Nous Research Secures $1.5B Valuation and Launches Enterprise AI Agents
Nous Research confirmed a $90 million Series B funding round and launched new tools for corporate customers.
• Nous Research raised a $90 million Series B round at a $1.5 billion valuation.
• The funding was led by Robot Ventures and included backers like Nvidia and Samsung.
• The startup launched Hermes for Businesses to let companies deploy private AI agents.
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Nous Research confirmed a $90 million Series B funding round and launched new tools for corporate customers.
• Nous Research raised a $90 million Series B round at a $1.5 billion valuation.
• The funding was led by Robot Ventures and included backers like Nvidia and Samsung.
• The startup launched Hermes for Businesses to let companies deploy private AI agents.
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AWS Launches Open-Source Strands Box to Restrict AI Agents
Autonomous AI agents often operate without human review, and this open-source tool gives developers deterministic ways to enforce rules and prevent destructive actions.
• AWS launched an open-source AI sandbox called Strands Box to control autonomous agents.
• The tool combines OS-level isolation with the Dogwood Local Engine for contextual rule enforcement.
• Strands Box is available on GitHub for macOS, with Linux and Windows support in development.
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Autonomous AI agents often operate without human review, and this open-source tool gives developers deterministic ways to enforce rules and prevent destructive actions.
• AWS launched an open-source AI sandbox called Strands Box to control autonomous agents.
• The tool combines OS-level isolation with the Dogwood Local Engine for contextual rule enforcement.
• Strands Box is available on GitHub for macOS, with Linux and Windows support in development.
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Microsoft releases Agent Lightning v1.0 for training AI agents with their existing harnesses
Microsoft says Agent Lightning v1.0 lets developers train existing AI agents without rebuilding their harnesses inside a training framework.
• Microsoft open-sourced Agent Lightning v1.0 to train AI agents with the harnesses they use in deployment.
• The roughly 3,500-line framework runs agents locally or as standard Kubernetes jobs.
• Microsoft says a coding-agent example improved Qwen3.5-9B by 14.6 percentage points on SWE-bench Verified.
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Microsoft says Agent Lightning v1.0 lets developers train existing AI agents without rebuilding their harnesses inside a training framework.
• Microsoft open-sourced Agent Lightning v1.0 to train AI agents with the harnesses they use in deployment.
• The roughly 3,500-line framework runs agents locally or as standard Kubernetes jobs.
• Microsoft says a coding-agent example improved Qwen3.5-9B by 14.6 percentage points on SWE-bench Verified.
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AI Tools Enabled Single Attacker to Breach South Korean Banks
This incident highlights the real-world cybersecurity risk that AI tools can enable a single attacker to execute massive data breaches.
• A suspected Chinese-speaking attacker breached multiple South Korean financial institutions between late September and early October 2026.
• The attacker used ARTEX, an open-source tool running AI language models that automates penetration testing and security flaw detection.
• Crowdstrike noted the case shows how AI tools allow a single person to execute massive breaches in a short window.
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This incident highlights the real-world cybersecurity risk that AI tools can enable a single attacker to execute massive data breaches.
• A suspected Chinese-speaking attacker breached multiple South Korean financial institutions between late September and early October 2026.
• The attacker used ARTEX, an open-source tool running AI language models that automates penetration testing and security flaw detection.
• Crowdstrike noted the case shows how AI tools allow a single person to execute massive breaches in a short window.
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Nvidia commits $1 billion to US science over five years
Nvidia says the five-year commitment will provide computing and research support to US institutions and government-related science projects.
• Nvidia says it will make commitments valued at $1 billion for US science over five years.
• The support covers university research, quantum computing and cloud providers serving US government missions.
• Nvidia is collaborating on Genesis Mission phase 2 projects in quantum computing, fusion and other fields.
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Nvidia says the five-year commitment will provide computing and research support to US institutions and government-related science projects.
• Nvidia says it will make commitments valued at $1 billion for US science over five years.
• The support covers university research, quantum computing and cloud providers serving US government missions.
• Nvidia is collaborating on Genesis Mission phase 2 projects in quantum computing, fusion and other fields.
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Google introduces the Gemini agent for work
Google says teams can assign work across apps to one agent while using company tools, shared context and enterprise controls.
• Google announced a Gemini agent that can answer questions, complete assigned work, create media and write and run code.
