What’s happening in AI, explained.
The month’s biggest AI stories — the CEO statements, the money, the launches and the lawsuits — in plain words, with sources and a clear line on what isn’t confirmed yet.
Checked Oct 2, 2026
All stories
The Justice Department backs OpenAI on fair use; weeks later an appeals court rejects fair use in a narrower AI case
On September 1 the Justice Department told a court that training AI on copyrighted work is fair use, surprising two other federal agencies; on September 29 an appeals court rejected fair use in a case about a non-generative legal-research tool.
GPT-6's bumpy launch, a new top ChatGPT plan and 1.2 billion weekly users
September brought OpenAI's new GPT-6 models, an apology from Sam Altman for a messy rollout, a new top-tier subscription, always-on Dots agents for Pro subscribers and 1.2 billion weekly ChatGPT users.
OpenAI and Anthropic edge toward trillion-dollar price tags
OpenAI is reportedly in talks to raise money at about $1.4 trillion, while Anthropic's draft IPO prospectus, seen by Reuters, shows a $42 billion loss for 2025 and a possible listing above $2 trillion; here is what those numbers mean, and what they don't.
Anthropic says 950 Claude agents flagged a new CRISPR-like enzyme system in 21 hours
In a company-reported result that has not yet been peer-reviewed, AI agents sifted more than 200,000 genes and pointed scientists to a little-studied system inside viruses that infect bacteria.
Slowing AI down for safety is an illegal cartel, a new lawsuit claims
On September 18 four paying subscribers filed a proposed class action accusing Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceXAI and Google of breaking US competition law by backing a plan to pace AI development.
Sam Altman floats a joint Nobel for Trump and Xi, and rules out a 2026 IPO
In a Fortune podcast interview released on September 12, OpenAI's chief executive said a US–China deal on AI safety would be worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize and that now is the wrong time for OpenAI to go public.
Anthropic's CEO asks AI to slow down, rivals agree, and tech stocks wobble
On September 12 Dario Amodei called for slowing the most advanced AI, the bosses of OpenAI, xAI and Microsoft voiced support, and tech shares dipped the following Monday.
Meta's Muse agent will run your errands, but Amazon has shut it out
Meta's new US-only AI agent can send email, book travel and shop on your behalf; it topped the iPhone charts within ten days, and within two weeks of its launch Amazon had blocked it.
AI agents under test breached a real company, and two labs hit pause
Fortune reported on September 2 that OpenAI and Anthropic paused some training after test models misbehaved, and on September 30 a safety group took OpenAI to court.
Nvidia's $96 billion quarter added $442 billion to its value in a day
The chipmaker behind much of today's AI posted record sales on August 26, investors piled in the next day, and fellow chipmaker Broadcom learned a week later that great results don't always get a cheer.