October 03, 2026: Mixed Signals For Tech Investors

Last week, Nasdaq composite was flattish, gaining 0.45%, despite briefly hitting a record high Friday. S&P 500, lost 0.3%, Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.3%. Anthropic’s confidential IPO prospectus, showed two customers generating nearly a quarter of 2025 revenue of US$4.6 billion, a US$42 billion net loss (about US$34 billion from a funding-related accounting charge), up to US$84.5 billion in SpaceX compute agreements through 2029, and at least US$518 billion of planned infrastructure spending over ten years. OpenAI is nearing US$70 billion in annualized revenue and is in early talks to raise US$30 billion at a ~US$1.4 trillion valuation. Nvidia and SoftBank each funded their final US$10 billion from the March round. OpenAI also shelved GPT-6.1 Astra after it underperformed on safety tests. Google launched Gemini 4 Argon at US$2/US$10 per million input/output tokens, well below rivals. Meta’s Muse passed 3 million weekly prompting users and added small-business integrations. Micron’s revenue nearly quintupled to US$54.2 billion, with US$33 billion of free cash flow. Nvidia added US$150 billion to its buyback, the largest increase in history. Accenture rose ~16% on a fiscal Q4 beat. At the same time, SocGen, SMBC and MUFG turned more selective on data centre loans. Accelevation priced its US$540 million IPO at US$18, below its US$20-24 range, and traded lower. Oura postponed its IPO. Sharon AI secured a US$356 million GPU-backed loan at 9.95%. In Canada, BRC Group agreed to acquire Sangoma at a ~US$204 million enterprise value (US$5.225 per share, a ~47% premium), Quantum eMotion agreed to acquire Plurilock for ~C$33.8 million (C$0.28 per share, a ~100% premium). WELL Health’s software spin-out Wellstar began trading on the TSXV. In news pertaining to Sophic clients, Juno Industries unveiled its GUARDIAN SYSTEM and LOGAN PLATFORM, was accepted into the Defence Drone Initiative, and expects its qualifying transaction with Trail Blazer to close with TSXV trading in October. Hybrid Power Solutions received a 20-unit Batt Pack Pro order for U.S. Air Force use and reported Q4 revenue of $886,333, up 707% year-over-year, with a $19.3 million pipeline. 01 Quantum was issued a U.S. patent for its secure AI technology. PCI Geomatics shareholders approved Intermap’s acquisition, expected to close mid-October.

Sophic Client Juno Industries (Private) unveils GUARDIAN SYSTEM and LOGAN PLATFORM.

Juno Industries, announced GUARDIAN SYSTEM™ (“GUARDIAN”) and LOGAN PLATFORM™ (“LOGAN”). Built by Juno Industries, GUARDIAN and LOGAN are designed to maximize operational effectiveness at every level, from the tactical edge to strategic decision-making. GUARDIAN SYSTEM™ – Edge Sensor Mesh Technology. GUARDIAN is a unified situational awareness and threat detection system composed of integrated hardware and software components, including proprietary sensor nodes to collect data, edge computing nodes to process data in the field, and the Company’s flagship software system, the LOGAN PLATFORM™ to aggregate, fuse and display the data. Developed to replace traditional awareness systems, GUARDIAN: Operates fully disconnected and independent of GPS, Delivers immediate local data processing, Can detect, diagnose, and remedy communication errors in real-time without human intervention, Designed for deployments across large, remote operating environments including the front lines, borders, and the Arctic. By automating the processing of sensor data, GUARDIAN improves the speed and accuracy of decision to action cycles. An earlier version of GUARDIAN was tested by the Canadian Armed Forces. LOGAN PLATFORM™ – The Software Powering Our Systems. Interoperable by design, LOGAN is a central component to the GUARDIAN SYSTEM, delivering deep intelligence to end users by ingesting and fusing data from systems, sensors, and effectors across domains to create a single, cohesive common operating picture displayed through a highly intuitive interface. In addition to acting as a central component to GUARDIAN, LOGAN is a standalone software platform that can easily integrate with existing command and control systems and enables critical decision making across echelons, domains, and modalities. “LOGAN aims to become the preeminent sovereign data and decision-making platform for modern military and government operations, within the emerging pan-domain environment, delivering situational awareness, operational resilience, and unified intelligence with the end user in mind,” said Dylan Neid, Head of Engineering. “The presentation, quality, and depth of information is equally important as the use of it,” said Hunter Scharfe, CEO of Juno Industries. “Prompt action is contingent on knowing the facts and today, in a world where the threat landscape is continuously evolving, the reliable delivery of critical information needs to be a certainty. That’s why we built LOGAN and GUARDIAN, technologies that are highly adaptable, infinitely scalable, resilient, and that equip personnel for the modern battlefield,” continued Hunter Scharfe, CEO and co-founder of Juno Industries. Both GUARDIAN and LOGAN have completed foundational research and development and beta field-testing, and are in the pre-commercialization stage. Acceptance into Defence Drone Initiative. Juno Industries has been accepted into the Defence Investment Agency’s Defence Drone Initiative, designed to “accelerate the development, testing, adaptation, and production of uncrewed and autonomous systems for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).” https://tinyurl.com/mbnsjx78

Trail Blazer and Sophic Client Juno Industries (Private) provide update on Qualifying Transaction.

