Claude Dominates Coding | Another $1B+ Valuation for AI Infrastructure
This week's briefing covers Claude Sonnet 4.5's breakthrough in AI coding capabilities, reaching the top of programming benchmarks and integrating across major platforms. Modal's $1.1B valuation demonstrates continued investor confidence in AI infrastructure plays. Real AI agents are now delivering measurable economic value in knowledge work, while California's new AI safety legislation establishes the first major US regulatory framework. OpenAI's growing influence on tech sector valuations creates both opportunities and concentration risks. Meta's major push into robotics platforms signals the next frontier for AI applications beyond software. Weekly venture funding remains robust at $10B across 151 rounds, with continued strength in AI infrastructure, fintech, and healthcare sectors.
Sources
Story #1: Anthropic Releases Claude Sonnet 4.5, Best Coding Model Available
Source: Ben's Bites Link: https://www.bensbites.com/p/half-a-sonnet-makes-me-sing
Story #2: Modal Raises $87M Series B at $1.1B Valuation for AI Infrastructure
Source: VC News Daily Link: https://vcnewsdaily.com
Story #3: Real AI Agents Demonstrate Economic Value in Knowledge Work
Source: One Useful Thing (Ethan Mollick) Link: https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/real-ai-agents-and-real-work
Story #4: Weekly Venture Funding Reaches 151 Rounds Totaling $10 Billion
Source: Parsers VC Link: https://newsletter.parsers.vc
Story #5: California Governor Signs Landmark AI Safety Legislation
Source: The AI Report Link: https://www.theaireport.ai
Story #6: OpenAI Becomes Central to Tech Sector Valuations
Source: Newcomer Link: https://www.newcomer.co/p/openai-is-now-the-tech-economys-atlas
Story #7: Most Important AI Updates From September 21-28
Source: Artificial Intelligence Made Simple (Devansh) Link: https://www.artificialintelligencemadesimple.com/p/most-important-ai-updates-of-the-ba0
Story #8: Claude Sonnet 4.5 Analysis: Best Coding Model Available
Source: Simon Willison's Newsletter Link: https://simonw.substack.com/p/claude-sonnet-45-is-probably-the
Story #9: AI Systems Applied to Earthquake Study and Prediction
Source: Understanding AI Link: https://www.understandingai.org/p/how-ai-is-shaking-up-the-study-of
Story #10: Swiss Government Launches Sovereign AI Initiative
Source: Import AI (Jack Clark) Link: https://importai.substack.com/p/import-ai-429-eval-the-world-economy
Story #11: OpenAI's Sleeping Genius Feature and TikTok Acquisition Speculation
Source: AI & Tech Insights Link: https://aitechin.substack.com/p/this-week-in-ai-and-tech-openais
Story #12: Tinder CPO Shares AI Prototyping Strategy Using JSON-First Approach
Source: Lenny's Newsletter (Ravi Mehta) Link: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-secret-to-better-ai-prototypes
Story #13: Meta Announces Major Push Into Robotics Platforms
Source: AI Valley Link: https://www.theaivalley.com
Story #14: Trump Administration Proposes New Chip Manufacturing Rules
Source: The AI Report Link: https://www.theaireport.ai
Story #15: Meta's Next Big Bet on Robotics Infrastructure
Source: AI Breakfast Link: https://aibreakfast.com
Story #16: Comprehensive Guide to Choosing the Right AI Tool
Source: Artificial Intelligence (Students of AI) Link: https://aihzn.substack.com/p/feeling-swamped-by-ai-tools-cheat
Story #17: Build a Knowledge Base for Your Business Using AI
Source: Excellent AI Prompts (Lea) Link: https://excellentprompts.substack.com/p/ai-prompts-to-create-business-knowledge-base
Story #18: AI Prompts to Build Products People Actually Want
Source: Excellent AI Prompts (Lea) Link: https://excellentprompts.substack.com/p/ai-for-problem-discovery
Story #19: 55 Tools for Competitive Advantage
Source: Captain YAR Link: https://www.youtube.com/@CaptainYAR
Story #20: Data-Driven Insights to Start Your Week
Source: Exponential View (Azeem Azhar) Link: https://www.exponentialview.co/p/data-to-start-your-week-25-09-29
Story #21: Household Automation on Autopilot
Source: Captain YAR Link: https://www.youtube.com/@CaptainYAR
Story #22: Seven AI Tools Create Movie-Quality Voices Without Recording
Source: AI & Tech Insights Link: https://aitechin.substack.com/p/no-microphone-no-problem-these-7
Story #23: AI Actors Illustrate Need for Human Creative Input
Source: AI For Humans Link: https://aiforhumans.show
Story #24: ChatGPT Prompt Guide for Business Persuasion
Source: AI Adopters Club (Kamil Banc) Link: https://aiadopters.club/p/chatgpt-persuasion-prompts-guide
Story #25: Next Play Reports 44 Open Roles and Co-founder Searches
Source: Next Play (ben) Link: https://nextplayso.substack.com/p/44-open-roles-at-eight-sleep-venture
Story #26: Weekly Funding Rounds, Statistics, and Insights
Source: Parsers VC Link: https://newsletter.parsers.vc
Story #27: No AI Popes Allowed: AI Governance Discussion
Source: Bot Eat Brain Link: https://boteatbrain.com
Story #28: 20K Subscribers Discount on Data Science Products
Source: To Data & Beyond (Youssef Hosni) Link: https://youssefh.substack.com/p/3-days-left-for-20k-subscribers-discount
Story #29: Next Play Career Opportunities and Talent Updates
Source: Next Play (ben) Link: https://nextplayso.substack.com
