HSBC moved a Dubai board meeting to London due to safety worries amid the Iran war. Shale oil magnate Scott Sheffield alleged Exxon Mobil collaborated with the FTC in a smear campaign to block his board seat after its $60bn takeover of his company in 2024. OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman said an IPO is unlikely before 2027, calling it an “ill-advised moment” due to existential AI risks, and is weighing a private round at a $1.2tn valuation.

Anthropic’s prospectus, expected after Labor Day for a $2tn+ IPO, is now targeting November, leaving little room before winter holidays. Both firms report explosive growth: token usage has surged 250 times since last year per Open Router. OpenAI is on track for $36bn in revenue this year; Anthropic hit $65bn annualised revenue by end-July and claims quarterly profitability on an adjusted basis.

Risks include price wars from open-source models, commoditisation of AI tools, and political backlash after an Anthropic researcher warned AI could “kill us all by the end of the decade.” Altman and Elon Musk have backed Dario Amodei’s call to slow AI development. Infrastructure IPOs are also delayed: SoftBank’s SB Energy and Holtec International postponed listings, with Holtec’s CEO Kris Singh citing a “perfect storm” of negative market sentiment. An Oracle-leased data centre saw $18bn in loans slip into stressed territory amid local backlash and permitting issues.