September Tech Digest: Nvidia & OpenAI’s AI Expansion, Anthropic’s $13B Raise, and Major Layoffs

This September, the technology landscape has been anything but still. Record-breaking AI investments, billion-dollar funding rounds, and strategic changes in fintech, healthcare, and enterprise software signal that companies are recalibrating quickly. Shifting priorities, workforce reductions, and ambitious infrastructure projects are setting the stage for the next wave of innovation.

Expanding AI infrastructure and raising the stakes

The global race in artificial intelligence continues to accelerate. Industry leaders are committing unprecedented resources to infrastructure and model development, while fresh partnerships are reshaping the competitive landscape.

Nvidia and OpenAI strengthen partnership

Nvidia, led by CEO Jensen Huang, has announced plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI. The collaboration includes building 10 gigawatts of Nvidia-powered data centers, enough energy to serve millions of households. With this agreement, Nvidia becomes OpenAI’s strategic compute and networking partner, while OpenAI reduces its reliance on Microsoft.

Anthropic closes $13B funding round at $183B valuation

Anthropic, the AI company founded by Dario and Daniela Amodei, raised $13 billion in a Series F round led by Iconiq, Fidelity, and Lightspeed. The company is now valued at $183 billion. Demand is surging: Anthropic reports its annual recurring revenue has grown from $1 billion to $5 billion in 2025. Its developer tool, Claude Code, now generates more than $500 million in run-rate revenue.

Microsoft integrates Claude into its ecosystem

Anthropic’s rapid growth is also changing alliances. Microsoft, traditionally aligned with OpenAI, is now embedding Claude models into its Copilot AI assistant and Office 365 products. Enterprise customers will be able to choose between OpenAI and Anthropic models, signaling a shift away from exclusive partnerships toward diversified AI ecosystems.

OpenAI’s Stargate expansion project

OpenAI is also expanding its infrastructure. Together with Oracle and SoftBank, it announced plans to establish five new Stargate data centers in the U.S., bringing total planned capacity to 7 gigawatts. Sites in Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, and the Midwest will support its next-generation models.

Clarifai focuses on optimization

Instead of large-scale infrastructure alone, Clarifai unveiled a new reasoning engine that improves efficiency by running AI models twice as fast and at 40% lower cost. CEO Matthew Zeiler argues that optimization may help balance the industry’s rapidly growing demand for compute.

Thinking Machines Lab publishes first research

Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI and now founder of Thinking Machines Lab (valued at $12 billion), released her first paper focused on reducing randomness in AI model outputs. The lab is working to improve model reliability through advances in inference and reinforcement learning, with its first product expected later this year.

Key Takeaways ⬇️

✅ Opportunities:

• Cloud and compute demand will keep rising (data centers, energy, chips).
• Optimization startups (faster/cheaper AI) are prime acquisition targets.
• Diversified ecosystems (Anthropic + Microsoft) show clients want flexibility, not lock-in.

📌 Risks:

• Enormous capital expenditure means only top players can compete.
• Smaller AI firms may get squeezed out unless they specialize in optimization or niche applications.

Tech Layoffs in September

Amid these ambitious investments, several leading companies announced workforce cuts, highlighting a sector-wide reset.

• xAI. Elon Musk’s AI startup eliminated around 500 positions — nearly a third of its annotation team — as it pivots toward specialist AI tutors in STEM, finance, and medicine.
• Rivian. The electric vehicle maker reduced staff by 200 (1.5%) following the expiration of federal EV tax credits.
• Oracle. 363 jobs cut across Seattle and San Francisco.
• Salesforce. 262 roles eliminated at headquarters, just weeks after CEO Marc Benioff noted AI’s role in reducing customer service demands.

Key Takeaways ⬇️

🔍 Signals to watch:

• AI automation → job cuts (especially customer service & data annotation).
• Policy shifts matter: EV layoffs linked to tax credit expiration.
• Enterprise software giants are cutting fat to redirect resources into AI.

📌 Implication: Efficiency + AI adoption = leaner teams. Founders should factor AI productivity gains vs. headcount needs early.

Fintech partnerships and digital identity growth

AI continues to reshape financial technology, driving smarter transactions and stronger security. Embedded finance isn’t just a trend — it's becoming a revenue strategy. 

Google and PayPal join forces

Google and PayPal announced a multi-year collaboration to develop AI-powered shopping experiences. The partnership integrates PayPal’s payment infrastructure, Hyperwallet payouts, and identity solutions across Google’s ecosystem, including Cloud, Ads, and Play. Both companies are also backing the new Agent Payments Protocol, an open standard that enables AI-driven purchases, already supported by 60+ merchants and financial institutions.

ID.me secures $340M in funding

Digital identity platform ID.me closed a $340 million Series E round to strengthen its AI-driven verification systems. Now serving more than 150 million users across government and healthcare, the company has already helped prevent over $270 billion in unemployment fraud. CEO Blake Hall stated the new funding will accelerate security features designed to meet KYC and AML compliance needs.

Together, these developments show how AI is becoming crucial technology to finance business — enhancing both transaction intelligence and fraud prevention. KYC and AML compliance stays a central focus for AI-driven systems.

Key Takeaways ⬇️

✅ Opportunities:

• Embedded finance + AI is now a mainstream monetization strategy.
• ID.me’s fraud prevention results make digital ID one of the hottest fintech verticals.

📌 Risks:

• Regulatory hurdles (KYC/AML compliance) remain strict and evolving.
• Heavy dependence on consumer trust → one major data breach could stall momentum.

Philips’ turnaround to AI in healthcarenbsp;

On September 15, Fortune interviewed Philips CEO Roy Jakobs about the company’s recovery and its vision for AI in healthcare.

Philips, founded in 1891, faced a crisis in 2021 when U.S. regulators recalled millions of breathing devices. Since taking over in 2022, Jakobs has led a major restructuring, including 10,000 job cuts. The result: Philips’ stock has since risen 81%.

In the interview, Roy Jakobs was thinking about the role of AI in healthcare as well as recent technology trends in healthcare. Jakobs highlighted innovations such as AI-powered patient monitoring systems and the Azurion image-guided therapy platform, which enable less invasive and more efficient care. He emphasized that true AI progress in healthcare is measured not by hype, but by tangible impact — particularly in addressing resource shortages in health systems.

He also stressed the need for balanced regulation, ensuring AI can innovate without being constrained by overly strict rules, especially as Europe seeks to compete more closely with the U.S.

Key Takeaways ⬇️

✅ Opportunities:

• AI in healthcare is moving past hype into real, revenue-driving solutions.
• Chronic shortages in healthcare staff → strong demand for AI tools.

📌 Risks:

• Europe’s heavier regulatory hand may slow commercialization.
• Healthcare adoption cycles are slower vs. fintech/enterprise.

Conclusion

• For founders → the blueprint is clear: pick a sector, solve a pain point with AI + infrastructure, and scale fast.
• For investors → the winners will be those who balance capital-intensive infrastructure bets with lean, optimization-driven plays.

September underscored one clear reality: the next stage of technological transformation is not driven by AI models alone, but by the infrastructure, partnerships, and industry-specific applications that bring them to life.