Research firm SemiAnalysis launches a hard AI agent test; the best model scores 12%

SemiAnalysis has launched GDPx, a benchmark for AI agents, meaning AI systems that carry out multi-step tasks on their own. It covers 11 fields, including chip design, cybersecurity, biology, finance, law, quant trading, software engineering, materials science and alignment. Anthropic's Opus 5.5 has the top score, at 12%.

Data analytics firm Hex raises $100M after rebuilding its product for AI agents

Hex Technologies, which makes data analytics software, raised a $100 million Series D led by Peak XV. Forbes reports the round values the company at $1.2 billion. Hex says it has rebuilt its platform for AI agents.

Hyperbolic, which rents AI computing from smaller cloud firms, raises $30M

Hyperbolic lets companies rent AI computing from many smaller cloud providers through one service. It raised a $30 million Series A-1 led by Walden Catalyst, the firm of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. Business Insider says it has raised $50 million in total.

Memory chip maker Kioxia's shares fall up to 15% after a cautious outlook

Shares of Kioxia, a Japanese maker of NAND flash memory, fell by up to 15% on Monday. Bloomberg reports it was the biggest drop in three months. Investors were disappointed by the company's cautious outlook for its third quarter, which raised worries that AI-driven growth may be slowing.

Bloomberg: crypto exchange Binance set up a 100-person war room after its record hack

Bloomberg describes how Binance responded to what it calls the biggest crypto hack in history. The exchange set up a global war room of about 100 people. It also worked with other crypto firms and the FBI to contain the damage. Bloomberg says the attack began with a rehearsal.

Fans rebuild F-Stop, Valve's cancelled Portal prequel, from leaked files

F-Stop, a Portal prequel Valve cancelled in 2007, is now playable after fans stitched it together from several leaks. Most assets came from a 12 TB Steam archive that leaked in August. The missing source code and map files appeared on the Valve Cut Content project's Discord server. Some textures and dialogue are still missing, and the campaign takes under an hour. Its main idea is a camera that photographs an object so you can place it elsewhere to solve puzzles.

South Korea plans $15.97B for AI and chips in 2027, nearly double this year

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said the country's 2027 budget will include $15.97 billion for AI, chips, physical AI and data centres. Reuters reports that is nearly twice the 2026 amount.

White House refuses to share its full draft rules for voluntary AI model testing

The Trump administration declined to hand over key documents about its voluntary AI testing framework, The Information reports. In a letter, the White House argues it does not have to share the full draft. It cites national security and commercial exemptions.

Everything else