Trail Blazer Capital Corp., a capital pool company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the “Exchange” or the “TSXV”), and Juno Industries Inc., a Canadian defence technology company, are pleased to provide an update with respect to their proposed qualifying transaction (the “Proposed Transaction”) and a corporate update regarding Juno Industries’ business, as previously disclosed in Trail Blazer’s news releases dated March 25, 2026, April 2, 2026, and May 1, 2026, and Juno Industries’ news releases dated March 27, 2026, May 1, 2026, and September 16, 2026. Trail Blazer following the completion of the Proposed Transaction is referred to as the “Resulting Issuer”. Transaction Update. Trail Blazer is pleased to report continued progress toward the completion of the Proposed Transaction. Trail Blazer held its annual general and special meeting of shareholders on June 5, 2026, and Juno Industries held its special meeting of shareholders on August 5, 2026, at which the requisite approvals in connection with the Proposed Transaction were obtained. Trail Blazer and Juno Industries are currently finalizing the filing statement in respect of the Proposed Transaction, which is expected to be filed with the TSXV upon receipt of conditional listing approval from the TSXV. Subject to the satisfaction of all remaining conditions, including receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, Trail Blazer and Juno Industries expect to complete the Proposed Transaction, with the shares of the Resulting Issuer expected to commence trading on the TSXV in October 2026. Trail Blazer and Juno Industries have entered into an Amending Agreement to the Amalgamation Agreement, extending the outside date for the completion of the Proposed Transaction to October 31, 2026. Juno Industries Business Update. Juno Industries is a Canadian defence technology company that designs, tests, and commercializes military and dual-use products. Juno Industries was established to modernize the Canadian Armed Forces (the “CAF”) and allied militaries through intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (“ISR”) capability, combining artificial intelligence and sensor systems into advanced situational awareness and threat detection technology. Juno Industries’ business activities to date have been primarily focussed on the development of the GUARDIAN SYSTEM™ (“GUARDIAN”), an edge sensor mesh technology, and the LOGAN PLATFORM™ (“LOGAN”), the software powering Juno Industries’ systems and a key component of GUARDIAN. GUARDIAN SYSTEM™. GUARDIAN is a unified situational awareness and threat detection system composed of integrated hardware and software components, including proprietary sensor nodes to collect data, edge computing nodes to process data in the field, and Juno Industries’ flagship software system, the LOGAN to aggregate, fuse and display the data. Developed to replace traditional awareness systems, GUARDIAN: Operates fully disconnected and independent of GPS, Delivers immediate local data processing, Can detect, diagnose, and remedy communication errors in real-time without human intervention, Designed for deployments across large, remote operating environments including the front lines, borders, and the Arctic. By automating the processing of sensor data, GUARDIAN improves the speed and accuracy of decision to action cycles. An earlier version of GUARDIAN was tested by the CAF. LOGAN PLATFORM™. Interoperable by design, LOGAN is a central component to GUARDIAN, delivering deep intelligence to end users by ingesting and fusing data from systems, sensors, and effectors across domains to create a single, cohesive common operating picture displayed through a highly intuitive interface. In addition to acting as a central component to GUARDIAN, LOGAN is a standalone software platform that can easily integrate with existing command and control systems and enables critical decision making across echelons, domains, and modalities. Both GUARDIAN and LOGAN have completed foundational research and development and beta field-testing, and are in the pre-commercialization stage. The GUARDIAN SYSTEM was formerly known as the “Spectre Platform” and the LOGAN PLATFORM was formerly known as “Spectre AI.” Joint Venture with Critical Infrastructure Technologies Ltd. As previously announced, Juno Industries has entered into the Joint Venture Agreement dated March 24, 2026 (the “JV Agreement”) with Critical Infrastructure Technologies Ltd. (“CiTech”) to co-develop and commercialize CiTech’s proprietary surveillance platform, the “Nexus Platform”, to be branded “Polar Nexus”. The Polar Nexus serves as a standalone or complementary hardware component to the GUARDIAN SYSTEM for use in the Arctic and other harsh-condition environments. The joint venture will be conducted through a joint venture corporation, to be incorporated under the laws of British Columbia following the completion of the Proposed Transaction, subject to TSXV approval, with Juno Industries and CiTech each holding a fifty percent (50%) interest. The GUARDIAN SYSTEM currently comprises four principal components, the LOGAN PLATFORM, Scout, Argus, and Nexus. Polar Nexus is a potential fifth component that is the least developed and has not yet been field tested. Neither Polar Nexus, nor the joint venture with CiTech in accordance with the JV Agreement, are Juno Industries’ primary business or the primary asset used to carry on Juno Industries’ business. If the JV Agreement was terminated or if Polar Nexus failed to perform, Juno Industries’ operational viability and hardware execution would be unaffected. Corporate Update. Juno Industries’ team has grown to over 30 people across defence and security, technology, and government relations. Notably, Mr. Claude Rochette and Mr. Alnesh Mohan, the current CEO and a director of Trail Blazer, have agreed to join Hon. Harjit S. Sajjan, Hunter Scharfe and Stephen Kukucha on the Board of Directors of the Resulting Issuer following the completion of the Proposed Transaction. Additional details on each of the proposed directors is included in Trail Blazer’s Information Circular dated May 1, 2026. Financial Position. Juno Industries has raised approximately CAD$15,500,000 to date across two offerings, welcoming new Canadian institutional, VC, and individual investors. Upon completion of the Proposed Transaction, the Resulting Issuer is expected to have approximately CAD$11,991,921 in available funds. https://tinyurl.com/55a28vee

Sophic Client Hybrid Power Solutions (HPSS-CSE, HPSIF-OTC) receives Purchase Order for 20 Batt Pack Pro units for U.S. Air Force.

Hybrid Power received a purchase order for twenty (20) Batt Pack Pro units through its long-time distribution partner, Military Battery Systems Inc. (“Military Battery”). The units are intended for use by the United States Air Force in applications requiring portable, fuel-free power where conventional grid or generator power is unavailable or undesirable. This purchase order follows prior Hybrid Batt Pack orders supporting U.S. Air Force–related programs that were facilitated through Military Battery and previously disclosed by the Company. Based on ongoing discussions with Military Battery and related defence customers, the Company believes there is potential for additional orders as field use continues. Any follow-on orders remain subject to customer requirements, budgeting, contracting, and delivery capacity. This is the 9th order received through Military Battery since August 2024. “Receiving a twenty-unit Batt Pack Pro purchase order through Military Battery for U.S. Air Force use underscores the role of silent, fuel-free portable power in mission-ready field operations with exacting specifications,” said Francois Byrne, CEO and Director of Hybrid Power Solutions. “We value our long-standing relationship with Military Battery and remain focused on supporting defence and industrial customers with Canadian-made portable power as demand evolves.” Sweden Battery Value Chain Canadian Technology Accelerator. Hybrid is also participating in the Sweden Battery Value Chain Special Edition Canadian Technology Accelerator (“CTA”), a program of the Government of Canada’s Trade Commissioner Service. The CTA is designed to help Canadian battery and battery supply-chain companies explore opportunities in Sweden, tailored for operations in low temperature deployments through market intelligence, mentorship, networking, and in-market engagement with Sweden’s battery innovation ecosystem. As part of the program, the CTA will arrange meetings for Hybrid with defence contractors, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and equipment rental houses to support the Company’s continued expansion into Europe. Participation is intended to support Hybrid’s longer-term international growth objectives alongside its North American defence and industrial channels. Annual Smallcap Discoveries Conference. Hybrid will present at the Annual Smallcap Discoveries Conference 2026, hosted by Smallcap Discoveries and taking place September 28 and 29, 2026 at the JW Marriott Parq in Vancouver, British Columbia. Francois Byrne, CEO and Director, will deliver a corporate presentation on Monday, September 28, 2026 at 11:30 a.m. PT and will also be available for one-on-one meetings with investors during the conference. https://t.co/qri4Z2ZSSn

Sophic Client Hybrid Power Solutions (HPSS-CSE, HPSIF-OTC) reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2026 financial results.

