September 8, 2026
Mistral raises €3 billion as Samsung backs its compute push
Astra begins appearing on ChatGPT Plus, while Vietnam-linked database exposed 220 million travel records.
Mistral raises €3 billion as Samsung backs its compute push
Mistral AI has raised €3 billion in a Series D led by Samsung Electronics, with the company saying the deal gives it a post-money valuation of more than €21 billion.
- Mistral says the capital will fund model development, frontier research and more company-controlled computing infrastructure. CEO Arthur Mensch described access to compute as a key bottleneck for training frontier models.
- The Scaleup Europe Fund, managed by EQT, and PSG Equity were also principal participants, the Financial Times reports. The valuation is up from a reported €11.7 billion in September 2025.
- Samsung’s role and the EU-backed fund’s participation tie the round to Mistral’s push to give European organizations more control over their AI models, data and computing capacity.
Astra begins appearing on ChatGPT Plus
OpenAI is gradually rolling out Astra to $20 ChatGPT Plus subscriptions, BleepingComputer reports.
- A BleepingComputer reporter found Astra in ChatGPT Work on one Plus account, but not in its regular Chat model picker, suggesting access remains uneven.
- OpenAI says Astra is included within existing subscription limits and requires no separate plan. The company has not disclosed plans for free users, according to the report.
Vietnam-linked database exposed 220 million travel records
A Vietnam-linked travel database containing 220.8 million passenger and crew records was reachable through security misconfigurations, Kinryū Labs says.
- BleepingComputer reports that entries from January 2017 to April 2026 included passport details, itineraries, seat assignments and baggage references across numerous international airlines.
- The researchers say access was fixed on June 8. The operator remains unidentified, with no conclusive evidence that anyone stole the data.
Huawei takes central role in China’s lithography push
Huawei is coordinating investments, suppliers and chipmakers around domestically produced deep ultraviolet lithography equipment, the Financial Times reports.
- The FT says a machine co-developed by Shanghai-based Yuliangsheng is being tested by SMIC and on Huawei production lines.
- According to the FT, the equipment remains several years from matching comparable ASML systems in productivity. A viable domestic alternative could reduce China’s exposure to western export controls, but technical and adoption gaps remain.
Samsung and TSMC plan to adopt ASML’s newest lithography systems
Samsung Electronics and TSMC plan to adopt ASML’s High NA EUV lithography machines for high-volume chip production, CNBC and Bloomberg report.
- Bloomberg puts Samsung’s target at 2028 and TSMC’s at 2030.
- The machines cost roughly $400 million each, according to both reports. CNBC says investors view broader adoption as important to ASML’s future growth as demand rises for more advanced AI chips.
In Brief
Anthropic signs up to $517 billion in compute contracts
Anthropic signed compute contracts worth up to $517 billion over 11 months, securing at least 14.8 gigawatts of capacity, The Decoder reports, citing The Information. Contract terms and delivery schedules were not detailed.
N-able patches N-central remote-code-execution flaw
N-able released Hotfix 4 for a maximum-severity remote-code-execution flaw affecting internet-exposed, on-premises N-central systems. The company says it has not confirmed the vulnerability was exploited in production.
Magento zero-day installs a Linux backdoor
A zero-day affecting Magento and Adobe Commerce is being exploited to install a persistent Linux backdoor, BleepingComputer reports. Sansec says its first observed target was fully updated; no fix was available as of September 7.
OpenAI claims research-agent milestone amid scaling warning
OpenAI says it has reached its “automated research intern” milestone, though no independent review is cited. Chief scientist Jakub Pachocki separately warns no lab has solved alignment and monitoring well enough to keep scaling at maximum speed much longer.
3,400 BTC returned after Liquid Network withdrawal
The party behind the withdrawal of roughly 4,000 BTC from Liquid Network’s federation wallet returned 3,400 BTC to the Liquid Federation address, The Block reports. It said about 598.5 BTC remained with the party.
New York City bars students through eighth grade from AI tools
New York City is barring students through eighth grade from using AI tools beginning with the new school year, The Decoder reports. Teachers may still use AI for lesson preparation, but not grading.
Australia considers an opt-out for algorithmic feeds
Australia has opened consultation on a digital duty of care bill that would let social media users opt out of algorithmic recommendations and see only accounts they follow, the Financial Times reports.
