Axios

AI is upending the media landscape as industries rush to adapt to the new world order.

Zoom in: In a new, exclusive report for Media Trends Executive members, we walk through the state of the media ecosystem and the major trends transforming the market.

There has never been a company like Anthropic.

• It owes almost $650 billion for computing, generates eye-popping revenue per employee and wants every investor to know that its product poses existential risks to humanity.

Why it matters: The future of the AI race, the market and the global economy rests within Anthropic's IPO prospectus, where some of Silicon Valley's most seasoned investors found new reasons to be bullish.

SpaceX's move to become a viable player in the mobile carrier space has taken a toll on traditional telecom stocks in recent months.

• Verizon chief Dan Schulman today became the latest incumbent to try to quiet the noise, Pete writes.

Driving the news: Asked on the company's earnings call this morning for his thoughts on SpaceX entering the fray, Schulman had a simple message for Musk: Bring it on.

• "We know exactly what they're going to do," he said of SpaceX's satellite business, Starlink. "We know who they're talking to on towers. We know who they're talking to to put terrestrial equipment in place."

AUSTIN, Texas — Formula One's global reach continues to expand beyond traditional racing fans, sparking partnership opportunities for sponsors and investors, sports media and venture capital leaders said at an Axios Live and The Race Media event.

Why it matters: F1's fan-focused marketing partnerships and media ventures have sustained the sport's broad popularity, creating a model for others to emulate.

Axios' Sara Fischer and The Race Media's Darren Cox spoke to APEX founder and CEO António Caçorino and Liberty Media Corporation president and CEO Derek Chang. BWT Alpine Formula One™ Team sponsored the Oct. 22 event.

What they're saying: Chang said he's confident about the success of F1's five-year media rights deal with Apple. "We anticipated having a great partner. They've performed exactly the way we thought, and frankly, even better."

• Chang pointed to Lego's F1 cars as a way to reach audience members who might not be traditional racing fans. He added that social media content and marketing partnerships keep F1 fans engaged beyond race day.
• "60% of our fans, and we have hundreds of millions of fans out there, 60% of those fans engage with F1 on a daily basis," Chang said.
• Caçorino credited F1's Netflix streaming show as driving the sport's U.S. presence: "Without 'Drive to Survive' … I don't think we would all be here right now."

What's next: APEX has broadened its investments beyond motorsports to include golf and dance, Caçorino said. The firm has many athletes who are active investors.

• "They bring us a capacity to understand the industry and see it through their lens … because they understand trends, they know what fans want and they've been part of the industry for so long," Caçorino said.

One fun thing: Austin Mayor Kirk Watson gave introductory remarks at the event, crediting F1 with helping to boost the Texas capital's global appeal.

• "We're a big international city, and it's in no small part because of F1 and the role that it plays," he said.

Content from the sponsor's segment:

In a View From the Top conversation, Pierre Gasly, an F1 driver for BWT Alpine Formula One™ Team, spoke about the sport's growing U.S. fan base.

• "It's an amazing time to be part of our sport. As a driver, as a team, as a brand, there is a real momentum," Gasly said.

Marissa Dacay, Adobe global vice president for enterprise marketing, said bringing fans into sports culture is driving demand for unique engagement experiences.

• "Fans are not just spectators, they're participants, they're creators, they're part of the story," Dacay said.

Go deeper: Watch the full event.

Brazilian assets tumbled Monday following the re-election of Brazil's left-leaning incumbent in a presidential runoff Sunday.

Why it matters: The re-election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — known as Lula— underscores the economic challenges Brazil faces as the one-time union organizer heads toward his fourth non-consecutive presidential term.

The Federal Trade Commission on Monday sent demands for Anthropic executives to testify in its consumer harm probe, an FTC spokesperson told Axios.

Why it matters: The FTC is investigating Anthropic and OpenAI and has sent civil subpoenas seeking documents from both AI giants about safety incidents. The agency plans to go after more AI players as well but has only confirmed demands for testimony were sent to Anthropic.

State of play: Individuals at other AI companies have also received demands to testify, the spokesperson said, without providing more detail.

• OpenAI is the only other AI company that was subpoenaed earlier this month, but the FTC has said investigative demands will be sent to more organizations at a later date.
• The administration's focus on Anthropic as the FTC investigation proceeds appears to confirm the company's warning in its S-1 filing that it would likely continue to be the subject of disproportionate government scrutiny.