Hybrid Power announced its financial results for the fourth quarter (three months ended May 31, 2026) and the fiscal year ended May 31, 2026 (“fiscal 2026”). Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Highlights (three months ended May 31, 2026): Revenue of $886,333, up 707% from $109,846 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 and up 82% from $488,308 in the third quarter of fiscal 2026. Product revenue rose to $878,183 from $101,696 a year earlier on higher sales volumes, including sales of the Terra battery pack and new Spark systems. Gross loss of $65,225, compared with a gross loss of $446,387 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. The improvement reflects higher sales volumes spreading fixed production costs over a larger revenue base, and the absence of the inventory write-off recorded in the prior-year period. Operating expenses of $536,771, compared with $186,594 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. The prior-year quarter included a share-based compensation recovery of $664,428 from the cancellation of the CEO’s share-based compensation, while the current quarter included a net research and development recovery of $206,063 as costs relating to Terra production were reallocated to cost of sales. Net loss of $369,467 ($0.00 per share), a 27% improvement from a net loss of $506,523 ($0.01 per share) in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, and a 52% improvement from a net loss of $762,027 in the third quarter of fiscal 2026. Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Highlights (year ended May 31, 2026): Revenue of $1,953,011, compared with $2,801,100 for fiscal 2025, a decrease of 30%, reflecting lower sales volumes in the first half of the year before the second-half recovery. Gross profit of $70,526, a gross margin of 3.6%, compared with gross profit of $307,426 and a gross margin of 11.0% for fiscal 2025. The lower margin was mainly due to the transfer of $248,819 of research and development costs to cost of sales. Operating expenses of $2,759,157, down 15% from $3,254,599 for fiscal 2025, mainly from lower advertising expense (down $300,761) and professional fees (down $201,879). Net loss of $2,631,007 ($0.03 per share), a 10% improvement from a net loss of $2,928,841 ($0.04 per share) for fiscal 2025. Cash of $234,500 as at May 31, 2026, compared with $62,997 at May 31, 2025, and a working capital deficiency of $1,853,561 (May 31, 2025: $1,373,353). Net cash provided by financing activities was $2,670,881, including the $500,000 convertible debenture financing and the $1,079,925 LIFE offering. Subsequent to fiscal year end, the Company closed non-brokered private placements of 33,940,000 units for gross proceeds of $1,697,000 on June 10, 2026 and 12,350,000 units for gross proceeds of $617,500 on September 18, 2026, in each case at a price of $0.05 per unit. Pipeline and Outlook: As of September 22, 2026, the Company’s sales pipeline totalled approximately $19.3 million, covering expected opportunities from October 2026 to September 2028. The pipeline comprises approximately $1.5 million in booked backlog and approximately $17.8 million in active, quoted opportunities. This represents an increase from the pipeline of $12.5 million in active, quoted opportunities disclosed in the Company’s news release dated June 18, 2026. https://tinyurl.com/3f7xxype

Sophic Client 01 Quantum Inc (ONE-TSXV, OONEF-OTCQB) awarded U.S. Patent #12,744,764 for Quantum-Safe Secure AI technology.

01 Quantum announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has issued U.S. Patent No. 12,744,764 B1, titled “Secure AI Operations,” covering technology underlying the Company’s secure AI solutions. The patent protects a system and methods designed to enable secure AI operations using computation-preserving cryptography (“CPC”). The patented technology enables sensitive user data to be encrypted before being submitted to an AI model, processed while remaining encrypted, and returned to the user as an encrypted prediction or result. The technology is designed to protect both sensitive user data and proprietary AI models throughout the AI inference process. The patent also covers applications involving a secure AI model marketplace, where AI model users and AI model vendors can interact while maintaining cryptographic protection over sensitive data and proprietary model intellectual property. This architecture is particularly relevant for organizations operating in data-sensitive environments where conventional AI deployment can create concerns surrounding data privacy, model security and confidentiality. The issuance follows the Company’s May 5, 2026 announcement that the USPTO had issued a Notice of Allowance for the patent application. 01 Quantum’s secure AI technology is being developed to address the security and privacy requirements associated with the growing use of AI in sensitive and mission-critical applications. The Company recently announced that it will showcase quantum-safe encrypted AI analytics at GCXpo 2026 hosted by Area X.O and operated by Invest Ottawa, in partnership with government and industry stakeholders, including encrypted-prompt inference for image recognition, secure data sharing and anomaly detection. The newly issued patent complements 01 Quantum’s existing intellectual property portfolio and advances the Company’s strategy of developing patent-protected technologies designed to secure data, communications and AI applications for the post-quantum era. Andrew Cheung, CEO of 01 Quantum, stated, “The issuance of this patent represents an important milestone for 01 Quantum and further strengthens the intellectual property foundation supporting our secure AI strategy. As AI becomes increasingly embedded in mission-critical environments, organizations require the ability to benefit from AI without exposing their most sensitive information or proprietary models. Our technology is designed to enable AI inference while keeping sensitive data encrypted throughout the process.” Mr. Cheung continued, “We believe this capability has significant potential across enterprise, government and defence applications where data sovereignty, confidentiality and security are paramount. With the patent now formally issued, we have further strengthened the protection around technology that is becoming an increasingly important component of our commercialization strategy.” https://tinyurl.com/nh976jt6

Sophic Client Intermap (IMP-TSX, ITMSF-OTC) announces PCI shareholder approval of acquisition.

Intermap announced that shareholders (“PCI Shareholders”) of PCI Geomatics Group Inc. (“PCI,” aka. “CATALYST”) have approved Intermap’s previously announced acquisition of the remaining PCI shares. The acquisition includes all of the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of PCI not already owned by Intermap and will be completed by way of an arrangement under the Canada Business Corporations Act (the “Arrangement”). On September 25, 2026, PCI held a special shareholder meeting in person and virtually, via live webcast (the “Meeting”), with PCI Shareholders voting on a special resolution in connection with the proposed Arrangement (the “Arrangement Resolution”). The Arrangement Resolution was approved by: (i) 99.99% of the votes cast by PCI Shareholders present in person or by proxy at the Meeting, voting as a single class; 99.99% of the votes cast by holders of common shares in the capital of PCI present in person or by proxy at the Meeting, excluding votes cast by certain officers and/or directors of PCI; 100% of the votes cast by holders of Series B first preferred shares in the capital of PCI present in person or by proxy at the Meeting; and 100% of the votes cast by holders of special shares in the capital of PCI present in person or by proxy at the Meeting. “We are pleased to have received the support of PCI Shareholders and to reach this important milestone,” said Patrick Blott, Chairman and CEO of Intermap. “We look forward to completing the transaction and bringing Intermap and PCI together as one company, combining our proprietary 3D data, geospatial intelligence and advanced imagery processing capabilities to create a stronger platform for growth.” The Arrangement is subject to the approval of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) (the “Court”). The anticipated hearing date for the application for the final order of the Court (the “Final Order”) is September 28, 2026. Subject to obtaining the Final Order, and the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to implementing the Arrangement as set out in the arrangement agreement dated July 28, 2026 among Intermap, PCI and Grenadier Investments Limited, the Arrangement is expected to be completed mid-October, 2026. https://tinyurl.com/5bvssfrx

Well Health (WELL-TSX) software spin-out Wellstar (WSTR-TSXV) begins trading on the TSXV.

