Anthropic Ban Hits Home

By the Orchestra editors · 4 min read

TL;DR

The US blocked global access to Anthropic's Fable 5 and Mythos 5, leaving Australian users and policymakers scrambling over sovereign AI
Tech Council warns proposed CGT changes will hammer Australia's AI, quantum and robotics sectors
Salesforce drops $3.6B on AI customer service platform Fin to bolster Agentforce
NewCore raises $66M to solve the emerging problem of identity management for AI agents

AI · Worldwide

US forces Anthropic to pull its most powerful models from foreign users

The White House ordered Anthropic to block all foreign access to its newly launched Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models, reportedly driven by fears of Chinese access. Cybersecurity experts are protesting the move, warning it hobbles defenders more than adversaries.

Salesforce buys AI agent platform Fin for $3.6B

Salesforce is acquiring Fin, an AI customer service platform, to fold its team and tech into its Agentforce enterprise product. It's another sign that the AI agent layer is where the big M&A dollars are flowing.

NewCore raises $66M to give AI agents enterprise identities

As AI agents take on employee-like roles inside organisations, NewCore is betting the next big security challenge is managing agent identities rather than human ones. The startup emerged from stealth with $66M in funding.

Australian Tech

Anthropic shutdown forces sovereign AI reckoning in Australia

Australian users lost access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 overnight, prompting the ACTU and policy experts to argue Australia is dangerously dependent on US-controlled AI infrastructure. The incident has injected urgency into the sovereign AI debate.

Tech Council warns CGT changes will crush AI, quantum and robotics startups

The Tech Council of Australia says proposed capital gains tax discount changes will hit the country's emerging AI, robotics and quantum sectors hardest, pushing top talent offshore or into large incumbents and consultancies.