Damian Pickett · No. 6
Wednesday 9 September 2026
Apple’s ‘Surprise and Shine’ event is today, expected to unveil the first foldable iPhone.
OpenAI says an unreleased model resolved the Navier-Stokes Millennium Prize problem in under four days, but mathematicians and rivals dispute how much credit the company deserves.
Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem’s new thriller received a 15.5-minute standing ovation at its Venice premiere, one of the festival’s longest. Cruz was seen in tears embracing her husband and co-star.
The Patriots agreed a four-year, $135 million extension with cornerback Christian Gonzalez, making him the highest-paid corner in NFL history, a day before New England’s season opener against Seattle.
Read · Lenny's Newsletter
A framework for categorizing and prioritizing your agent initiatives
Today’s news is full of AI agents, from Meta’s Muse to Antonelli being compared to one, so a framework for telling a useful one from hype feels timely.
Listen · Founders
Nolan’s name is all over today’s box-office and Telluride coverage, so this is a good look at the obsession behind his films.
Listen · David Senra
With Venice and Telluride dominating film news today, Ovitz’s story of building CAA is a sharp look at how Hollywood deals get made.
Listen · Acquired
Rolex is F1’s official timekeeper, and today’s F1 news on Antonelli and Vettel driving Schumacher’s Ferrari makes this a fitting listen.
Coding startup Cognition raised at a $48 billion valuation, a higher multiple than Cursor’s before its sale, suggesting investors expect several AI coding tools to coexist rather than one clear winner.
French AI lab Mistral raised €3 billion at a €21 billion valuation in a round led by Samsung, Scaleup Europe and PSG Equity, underlining investor appetite for AI built outside the US.
Google DeepMind released AlphaGenome Atlas, mapping the molecular effects of 9 billion single-letter DNA variants across the human genome, a resource intended to speed up disease research.
Meta’s new Muse app is a personal AI agent that can access users’ email, calendars, payments and health services, the company’s biggest consumer AI bet yet, testing how much people will hand over.
UK manufacturing software startup CloudNC raised a $20 million extension round, taking its lifetime funding to $128 million, to keep automating factory production bottlenecks.
Rocket startup Stoke Space closed the first tranche of a $1 billion Series E to reach orbit and build a larger, fully reusable rocket, aiming to compete directly with SpaceX.
French startup The Exploration Company raised $450 million, the largest-ever Series C by a European space company, to build reusable spacecraft.
The Iowa nuclear plant Google pledged to bring back online has secured a $1.9 billion loan from the US Energy Department, backing the tech industry’s push for more power to run AI.
Apple unveiled the first AirPods on 7 September 2016, though they did not go on sale until that December, marking a decade of the wireless earbuds that reshaped the category.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple plans to unveil a new ‘Readiness’ app at today’s event, according to a social media post. Apple has not confirmed this itself.
9to5Mac rounds up last-minute reports ahead of today’s Apple event, where the company is expected to announce its first foldable iPhone, said to be called the iPhone Ultra. This is a report, not a confirmed fact.
Nearly every configuration of the Apple Watch SE 3 has disappeared from Apple’s online store in the US and elsewhere, for reasons unknown, hours before today’s product event.
The 2026 summer box office reached $4.765 billion, a record, powered as much by Spider-Man and Christopher Nolan as by Obsession and A24, according to IndieWire’s takeaways.
The 1977 original Star Wars will get an IMAX theatrical release in 2027 to mark the saga’s 50th anniversary, /Film reports.
Variety’s Telluride wrap highlights Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti’s Debut and Nathan Fielder’s documentary dare as early contenders heading into awards season, with Toronto up next.
Casey Affleck’s gothic thriller Company received a four-minute standing ovation at its Venice premiere, with Nick Nolte and Ben Affleck among those on hand. Reviews of the film have been mixed.
CelticsBlog runs through Boston’s young core, including Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, Ron Harper Jr. and Amari Williams, weighing who could take a step forward in 2026-27.
Running back TreVeyon Henderson, who racked up over 1,100 all-purpose yards as a rookie, has been ruled out for tonight’s season opener against Seattle after missing all three practices this week.
New England face Seattle tonight, 214 days after their Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks, in a season-opening rematch at Lumen Field.
McLaren says it will review its rules of engagement between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri after Norris accused his teammate of forcing him off track at the Italian Grand Prix.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff says he has been surprised by Kimi Antonelli’s rapid growth this season, comparing the rookie to an AI agent that is constantly getting better.
Sebastian Vettel called it ‘a very emotional moment’ to drive Michael Schumacher’s 2002 title-winning Ferrari F2002 ahead of last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
Reid Detmers struck out nine as the Angels beat Boston 6-1, outhitting the Red Sox 15-4 to end their winning streak and secure just their third win in 15 games.
Garrett Crochet completed a second side session and the Red Sox are hopeful he could pitch out of the bullpen if Boston reaches the postseason.
Phaidon’s next survey book, following volumes on butterflies, birds, oceans and trees, turns its attention to fungi this October, gathering more than 200 works on the subject.
