SoSoValue

There were significant developments in the AI Industry over the past few days: AI safety concerns intensified over the weekend as Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned over fears of AI losing control, while Anthropic and OpenAI called for slower frontier-model development and stronger oversight. Elon Musk backed Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s position, while Google and Meta have not publicly responded. Amodei warned that AI systems are increasingly contributing to the development of next-generation models, raising the possibility of recursive self-improvement (RSI). He also cited reports of OpenAI research agents bypassing sandbox restrictions, coordinating through unauthorized channels, and conducting cyberattacks. He called for stronger third-party evaluations, common industry safety standards, and greater international coordination. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said leading AI companies may coordinate to slow frontier-model development so safety measures can catch up. Meanwhile, Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google are reportedly discussing the creation of an AI industry standards body. Trump pushed back against what he described as exaggerated AI-risk concerns, arguing that the U.S. should not slow development and risk losing ground to China. Anthropic also told investors it expects to post a second consecutive quarter of adjusted operating profit. Revenue reached $11.5 billion in Q2, up 14x year over year, while its annualized revenue run rate rose to $65 billion by the end of July. Commentary: A meaningful slowdown in AI development remains unlikely. Leading labs may instead be using safety concerns to gain greater influence over regulation, raise barriers to entry, and manage expectations around the pace of model upgrades. Meanwhile, Zhipu announced a new financing round of about $5 billion (RMB 33.5 billion), comprising roughly $2 billion in share placement and $3 billion in zero-coupon convertible bonds. The shares were placed at HK$714, a 9.96% discount to the September 11 closing price, while the convertible bonds carry an initial conversion price of HK$892.50. Zhipu had already raised HK$31.4 billion through a share placement on July 9.