Vancouver-based clinic network and healthtech company Well Health is now the proud parent of another publicly traded company. Wellstar, Well Health’s software-focused spin-out, began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) on Thursday morning under the symbol $WSTR. In a move that’s been planned since 2024, Wellstar struck a merger deal with a BC-based shell company earlier this year, before applying to list its shares on the TSXV. Now established on the exchange and majority-owned by Well Health, Wellstar’s five-person board of directors includes Well Health chairman and CEO Hamed Shahbazi (who is also Wellstar’s chairman), former Well Health COO Amir Javidan (who is also Wellstar’s CEO), and Well Health CFO Evelyn Sutherland. https://tinyurl.com/zhr5f5jh

Quantum eMotion (QNC-TSXV) to acquire Plurilock (PLUR-TSXV), expanding commercial Quantum and AI cybersecurity platform.

Proposed acquisition would combine QeM’s quantum-secure technologies with Plurilock’s established cybersecurity revenue base, hundreds of customer relationships, public-sector procurement channels, service delivery capabilities and AI-driven cybersecurity technologies. QeM to acquire all issued and outstanding common shares in the capital of Plurilock (“Plurilock Shares”) for aggregate consideration of approximately C$33.8M, consisting of approximately 30% cash and 70% common shares in the capital of QeM (“QeM Shares”). Shareholders of Plurilock (“Plurilock Shareholders”) to receive C$0.084 in cash and 0.0763 of a QeM Share for each Plurilock Share, implying total consideration of C$0.28 per Plurilock Share. The consideration represents an implied premium of approximately 100% to Plurilock’s 20-trading-day volume-weighted average price on the TSX Venture Exchange as of September 25, 2026. Plurilock brings a 25-plus-year operating history through its businesses and predecessor operations, serving hundreds of public- and private-sector customers, with procurement and contract vehicles across Canada, the United States and NATO. The combined company will be led by QeM’s President & CEO Francis Bellido and is expected to retain the full QeM team while adding senior Plurilock leaders Ian L. Paterson and Veera Singh, CPA, to fulfill the roles of Executive Vice-President and Senior Vice-President, respectively. https://tinyurl.com/4rtxscpx

Sangoma Technologies Corporation (STC-TSX) enters into Definitive Agreement to be acquired by BRC Group Holdings, Inc.

Sangoma, and BRC Group Holdings, Inc., a diversified holding company with a scaled business communications portfolio, announced that the companies have entered into a definitive arrangement agreement (the “Arrangement Agreement”) pursuant to which an affiliate of BRC will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Sangoma (the “Sangoma Shares”) in a transaction that values Sangoma at an enterprise value of approximately US$204 million (C$2891 million) (the “Transaction”). Under the terms of the Arrangement Agreement, shareholders of Sangoma (the “Sangoma Shareholders”) will receive, in exchange for each Sangoma Share held, US$4.925 in cash (the “Cash Consideration”) and 0.04767 of a share of common stock of BRC (each a “BRC Share”) (the “Share Consideration” and, collectively with the Cash Consideration, the “Consideration”). Based on the 20-day VWAP of BRC common shares on the NASDAQ, the Consideration implies a value of US$5.225 (C$7.40) per Sangoma Share, representing a premium of approximately 47% based on the closing price, and a premium of approximately 51% based on the 10-day VWAP, of Sangoma Shares on the TSX as of September 28, 2026. Sangoma’s platform efficiently unifies business communications, delivering enterprise-grade solutions that are central to seamless collaboration and customer engagement. The Arrangement Agreement and the Transaction are the result of a comprehensive strategic review process undertaken under the supervision and with the involvement of a special committee comprised of independent directors of Sangoma (the “Special Committee”) and announced in May 2026. Sangoma’s board of directors (the “Board”), having evaluated the Arrangement Agreement with Sangoma’s management and its legal and financial advisors, and following receipt of the Special Committee’s recommendation, has unanimously (i) determined that the Transaction is in the best interests of Sangoma, and (ii) approved the Transaction. The Transaction has also been unanimously approved by the board of directors of BRC. The Board recommends that Sangoma Shareholders vote in favour of the Transaction. Sangoma retained ATB Cormark Capital Markets (“ATB Cormark”) as its financial advisor in connection with its review and consideration of the Transaction. Officers and directors collectively holding approximately 27% of the issued and outstanding Sangoma Shares have entered into voting support agreements pursuant to which they have agreed to vote their Sangoma Shares in favour of the Transaction. \The Arrangement Agreement includes customary non-solicitation provisions, which are subject to customary “fiduciary out” provisions that entitle Sangoma, subject to certain conditions, including the payment of a termination fee in the amount of US$5,397,000, to terminate the Arrangement Agreement and accept an unsolicited superior proposal if BRC does not elect to exercise its right to match such proposal. https://tinyurl.com/4t25w3za

Anthropic’s confidential filing reveals customer concentration.

Anthropic said nearly a quarter of its US$4.6 billion in revenue last year came from just two customers, according to a confidentially filed IPO prospectus reported by Reuters on Monday. That’s one metric that could give investors pause ahead of its IPO, expected later this year. The report didn’t name the customers. The company also posted an eye-popping UA$42 billion net loss last year, although about US$34 billion of that total stemmed from an accounting charge related to the increase in per-share value of outside funding it raised, which investors will likely overlook. The Information previously reported its net loss was about US$15 billion in the first half of this year, with about US$12 billion related to the same accounting charge. The company said in the risk factors portion of its prospectus that its business was “resource-intensive” that requires a “continuous and overlapping cadence” of model releases. It also said the models it worked on could be dangerous. “Our development of highly advanced models, platforms, and applications and expansion of use cases could further increase the risk that our models cause harm,” Anthropic said in the filing. https://tinyurl.com/34hw52nd

Anthropic discloses up to US$84.5 billion in SpaceX compute agreements.

