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As Anthropic Entertains Offers At $900 Billion Valuation, OpenAI CFO Swears There's A 'Vertical Wall Of Demand'

Anyone that's ever spent serious time with Anthropic's Claude - particularly after being a GPT user - can understand why the Trump administration just did a major about-face after a Pentagon spat led to the company's blacklisting as a "supply chain risk." 

Two months after the Pentagon moved to several all ties with the AI wunderkind, the National Security Agency (NSA), which falls under DoW, had to have access to Anthropic's 'Mythos' model - the company's most powerful model to date - which according to internal warnings could “hack every major system." And of course, Treasury has to have it too. 

So they've got a public-facing Claude that kicks GPT ass at workflow tasks and provides valuable insights (try spinning up multiple Claudes at once, assigning them jobs, and having them talk...), and a scary private ZeroCool level hacker Claude (Mythos) that the government is scrambling to get their hands on - while the Pentagon is standing around holding their dick after that "supply chain" tantrum. No wonder Anthropic was willing to call their bluff. 

Don't sleep on them though...

Same guy who allegedly laundered payments to Stefan Halper as part of the illegal operation to spy on and take down President Trump? Interesting choice. https://t.co/Yiou3VruYm

— Ezra A. Cohen (@EzraACohen) May 1, 2026

Anyhow - roughly a week after Bloomberg reported that Google committed to invest $10 billion - and Amazon $5 billion - at a $350 billion valuation, the outlet now reports that Anthropic is entertaining offers from investors at more than $900 billion. 

Anthropic had previously resisted several inbound proposals from investors for a new round at a valuation of $800 billion or more, Bloomberg News has reported.

The new discussions, which have not been reported, coincide with a push by Anthropic to ramp up fundraising amid the breakout success of its AI software. Anthropic, which Bloomberg has reported is considering an initial public offering as soon as October, has been on the hunt for more infrastructure to meet growing demand for its products. -Bloomberg

So things are going well for CEO Dario Amodei and crew. 

Meanwhile Live look a Sam Altman

On the other side of the AI race, OpenAI is pushing back on concerns about missing internal targets. 

In a Thursday interview with Bloomberg, CFO Sarah Friar insisted that was a nothingburger, and that there's a "vertical wall of demand" for their products.

"We feel like we’re beating our plan at the highest level," she said. "How we get there often moves around period to period, because this is still a young business that is not perfectly forecastable across every single metric."

Friar acknowledged that the company has ambitious internal “stretch goals” that can be different than the ones it shares publicly. But the popularity of OpenAI’s products continues to grow, she said. This month, OpenAI said its coding agent Codex hit 4 million weekly users — up from 3 million two weeks earlier.

“Every company I’ve ever been inside of in my entire CFO life, and as an analyst, always has stretch goals — always,” she said. “And if you don’t have those stretch goals, I feel like, actually, you’re not doing your job as a CFO.”

Friar has held various positions at companies including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Salesforce Inc., Nextdoor Holdings Inc. and Square Inc., now known as Block Inc. -Bloomberg

On Tuesday, the WSJ reported that OpenAI missed its own targets for both new users and revenue, - after which Sarah Friar reportedly told other company leaders that she is worried the company might not be able to pay for future computing contracts if revenue doesn’t grow fast enough. In other words, that $1.5 trillion OpenAI had pledged to spend on various data centers, GPUs and memory chips... you can kiss all that goodbye.

So, Thursday was damage control for Tuesday, and Anthropic is the homecoming queen.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/01/2026 - 14:20

Top US General Signals Russia Is Helping Iran In War

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

The highest-ranking U.S. general on Thursday signaled that the Russian government is assisting the Iranian regime in its war with the United States.

In comments before Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Dan Caine, the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, responded in an affirmative manner to a question from the panel’s chairman, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Ala.), about whether there is Russian involvement.

“General Caine, there’s no question that Vladimir Putin’s Russia is taking serious action to undermine our efforts for success in Iran. Is there any question about that?” Wicker asked the general.

Without going into detail, Caine said, “I think there’s actions and activities. [I’m] mindful of the hearing room we’re in, but there’s, there’s, there’s definitely some action there."

Meanwhile, Iran’s regime said on Thursday it would respond with attacks on U.S. military positions if Washington renewed attacks on the country in the midst of a ceasefire and a U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports. The country’s leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said in a statement through state-run media that it would assert control over the Strait of Hormuz, which could complicate plans to reopen the key waterway.

Any U.S. attack on Iran, even if limited, will usher in “long and painful strikes” on America’s regional positions, a senior Revolutionary Guards ​official said. “We’ve seen what happened to your regional bases, we will see the same thing happen to your warships,” Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi was quoted by Iranian media as saying.

Earlier this week, Iran’s foreign minister traveled to Russia to meet with Putin. “As you can see, we have always had close consultations with Russia and have had continuous and bilateral consultations on a wide range of issues, especially regional issues,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a Telegram post on April 27.

As for Beijing’s support of Tehran, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he believes the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) influence is limited. The CCP has long done business with the clerical regime that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution.

“I think maybe helping, but I don’t think much,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News on April 26 when he was asked about any Chinese aid to Iran. “I think China could have been much worse than they’ve been, so I don’t consider them having been very bad.”

