Anthropic Files for IPO, Microsoft Offers 60K Buyouts, Kioxia Hits Record

AI

Anthropic Files S-1 for Nasdaq IPO Under Ticker ANT

Anthropic filed its S-1 with the SEC on October 26, formally kicking off its path to a Nasdaq listing under the ticker ANT. The company is targeting a listing by late November.

The filing reveals first-half 2026 revenue of $16.3 billion, already exceeding its full-year 2025 revenue of $4.6 billion. Anthropic posted its first operating profit in Q2, though convertible note revaluations drove a net loss of $80.7 billion for the half.

On governance, seven co-founders retain 50.1% of voting rights. The offering could surpass SpaceX’s record to become the largest IPO in history. Notably, the S-1 includes a risk disclosure warning that advanced AI systems could “resist human attempts to shut them down.”

Microsoft Offers Buyouts to 60,000 Employees to Fund AI Push

Microsoft announced a voluntary buyout program on October 26 covering roughly 60,000 employees — more than a quarter of its 223,000-person workforce. Chief People Officer Amy Coleman described it as “a new choice to make that transition now with support.”

Eligible teams include AI Experiences, Copilot, Finance, HR, Xbox, and Windows+Devices. Marketing, Security, and Commercial Business are excluded. The offer applies to employees at level 70 and below in the US, UK, Canada, and India.

An earlier 2026 buyout program targeting about 8,750 employees saw over 30% acceptance. Microsoft expects a lower take-up rate this time. The core motivation is cost containment to fund the company’s accelerating AI infrastructure investments.

Big Tech and Semiconductors

Kioxia Posts Record Revenue on AI Data Center Demand

Kioxia reported record quarterly revenue of 1.77 trillion yen for the April-June 2026 quarter, a 415.5% year-over-year surge. Net profit jumped roughly 37-fold as AI data center NAND demand exploded.

Margins tell the story: gross margin hit 66% and operating margin reached 60%. For full fiscal year 2026, revenue rose 37% to 2.34 trillion yen with record net profit of 554.4 billion yen.

The company is reportedly considering a US listing. Analysts expect NAND demand to continue outstripping supply through 2027, which should sustain Kioxia’s pricing power.

Acer Launches Predator Atlas 8 Gaming Handheld at $1,299

Acer’s first gaming handheld, the Predator Atlas 8, launches exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 at $1,299.99 — $500 less than the comparable MSI Claw 8 EX AI+.

The device packs an Intel Arc G3 Extreme processor, 24GB of memory, a 512GB SSD, and an 8-inch 120Hz display. Anti-drift TMR thumbsticks, Hall-effect triggers, dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, and Wi-Fi 7 round out the spec sheet.

Cooling uses Acer’s AeroBlade system with what the company calls the first metal fan in a gaming handheld. It ships with Windows 11 Home and Xbox Game Pass access.

Open Source

Linux 7.4 Merge Window Opens With Major Boot-Time Fix

The Linux 7.4 merge window opened right after the 7.3 release. The headline patch cuts memory initialization time on large-memory systems from roughly 268 seconds to 50 milliseconds.

Workqueue flushing also gets an orders-of-magnitude speedup. Security-focused cleanup removes the unsafe __get_user() and __put_user() helper functions, along with RISC-V architecture changes now merging.

The rc1 milestone is expected in early November, with a stable release targeted for late December 2026. A possible delay into mid-January 2027 is on the table due to Linus Torvalds’ vacation overlap with the merge window.

Google Removes C Binder Driver — Rust Version Now Sole Implementation

The Linux 7.4 merge removed Google’s 11,000-line C Binder driver entirely. Alice Ryhl’s Rust implementation is now the only Binder driver in the kernel. Greg Kroah-Hartman confirmed it is stable and will run on “a few billion devices.”

Google engineer Carlos Llamas called the C version “incredibly painful to maintain”, noting that landing new features without introducing vulnerabilities had become nearly impossible.

The Rust Binder driver was introduced alongside the C version in Linux 6.18 and achieved full feature parity. While it did receive the kernel’s first Rust-code CVE (CVE-2025-68260), testing showed it matched or outperformed the C counterpart. This marks the first time a C driver has been fully replaced by Rust in the Linux kernel.

Gaming

Xbox Game Pass November — Seven Games Added, Xbox One Dropped Entirely

Microsoft confirmed its November Game Pass lineup: seven titles rolling out from Gravhounds on November 2 through Thronefall on November 11.

The bigger news is what’s missing. For the first time, not a single title in the monthly lineup lists Xbox One as a supported platform. Every game targets Series X|S, PC, and Cloud only. November 2026 is effectively the end of the Xbox One era for Game Pass.

BLEACH Mirrors High Launches on iOS and Android

Bandai Namco’s BLEACH Mirrors High launched globally on October 28 for iOS and Android. The free-to-play action game picks up after the Thousand-Year Blood War arc with a story written by franchise creator Tite Kubo.

Two original Soul Reaper characters — Shirin Migishima and Shirane Sanari — serve as dual protagonists. Described as an “immersive 13 Court Guard Squads action” title, the game passed 700,000 pre-registrations worldwide before launch.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake Arrives November 5 on Switch 2

Nintendo’s Ocarina of Time remake, announced during the September Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct, launches November 5 as a Switch 2 exclusive. It is a complete graphical rebuild using the new hardware’s capabilities.

The timing is strategic — two weeks before GTA 6 on November 19. New additions include voice commands and a time trial mode. The game supports multiple languages and reimagines the 1998 original’s gameplay for a modern audience.

References

AI giant Anthropic files for an IPO that could break records — NPR via STL Public Radio
Anthropic’s IPO Could Become World’s Largest IPO — ShareSansar
The IPO Buzz: Anthropic (ANT Proposed) Files its S-1 — IPOScoop
Microsoft launches major buyout program for up to 60,000 employees — evertiq
Microsoft offers 60,000 employees voluntary buyouts as AI spending accelerates — Alaska’s News Source (Reuters)
Kioxia reportedly forecasts 48-fold April-quarter profit jump — TrendForce
Kioxia Expects 36-Fold Profit Surge on AI Demand — adnkronos
Acer Predator Atlas 8 Launches Nov. 1 For $1,299.99 — HotHardware
Acer Enters Premium Handheld Gaming Fight With Predator Atlas 8 — ChannelNews
Linux Kernel 7.4 is shaping up fast — warp2search
Google’s C Binder Driver Removed With Rust Binder Ready For Few Billion Devices — Phoronix
Google’s Painful To Maintain Binder C Linux Driver Being Removed In Favor Of Rust — Phoronix
Xbox Game Pass confirms seven November 2026 games — GamesHub
Eight games coming to Xbox Game Pass October 21-November 3 — Pure Xbox
BLEACH Mirrors High launches October 28 — Gematsu
Bleach Mirrors High release date is tomorrow — Siliconera
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake launches this November — Game Informer
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Remake release date — Shacknews