• Google says it works inside Workspace apps and carries memory and controls across devices and channels.
• Google says the agent can select among Gemini and Claude models and offers enterprise security and spending controls.
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Google says teams can assign work across apps to one agent while using company tools, shared context and enterprise controls.
• Google announced a Gemini agent that can answer questions, complete assigned work, create media and write and run code.
• Google says it works inside Workspace apps and carries memory and controls across devices and channels.
• Google says the agent can select among Gemini and Claude models and offers enterprise security and spending controls.
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Zenity Finds Single Prompt Compromised AWS AgentCore Accounts
According to Zenity, overly broad default permissions in cloud platforms can allow a single prompt to compromise multiple AI agents.
• Zenity Labs found a single prompt could hijack every AI agent in an AWS account and region through Amazon Bedrock AgentCore.
• The flaw allowed attackers to access private conversations, source code, and stored credentials due to overly broad default permissions.
• Zenity reported the issue to AWS in December 2025, prompting AWS to adopt IMDSv2 and restrict default execution roles.
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According to Zenity, overly broad default permissions in cloud platforms can allow a single prompt to compromise multiple AI agents.
• Zenity Labs found a single prompt could hijack every AI agent in an AWS account and region through Amazon Bedrock AgentCore.
• The flaw allowed attackers to access private conversations, source code, and stored credentials due to overly broad default permissions.
• Zenity reported the issue to AWS in December 2025, prompting AWS to adopt IMDSv2 and restrict default execution roles.
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China AI Lab Manus Raises Over $500 Million in First Funding After Meta Split
The funding round establishes financial independence for Manus after Chinese regulators forced the startup to abandon a $2 billion acquisition by Meta.
• Butterfly Effect announced that Manus raised over $500 million in its first funding round since a failed acquisition by Meta.
• Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round, with participation from Tencent, HSG, ZhenFund, and other existing shareholders.
• Chinese authorities previously ordered Manus to unwind the $2 billion Meta deal in April amid talent retention concerns.
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The funding round establishes financial independence for Manus after Chinese regulators forced the startup to abandon a $2 billion acquisition by Meta.
• Butterfly Effect announced that Manus raised over $500 million in its first funding round since a failed acquisition by Meta.
• Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round, with participation from Tencent, HSG, ZhenFund, and other existing shareholders.
• Chinese authorities previously ordered Manus to unwind the $2 billion Meta deal in April amid talent retention concerns.
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Waymo secures a $5 billion loan to fund robotaxi expansion
The $5 billion loan provides Waymo with financial flexibility to scale its robotaxi business as it expands into international markets and faces federal safety scrutiny.
• Waymo closed its first debt financing with a $5 billion loan from lenders including PIMCO and Blackstone.
• The Alphabet subsidiary will use the funds to scale its commercial robotaxi operations in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
• Federal safety regulators are investigating Waymo following incidents involving school buses and a collision with a child.
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The $5 billion loan provides Waymo with financial flexibility to scale its robotaxi business as it expands into international markets and faces federal safety scrutiny.
• Waymo closed its first debt financing with a $5 billion loan from lenders including PIMCO and Blackstone.
• The Alphabet subsidiary will use the funds to scale its commercial robotaxi operations in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
• Federal safety regulators are investigating Waymo following incidents involving school buses and a collision with a child.
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Uber and Pony.ai Plan Robotaxi Testing and Launch in London
This partnership expands Uber's multi-partner robotaxi strategy into London as the company works toward offering autonomous vehicle trips in up to 15 global cities by the end of 2026.
• Uber and Pony.ai plan to begin testing Gen-7 robotaxis in London in the coming weeks.
• The London service is part of an expanded European partnership aiming to deploy 2,000 robotaxis.
• Uber expects to offer autonomous vehicle trips in up to 15 global cities by the end of 2026.
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This partnership expands Uber's multi-partner robotaxi strategy into London as the company works toward offering autonomous vehicle trips in up to 15 global cities by the end of 2026.
• Uber and Pony.ai plan to begin testing Gen-7 robotaxis in London in the coming weeks.
• The London service is part of an expanded European partnership aiming to deploy 2,000 robotaxis.
• Uber expects to offer autonomous vehicle trips in up to 15 global cities by the end of 2026.
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JetBrains releases Mellum2.1 for coding agents
JetBrains says Mellum2.1 can handle repository tasks while running locally or on a developer’s own infrastructure.
