Anthropic

Anthropic has reportedly agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement in a copyright lawsuit brought by authors who alleged their works were used without permission to train AI models. The proposed settlement includes payments of $3,000 per book plus interest and a commitment to destroy datasets containing the allegedly infringing material. This landmark case addresses copyright law in AI development. The plaintiffs’ attorney emphasized the importance of respecting copyright laws for AI training. The lawsuit, filed last year, claimed “large-scale copyright infringement.” Following a substantial funding round, experts believe this settlement could clarify legal frameworks around AI training data.

Anthropic, an AI company founded by ex-OpenAI researchers, secured $13 billion in Series F funding, boosting its valuation to $183 billion. Led by Iconiq, Fidelity, and Lightspeed, the round signifies strong investor confidence. Fueled by its AI assistant, Claude, Anthropic’s revenue run rate exceeded $5 billion in August with over 300,000 business customers. Capital will support safety research, enterprise demand, and global expansion, intensifying its rivalry with OpenAI, valued potentially at $500 billion.

Anthropic is using AI agents to audit and improve the safety of its AI models, like Claude. This “digital detective squad” includes Investigator, Evaluation, and Red-Teaming Agents that identify vulnerabilities and potential harms proactively. These agents have successfully uncovered hidden objectives, quantified existing problems, and exposed dangerous behaviors in AI models. While not perfect, these AI safety agents help humans focus on strategic oversight and pave the way for automated AI monitoring as systems become more complex.

Anthropic unveils Claude 4, featuring Opus 4 and Sonnet 4. Both models excel in programming and reasoning, with Opus 4 demonstrating remarkable endurance by refactoring code for seven hours straight. Key advancements include dual-mode reasoning, external memory, and tool usage. The official Claude Code is also released. Sonnet 4 is now free for all users, while developers gain new API features like code execution and file API. Pricing for Opus 4 and Sonnet 4 is competitive.