Anthropic has agreements to pay SpaceX up to US$84.5 billion to use the rocket and AI company’s Nvidia-based computing capacity through 2029, according to a confidential initial public offering prospectus reported by Reuters on Tuesday. Those agreements can mostly be cancelled with a 90-day notice period, Reuters reported. But the reported US$84.5 billion total is far larger than what SpaceX has previously disclosed about Anthropic’s potential spending. In May, Anthropic announced that it had entered into an agreement with SpaceX to lease compute. SpaceX disclosed in its IPO paperwork that Anthropic had agreed to pay US$1.25 billion per month in a deal that could run for three years, totaling nearly US$45 billion. At the time, the company said the agreement could be cancelled with 90 days written notice. Anthropic expects to spend at least US$518 billion over the next ten years on its AI infrastructure buildout that includes six partners such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft in addition to SpaceX, Reuters reported. The company is one of several AI labs that has agreed to lease compute from SpaceX, including Google and Reflection AI. https://tinyurl.com/yw7m9cef

OpenAI in early talks to raise US$30 billion before an IPO.

OpenAI is in early talks with investors to raise a pre-IPO round and is targeting raising US$30 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter. The ChatGPT maker could seek a valuation around US$1.4 trillion, though it hasn’t signed a term sheet yet with any investor, the person said. The round, largerly driven by investors’ interest, comes before an expected IPO in 2027. OpenAI is seeing growth from selling to enterprise as its annualized revenue nears US$70 billion in recent weeks, up around 70% from its revenue pace at the beginning of the third quarter. Bloomberg earlier reported on OpenAI’s fundraising plan. https://tinyurl.com/h3hnxy5d

Nvidia, SoftBank make final US$20 billion investment in OpenAI’s last round.

Nvidia and SoftBank have each made the final US$10 billion investment in each of their US$30 billion pledges to OpenAI’s last funding round, according to a person with knowledge of the investments and a statement from SoftBank. OpenAI in March said it had US$122 billion in commitments in a round that valued it at US$852 billion, including the money raised. In addition to SoftBank and Nvidia investments, Amazon committed to invest up to US$50 billion in two parts. Amazon in July completed the entire investment, after OpenAI negotiated a new agreement with long-term partner Microsoft so that it could run its AI on competing cloud services. Finalizing the March round could help pave the way for OpenAI to raise its next private financing. It’s targeting raising US$30 billion and could seek a valuation of around US$1.4 trillion. SoftBank has entered into a complicated series of financings to fund its OpenAI investments. In a statement to the Tokyo stock exchange early Thursday, SoftBank said the final installment of its funding to OpenAI brings its total investment in the ChatGPT maker to US$64.6 billion and its ownership interest to about 13%. The tech and telecom conglomerate run by Masayoshi Son funded the final installment of its OpenAI investment with an US$11.1 billion high-yield bond offering in late September. https://tinyurl.com/5dkh3jur

OpenAI nears US$70 billion in annualized revenue.

OpenAI is nearing US$70 billion in annualized revenue, up around 70% from its revenue pace at the beginning of the third quarter, according to a person briefed on the numbers. That growth comes as the ChatGPT-maker has doubled down on selling to enterprises. OpenAI has rapidly cut the prices of its models in recent months, in part thanks to optimizations it’s been able to make to running those models, and there has been growing interest from developers in its Codex coding agent. OpenAI’s revenue pace shows it likely has narrowed the gap with Anthropic, which pulled ahead earlier this year on the success of its Claude Code and Cowork products. Anthropic’s annualized revenue pace reportedly passed US$65 billion in July and some estimates have placed it at US$70 billion or higher more recently. Anthropic is preparing a public offering that could take place in November. Axios first reported the details of OpenAI’s revenue pace. https://tinyurl.com/yfm3p8mn

Banks including SocGen, MUFG pull back from data center loan deals.

Some of the largest lenders to the artificial intelligence build out are becoming more choosy about the deals they take on as market volatility and rising yields give lenders reasons to choose safer deals over more speculative ones. Lenders including Société Générale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group have become more selective in lending to data center projects, people arranging the deals say. That narrows the pool of banks available to syndicate large multibillion-dollar loans needed for data center projects and other AI infrastructure. Those banks had previously funded high-profile deals, with Société Générale leading a US$7.1 billion debt deal for the first site in OpenAI and Oracle’s Project Stargate. MUFG helped lead a US$38 billion financing for two more Oracle projects, while SMBC helped lead the US$18 billion financing for Oracle’s New Mexico project. https://tinyurl.com/wpkpwzav

Sharon AI announces US$356 million GPU-backed loan.

Australian neocloud Sharon AI has secured US$356 million through its first loan backed by its graphics processing units, making it the latest cloud provider to finance their expansion by borrowing against chips and cash flows from customer contracts. The senior secured facility carries an interest rate of 9.95% before fees. Sharon AI said it will be used to finance more Nvidia GPUs as the company expands its data center footprint across Australia, New Zealand and other parts of Asia-Pacific. The template for this deal was popularized by CoreWeave in August 2023, when the neocloud secured a US$2.3 billion loan backed by Nvidia H100s. More recent companies adopting these types of financing structures for GPUs include Nscale and Iren. The Sharon AI deal includes participation from Goldman Sachs, among other investors. In total, the company has raised more than US$2.6 billion over the past 10 months. The company’s stock dropped more than 8% following the announcement. https://tinyurl.com/yb38bw6v

Neocloud backed by Chinese tech giants files for IPO.

Infinigence AI, a Chinese provider of AI cloud infrastructure, has filed confidentially for an initial public offering in Hong Kong to raise several hundred million U.S. dollars, Bloomberg reported. The Shanghai-based company is currently valued at 14.3 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion). It has raised 4.3 billion yuan from backers including tech giants Tencent and Baidu, and AI lab Z.ai. Infinigence would be one of the first Chinese neocloud startups to go public, joining a wave of global neocloud listings this year that includes companies like Sharon AI and Nscale. Infinigence is planning to list as early as the first half of next year. Details of the offering are still being finalized and may change, Bloomberg said. Infinigence was founded in 2023 by Wang Yu, a professor at Tsinghua University and the former chairman of the school’s electronic engineering department. The company’s AI infrastructure uses chips from domestic suppliers such as Huawei and Moore Threads Technology. https://tinyurl.com/5cj7hxeu

Data Center infra provider Accelevation sinks in post-IPO trading.

Data center infrastructure provider Accelevation’s shares were trading down roughly 5% on Thursday morning, as the stock continued to sink following its initial public offering earlier this week. The company on Sept. 29 raised US$540 million, moving ahead with the offering even as some AI-infrastructure companies have pulled back on public debut plans amid broader market volatility. The private equity-backed company sold 30 million shares at US$18 each, less than the marketed range of US$20 to US$24. Accelevation offers power and infrastructure products and services primarily to data centers. Olympus Partners acquired Accelevation last January from private equity firm LFM Capital. The listing marks the latest test of the broader AI IPO thesis amid a run of AI-related setbacks, including a pickier debt market, power constraints and growing political backlash. https://tinyurl.com/35zw4d38

Oura postpones IPO, citing “uncertainty” in IPO market.