• JetBrains released Mellum2.1, an open model for coding agents, on Hugging Face.
• The company says new training helps it explore repositories, edit files and check changes.
• JetBrains reports coding and speed gains; GGUF builds and a multi-token prediction head are coming soon.
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JetBrains says Mellum2.1 can handle repository tasks while running locally or on a developer’s own infrastructure.
• JetBrains released Mellum2.1, an open model for coding agents, on Hugging Face.
• The company says new training helps it explore repositories, edit files and check changes.
• JetBrains reports coding and speed gains; GGUF builds and a multi-token prediction head are coming soon.
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Amazon introduces open-source Physical AI Toolchain on AWS
Amazon says the open-source stack gives builders tools to train, test and deploy AI for industrial machines, autonomous mobility and humanoid robots.
• Amazon introduced the open-source Physical AI Toolchain on AWS for building intelligent machines.
• It combines synthetic data, model training, simulation, deployment to machines and feedback from deployed machines.
• Amazon says the stack uses AWS services and NVIDIA tools for industrial automation, autonomous mobility and humanoid robotics.
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Amazon says the open-source stack gives builders tools to train, test and deploy AI for industrial machines, autonomous mobility and humanoid robots.
• Amazon introduced the open-source Physical AI Toolchain on AWS for building intelligent machines.
• It combines synthetic data, model training, simulation, deployment to machines and feedback from deployed machines.
• Amazon says the stack uses AWS services and NVIDIA tools for industrial automation, autonomous mobility and humanoid robotics.
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GlobalFoundries and TSMC Ink $2B Deal for US Interposer Production
The partnership addresses a major domestic supply chain bottleneck for advanced semiconductors used in AI datacenters.
• GlobalFoundries and TSMC announced a $2 billion partnership on Thursday to build silicon interposers in New York.
• GlobalFoundries will produce interposers for TSMC CoWoS advanced packaging at its Malta fab site.
• Volume production will begin in the first half of 2028 at the earliest under a five-year agreement.
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The partnership addresses a major domestic supply chain bottleneck for advanced semiconductors used in AI datacenters.
• GlobalFoundries and TSMC announced a $2 billion partnership on Thursday to build silicon interposers in New York.
• GlobalFoundries will produce interposers for TSMC CoWoS advanced packaging at its Malta fab site.
• Volume production will begin in the first half of 2028 at the earliest under a five-year agreement.
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Anthropic launches free vulnerability scanner for eligible open-source projects
Eligible maintainers can receive vulnerability findings sooner, though Anthropic says the unreviewed reports may contain errors.
• Anthropic has launched free, opt-in OSS Scanner scans for eligible open-source projects.
• Reports are model-generated and sent without human review, so some findings may be invalid.
• Core maintainers can apply through Anthropic’s GitHub repository; eligibility is decided case by case.
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Eligible maintainers can receive vulnerability findings sooner, though Anthropic says the unreviewed reports may contain errors.
• Anthropic has launched free, opt-in OSS Scanner scans for eligible open-source projects.
• Reports are model-generated and sent without human review, so some findings may be invalid.
• Core maintainers can apply through Anthropic’s GitHub repository; eligibility is decided case by case.
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Anthropic Adds Beta Dashboards and Motion Features to Claude
The new features expand Claude into live data visualization and video creation, backed by strong user traction.
• Anthropic launched two new beta features for Claude named Dashboards and Motion.
• Dashboards links data sources to live dashboards and Motion builds animated videos.
• Docs, Slides, and Design left beta and now work across all user plans.
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The new features expand Claude into live data visualization and video creation, backed by strong user traction.
• Anthropic launched two new beta features for Claude named Dashboards and Motion.
• Dashboards links data sources to live dashboards and Motion builds animated videos.
• Docs, Slides, and Design left beta and now work across all user plans.
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AI Leaderboard Platform Arena Raises $200 Million at $3.1 Billion Valuation
The funding highlights the growing demand for independent AI evaluation platforms as labs and enterprises seek reliable alternatives to standard benchmarks.
• Arena raised a $200 million Series B round at a $3.1 billion valuation.
• The funding follows the company reaching $100 million in annualized run-rate revenue in June.
• Lightspeed Venture Partners and Khosla Ventures led the new investment round.
