6 October 2026

AI inference chip startup Etched is reviewing funding offers valuing it at $40 billion to $50 billion, months after raising $700 million at a $21 billion valuation, TechCrunch reports citing sources.

TechCrunch · techcrunch.com

OpenAI will add invisible watermarks, using a method called textGrain, to ChatGPT and Codex text for EU users to meet EU AI Act transparency rules in force since 2 August 2026.

TechCrunch · techcrunch.com

OpenAI will show display ads next to generated images in ChatGPT, starting in the US later in October.

TechCrunch · techcrunch.com

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for optogenetics, the use of light to control neurons.

STAT · statnews.com

Vaxcyte's 31-strain pneumococcal vaccine VAX-31 met its Phase 3 primary endpoints in just over 3,500 adults aged 50 and older, compared with Pfizer's Prevnar 20 and Merck's Capvaxive.

STAT · statnews.com

New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a measles disaster emergency, expanding who can give MMR vaccines until 4 November; the state had 108 cases as of 3 October.

Al Jazeera · aljazeera.com

Reflection AI announced Beam, a 501-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model with 23 billion active parameters, and plans to release its weights this month.

TechCrunch · techcrunch.com

An NCAN analysis finds only about one in three US public four-year colleges affordable, with an average gap of $1,801 between costs and aid; nearly 60% of community colleges are out of reach.

Inside Higher Ed · insidehighered.com

Harvard's graduate student union began a strike authorization vote after 572 days of bargaining, and the City Colleges of Chicago faculty union set a 19 October strike deadline.

Inside Higher Ed · insidehighered.com

The Justice Department has filed 40 cases to revoke citizenship from naturalized Americans between late August and early October, which Attorney General Todd Blanche called the largest denaturalization effort in modern history.

Al Jazeera · aljazeera.com

The Justice Department accused UCLA School of Law of discriminating against white and Asian applicants over three years through essay prompts designed to elicit race.

Inside Higher Ed · insidehighered.com

The separatist Parti Québécois won Quebec's provincial election; leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has pledged a third independence referendum.

Al Jazeera · aljazeera.com

A Turkish-owned grain ship sank in Romania's Black Sea economic zone, killing two; Ukraine blamed two Russian drones, while Romania's coastguard did not identify the cause of the fire.

Al Jazeera · aljazeera.com

The UN Human Rights Council voted 28-10 with 9 abstentions to demand an immediate ceasefire in Sudan and extend its fact-finding mission.

Al Jazeera · aljazeera.com

Kosovo police used tear gas and water cannon on protesters outside parliament as lawmakers moved to cap sentences at the Hague-based Kosovo Specialist Chambers at 15 years; 12 people were injured.

Al Jazeera · aljazeera.com