OpenAI is in preliminary discussions with major investors about a new private funding round that would target a valuation of about $1.2 trillion, a sharp increase from the $852 billion valuation at its March 2026 funding. The approach was initiated by investors, and whether the round proceeds and its timing depend on OpenAI's listing plans. In March 2026, OpenAI raised $122 billion at an $852 billion valuation. If the new round is completed, OpenAI's valuation would exceed that of rival Anthropic, which was valued at $965 billion after its May 2026 funding. OpenAI's annualized revenue surpassed $40 billion in August 2026, up 20% month on month. OpenAI released GPT-5.6 in July 2026 and Astra earlier in September 2026, with market.
Salesforce introduced a new artificial intelligence model named Koa during the opening session of its annual Dreamforce customer conference. The company also launched security tools designed for AI agents, addressing enterprise customers' need to run agents securely within their own data environments. The announcements place Salesforce in two main areas of enterprise AI: open-source AI models and software that helps customers operate AI agents safely on their own data.
Amazon Web Services said on September 15, 2026 that more than six months after drone strikes damaged its infrastructure in the early phase of the Iran war, it cannot restore its Bahrain cloud facility or one of three data-hosting zones in the United Arab Emirates. Damage spanned multiple availability zones, exceeding the design limits of its regional and multi-zone services. Only resources and data in the UAE zone labeled mec1-az2 are unrecoverable; engineers are still working to restore two other affected UAE zones.
SpaceX plans to conduct the 14th test flight of its Starship heavy-lift rocket on September 22, 2026, the first attempt to fly the vehicle in Earth orbit and deploy 26 next-generation Starlink V3 satellites. The launch window opens at 7:15 a. m. Central Time and lasts 75 minutes. The upper stage is to fly at about 275 kilometers for roughly 10 hours, completing about six orbits before splashing down in the Pacific west of Chile.
A Geekbench 7 entry for a device identified as Mac18,5 shows Apple's M6 Mac mini with a 12-core CPU at 4.78GHz base frequency scoring 4,071 single-core and 22,783 multi-core. That is about 24% above the M4 Mac mini in single-core and 48% higher in multi-core. The M6 uses a 2-nanometer process, offers up to 170GB/s memory bandwidth, and starts at 899 dollars when it launches on September 22, 2026.
On September 15, 2026, Google released two native end-to-end real-time audio models, Gemini 3.8 Live and Gemini 3.8 Live Extended Thinking. Gemini 3.8 Live supports 97 languages, real-time visual context, and asynchronous tool and API calls. The Extended Thinking version adds background multi-step reasoning and ranked first on Artificial Analysis's Speech to Speech Quality Index with a score of 82.6. Both models are available through the API and AI Studio.
Ford will broaden V-8 engine availability across its 2027 F-150 lineup and lower starting prices on some high-performance models. The 2027 F-150 Raptor starts at 77,800 dollars, 4,000 dollars below the current model, while the 2027 F-150 Tremor starts at about 62,400 dollars, roughly 5,300 dollars lower. Ford said the reductions come from removing some standard features, including heated second-row seats, and replacing power controls with manual ones on parts such as the steering column.
Estée Lauder, a New York-based beauty company with roughly 80 years of history, owns more than 20 brands including Clinique, Jo Malone, MAC, Bobbi Brown and La Mer. It is the only large United States company focused entirely on prestige beauty, spanning skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care. Chief Executive Stéphane de La Faverie, who took over in 2025, is pursuing the Beauty Reimagined strategy. Sales rose for a fourth straight quarter, while the shares remain about 74% below their January 2022 peak.
Micron announced on September 15, 2026 that it completed demonstration validation of a 512GB DDR5 RDIMM server memory module and has tested it across multiple server platforms. The module supports speeds up to 9,200 MT/s, enabling up to 12TB of system memory in a dual-socket server with 24 DIMM slots. Micron said a single 512GB module draws about 16 watts, cutting operating power by more than 60% versus four 128GB modules at roughly 44 watts.
