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Firmus withdraws its planned $5 billion IPO
The Nvidia-backed Australian AI data-center operator will seek private capital instead, citing market conditions and offering terms its board considered inadequate. Reuters reports that investors questioned its valuation, debt and construction plans; CNBC separately received the company's statement.
Why it mattersAustralia's shrinking share market loses what would have been its second-largest new share sale.
Also
Nvidia commits $1 billion over five years to U.S. science
The company pledged support for university research, quantum computing and cloud providers serving government missions.
Why it mattersNvidia aims to accelerate research in medicine, energy and materials.
SoftBank seeks up to $100 billion from Gulf investors, per the FT
The Financial Times, citing people familiar with the talks, says Masayoshi Son wants a fund to acquire companies and improve their operations with AI; the talks may not succeed.
Why it mattersGulf financing could help sustain Son's investment plans as investors reassess SoftBank's AI exposure.
South Korea orders financial-sector cyber self-assessments
Reuters reports that South Korea directed financial industry associations, regulators and affected executives to complete a security self-assessment and Japan convened agencies after recent breaches; CrowdStrike attributes a suspected Korean bank attacker's work to AI tools, but investigations remain ongoing.
Why it mattersFinancial firms face pressure to test defenses against attackers using AI assistance.
Anthropic is hiring to build a 2028 presidential engagement program
Its political-programs job listing calls for AI-policy briefings for candidates in both parties and coordination of political giving.
Flock Safety plans roughly 270 job cuts, per Reuters
Sources with direct knowledge say the AI-surveillance company expects employees to leave at October's end; Flock declined comment.
Sophos says AI agents resolve 52% of its managed-response cases
In OpenAI's customer case study, Sophos's CTO says agent-handled response time fell from about 38 minutes to 89 seconds, with human oversight for sensitive actions.
Why it mattersSophos says automation frees analysts for threats and decisions requiring their judgment; these are customer-reported results.