ASML Invests €1.3B to Become Top Shareholder in Mistral AI
Dutch semiconductor giant ASML is poised to become the largest shareholder in French AI startup Mistral AI following a landmark investment. ASML is leading a Series C funding round with a €1.3 billion investment, part of a larger €1.7 billion round. This significant funding values Mistral AI between €10 billion and €14 billion, positioning it as one of Europe’s most valuable AI companies. The move is a strategic effort to bolster Europe’s competitiveness in the global AI landscape, currently dominated by US and Chinese firms. ASML’s investment will likely secure it a seat on Mistral AI’s board. Founded in 2023 by former researchers from Google’s DeepMind and Meta, Mistral AI has rapidly gained prominence for its open-weight large language models.
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NHTSA Overhauls Autonomous Vehicle Safety Standards
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is initiating three new rulemakings to modernize Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for autonomous vehicles. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy noted that current standards are outdated and fail to adequately address vehicles with automated driving systems. The objective is to establish a unified national standard that fosters innovation while prioritizing safety, particularly by removing requirements that are irrelevant for vehicles without traditional human controls. In a related development, Lucid and Uber have finalized a $300 million deal to deploy 20,000 robotaxis, with the service expected to launch next year in a major U.S. city.
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Microbot Medical’s LIBERTY Robotic System Gains FDA Clearance for Endovascular Surgery
Microbot Medical Inc. has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its LIBERTY® Endovascular Robotic System. This is the first time a single-use, remotely operated robotic system for peripheral endovascular procedures has been cleared by the FDA. The clearance allows Microbot Medical to begin commercializing the LIBERTY® System in the United States, with a planned launch in the fourth quarter of 2025. A pivotal study of the system showed 100% success in robotic navigation to the target with no device-related adverse events. The system aims to broaden access to advanced robotic technologies, potentially enhancing procedure efficiency, reducing costs, and minimizing radiation exposure for physicians.
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Switzerland Spotlights Open-Source LLM ‘Apertus’ During Swiss {ai} Weeks
Switzerland’s new open-source large language model (LLM), Apertus, is a key highlight of the nationwide ‘Swiss {ai} Weeks’ initiative, running from September 1 to October 5, 2025. Developed by EPFL, ETH Zurich, and the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS), Apertus is engineered to be a transparent and multilingual AI model. It is available in two sizes (8 billion and 70 billion parameters) and supports over 1,000 languages, with a large portion of its training data being non-English. During Swiss {ai} Weeks, Apertus will be featured in hackathons to tackle real-world challenges in sectors like financial services and healthcare. The entire development process—including architecture, model weights, and training data—is openly accessible to promote innovation and trust in AI.
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Microsoft Azure Suffers Latency Issues from Red Sea Undersea Cable Damage
Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform is facing significant latency issues for traffic between Asia and Europe due to multiple undersea fiber optic cable cuts in the Red Sea. The disruptions, which started on September 6, 2025, are impacting connections for telecom providers and internet users in countries including the UAE, India, and Pakistan. Microsoft has rerouted traffic through alternative network paths to mitigate service interruptions but warns customers to expect higher latency on some routes. Internet monitoring firm NetBlocks confirmed the damage occurred to the SMW4 and IMEWE cable systems near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. While immediate outages have been avoided, the complex and potentially lengthy repair process for the subsea cables suggests that some level of disruption will persist.
Quantum Firm Infleqtion to Go Public in $1.8B SPAC Merger
Quantum technology leader Infleqtion is set to go public via a merger with Churchill Capital Corp X, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The definitive business combination agreement values Infleqtion at a pre-money equity of $1.8 billion. Once the transaction closes, the combined company will operate as Infleqtion and is expected to trade on a major North American exchange under the ticker symbol “INFQ”. The deal is anticipated to generate over $540 million in gross proceeds, which will be used to accelerate the commercialization of its quantum computing and precision sensing products.
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Quantum Computing Moves from Lab to Marketplace, Experts Say
The quantum computing industry is undergoing a major shift from laboratory research to real-world commercial applications, according to industry leaders. In a recent webinar hosted by The Quantum Insider, panelists from top quantum firms including Fujitsu, Oxford Instruments, Quantinuum, and D-Wave discussed the growing adoption of quantum technologies. They emphasized that quantum computers are expected to complement, not replace, classical high-performance computing. Early use cases are already emerging in fields like cybersecurity (with verifiable randomness) and optimization problems using quantum annealing. The discussion also highlighted the importance of hybrid integration, accessibility, and education to drive wider adoption.
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Microsoft Open-Sources Original 6502 BASIC Code for Apple II, Commodore 64
Microsoft has open-sourced the code for its historic 6502 BASIC, the influential programming language that powered iconic early personal computers like the Apple II, Commodore 64, and Atari 2600. This release follows the company’s previous open-sourcing of GW-BASIC and is part of a broader initiative to preserve and share foundational Microsoft code. The source code has been carefully reconstructed and verified by preservationists to ensure it can still produce byte-exact ROMs. This release makes the seminal 6502 version of BASIC available for a new generation of enthusiasts to explore, modify, and share.
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