, so a direct path to a job has new pull. [24]

17. 18

    Paramount settles and clears its Warner deal

    Paramount Skydance settled lawsuits from 12 US state attorneys general and the Writers Guild, the union for film and TV writers, Bloomberg reported. [25] That clears the way for its $110bn purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. [25] The settlement includes protections meant to limit the combined company's market power and keep its news independent. [25] The company will control two big Hollywood studios, two streaming services and channels from CBS to HBO. [25]

    Why it matters — The writers' union and 12 states had sued over the deal, and settling means they accepted written protections instead of a court fight. [25] CBS and HBO will sit under the same owner, which is why editorial independence was part of the terms. [25]

18. 19

    Apple Pay heads to India with one bank

    Apple Pay is expected to launch in India next month, starting with credit cards from Axis Bank, India's fourth-largest card issuer, Reuters reported. [26] Apple has also talked to HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, both bigger, but has not agreed terms. [26] It will not support UPI, India's state-backed instant phone payment system, at launch. [26] UPI carries about 84% of India's digital payments. [26]

    Why it matters — Apple is arriving with a card product in a country that mostly pays by phone transfer. [26] The Economic Times reported that Apple asked for 0.15% to 0.20% of each payment, and banks offered about 0.10%. [26]

19. 20

    Meta pays a plastics recycler

    Meta signed its first deal to pay a plastics recycler, the three-year-old start-up MacroCycle of Cambridge, Massachusetts. [27] Meta pays for the carbon emissions MacroCycle's plastic avoids, and counts them against its own, which are growing with AI. [27] The money helps fund MacroCycle's first plant in the US, sized for 5,000 tonnes of recycled plastic a year. [27] Its process can clean plastic from old clothes, of which only 0.5% is recycled today. [27]

    Why it matters — Meta's AI build-out is pushing its emissions up, and it is buying cuts made elsewhere to count against them. [27] It also wants a steady supply of low-carbon plastic for its packaging and hardware. [27]

20. 21

    A US battery maker opens in China, not Kentucky

    EnerVenue, a US start-up that makes long-life nickel-hydrogen batteries, opened its factory in Changzhou, China, after dropping a $264m plan in Kentucky. [28] Its chief executive, Henning Rath, said China's depth of skilled engineers and suppliers decided it. [28] The plant is about 95% automated and will employ about 400 people by the end of the year. [28] Graduate engineers there earn about 12,000 yuan, or $1,792, a month. [28]

    Why it matters — The Kentucky plan had promised 450 jobs. [28] It is unclear whether batteries made in China will qualify for US clean-energy tax credits. [28]

21. 22

    FintechOS turns a profit and raises $28m

    FintechOS, a London company founded in Romania that sells software to banks and insurers, raised $28m in shares and debt. [29] It says it became profitable in the first half of 2026, later than the 2024 date it had given investors. [29] It says recurring revenue rose 40% in a year and its US business grew 130%, without giving totals. [29] The money goes to US growth and more European clients. [29]

    Why it matters — Its software lets banks launch new products on top of their old systems instead of replacing them. [29] Santander's investment bank provided the debt. [29]