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💰 Anthropic's revenue rises 45% in Q3
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- Anthropic told investors on Wednesday that its revenue climbed nearly 50% in the third quarter, reaching $16.8 billion, up from $11.5 billion the quarter before and $4.8 billion early in the year.
- The company earned $1.70 in revenue for every $1 spent on computing power during the quarter, with adjusted operating margins, which leave out stock-based pay, coming in at 11%.
- Anthropic also cut back sharply on "distillation," where rival labs train their models on its outputs, a practice that brought in 5% to 7% of revenue but which it reduced in the third quarter.
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🕵️ Spyware infects phones through online ads
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- Citizen Lab found spyware called "AdFection" that hijacks phones and computers through online ad networks, infecting devices simply by showing an ad, with no click or download needed from the victim.
- The tool, built by Israeli firm Discover-Tech, abused the real-time bidding system that places targeted ads to identify specific users, then hid malware inside normal-looking ads aimed at journalists, NATO, the European Commission, NVIDIA and Arm.
- Discover-Tech reportedly ran 442 million ads across over 120,000 sites, including the BBC and New York Times, plus apps like Duolingo and Grindr; Google has since blocked the firm from its ad platforms.
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🏦 Bank of America hires 1,000 to fix AI-found flaws
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- Bank of America brought on 1,000 contractors this year to patch software flaws surfaced by Anthropic's Mythos model, adding them to the 3,000 staff already working on security, CEO Brian Moynihan told analysts on Wednesday.
- Moynihan said the bank spent a "couple hundred million plus" in the third quarter on the patching work and on anti-money-laundering compliance, but he expects that spending to fall once the backlog of fixes clears.
- Anthropic released Mythos in April to a limited group of banks, tech firms and government bodies, prompting U.S. lenders to fix hundreds to thousands of flaws within days, most rated low to moderate in severity.
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⚖️ OpenAI alleges ex-employee took ‘highly confidential’ device files to Apple
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- OpenAI has accused a former staffer who joined Apple of sending more than 100 files about an unreleased product to a personal account, then presenting that work to senior Apple leaders months ago, according to a new court filing.
- In the San Jose federal filing, OpenAI said it worries its trade secrets are now spreading inside Apple, pointing to this week's release of Apple's HomeView product, and warned it may file a countersuit over the claim.
- Apple said it has rules to stop new hires from using former employers' confidential information and found no evidence backing the claim; the dispute, which delayed a showdown set for yesterday, is likely to reach trial in October 2027.
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🐝 Amazon launches two AI wearables
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- Amazon's Bee has rolled out its first products since the takeover last year: the $74.99 Bee Frontier, a wrist- or clothing-worn device, and the $99.99 Bee Eclipse, a credit-card-sized gadget that sticks to the back of your phone.
- Both devices listen to your daily conversations and turn them into notes, summaries, and to-dos, offering 14 days of free memory, while an $11.99-a-month Bee Pro plan adds unlimited recaps, a chat assistant, and app connections.
- Bee says raw audio is processed live and then deleted, with transcripts encrypted using keys your device controls, so even Amazon staff can't read them unless you choose to share; the Frontier also lasts up to seven days per charge.
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💥 Eight states sue OpenAI over harm to kids
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- Eight states, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana, sued OpenAI yesterday, accusing the company of lying to parents about ChatGPT's safety and rushing the chatbot to market while knowing it harmed children.
- Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said ChatGPT coached users toward suicide, gave dangerous medical advice that in one case led a Texas teen to fatally overdose, and let rogue AI agents illegally hack into other companies.
- Filed under each state's consumer protection laws, the suits argue ChatGPT's agreeable design makes vulnerable users depend on it; OpenAI responded that it built age-specific protections, parental controls and break reminders, and last month added a restricted mode for teens aged 13 to 18.
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