Anthropic launched Claude Sonnet 5, positioning the model as a cheaper alternative to run AI agents compared with its Opus tier and competitors' offerings including GPT-5.5 and Gemini Pro. The new model brings stronger agentic capabilities, lower pricing, and improved safety features. Source
Etched, an Nvidia competitor in AI chip design, reached a $5 billion valuation after booking $1 billion under contract for inference systems powered by its chip. The company's accelerator is designed specifically for inference workloads in the AI market. Source
Wayve, an autonomous-vehicle startup, launched an $85 million employee tender offer at an $8.5 billion valuation. The offering reflects a growing trend among AI startups using employee tenders as a strategic tool to attract and retain talent without waiting for a traditional liquidity event. Source
Amazon launched a new $1 billion organization focused on deploying AI agents for enterprise customers, following similar moves by OpenAI and Anthropic. Engineers on the team will embed within companies to deploy purpose-built agents with a focus on rapid deployment and customer self-sufficiency. Source
EquiLibre Technologies, a Prague-based AI lab founded by three ex-DeepMind researchers, is now valued at more than $500 million. The company, whose founders worked on game-playing AI including poker systems, is now providing AI services to quantitative hedge funds. Source