Oura, the maker of a popular ring that tracks people’s health, said Tuesday it was postponing its initial public offering, “despite strong demand, due to uncertainty in the IPO market.” Oura was scheduled to go public later this week. The company had made public its IPO filing at the beginning of this month and last week it had disclosed its tentative pricing, making clear it wanted to take the company public at a premium valuation. But the company faced some skepticism. One analyst, Arete Research’s Richard Kramer, likened Oura to other “single product plus subscription models that didn’t end well,” such as Peloton, GoPro and Fitbit. Moreover, wariness is spreading among investors about AI financing, possibly influencing Oura’s thinking. Oura isn’t under pressure to go public, as the company makes money and nearly all the money the company would have raised from the offering would go to satisfy tax payments related to employee stock awards. https://tinyurl.com/ysjc3fn8

Nvidia authorizes US$150 billion stock buyback increase, largest in history.

Nvidia’s board approved adding US$150 billion to its stock repurchase program, bringing the total amount currently authorized to US$235 billion. Nvidia said it is the largest stock buyback authorization increase in history, and said it expects to buy back all of that US$235 billion in stock by the end of January 2028. Its shares are up 2% on the announcement. Buybacks are common when a company thinks the market is undervaluing it (our financial columnist has agreed). Nvidia’s share price is up 23% since January, far lower than rival AMD (up 175%) but still outpacing the S&P 500 (up 12%). https://tinyurl.com/3tju9fkw

Samsung invests US$1 Billion in KKR-backed AI infrastructure firm Helix.

Samsung Electronics and five of its affiliates are investing US$1 billion in Helix Digital Infrastructure, an AI infrastructure venture established in June by private equity firm KKR, the companies announced on Tuesday. Soaring AI demand has prompted tech companies, energy providers and investment firms to collaborate on deals or projects to expand computing infrastructure worldwide. Helix was launched with more than US$10 billion in committed capital from KKR, the Kuwait Investment Authority, Nvidia and energy company Vistra. The new US$1 billion investment from the South Korean conglomerate provides Helix with additional funds to invest in AI infrastructure including data centers, power and connectivity. “Helix expects to explore opportunities to leverage Samsung’s capabilities across areas such as advanced technology, construction, energy storage, and cooling to support the development and delivery of AI infrastructure at scale,” KKR said in a statement. https://tinyurl.com/yyvv59f6

Revenue quintupled at AI memory maker Micron.

Memory maker Micron said revenue nearly quintupled to US$54.2 billion in the quarter ending Sept.3, as demand for high-bandwidth memory hardware for AI chips showed no sign of slowing down. Micron’s gross margin nearly doubled, thanks to its price hikes, allowing it to generate an astounding US$33 billion in free cash flow during the quarter, up from about US$17.5 billion in free cash flow in the prior fiscal quarter. That’s higher than Apple’s US$32 billion in free cash flow in the July quarter, and also far higher than even Nvidia’s most recent cash result. High-bandwidth memory makers like Micron are effectively sold out through next year, and the real test will come in a few years when long-term agreements it signed this year with large cloud providers and other customers lapse. Still, those agreements have turned such memory firms into guaranteed money makers for the foreseeable future. Micron and its ilk are also funding demand for their products, as each of the three major HBM providers invested in Anthropic’s latest funding round. Micron’s gain is seemingly everyone else’s pain. Nvidia has tested reduced-memory versions of its next-generation Rubin Ultra chip, and Nvidia’s latest chip system prices are rising about 17%, driven partly by memory costs. Meta and Apple, whose consumer hardware also uses products from memory firms like Micron, have also flagged price hikes due in part to memory prices. https://tinyurl.com/4nb8rxua

Accenture stock rallies after earnings beat expectations.

Shares of Accenture surged Thursday after the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter results beat estimates. The consulting giant reported earnings per share of US$3.29 on revenue of US$18.68 billion. That exceeded LSEG consensus estimates of US$3.18 earnings per share and revenue of US$18.03 billion. The stock surged more than 22% at one point, but ended the day up close to 16%. In an exclusive interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said AI has served as a key growth driver for the business as it accumulates partners in key AI sectors such as data centers and capital infrastructure. “We’ve just finished the year with US$85 billion of new business going into next year, and that is driven by our growth strategy to focus on big transformational deals and making sure we’re the winner in AI and data,” Sweet told CNBC. “We’re investing now to not only be the partner for companies who are going to scale across the enterprise, but also to be relevant to all parts of things that have to enable the use of AI.” Despite Thursday’s massive gain, the stock remains down more than 18% year to date due to worries that artificial intelligence will disrupt key business segments. https://tinyurl.com/3s6rbv4f

China weighs allowing purchases of new Nvidia Chips by ByteDance, Alibaba.

China’s government has signaled it could allow some domestic companies to buy a new Nvidia chip built for high-end professional computers, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the country’s AI firms strain for enough computing power to run their chatbots and agents. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which oversees China’s tech sector, recently asked companies including Alibaba Group and ByteDance to report on their plans to buy Nvidia’s RTX Pro 5500 chips, released this month—specifically how many they want to buy and what they’ll use them for, the people said. The ministry has told some Chinese companies the government intends to approve the purchases, they said. Even if that happens, though, it’s unclear when the approvals would come, how many chips officials would allow and what standards they would use to decide. Nvidia’s China business has faced hurdles from both the U.S. and Chinese governments. Washington has blocked sales of its more advanced AI chips to Chinese buyers to constrain development of the country’s AI industry. Beijing has largely barred Chinese companies from buying Nvidia’s advanced chips, both to help domestic suppliers and because of national security concerns regarding issues such as potential backdoors that could funnel data to the U.S.—a possibility Nvidia has strongly denied. Approval from China for companies to purchase the RTX Pro 5500 would remove a major barrier. The U.S. government hasn’t publicly addressed whether the chip will avoid U.S. export restrictions, although at least some industry executives are expecting it will. Nvidia has long complained about U.S. export controls. An Nvidia spokesperson said China’s domestic makers of chips and cards for workstations “have experienced unprecedented growth since 2022,” while U.S. firms “continue to be restricted by a combination of outdated U.S. export controls, which cover gaming products released nearly a half a decade ago, and China’s own limits on U.S. imports.” https://tinyurl.com/mw6e3wm7

SpaceX launches starship into orbit for the first time.

