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Anthropic officially filed to go public to the tune of up to $2 trillion dollars last week. The news served as the latest litmus test of how far investors are willing to go as fears of a major financial market reckoning continue to haunt chipmakers and hyperscalers.

Sam Altman’s OpenAI, on the other hand, announced over the summer that it was putting off its own IPO until next year at the earliest, with managers telling staffers not to worry if Anthropic beats it to the punch.

“There is a chance they pull the cover off that confidential file in the coming weeks and become public in September,” CFO Sarah Friar told employees in August. “That’s OK, we are running our own race.”

However, keeping up the momentum has clearly proven far more difficult than anticipated. As the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, OpenAI only managed to raise less than half of the $30 billion it was originally targeting for its latest funding round — a major departure from the seemingly limitless appetite for AI.

The news perfectly highlights the current mood on Wall Street after Big Tech companies including Google, Amazon and Intel were hit with major sell offs. Investors are once again asking serious questions about the industry’s ability to eventually right the ship after taking on staggering amounts of debt and showing little evidence of a road to profitability.

Following its lukewarm round of funding, OpenAI is now estimated to be valued at $1.25 trillion, well short of its aim of $1.4 trillion. That also puts it firmly behind Anthropic, setting the stage for what could be an ugly and drawn out scramble for market share. It’s an outcome that would’ve been impossible to predict a mere three years ago, when ChatGPT quickly established itself as the clear — albeit early — frontrunner in the AI race.

The Altman-led company is now rushing to grow its revenues to keep up with the Claude maker, which has been successfully luring in enterprise customers with its AI coding tools.

But the numbers paint a damning picture. Per the WSJ, Anthropic doubled its revenue between the first and second quarter of this year, while OpenAI only grew sales by 18 percent, to $6.7 billion.

Still, it’s not over for Altman. OpenAI tried to undercut its competition by lowering its prices earlier this year, a decision that’s reportedly starting to pay off.

More on OpenAI: Sam Altman to Infuriated Mathematicians: The Math Slop Won’t Stop

The Ming 51.01 Halo takes the brand’s experimental approach to materials in a dressier direction, pairing a pink gold-coated crystallised titanium case with a slim, hand-wound La Joux-Perret calibre.

Compact proportions and a restrained black-and-gold palette bring the unusual case texture into focus, while 5N lacquer-filled indices, still etched into the underside of the crystal, replace Ming’s customary lume without sacrificing its recognisable identity.

Initial thoughts

As a collector, I tend to be wary of gold plating and coatings from a durability standpoint, but in the case of the Halo that personal preference confronts my affection for crystallised titanium, which I wrote about last year. This treatment process subjects grade 5 titanium to intense heat in a vacuum chamber, reaching 1,200°C. That heating and the controlled cooling that follows have the effect of ‘crystallising’ the metal.

Finally, acid etching brings out the texture, much as it reveals Widmanstätten patterns in wafers of meteorite. Rather than creating crystals, the treatment enlarges and exposes naturally occurring crystals already present in the metal.

The result is a marbled matte finish that looks more like forged carbon than a metal alloy. Appealingly, Ming’s distinctive tuck buckle is rendered in the same material, right down to the 5N coating.

Ultimately, the brightness of the gold PVD coating enhances the look of the crystallised titanium case and, to my eye, makes the pattern more obvious and easier to enjoy. The disparity between the gold look and the extreme lightness may take some getting used to, but the merits of the material are arguably worth the effort.

The Halo is powered by the La Joux-Perret cal. LJP7380.M1, a slim movement that fills the case back nicely, especially compared to recent Ming models like the 37.06 Lightning. While I’d love to see the free-sprung balance of the La Joux-Perret G200 platform make its way into the LJP7380, there’s little else to nitpick with this familiar calibre.

At CHF10,900, the Halo defies the brand’s budget roots and reflects how much Ming’s product mix has evolved over time. Compared with other watches powered by the same calibre, the Halo sits between generic micro-brands that cost less and more exotic fare that costs much more. In short, the price point is largely supported by the unique look of the gold-coated crystallised titanium and the cohesive feel of the overall package.

Crystallised and compact

Despite the Halo’s golden PVD coating, it’s still a titanium watch and benefits from the inherent lightness of the material. Combined with compact sizing of just 37 mm, the Halo almost disappears on the wrist. The lug-to-lug length is just 43 mm and the watch weighs less than 40 g including the strap and buckle.

