Morning Scan

Anthropic just posted its first $1B+ quarterly profit, Samsung's chip earnings jumped 19-fold, and SK Hynix is lining up a $28B US listing. AI infrastructure is getting funded at a scale that would have seemed implausible three years ago.

19x — Samsung's Q2 operating profit jumped 19-fold year-over-year, hitting ~$58.44B on revenue that nearly doubled — then its stock dropped 5% because the bar was apparently still set higher. (Reuters)

Machines & Minds

Anthropic Q3 2026: Profit Over $1B

The company Dario Amodei built as a safety-first research lab is now printing money, and IPO speculation is no longer hypothetical. (Semianalysis)

Anthropic Gets Closer to an AI Super App

The race to merge coding power with consumer simplicity is tightening, and Anthropic is apparently closer than it looks from the outside. (Sources/Alex Heath)

Nscale Locks In $900M for Data Center Buildout (paywall)

The Nvidia-backed UK startup is using the credit line to build out compute capacity across Europe, the US, and Asia Pacific. (Wall Street Journal)

SK Hynix Seeks to Raise $28B Through US IPO

One of the biggest IPOs in recent memory is being fueled almost entirely by AI-driven HBM demand, and it's expected to close Friday. (SiliconAngle)

Samsung Made More Profit Last Quarter Than the Last Two Years Combined (paywall)

Memory chip prices are doing the work — but the stock drop signals investors wanted even more, which is a strange place to be. (New York Times)

Connected World

Judge Upholds Verdict That Musk Defrauded Twitter Investors

A federal judge declined to overturn the jury's finding, keeping the $44B takeover's legal aftershocks alive for Musk. (The Next Web)

FCC to End Biden-Era Rule Forcing ISPs to List All Their Fees

The "broadband nutrition label" rule — one of the more popular consumer transparency measures in recent memory — is heading for the trash. (Ars Technica)

Apple Intelligence Home Features Require 2TB iCloud+ Plan

Apple is using AI features as a subscription upsell mechanism, and the $9.99/month entry point is not the tier you need. (MacRumors)

UK MPs Warn Government on Tech Sovereignty

Anthropic's brief US export ban earlier this year rattled enough MPs to produce a committee report: the UK can't rely on allies to keep its AI stack running. (The Register)

Connected World

Vista Equity Makes Takeover Bid for Criteo at 50%+ Premium (paywall)

Ad tech consolidation continues; Criteo's been a PE target rumor for years, and someone finally moved. (Bloomberg)

Proxima Fusion Raises €411M at €2.4B Valuation (paywall)

Google and energy company RWE are backing a Munich fusion startup, a sign that fusion funding isn't only a US phenomenon. (Bloomberg)

WiseTech Co-Founder Steps Down as Chair Amid Police Probe (paywall)

Richard White's exit sent WTC shares up 7%+, a fairly blunt market verdict on his continued presence at the company. (Bloomberg)

The 'First' AI-Run Ransomware Attack Still Needed a Human

An AI agent executed a real-world ransomware attack for the first known time. The backstory involves a human operator, which may be reassuring or may simply reflect where the technology currently sits. (TechCrunch)