# Daily Fintech News — September 24, 2026 > Daily brief on markets, macro, banking, chips and AI infrastructure. Published September 24, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET by Daily Fintech News. Canonical HTML: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24 **Entities covered:** SoftBank Group, OpenAI, Data center, Apple Inc., Anthropic, Meta Platforms, Palantir, Initial public offering, Goldman Sachs --- ## 1. DeepSeek finalizing $7.5 billion fundraising as annualized revenue hits $1 billion *Section: AI · Source: The Information* Chinese AI lab DeepSeek is finalizing a roughly $7.5 billion funding round it aims to close by the end of October, as its annualized revenue has doubled to about $1 billion. Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-1 ## 2. SoftBank raises $11 billion in record junk bond offering to fund OpenAI bet *Section: AI · Source: FT · Tickers: $SFTBY* SoftBank raised about $11 billion in a record high-yield bond offering to help fund its large investment in OpenAI, with yields of up to 9.75% seen as a gauge of investor willingness to keep financing the AI boom. - $SFTBY close: $19.56 (-7.56%) Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-2 ## 3. BlackRock, IFM close in on $25 billion Asia data center deal *Section: AI Infrastructure · Source: Bloomberg* BlackRock and IFM Investors are nearing a roughly $25 billion deal for Stack-linked data centers in Asia, underscoring the scale of capital flowing into AI infrastructure. Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-3 ## 4. Qualcomm renews global licensing pact with Apple starting in 2027 *Section: Deals · Source: Bloomberg · Tickers: $AAPL, $QCOM* Qualcomm said it renewed its global patent-licensing agreement with Apple, with new terms starting in 2027, extending a key royalty revenue relationship that investors had feared could lapse. - $QCOM close: $194.26 (-1.67%) Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-4 ## 5. Uber secures takeover deal as Delivery Hero chief reverses exit plan *Section: M&A · Source: FT · Tickers: $UBER* Delivery Hero's CEO reversed his planned exit after Uber secured a takeover deal, positioning the German food-delivery group for asset sales under its US rival. - $UBER close: $69.22 (-0.29%) Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-5 ## 6. AI video startup Higgsfield says it tops $1 billion revenue run rate *Section: AI · Source: Bloomberg* Generative-AI video startup Higgsfield said it has surpassed a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate, a sign of surging demand for AI video-generation tools. Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-6 ## 7. Oracle invokes force majeure in bid to protect itself from data center cost overruns *Section: AI Infrastructure · Source: The Information · Tickers: $ORCL* Oracle invoked a force majeure provision, normally reserved for extraordinary circumstances, as it seeks to shield itself from surging data-center cost overruns tied to its massive AI cloud buildout. - $ORCL close: $139.54 (-3.32%) Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-7 ## 8. Anthropic strikes $12 billion AI computing deal with Akamai *Section: AI Infrastructure · Source: Bloomberg · Tickers: $AKAM* Anthropic agreed to a roughly $12 billion deal with Akamai to secure AI computing capacity, adding to a wave of large compute commitments by frontier AI labs. - $AKAM close: $110.41 (-7.12%) Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-8 ## 9. GoDaddy receives takeover offer from Norton maker Gen Digital *Section: M&A · Source: FT · Tickers: $GDDY, $GEN* Gen Digital, the maker of Norton and Avast cybersecurity software, has made an early-stage takeover offer for web-domain provider GoDaddy; GoDaddy shares jumped about 14% while Gen Digital fell roughly 8% on the report. - $GDDY close: $100.81 (+4.60%) Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-9 ## 10. DensityAI nears $10 billion valuation in new funding round *Section: AI Chips · Source: The Information* DensityAI, an AI chip startup founded a year ago by former leaders of Tesla's Dojo supercomputer program, is in advanced talks to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in a round valuing it at about $10 billion. Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-10 ## 11. Meta's best month since 2013 puts it on cusp of $2 trillion valuation *Section: Markets · Source: Bloomberg · Tickers: $META* Meta shares have jumped about 36% in September following the launch of its Muse personal AI assistant, putting the stock on pace for its best month since 2013 and roughly 1% away from a $2 trillion market value. - $META close: $777.59 (+5.94%) Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-11 ## 12. Databricks acquires Excel competitor Row Zero *Section: M&A · Source: The Information* Databricks acquired Row Zero, a startup building a Microsoft Excel competitor, as it pushes to attract more non-technical users to its data platform through spreadsheet software. Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-12 ## 13. Anthropic seeks Palantir-style voting control for co-founders ahead of IPO *Section: Startups · Source: The Information* Anthropic is seeking to grant its seven co-founders special Palantir-style voting control as it prepares for a potential initial public offering. Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-13 ## 14. Goldman Sachs goes underweight on hyperscalers on debt supply surge *Section: Markets · Source: Bloomberg* Goldman Sachs moved to an underweight stance on hyperscaler stocks, citing a surge in debt issuance from the group as they ramp up borrowing to fund massive AI data-center spending. Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-14 ## 15. The Fed's rate hike puts debt-heavy AI data-center financing in focus *Section: AI Infrastructure · Source: The Information* The Federal Reserve's recent rate hike and expectations of another are drawing fresh scrutiny to the debt-heavy financing arrangements companies are using to pay for AI data centers and chips. Permalink: https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-24#item-15 --- ## Questions this brief answers **What did DeepSeek finalizing $7.5 billion announce on September 24, 2026?** Chinese AI lab DeepSeek is finalizing a roughly $7.5 billion funding round it aims to close by the end of October, as its annualized revenue has doubled to about $1 billion. **How much did SoftBank Group raise?** SoftBank raised about $11 billion in a record high-yield bond offering to help fund its large investment in OpenAI, with yields of up to 9.75% seen as a gauge of investor willingness to keep financing the AI boom. **What did BlackRock announce on September 24, 2026?** BlackRock and IFM Investors are nearing a roughly $25 billion deal for Stack-linked data centers in Asia, underscoring the scale of capital flowing into AI infrastructure. **What did Apple Inc. announce on September 24, 2026?** Qualcomm said it renewed its global patent-licensing agreement with Apple, with new terms starting in 2027, extending a key royalty revenue relationship that investors had feared could lapse. **What is the Uber secures takeover deal deal, and what is it worth?** Delivery Hero's CEO reversed his planned exit after Uber secured a takeover deal, positioning the German food-delivery group for asset sales under its US rival. **What did AI video startup Higgsfield announce on September 24, 2026?** Generative-AI video startup Higgsfield said it has surpassed a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate, a sign of surging demand for AI video-generation tools. --- ## More from Daily Fintech News - Previous brief: [September 23, 2026 — 10-Year Treasury Yield Tops 5.1% as Hot PMI Data Fuels Inflation Fears](https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-23) - Next brief: [September 25, 2026 — Cracks appear in Oracle's AI data-center build-out at massive New Mexico project](https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-25) - Also covers Anthropic, Apple Inc., Data center: [September 8, 2026 — Palantir names Nebius its preferred sovereign AI infrastructure partner](https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-08) - Also covers Anthropic, Apple Inc., Data center: [September 22, 2026 — Trump Says Iran "Will Never Have a Nuclear Weapon" as He Weighs a "Big Decision"](https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-22) - Also covers Anthropic, Apple Inc., Data center: [September 1, 2026 — Dell delivers huge beat and raise on AI server demand](https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech/2026-09-01) - [All briefs](https://dailyfintechnews.com/brief/fintech) *Source: Daily Fintech News (https://dailyfintechnews.com). Attribution with a link to the brief URL is appreciated when quoted.*