Weekly news roundup: OpenAI weighs 5% government stake, Google loses appeal and Fable 5 return

White House lifts Anthropic restrictions

Anthropic has restored access to its powerful models, Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5.

This news follows U.S. government export controls in mid-June that blocked access to the models to foreign nationals inside or outside of the country. ,This was because of concerns that researchers had found methods of overruling – or jailbreaking -- Fable 5, creating vulnerabilities and serious security concerns.

Access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 was completely suspended for all users for more than two weeks while Anthropic worked with government officials on strengthening safeguards.

In a statement released by Anthropic, the company announced that as of June 30, all Fable 5 export controls had been lifted and that they are still working to restore complete access to Mythos 5. The statement claims that Anthropic testing shows that other models, including GPT-5.5, “could identify the same vulnerabilities as Fable 5 did in the report.” The statement goes on to say that “even so, we moved quickly to address the reported bypass.”

The relationship between Anthropic and the White House over the release of Fable 5 and Mythos 5 marks one of the clearest examples of government involvement in the deployment of frontier AI models. For technology leaders, it signals that AI is increasingly becoming a regulatory issue rather than solely a technical one.

Google loses EU antitrust lawsuit appeal

This week, Google suffered another setback in its long-running legal battle with European regulators after losing its appeal against an EU antitrust ruling.

The European Commission originally fined Google €4.1 billion (about $5 billion) in 2018, arguing that the company abused its dominance in Android by blocking rival app distribution. The Court of Justice of the European Union has now upheld the decision, leaving Google with no further grounds to appeal.

The ruling reinforces Europe’s increasingly assertive approach to Big Tech regulation under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA), which are designed to force dominant platforms to open up parts of their ecosystems to competitors. For Google, the decision not only locks in one of the largest antitrust penalties in EU history but also signals continued regulatory pressure.

Apple tests new security release strategy
Apple is testing a new approach to security by releasing critical security fixes independently of major operating system updates, rather than waiting for scheduled iOS updates.

In theory, by releasing security patches earlier, vulnerabilities can be dealt with quicker. Apple is aiming to shorten the time between discovering a flaw and delivering a fix, which reduces the window in which attackers can successfully target users and devices.

If successful, Apple's strategy could influence others to move away from traditional release cycles in favor of security-first update models.

OpenAI explores giving the U.S. government a 5% stake
OpenAI is reportedly in early discussions to grant the U.S. government a 5% equity stake in the company.

According to the Financial Times, the proposal could also extend beyond OpenAI, encouraging leading U.S. AI companies to contribute a small portion of equity to a public investment vehicle, effectively giving the public a direct financial stake in the growth of the AI economy.

The discussions come amid growing public scrutiny of AI’s societal impact, from potential job loss and layoffs to the rapid expansion of data centers and their environmental impact. It also comes following a larger government crackdown on frontier-AI, following White House restrictions on companies like Anthropic and its leading models.

If implemented, the proposal would mark a structural shift in how the U.S. government engages with the AI sector. Rather than acting purely as a regulator, the government could become a direct financial participant in the success of leading AI companies.

Executive moves

• Kris Vervaet. KBC Group has announced the appointment of Kris Vervaet as Group CIO and member of the Executive Committee, effective September 1st.

• Carol Juel. Syncrony named Carol Juel as its new executive vice president and CEO of its Digital platform, replacing the retiring Bart Schaller. Juel has served as the company's chief technology and operating officer.  

IPO watch

The U.S. IPO market remains a key indicator of broader tech sentiment. Here's a look at the latest listings and activity from the past week, based on data from the Nasdaq IPO calendar:

Osprey Acquisition Corp. III

• A blank check company.
• Opening/trading day: July 1.
• IPO price: $10/share.

ITG, Inc.

• A digital and utility infrastructure services provider.
• Opening/trading day: July 1.
• IPO price: $16/share.

Bending Spoons S.p.A.

• A digital business and software platform acquisition company.
• Opening/trading day: July 1.
• IPO price: $29/share.

Neutron Holdings, Inc.

• A micromobility company (Lime).
• Opening/trading day: July 1.
• IPO price: $25/share.

Meridian3 Industrials Acquisition Corp.

• A special purpose acquisition company.
• Expected opening/trading day: July 2.
• IPO price: $10/share.

Viking Acquisition Corp. II

• A blank check company.
• Expected opening/trading day: July 2.
• IPO price: $10/share.Rosa Heaton is a content manager and writer for the IT Strategy team at TechTarget.