The discreet sizing also means the eye-catching texture of the crystallised titanium case isn’t overwhelming, as it might be if splashed across a larger surface area.

The wearing experience of a watch this light can be spoiled by an overly stiff strap, and perhaps for that reason Ming has equipped the Halo with a remarkably supple goat leather strap from Jean Rousseau, which feels broken in from day one.

Ming gets dressed up

Much of the Halo’s personality comes from its crystal and the golden ‘halo’ that floats above the minimalist jet-black dial. Ming is a brand that tends to make liberal use of luminous materials to add dimension to its designs, but the Halo takes a different approach.

The crystal is engraved on the underside as is typical, but the grooves are filled with 5N pink gold lacquer rather than the usual luminous compounds. This choice suits the dressy character of the watch and maintains the black-and-gold look around the clock.

The gold-coloured hands, too, are devoid of lume, but easy to pick out against the lacquered black backdrop, which features faint circular brushing around the edges. In reality, the ever-present reflections on the proud box-shaped crystal — unavoidable given the shape, despite antireflective coatings on both sides — make the texture difficult to distinguish at a glance.

Regardless, the look manages to be both stylish and easily legible. Moreover, the slender hands and lacquer-filled crystal engravings offer a somewhat rough-hewn aesthetic that feels cohesive with the matte finish of the crystallised titanium case.

Chaux time

The cal. LJP7380.M1 is produced by Manufacture La Joux-Perret in La Chaux-de-Fonds, customised with several details that are specific to Ming. This is possible because the LJP7380 platform is amongst the manufacture’s more bespoke offerings, and as a result its production is not automated to the extent that it is for mainline calibres like the G100.

The customisations include the colours and textures, which bring it in line with Ming’s house style. The major bridges have also been openworked, which adds pleasing depth as well as opportunities for some hand finishing on the bevels.

The movement is pleasant to operate and runs for 90 hours on a full wind thanks to a pair of series-coupled barrels. At just 2.7 mm thick, it also contributes substantially to the Halo’s svelte profile. The watch itself measures 8 mm in height, but much of that is due to the box-shaped sapphire crystal — the titanium case itself looks and feels substantially thinner.

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Key facts and price

Ming 51.01 Halo

Diameter: 37 mm
Height: 8 mm
Material: Crystallised titanium with pink gold PVD coating
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Movement: La Joux-Perret LJP7380.M1 customised for Ming
Functions: Hours and minutes
Winding: Manual wind
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Power reserve: 90 hours

Strap: Goat leather strap made by Jean Rousseau with crystallised titanium pin buckle

Limited edition: 150 pieces
Availability: Direct from Ming and authorised retailers
Price: CHF10,900 excluding taxes

For more, visit ming.watch

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Meta is globally expanding the age estimation technology it uses to find teenagers on Instagram who haven’t correctly disclosed their age. The rollout will automatically place “millions more teens on Instagram into Teen Account protections,” according to Meta’s announcement, after launching the AI-powered age assurance updates in the US, EU, and Brazil last year.

The age detection tools proactively look for signals that likely determine whether Instagram users are under 18 years old, such as the other profiles and types of content they interact with, birthday messages they receive, and “general themes and visual cues” from uploaded photos and videos, including height and bone structure. Meta says that it’s also started using Apple’s age-range signal as an additional detection method in Australia.

The age assurance system is used to remove Instagram users who are believed to be under 13 (the minimum age required for Meta social accounts), and automatically place users between 13-17 under more restrictive Teen Accounts, even if they signed up using a fake adult birthday. Teen Accounts are designed to provide a safer and more age-appropriate experience by being private by default, limiting what kind of content teens can see, and preventing strangers from sending them DMs.

Parents and guardians can also choose to supervise Teen Accounts to set time limits and monitor how their child is using Instagram. Teen Account settings can’t be adjusted by users who are 16 or younger without a parent’s or guardian’s permission. Meta says that parents in the US will start receiving a notification on Instagram next month that explains the age estimation process, and how they can ensure their teen’s age is accurately reflected on the platform.

This global expansion follows a $17.1 billion lawsuit settlement in August in which Meta agreed to bolster its age assurance practices and place heavier restrictions on teen users. Meta hasn’t mentioned if or when automatic age assurance checks on Facebook, which rolled out to US accounts in May, will also be expanded to other regions.