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The funding highlights the growing demand for independent AI evaluation platforms as labs and enterprises seek reliable alternatives to standard benchmarks.
• Arena raised a $200 million Series B round at a $3.1 billion valuation.
• The funding follows the company reaching $100 million in annualized run-rate revenue in June.
• Lightspeed Venture Partners and Khosla Ventures led the new investment round.
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Goodfire Launches Inside-Out AI Monitors to Catch Rogue Agents
This approach provides a significantly cheaper way to monitor AI agents for dangerous behaviors like hacking and weapons misuse during operation.
• Goodfire launched monitors that check internal AI model signals instead of reading all output text.
• In tests, monitoring 1 million exchanges cost roughly 185 dollars and caught 93 percent of malicious hacks.
• The monitors add less than 2 percent to response start times while operating on Baseten.
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This approach provides a significantly cheaper way to monitor AI agents for dangerous behaviors like hacking and weapons misuse during operation.
• Goodfire launched monitors that check internal AI model signals instead of reading all output text.
• In tests, monitoring 1 million exchanges cost roughly 185 dollars and caught 93 percent of malicious hacks.
• The monitors add less than 2 percent to response start times while operating on Baseten.
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Anthropic Launches Free AI Security Scans for Open-Source Projects
Free AI security scans give open-source projects powerful defense tools, but they also risk overwhelming maintainers with unvetted automated bug reports.
• Anthropic launched OSS Scanner to provide free security checks for open-source projects.
• The scans run entirely on AI models without human review, which may cause invalid reports.
• Open-source maintainers are currently dealing with an influx of AI-generated bug reports.
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Free AI security scans give open-source projects powerful defense tools, but they also risk overwhelming maintainers with unvetted automated bug reports.
• Anthropic launched OSS Scanner to provide free security checks for open-source projects.
• The scans run entirely on AI models without human review, which may cause invalid reports.
• Open-source maintainers are currently dealing with an influx of AI-generated bug reports.
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GitHub rebuilds Git storage architecture from scratch to handle AI traffic surge
The new storage architecture aims to restore service reliability and handle massive traffic surges from AI agents without disrupting developer workflows.
• GitHub is rebuilding its Git storage architecture from scratch to handle traffic spikes from AI agents.
• Early internal tests of the new architecture show a 35x write improvement.
• The new design writes commits to Azure Blob Storage and separates read requests to eliminate bottlenecks.
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The new storage architecture aims to restore service reliability and handle massive traffic surges from AI agents without disrupting developer workflows.
• GitHub is rebuilding its Git storage architecture from scratch to handle traffic spikes from AI agents.
• Early internal tests of the new architecture show a 35x write improvement.
• The new design writes commits to Azure Blob Storage and separates read requests to eliminate bottlenecks.
Read more
GitHub rebuilds Git storage architecture from scratch to handle AI traffic surge
The new storage architecture aims to restore service reliability and handle massive traffic surges from AI agents without disrupting developer workflows.
• GitHub is rebuilding its Git storage architecture from scratch to handle traffic spikes from AI agents.
• Early internal tests of the new architecture show a 35x write improvement.
• The new design writes commits to Azure Blob Storage and separates read requests to eliminate bottlenecks.
Read more
The new storage architecture aims to restore service reliability and handle massive traffic surges from AI agents without disrupting developer workflows.
• GitHub is rebuilding its Git storage architecture from scratch to handle traffic spikes from AI agents.
• Early internal tests of the new architecture show a 35x write improvement.
• The new design writes commits to Azure Blob Storage and separates read requests to eliminate bottlenecks.
Read more
US Navy Adds $150M in Funding for Runway-Independent X-BAT Fighter Drone
The X-BAT could allow the US Navy to operate combat aircraft from a wider variety of vessels without needing traditional runways or giant carriers.
• The US Navy committed an additional $150 million to advance the X-BAT drone project.
• Shield AI matched this with $150 million of its own capital, bringing total combined funding to $400 million.
• Flight testing for the runway-independent aircraft is scheduled to begin later this year.
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The X-BAT could allow the US Navy to operate combat aircraft from a wider variety of vessels without needing traditional runways or giant carriers.
• The US Navy committed an additional $150 million to advance the X-BAT drone project.
• Shield AI matched this with $150 million of its own capital, bringing total combined funding to $400 million.
• Flight testing for the runway-independent aircraft is scheduled to begin later this year.
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