SpaceX launched its Starship rocket into orbit on Monday morning in a historic first for the company. It was the 14th test flight of the massive rocket ship but the first that has reached orbit. The rocket released 26 of SpaceX’s’s new Starlink V3 satellites about 10 minutes after reaching orbit. Prior to the launch, SpaceX said it planned for the rocket to orbit Earth six times during the 10-hour test flight. But SpaceX ended the mission several hours early due to an engine failure. Shortly after the rocket launched, it lost one of its six Raptor engines. The company initially called off the attempt, but decided to push forward with the test a few minutes later. SpaceX’s Starship rocket is key to the company’s plans to deploy its satellites, as well as for larger missions to the moon and Mars. The company live streamed the test flight which took place in Starbase, Texas on X. https://tinyurl.com/383nm9ek

Google unveils Gemini 4 Argon, pricing it well below rivals.

Google launched Gemini 4 Argon, its latest flagship AI model, touting its abilities in cybersecurity defense and coding, legal and finance work. The company hasn’t launched such a frontier model in nearly a year, prompting questions about whether it could stay in the race with Anthropic and OpenAI. The search giant is pricing the new model well below leading offerings from those rivals. Argon will start at an introductory price of US$2 per million input tokens and US$10 per million output tokens, then double that rate after the teaser period expires. Even the higher rate would be significantly less than the price of GPT-6 Astra, OpenAI’s most powerful model, and Claude Fable 5.1, the top model from Anthropic. Similar to phased rollouts that other leading AI labs have done for new frontier models, Google said it is releasing Argon first to cybersecurity partners that are part of its Fairwind Program, which enables participants to use the technology to discover and fix potential software vulnerabilities in their systems. The company said it is developing so-called safeguards to prevent misuse before releasing the model more broadly, though it didn’t specify a timeline. Koray Kavukcuoglu, Google’s chief AI architect and leader of its Google DeepMind unit, told The Information last week at the AI Agenda Live conference that the company was nearing the release of Gemini 4 and that it would “continue the fast-paced iterations” after that. Google’s last next-generation flagship model was Gemini 3, released in November of last year, though it has since updated that and released a series of smaller, Flash models. https://tinyurl.com/mr48ew38

Meta’s Muse tops 3 million weekly users.

Meta Platforms’ Muse now has more than 3 million users who give the AI agent at least one prompt a week, according to internal data reviewed by The Information, giving the product a sizable active audience just weeks after its launch. That figure is a subset of a broader group totaling more than 4 million who use the AI assistant in some way at least once a week, according to the figures. The gap is attributable to people who review something Muse did, approve an action or otherwise interact with it without giving the assistant a new task or query. The number of daily active users who have sent at least one prompt to Muse surpassed 1 million, the internal data showed, with the majority of Muse’s prompts coming through the app rather than the web. The figures provide the clearest picture yet of Muse’s nascent popularity, and mark a sharp increase from figures previously reported by The Information that showed Muse had about 500,000 weekly users and about 250,000 daily active users about a week after it launched. The early numbers point to strong initial adoption, but they remain tiny compared with Meta’s broader reach. Meta’s family of apps reaches billions of people globally, meaning the millions of users currently active on Muse represent only a fraction of the company’s potential consumer base. Muse is also entering an increasingly competitive market for AI agents that can take actions on behalf of users. SpaceXAI launched Grok Bot in beta in August and OpenAI introduced Dots this week, its own always-on agents. Instinct, another AI assistant app launched by a fledgling startup, has also gained popularity in tech circles. https://tinyurl.com/en8r3xxt

Meta adapts Muse agent for small businesses.

Meta Platforms is adapting its AI agent Muse for small businesses, adding integrations with workplace software including Salesforce’s Slack, Intuit QuickBooks and Zoom. In a blog post Tuesday, the company said Muse can connect to small-business owners’ professional Instagram accounts, Facebook pages and Meta ad accounts to create content and ads. Meta also highlighted other uses, including managing cash flow and inventory and communicating with customers. Additional integrations include Asana, Notion, Canva, Lovable, Box and Granola. “Small businesses have been growing on our apps for nearly two decades,” Meta said in the blog post. “They told us they’re short on hours, not ideas. So we built Muse for Small Business to help get work done with the tools they already use.” Meta launched its Business Agent in June, allowing businesses to automate customer interactions across WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, including answering questions, recommending products and booking appointments. The latest Muse integrations allows small business owners to manage internal operations and oversee accounts across multiple apps in one place. The expansion follows Meta’s announcement Monday that it is launching a new division, Meta Enterprise Platform, to sell its AI tools to businesses as it looks to diversify its revenue beyond advertising. https://tinyurl.com/36tdh9dp

OpenAI will not ship GPT-6.1 Astra due to safety concerns.

OpenAI has decided not to release the AI model that it had intended to release as GPT-6.1 Astra due to its results on safety tests, a spokesperson said Monday. The model performed worse than GPT-6 Astra—OpenAI’s newest model, released earlier this month—on tests measuring whether it pursues users’ goals and is transparent with users about its actions. “For anything regarding safety and alignment, there’s a trade off. You really do need to find what’s the right line between staying within scope, but also avoiding laziness in terms of how the model actually pursues tasks even when it hits friction,” said Saachi Jain, OpenAI’s head of safety systems, in a statement. While the model was less lazy than its predecessors, “it didn’t quite meet the bar in terms of staying within scope and authorization, and how it communicates back to the user about the type of work it’s done.” Along with Jain, OpenAI Vice President of Research Mia Glaese recommended to research leadership, including chief scientist Jakub Pachocki, that the model not be released, according to the spokesperson. The decision follows a string of incidents in which OpenAI’s models engaged in cyberattacks or other unwanted activity. Those incidents have drawn regulatory scrutiny, fueled calls for a slowdown in frontier AI development and prompted OpenAI to pause training of its most capable new models. The Wall Street Journal first reported on OpenAI’s decision about GPT-6.1. https://tinyurl.com/286n9y8z

Apple plans aggressive new push into smart home.

Apple plans to launch a smart home hub device on October 13th, Bloomberg reported. The hub has a roughly 6-inch square display that can sit on countertops or be mounted on walls, the news outlet reported. The device will showcase the capabilities of Apple’s overhauled Siri, which was recently released after a delay of two years, and be able to recognize people who interact with it. The screen will display the identified user’s personal information, such as messages and upcoming calendar appointments. With the new product, Apple is moving into a crowded market. Google and Amazon launched their own smart home displays years ago. Apple has dipped its toe into the smart home over the years, with features like HomeKit to let devices hook into Apple’s software, but has limited success compared to rivals. As part of this push, Apple is also releasing an updated HomePod mini and a new Apple TV. https://tinyurl.com/57f6hnmu

AI researcher says an ‘intelligence explosion’ could lead to ‘Mythos-level’ moments every month.

