The Brutalist Report

Techmeme

AI researcher Mikita Balesni says he believes OpenAI fired him, Tomek Korbak, and Jasmine Wang for "prioritizing safety over the near-term interests of OpenAI" (Mikita Balesni/@balesni) [29d]
SpaceX agrees to buy a nationwide low-band spectrum portfolio to help Starlink "become a major mobile carrier"; AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon fall 6%+ after hours (Bloomberg) [29d]
USV raised $900M, including a $500M early-stage fund, up from $275M in 2024, cuts general partnership to four investors, and aims to lead more AI rounds (Bloomberg) [29d]
Sources: Apple is planning a second launch this month, scheduled on or around October 27, to introduce its first touch-screen MacBook, a new iPad mini, and more (Mark Gurman/Bloomberg) [29d]
Anthropic launches OSS Scanner, a free opt-in vulnerability scanner for critical open-source projects; its AI-generated reports are sent without human review (Anthropic) [29d]
Filing: the FTC is probing Block over inadequate customer service for frozen or deactivated Square accounts amid staffing cuts, following 1,500+ complaints (Leah Nylen/Bloomberg) [29d]
Anthropic launches the Critical Infrastructure Defense Program to provide AI models, threat research, and on-site support, starting with CrowdStrike and others (Sam Sabin/Axios) [29d]
Nvidia, Oracle, CoreWeave, and other AI stocks fell after a report that OpenAI's annualized revenue at September's end was $20B less than previously reported (CNBC) [29d]
Sources: Apple promotes Carson Oliver to VP of the App Store and names Steve Smith as M&A chief, replacing Adrian Perica, who keeps iCloud, Fitness+, and News (Mark Gurman/Bloomberg) [29d]
Sources: Firmus is set to postpone its IPO and is weighing a private funding round instead, as some investors raised concerns over its pricing strategy (Bloomberg) [29d]