Catch up quick: The FTC's civil investigative demands span 50 pages for each company and ask for documents concerning security incidents, safeguarding practices, marketing materials and documents detailing privacy policies.

• The agency has investigative authority to examine actions related to consumer harms that could be seen as unfair or deceptive. Those can relate to a wide range of misbehavior, including how companies charge for services or if they're alleged to have misled users.

The big picture: The escalation in the FTC probe comes on the same day as the company pitches investors on one of the largest IPOs in history.

• Anthropic said the FTC's investigation could result in significant costs and model design changes.

For all the political hand-wringing surrounding corporate DEI programs, new polling shows that workers across party lines are more likely to say their expectations of employers have increased than decreased over the past four years.

Why it matters: Companies weighing changes to their DEI commitments should be careful about assuming the political backlash reflects what their own employees want.

Here's something Democrats and Republicans agree on ahead of the midterms: They'd rather work somewhere that respects differing political views than somewhere that mirrors their own beliefs.

Why it matters: For internal communicators, the challenge is translating that desire for mutual respect into workplace expectations that accommodate political differences without pressuring employees to participate or take sides.

Bon Secours Mercy Health on Monday said that it has agreed to acquire Surgery Partners for around $5.7 billion.

Why it matters: The nonprofit health system would greatly expand its outpatient services, thus helping patients avoid hospitals. Much like when Ascension paid $3.9 billion for Amsurg earlier this year.

Chuck Todd and Chris Cillizza are teaming up with Decision Desk HQ to host "The Projection," a live election night broadcast, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The show features two of Washington, D.C.'s most well-known political pundits and gives them a platform to deliver their own real-time results directly to viewers.

Stagwell, the publicly traded ad holding group, has acquired Freestar, a digital ad company that supports publishers.

Why it matters: The acquisition will support Stagwell's owned media arm, which includes media assets such as ReachTV, Ink and RealClearPolitics' parent Real Clear Holdings.

Anthropic is warning investors that it may continue to be a target of the Trump administration as it seeks one of the biggest IPOs in history — and that it has no plans to change its behavior.

Why it matters: The filing doesn't name the president or his administration specifically, but the subtext is clear. Anthropic outlines the risk of being "disproportionately or selectively targeted" due to its positions on AI safety.

• That means politics could determine which models Anthropic releases, where it operates, which customers it serves and whether commercial partners continue doing business with it.

Anthropic's much-anticipated S-1 landed this morning. Axios gave the IPO filing to Anthropic's own Claude and asked five fundamental questions — starting with whether to buy the stock.

Why it matters: Many people's read of this 335-page filing will be an AI-generated summary. It's worth knowing how good that summary is — and how much it changes depending on which model you ask.

Anthropic's IPO filing includes an extensive list of extreme warnings — including the chance its own technology could put humanity at risk.

Why it matters: These are the wildest IPO risk factors in history, a jarring collision of Wall Street legalese and what some see as Silicon Valley sci-fi, including catastrophic threats to humanity, blackmailing AI models, and $750 billion in computing commitments.

Dictionary.com named "maxxing" its 2026 Word of the Year, reflecting a culture obsessed with getting the most out of everything.

Why it matters: The word's explosive popularity reflects society's relentless drive to optimize everything — from earnest self-improvement to giving everyday activities comical nicknames. There's a "maxxing" for just about everything.

Anthropic on Monday filed for its highly anticipated IPO, suggesting that its shares could begin trading before Thanksgiving.

Why it matters: AI giants need additional investment, as massive revenue isn't keeping pace with spending.

Top Democrats poised for powerful roles next year are demanding that major banks and ports preserve any records they have tied to potential imports or other deals involving Russian diesel.

Why it matters: Probing President Trump's agreement with Moscow will be a priority if Democrats regain control of either or both chambers of Congress.

Investors rushed for cover last week in the face of economic, political and market turmoil.

Why it matters: The scramble for safety in both stock and bond markets suggests that investors see reducing risk as the simplest response to the crosscurrents — at least for now.

A tidal wave of litigation is catching up to Meta, leading to $42 billion in recent penalties and settlements, a powerful reminder to AI companies that they could face a court reckoning even when regulation lags.

Why it matters: AI companies are racing to build better models and autonomous agents, but they don't enjoy the same legal protections that shielded web platforms for decades. The scale of the penalties Meta is facing offers a preview of potential legal exposure.