AI Leaders Weekly Briefing

April 3, 2026

OpenAI raises $122B as it shutters Sora, Anthropic faces a major code leak, and Google releases Gemma 4 to challenge global rivals and more.

• OpenAI secured a historic $122 billion funding round led by Amazon, NVIDIA, SoftBank, and Microsoft, reaching a valuation of $852 billion as it shifts focus toward an upcoming "superapp." ¹²³⁴⁵⁶
• Anthropic faced a major security incident involving the accidental leak of thousands of internal source code files and data related to its "Claude Code" assistant and unreleased "Mythos" model. ^{789101112131415}
• OpenAI abruptly shuttered its Sora video-generation platform due to compute shortages and strategic trade-offs, impacting a planned $1 billion partnership with Disney. ^{1617181920212223}
• Anthropic expanded its global footprint by signing a memorandum of understanding with the Australian government for AI safety research and acquiring biotech startup Coefficient Bio for $400 million. ^2425262728
• Google DeepMind released Gemma 4, a new family of open-weights models under an Apache 2.0 license designed to compete with Chinese open-source developments. ²⁹³⁰³¹
• Mistral AI secured $830 million in debt financing to construct a massive NVIDIA-powered data center near Paris, signaling a shift toward owning its own infrastructure. ^32333435
• Other notable developments include a major data breach at training provider Mercor, legal actions against OpenAI by Penguin Random House and Encyclopedia Britannica, and Microsoft's launch of in-house models to reduce its dependence on OpenAI. ^783637383940

Sources

1. PitchBook: US venture funding surges to record $267B as OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI dominate AI deals SiliconANGLE
2. Sam Altman's OpenAI targets Anthropic with new AI superapp following huge funding round Financial Express
3. Forbes Daily: OpenAI Is Now Worth A Whopping $852 Billion Forbes
4. Artificial Intelligencer: OpenAI's $852 billion problem: finding focus Reuters
5. OpenAI's $122B Funding Sparks Debate, Raises Questions on AI Sustainability Analytics Insight
6. OpenAI raises $122 billion OpenAI
7. OpenAI, Anthropic contractor Mercor targeted in major security breach — what data was stolen, who carried out the hack? Mint
8. Mercor, a $10 billion AI startup that works with companies including OpenAI and Anthropic, confirms major data breach AOL
9. Anthropic is learning that there are no take-backs on the internet Business Insider
10. Anthropic accidentally leaked thousands of lines of code Los Angeles Times
11. Anthropic's Claude Code leak reveals its “Kairos” updates, including letting Claude work in the background and using a “dream mode” to consolidate its memories Techmeme
12. Anthropic Leak Reveals Claude Mythos Model and Cybersecurity Risks Geeky Gadgets
13. Anthropic Accidentally Releases Source Code for Claude AI Agent Bloomberg
14. OpenAI And Anthropic Develop Advanced AI Systems With Cyberattack Risks NDTV
15. OpenAI, Anthropic Highlight How AI Tools Could Empower Hackers Analytics Insight
16. Sources detail Fidji Simo's moves at OpenAI, including spearheading the TBPN acquisition and pushing OpenAI to cut Sora and avoid other social media products Techmeme
17. Sam Altman Felt 'Terrible' Telling Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro About OpenAI's Decision to Kill Off Sora, Says Companies Still Looking to Collaborate Variety
18. OpenAI CFO says compute crunch is forcing tough trade-offs Business Insider
19. OpenAI's Sora was an end to Hollywood... until it abruptly crashed The Herald
20. Sam Altman Says OpenAI Is Still in Talks With Disney After Sora Shutdown The Hollywood Reporter
21. The Walt Disney Company (DIS) Faces Sebtack to Its Potential Major Partnership with OpenAI Yahoo Finance
22. Disney (DIS) Faces Setbacks in Epic Games and OpenAI Partnerships Yahoo Finance
23. Exclusive | The Sudden Fall of OpenAI’s Most Hyped Product Since ChatGPT The Wall Street Journal
24. Anthropic Acquires Startup Coefficient Bio for About $400 Million The Information
25. AI giant Anthropic backs in Albanese government’s data centre plan Australian Financial Review
26. Anthropic publishes findings on Claude usage in Australia Anthropic
27. Anthropic signs MOU with Australian government Anthropic
28. Anthropic to sign deal with Australia on AI safety and economic data tracking Reuters
29. Google Jumps Back Into the Open Source AI Race With Gemma 4 Decrypt
30. DeepMind releases Gemma 4 open models DeepMind
31. Google battles Chinese open-weights models with Gemma 4 The Register
32. French start-up Mistral raises $830m for data centre in Paris TechCentral
33. MISTRAL mobilizes 705 million euros for its data center and would now advance alone FrenchWeb
34. Mistral announces $830 million debt financing Mistral
35. Mistral AI Raises $830 Million in Debt For Nvidia-Powered Data Center The Wall Street Journal
36. Microsoft Builds Its Own AI Model Stack To Reduce OpenAI Dependence Forbes
37. Penguin Random House Sues OpenAI Over AI ‘Memorisation’ Medianama
38. Here s who s suing OpenAI, from Elon Musk to George R. R. Martin — and what it could cost Sam Altman Business Insider
39. Penguin to sue OpenAI over ChatGPT version of German children's book The Guardian
40. Encyclopedia Britannica sues OpenAI over 'cannibalizing' content for AI training Yahoo