Ecolab, listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker ECL, announced on September 15, 2026, the official opening of its Purolite plant in Quzhou, Zhejiang, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by global and Greater China management. The site shipped its first products in July 2026. The investment expands Ecolab's production capacity in separation and purification technologies and adds a co-located research and development center with integrated teams.
Fosun Pharma (02196. HK) repurchased 1.30 million shares on September 15, 2026, at HKD 16.890 to HKD 17.100 per share, for HKD 22.07 million. The stock closed at HKD 16.930, down 1.11%, on turnover of HKD 57.16 million. The buyback marked a fifth straight session since September 9, bringing the five-day total to 5.5375 million shares for HKD 92.68 million. The shares fell 1.91% over that period.
Meta unveiled Meta One on September 15, a unified subscription tier that bundles paid benefits across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp and folds in Meta Verified, which was previously billed monthly per platform for creators and businesses. Members gain higher-tier Meta AI features, anti-impersonation monitoring, priority human support and, in select regions, exclusive feed exposure and advanced analytics. Meta said the move aims to diversify revenue beyond digital advertising. Pricing and launch countries remain under internal review and undisclosed.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny Knight are donating USD 1.1 billion to Providence St. Vincent Medical Center and its Providence Heart Institute in Oregon, one of the largest gifts ever made to a US medical institution. The funds will create Oregon's first hospital focused on women's health and support cardiac care across Providence's eight hospitals in the state. The Knights previously gave USD 2 billion to the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University.
Onewo's audited 2026 interim report, released on September 10, discloses that companies controlled by 58. com founder, chairman and CEO Yao Jinbo sold down their entire Onewo (02602. HK) stake in June and July 2026, raising more than HKD 200 million. The report says the sales breached prior written-notice requirements and that trading from July 20 to July 31 also violated a lock-up.
Jiangte Motor said director Wang Wenlin resigned for personal reasons from his roles as director, strategy committee member, general manager and legal representative, effective September 14, 2026. The board appointed Chairman Wang Xin, a co-controller, as general manager and legal representative. In the first half of 2026, revenue fell 1.87% to RMB 957 million, while net loss attributable to shareholders widened 86.55% to RMB 213 million.
Carlyle Group, which manages 485 billion US dollars in assets, announced at an investor meeting of about 400 participants at its Washington headquarters that it has joined the MIT Generative AI Impact Consortium. The firm and the consortium will conduct a two-year research project on using large language models for portfolio management and investment decisions. Carlyle cited decades of investment experience and proprietary private-market data. Alternative asset managers have increasingly applied artificial intelligence internally and across portfolio companies.
Yingjia Gongjiu (603198. SH) completed a board transition at an extraordinary shareholders meeting on September 15, 2026, re-electing Ni Yongpei as chairman and Zhang Dandan as vice chairwoman. The company also appointed Sun Wangsheng as board secretary and named Ye Yuqiong and Gu Zhengzhu deputy general managers. For the first half of 2026, revenue rose 8.08% to RMB 3.416 billion, while net profit attributable to shareholders increased 2.79% to RMB 1.162 billion.
Intel is preparing its 14A process for volume production, targeting about 6,000 wafers a month by the end of 2027 while deploying equipment and running customer validation. The node follows 18A, which uses RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors and PowerVia backside power delivery and is running at yields near or at 80%. Intel is promoting its foundry business against TSMC and Samsung, and has said 14A will be among the first nodes to use High-NA EUV lithography.
Meta plans to deploy its third-generation in-house AI chip, Arke, across its data centres in the first half of 2027 to cut the cost and energy of running AI models. TSMC delivered 12 test chips on 1 September 2026, with measured performance within 2% to 3% of simulations. Meta has committed to deploying more than 1 gigawatt of the chips within 12 months and will follow with the next-generation Astrid chip by the end of 2027.
Shanxi Transformation and Comprehensive Reform Demonstration Zone, UBTech and Beijing Hehaoruisheng Technology Industry Development Co. have signed a cooperation agreement to jointly build the Shanxi Embodied Intelligence Innovation Center and an intelligent manufacturing project for special robots used in industrial energy and mining. The three parties will apply embodied intelligence technology to support the transformation and upgrading of traditional industrial and mining industries.
