The sharp take · Verified June 2026
We don't do press releases.
The sharp, sourced, contrarian read on AI and the technology industry — we read the launch, check the receipts, and say what's actually going on.
Today's takes
AI policy
The government switched off the best AI model in the world over a bug it won't show us
Three days. That's how long Fable 5 lasted.
12 June 2026
AI models
Fable 5 is here. The benchmark flex is real — the moat isn't.
The chart goes up. That's the easy part.
9 June 2026
Industry
OpenAI files a week after Anthropic, and nobody can agree what it's worth
$730bn? $850bn? A trillion? Pick a number — they did.
8 June 2026
AI models
xAI's new model animates one photo into video — 'preview' is the word doing the work
Cinematic video from a single still, at 720p, in preview. Impressive — and unfinished.
3 June 2026
AI policy
The US just made the chip ban follow the owner, not the address
Spin up a subsidiary in Singapore? Doesn't matter anymore. The rule asks who your parent is.
1 June 2026
Industry
Anthropic wants to go public on a number you're not allowed to see yet
$965bn valuation, $47bn run-rate, one confidential filing. Spot the asymmetry.
1 June 2026
AI models
Opus 4.8: the benchmarks crept up, but the fast mode is the actual upgrade
Five points on a coding benchmark. A 2.5× speed-up. Guess which one you'll feel.
28 May 2026
AI models
Google announced a flagship it couldn't ship — and called the cheap one the win
Gemini 3.5 Flash is out. Gemini 3.5 Pro is a 'next month'. Notice which one got the keynote.
19 May 2026
The beat, unfiltered
AI models
Frontier model launches, capabilities and head-to-head comparisons across every lab — OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, xAI, Meta, DeepSeek, Mistral and the rest.
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The business of the AI labs — funding, strategy, products, partnerships and leadership, and the race between OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and xAI.
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Regulation, governance, export controls, safety and the geopolitics of frontier AI — worldwide.
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