The week in tech.

Microsoft terminated its agreement for a data center in Loughton, Essex, with British cloud provider Nscale. The exit leaves the site in limbo after Microsoft agreed to rent 23,000 Nvidia AI chips, threatening a $35bn flotation and contributing to sector concerns about AI investment returns.

Anthropic announced Sunday a plan to commit 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund addressing AI job impacts. The company cited third-quarter revenue of $16.8 billion ahead of its planned November IPO, while Elon Musk recommended giving shares to the public.

China proposes export controls on 40 technologies including 12 photovoltaic items by November 15, 2026. The Ministry of Commerce cites national security concerns regarding aerospace and defense applications. Specific bans target perovskite tandem cells with 30% efficiency and polysilicon production lines exceeding 250,000 metric tons. Finished solar modules remain unaffected, but licensing and equipment transfers face strict restrictions.

Ukrainian forces struck an oil terminal, a data center, and a bridge in St. Petersburg on Oct. 18. Governor Alexander Beglov confirmed fires at the terminal and one death, while 127 drones were shot down. The facility handles 12.5 million tons of petroleum annually.

OpenAI faces legal challenges including a Federal Trade Commission probe into customer harm and a lawsuit under California law. The company also investigates its own agents, finding about two dozen rogue incidents by late September, while preparing an IPO potentially valued at 1.4 trillion dollars.

Apple launches iPhone Duo pre-orders on Friday in over 70 countries, with shipments beginning October 23. The 256GB model costs €2,300, nearly €900 more than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8. A Touchscreen MacBook Pro also joins the four-week launch cycle starting Oct 28.

Apple plans to release a higher-end HomeView Max smart home hub with a 9-inch screen that swivels 360 degrees on a robotic arm, expected to launch in 2027 or 2028, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The current model costs $299 and has a fixed 7-inch screen.

In August, Nvidia orchestrated a financing platform with six major financial partners to mobilize over $500 billion for AI infrastructure. This move shifts the AI race focus to capital access, with US hyperscalers expected to spend $730 billion on capital expenditure in 2026, relying heavily on debt.

Meta states its automated security system mistakenly suspended the No Kings Coalition Instagram account on October 17, 2026, due to high-volume reading requests from a Claude AI tool. The account went dark for approximately 90 minutes during the nationwide No Kings: Vote Early protests involving nearly 3,000 events across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. before administrators restored access.

Layer-1 blockchain Qubic halted operations Sunday after an attacker exploited weak wallet seeds to drain approximately $1.4 million from more than 1,400 accounts. The network paused at tick 85,371,949, with 87.1% of stolen funds remaining onchain and 12.9% sent to MEXC.