The 2027 Aion i60 went on sale on September 15, 2026, with seven trims priced at RMB 111,600 to RMB 142,800 and a limited-time renewal price of RMB 103,600 to RMB 134,800. Some trims add a 192-line lidar. GAC Aion sold 33,694 vehicles in August 2026, up 38.56% year on year, and 244,080 units in the first eight months, up 58.37%.
Junzheng Group and its wholly owned subsidiary Junzheng Chemical signed a partnership agreement for the Tianjin Gaorong Changying Equity Investment Fund with general partner Tibet Rongzhan Investment Center and 12 other limited partners, targeting committed capital of RMB 3.261 billion. Junzheng Group and Junzheng Chemical will each contribute RMB 500 million, totaling RMB 1 billion, or 30.67% of committed capital. The fund, managed by Gaorong Ventures, has not yet filed with the Asset Management Association of China and has not begun investing.
Air China reported that in August 2026 its passenger capacity rose 6.3% year on year and passenger traffic increased 11.3%, with an average passenger load factor of 87.7%, up 4 percentage points. On the cargo side, freight capacity grew 8.1% and cargo and mail traffic rose 9.2%, while the cargo load factor reached 42.5%, up 0.4 percentage points.
MTR Corporation has accepted the government's land premium offer of RMB10.505 billion for Phase 2 of the Tuen Mun Area 16 property development project. The premium, proposed by the government on 13 July 2026, was assessed by reference to the market value of the Tuen Mun site after railway development. Under the Tuen Mun South Extension project agreement, the agreed-period downward adjustment amount is deducted from the assessed premium for each Tuen Mun site, fully offsetting the premium.
Nvidia is reported to be planning the launch of its GeForce RTX 60 series graphics cards in the first half of 2027, built on a Rubin gaming architecture. The launch window was approved several months ago, with staged milestones set to keep the 2027 release on track. Reported specifications include a 35% performance gain over the previous generation and double the ray tracing performance, neither confirmed by Nvidia. Pricing has not been disclosed.
ASR Microelectronics filed a Hong Kong listing application on September 11, 2026, with Morgan Stanley and Haitong International as joint sponsors. The fabless chipmaker ranked first in the global cellular connectivity chip market by 2025 shipments with a 37.8% share. It posted RMB 84.24 million in first-half 2026 net profit, reversing a loss, while cumulative losses reached RMB 5.015 billion and Alibaba Network cut its stake to 10.58%.
Xinjiang Communications Construction announced on September 15, 2026, a plan to issue convertible bonds raising no more than RMB 1.5 billion. The proceeds will fund two general construction contracting projects: the DRTJ-04 section of the G571 Lapeiquan–Bashkurgan highway and the GTBTZ-17 section of the S12 Gaochang (Turpan)–Toksun–Baluntai highway.
Apple is piloting a new subscription promotion in selected international markets, offering Apple TV+ streaming and Apple Arcade gaming at no extra charge to users who subscribe to certain iCloud storage tiers. The company has not said whether the model will expand to more markets or how long the pilot will last. Package contents and supported services vary by market, with local official plans determining specific benefits.
Xingyun Technology (300209) said it plans to add RMB 13 billion to its 2026 procurement budget for server equipment and components, lifting the full-year total to no more than RMB 20 billion, funded by own and self-raised capital including finance leases. The board approved the proposal, which still requires shareholder approval. The company reported first-half 2026 revenue of RMB 254 million, up 497.11%, and net profit of RMB 12.02 million, up 540.15%.
Legend Biotech named Zhang Ying, formerly Novartis's chief commercial officer for international business and president of Novartis China, as chief executive effective September 15, 2026. She succeeds interim CEO Alan Bash, who remains president of the CARVYKTI business. In the second quarter of 2026, CARVYKTI net sales reached about USD 657 million, up 50%, while Legend posted net income of USD 33.2 million, reversing a year-earlier loss.