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Anthropic is quietly cementing itself as the dominant force in commercial AI. Despite charging more per token than any major competitor, it pulled in more revenue than OpenAI, Google, and others combined in July of two thousand twenty six, according to data from Vercel's AI Gateway. Premium pricing, it turns out, is not a deterrent when developers trust the product.
Meanwhile, Apple is navigating one of its most delicate geopolitical tightropes yet. To bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese iPhones, the company is pairing its own in-house model with Alibaba's Qwen system. It is a pragmatic compromise, but it raises real questions about data sovereignty and how much of Apple's AI identity survives the partnership.
And on a quieter note, if you hold savings bonds through TreasuryDirect, pay attention. The government is migrating its login system to ID dot me, the private identity verification service that has already drawn scrutiny over its facial recognition practices. Millions of ordinary Americans will soon need a biometric account just to access their own savings.
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