The week AI hit a trillion-dollar valuation - and its first real doubts

The week at a glance

This archive covers the seven editions from November 2 through November 8. The week was about the AI boom's staggering price tags - and the first real doubts about them.

The money was enormous. OpenAI closed the first $11 billion of a new round at a $1.25 trillion valuation, Fal raised $1.3 billion at a doubled $16 billion valuation, and Salesforce agreed to buy voice-AI maker Cresta.

The doubts arrived alongside. Investors questioned Anthropic's $1.5 trillion IPO valuation after the year's sharpest tech selloff, data showed business AI spending growth stalling, and Microsoft began winding down AI capacity it rents from Oracle.

The buildout met politics. Voters approved more than 20 midterm measures restricting data centers, Google backstopped a $19 billion Anthropic lease and announced a $17 billion Wyoming campus that turned out to be a rescue takeover of a stalled Crusoe project.

And the week ended on espionage: a US intelligence memo alleged a Chinese spy got close to Nvidia's CEO - unverified, but enough to draw a congressional briefing request.

Key stories of the week

1. OpenAI closed the first $11 billion of a new funding round at a $1.25 trillion valuation, expected to reach about $20 billion - below the $30 billion target reported in September.
2. Doubts surfaced around Anthropic's planned IPO: potential investors question whether it can hold a $1.5 trillion valuation after the year's sharpest tech selloff, while data showed business AI spending growth stalling.
3. OpenAI released GPT-6 Cyber, a security model it rates in its highest risk tier, built for vetted defenders to find and validate software vulnerabilities.
4. Voters approved more than 20 midterm ballot measures banning or restricting data centers, and candidates who campaigned on restrictions won - the industry's buildout now faces organized political resistance.
5. A reported US intelligence memo alleges a Chinese intelligence service recruited a tech executive who grew close to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang - unverified, with no charges, but enough to draw a congressional briefing request.

The week's briefings