Oil prices have sharply increased since the war began on Feb. 28, driving inflation and sending pump prices to painful levels ​worldwide. Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that if the disruption caused by the closure dragged on through mid-year, global growth would fall, inflation would rise, and tens of millions more people would be pushed into ​poverty and extreme hunger.

“The longer this vital artery is choked, the harder it will be to reverse the damage,” he told reporters in New York on Thursday.

Inside the United States, the price for a gallon of regular gasoline nationwide reached $4.30, according to the American Automotive Association (AAA). Data from the organization show that a gallon of diesel reached $5.49.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/01/2026 - 14:00

Unsubscribe from unwanted emails in bulk and manage multiple accounts in one place

She's back in the cyclist's seat.

When most NYC couples get married, their wedding does not shut down Manhattan’s iconic Fifth Avenue. 

The Archdiocese of New York has offered $800 million to settle claims that priests and lay staff sexually abused children — as Catholic church leaders warn of bankruptcy if the settlement isn't accepted.

The couple packed on the PDA at the three-day music festival.

The couple packed on the PDA at the three-day music festival.

In the midst of a Knicks beatdown, Mitchell Robinson wanted to administer one of his own.

Soto claimed that in April 2025 she "wrote a long letter" to Jenner detailing the harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

Soto claimed that in April 2025 she "wrote a long letter" to Jenner detailing the harassment, discrimination and retaliation.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused unprecedented disruption to energy markets, choking off 20% of the world's oil and gas supplies and causing a record rally in oil prices.

Bryson Kernan Clark allegedly took his community-building initiative a step too far, according to a new lawsuit.

During CNN’s “NewsNight with Abby Phillip” Thursday, the pair got into a heated argument over the duration of the war, which broke out Feb. 28 after joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

*Tails wag vigorously*

David Stearns finally addressed the status of manager Carlos Mendoza, whose job has been the subject of questions for weeks.

President Trump said Friday that he would consider appointing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to a cabinet position next year.

The coach is charged with third-degree assault and risk of injury to a child.

Robot Dives 1.5 Miles, Maps French Shipwreck With 86,000 Images And Recovers Artifacts

Authored by Neetika Walter via Interesting Engineering,

A remotely operated robot has retrieved artifacts from a 16th-century shipwreck more than 1.5 miles beneath the Mediterranean, offering a glimpse into how precision deep-sea robotics is transforming underwater exploration. Guided from a support vessel above, the system used camera-fed navigation and robotic pincers to maneuver across fragile debris fields, capture high-resolution imagery, and recover centuries-old objects without disturbing the surrounding site.

ROV C 4000 remotely operated vehicle designed for deep-sea missions up to 2.5 miles.Thibaud MORITZ / AFP via Getty Images

The mission, led by the French Navy and underwater archaeologists, centers on a wreck known as Camarat 4, discovered during a routine seabed survey. The site lies at extreme depth, where pressure, darkness, and limited access make human intervention impossible.

Operators control the robot through a tethered system, watching live video feeds as it descends for nearly an hour before reaching the seafloor. Once in position, the robot scans the wreck, hovering carefully over scattered cargo and structural remains.

Archaeologists say they discovered by chance what they say are the remains of a 16th-century merchant ship more than 1.5 miles underwater off southern France. National Navy via France's Department of Underwater and Submarine Archaeological Research

According to the CBS News, the vehicle captures thousands of images while navigating tight spaces, helping researchers document the site without physically disturbing it.

At depths exceeding 1.5 miles, the robot operates under extreme pressure of nearly 150 atmospheres, where conventional equipment would fail. Its reinforced structure, stable tether system, and precision controls allow it to function reliably in near-freezing, low-light conditions.

Precision at extreme depth

“You have to be extremely precise so as not to damage the site, so as not to stir up sediment,” a French navy officer said.

That precision is critical. At such depths, even minor disturbances can obscure visibility and damage artifacts that have remained intact for centuries. The robot’s manipulators are designed to operate with minimal force, allowing it to lift fragile objects like ceramic jugs without breakage.

This photograph shows a view of a ceramic jug, recovered from the wreck of the CAMARAT 4, during its analysis at the DRASSM laboratory in Marseille on April 16, 2026. 

The system also records up to eight images per second, generating tens of thousands of visuals during a single mission. These images are later used to construct detailed 3D models of the wreck, enabling researchers to study it remotely.

“The visibility is excellent. You almost can’t tell it’s so deep,” archaeologist Franca Cibecchini said, highlighting the clarity achieved during the operation.

Mapping the unseen world

The wreck is believed to be a merchant vessel that once carried ceramics and metal cargo across Mediterranean trade routes. Archaeologists say such discoveries are rare, particularly at this depth.

“We don’t have very detailed texts about merchant ships in the 16th century, so this is a valuable source of information on maritime history,” lead archaeologist Marine Sadania said.

In addition to historical insights, the mission showcases how robotics is expanding the boundaries of exploration. The robot’s ability to revisit the site, capture data, and retrieve objects with minimal disruption marks a shift toward non-invasive underwater archaeology.

“It’s one of the deepest objects ever recovered from a wreck in France,” Sadania told AFP, referring to one of the ceramic finds brought to the surface.

As deep-sea robotics continues to evolve, such systems are expected to play a larger role not only in archaeology but also in subsea inspection, resource mapping, and environmental monitoring.

Tyler Durden Fri, 05/01/2026 - 13:20

Collaborations? For a highly-anticipated movie premiere? Groundbreaking.