OpenAI and Anthropic eye top credit ratings, DeepSeek bets big on Huawei chips
OpenAI and Anthropic's bankers are pushing for top-tier credit ratings ahead of possible IPOs, DeepSeek is betting billions on Huawei chips, and the EU is now actively enforcing AI Act transparency rules.
Every line links to a primary source in the full briefing.
01OpenAI and Anthropic's bankers push for top-tier credit ratings ahead of possible IPOs
According to the Financial Times, bankers working with OpenAI and Anthropic are lobbying credit rating agencies to award both companies top-tier ratings, a step usually taken to prepare for public listings or large bond issuances. Neither company has confirmed IPO plans, but the move suggests both are positioning their finances for major capital raises.
If these companies go public or raise debt at scale, it could bring in more capital for lower prices and faster product cycles, but it also means investor pressure will increasingly shape which features and pricing tiers get prioritised.
Source: TradingView
02Anthropic drops pursuit of AI startup Decart
Bloomberg reports that Anthropic has ended talks to acquire the AI startup Decart. No reason was given for the decision, and neither company has commented publicly.
A dropped acquisition on its own has no direct effect on small businesses, but it's a reminder that the AI vendor landscape keeps shifting, so avoid betting your workflow entirely on any single niche startup's roadmap.
Source: TradingView
03Spanish SME body warns that legal AI tools don't mean legal AI use
The Catalan business association Pimec has warned small and medium businesses that using a tool like ChatGPT which itself complies with the EU AI Act does not mean the business using it is automatically compliant. The warning comes as the European Commission has begun actively enforcing AI Act rules and transparency requirements.
If you use AI tools in your business, compliance is your responsibility too, not just the vendor's: you need to check how you're using the tool, not just which tool you picked.
Source: OkDiarioEuropean Commission
04EU Commission actively enforcing AI Act transparency rules
The European Commission confirmed that its AI Office, together with national authorities, has begun enforcing the AI Act, including new transparency rules requiring certain AI systems to disclose to users when they are interacting with AI.
If your business uses chatbots, AI-generated content or automated decision tools facing customers in the EU, you may now need to add disclosure notices or face regulatory scrutiny.
Source: European Commission
05DeepSeek commits billions to Huawei chips despite long wait times
Chinese AI firm DeepSeek has reportedly committed around $2.6 billion to Huawei chips, even though it may need to wait up to a year for delivery. Analysts see this as a signal that Chinese AI firms are shifting toward large-scale domestic hardware deployments rather than relying on foreign chipmakers.
This isn't a direct issue for European SMEs today, but it points to a widening split between US-chip-based and China-chip-based AI ecosystems, which could eventually affect which AI tools and models are available or affordable in different markets.
Source: Global SourcesStartup Fortune
06OpenAI and Google publish new tools and case studies for building with AI agents
OpenAI published a piece detailing how companies like Basis, Clay and Exa Labs use AI agents to handle onboarding, account management and developer integrations. Separately, Google rolled out updates to its Gemini API's managed agents feature, adding background tasks, remote tool connections and a faster model variant.
These are practical signs that AI agents are moving from experiments to routine business functions like customer onboarding and account management, worth watching if you're considering automating similar tasks.
Sources
9 links- 01Anthropic And OpenAI Bankers Push For Top-Tier Credit Ratings Post-IPO - FTTradingView
- 02Anthropic drops pursuit of AI startup Decart, Bloomberg News reportsTradingView
- 03Pimec avisa a las pymes: ya no basta con que ChatGPT cumpla la ley europea de Inteligencia ArtificialOkDiario
- 04Commission starts enforcing AI Act rules and new transparency requirements on 2 AugustEuropean Commission
- 05How AI-native companies turn workflows into operating capabilityOpenAI
- 06Gemini API Managed Agents: 3.6 Flash, hooks, and moreGoogle AI
- 07Expanding Managed Agents in Gemini API: background tasks, remote MCP and moreGoogle AI
- 08DeepSeek's Huawei chip plan signals a shift to large-scale domestic AI deployments in ChinaGlobal Sources
- 09DeepSeek Bets $2.6 Billion on Huawei Chips It May Wait a Year to GetStartup Fortune