Some of the world’s leading AI researchers are concerned about an “intelligence explosion.” The thinking is that if frontier AI model makers can automate the development of their future models, it could create a feedback loop that could lead to a whirlwind pace of change in AI advancements. “Imagine, for instance, if we had Mythos-level moments, not every year, but every month in new domains,” Alan Chan, a research fellow at GovAI, an AI think tank, told reporters during a discussion with reporters. “This is the kind of possibility that we call ‘the intelligence explosion.'” Chan cowrote a paper with Anthropic cofounder Jack Clark, OpenAI chief scientist Jakub Pachocki, Microsoft chief scientific officer Eric Horvitz, and Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton (among others) that urges policymakers to get insight into how top AI labs are automating their development, including some of the most cutting-edge research being done at companies like Anthropic and OpenAI. How AI Will Change Everything. The process is often referred to as recursive self-improvement (RSI), but Chan said he prefers “intelligence explosion” because it allows for separate discussions of two themes: efforts to automate AI research and the question of whether automating research will lead to a skyrocketing improvement in AI capabilities. The authors call on policymakers to gain better insight into how companies are trying to automate development through the required use of embedded auditors and other steps. Chan said that while policymakers will always have a chance to act, the impact of their actions may diminish over time. “Right now, we’re just in a very opportune moment,” Chan told Business Insider. Chan cited how others are calling for independent auditors, an idea for which Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has expressed support, and for greater transparency to pace the frontier. “I think just a really good opportunity to take advantage of that window to put in place things,” he said. In an accord signed by leaders of Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, SpaceXAI, and Nvidia at the White House on Tuesday, the companies agreed “to partner with an independent external auditor or evaluator,” though the agreement doesn’t come anywhere close to the level of specificity the paper’s coauthors called for. Trump told reporters the accord was “morally” binding. It remains unclear when automated AI research could happen. Amodei cited recursive self-improvement as the foundation for his urging of the industry to “pace” its advancements to ensure that AI models perform as expected. In their paper, Chan and his co-authors wrote that they expect “more substantial automation of AI R&D over the next few years, and even full automation within this timeframe should be taken seriously.” Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google have all discussed how AI is increasingly helping researchers develop new models and assist employees in other areas. In June, Anthropic reported that AI systems had generated more than 80% of the company’s approved code as of May. In January 2025, Claude’s percentage of that code “was in the low single digits.” Automating AI research isn’t inherently good or bad, Chan said. He said that an explosion could also lead to faster discoveries, including in areas like medicine. At the same time, it also means loss-of-control incidents, like OpenAI’s breach of Hugging Face, may become more common, too. “Of course, we get much better AI systems much more quickly,” he said. “This could be very, very good. We get much newer technologies, like advances in medicine, much, much quicker, and that’s very good. At the same time, as we get these new technologies though, we might get risks that we’ll have to deal with a lot, a lot faster.” https://tinyurl.com/3w97ncwx

Amazon looks to further automate media buying with new agentic tools.

Amazon introduced new AI-powered tools to help marketers buy ad inventory across the vast variety of media it sells, as it steps up its effort to strengthen its position in the ad tech world. One of these tools, full-funnel campaigns, is designed for advertisers who already sell on Amazon’s shopping site, and allows them to buy spots on Prime Video and other types of media as well. Another ad tool, Display Video and Audio+ campaigns, helps automate ad buying across media Amazon sells, excluding its retail site. Both tools use Ads Agent, an agentic interface, to make the process of setting up the campaigns simpler. Google and Meta have offered similar ad formats which automate ad buying across disparate types of media, which have been popular offerings for both companies. “Previously, advertisers had to manage … separate campaign types with separate workflows and separate optimization,” said Kelly MacLean, vp of engineering, science and product at Amazon Ads in an interview. “ DVA+ is now unifying this into a single, simple experience. So advertisers can just pick a goal… If they want to drive sales, or increase traffic, or build awareness, they can…. leverage our AI to build creative for them, set a budget and launch.” https://tinyurl.com/8ratvzex

Hackers stole millions of US military personnel records during months-long data breach.

The U.S. government is alerting millions of current and former U.S. military service members and staff that their personal information was stolen during a months-long breach of the Pentagon’s personnel records, the latest in a spate of thefts involving federal workers’ data in recent months. A data breach notification from the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) shared on Reddit says that several unauthorized users exploited a security vulnerability in an unspecified file-sharing system over several months between October 2025 and mid-July 2026. The breach exposed personally identifiable information, including Social Security numbers, alongside a person’s name, date of birth, sex, race, and other information about their military service. The notice says that the personnel records were not encrypted. According to CNN and Federal News Network, a Pentagon official said the breach affects about 2.8 million living people, and close to 300,000 people who are deceased. The U.S. military has 1.3 million active service members as of March. https://tinyurl.com/mph63hxw

Robinhood to allow 24-hour weekend trading of US stocks as industry shifts to wider access.

Robinhood said on Tuesday it will let users trade some US stocks round-the-clock during weekends, marking its latest effort to keep up as the industry marches toward 24-hour access. The online brokerage’s push is part of a fundamental shift that could allow US markets access to a broader base of global capital while offering investors greater flexibility. Robinhood has allowed round-the-clock trading during the weekdays since 2023. About 10 months after launching the feature, the company said as much as 25% of the total daily trading volume on busy days came from outside traditional hours. This is the first time Robinhood is allowing weekend trading. Some worry that thin liquidity during non-traditional hours could leave traders without optimal prices. Still, global exchanges such as the Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange are pushing ahead with plans to extend trading hours. The online brokerage will also allow traders to wager on specific corporate earnings metrics, via ⁠a partnership with derivatives exchange Cboe. Through Robinhood’s prediction markets hub, users can place bets on whether a company surpasses earnings estimates or achieves a targeted revenue figure. https://tinyurl.com/npfc464c

Sophic Insights (ONE:TSXV) – The (01) Quantum Window Is Fast Approaching.

This report argues that the case for acting on quantum security is strengthening as technology advances, government migration timelines become more concrete, enterprise spending rises, and AI creates a second security challenge around sensitive data and model integrity. It highlights how developments from Google, NVIDIA, Microsoft and IBM are accelerating the quantum timeline, while governments in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Europe are moving from awareness toward implementation. The report also introduces 01 Quantum’s positioning at the intersection of post-quantum cryptography, fully homomorphic encryption and secure AI through IronCAP™ and QAW. https://t.co/dv6Iv6qjSO

Sophic Insights (ONE:TSXV) – From Product to Pipeline.

This report shifts from market urgency to commercialization, focusing on how 01 Quantum is trying to convert its technology, customer-funded development work and partner relationships into a repeatable revenue pipeline. It examines the Company’s channel strategy with CGI, Crypto4A, Utimaco and Hitachi, the early validation provided by paid development work and royalties, the additional opportunity created by QAW and secure AI, and the key next step for investors: seeing those relationships translate into Statements of Work, paid deployments and recurring revenue. https://t.co/6lSPXoZ0mE