Roam has launched an Enterprise eSIM, a customizable management dashboard to empower Web3 teams in cross-border collaboration.

The average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages in the U.S. rose to 6.67% this week, hitting its highest level in over a year, up from 6.43% in early July and 5.98% before the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran conflict. The recent rise in the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds is one of the key factors driving the increase in mortgage rates. As a result, the average monthly mortgage payment for a typical U.S. home has risen by nearly $150 since the start of the year. In the UK, the average rate on 5-year fixed mortgages climbed to 5.66% in July, marking its first month-over-month increase since April. Germany’s 10-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 3.3% in early July to 3.7% this week, while France’s 10-year fixed mortgage rate increased from 3.02% in June to 3.15% in July. Market analysts note that the U.S.-Iran conflict has pushed up oil and energy prices, stoking concerns about a resurgence in inflation and driving up financing costs including U.S. Treasury yields and UK swap rates. High interest rates are further dampening real estate transactions in Europe and the U.S. The "low-rate lock-in effect" persists in the U.S. market, while signed home purchase agreements in the UK fell by nearly 10% year-on-year in July.

According to Reuters, citing three people familiar with the matter, Apple (AAPL.O) has trained a large language model specifically for the Chinese market, a shift from its previous strategy of relying mainly on third-party models to power AI features in China. The AI model was developed through a partnership between Apple and Alibaba, and completed training with Alibaba’s support, the sources said. The news of Apple training a China-exclusive AI model has not been reported before. Previously, Apple preferred to use models from local Chinese partners to integrate generative AI features into iPhones and other devices sold in China. Neither Apple nor Alibaba responded to requests for comment. Apple’s AI toolkit, Apple Intelligence, is expected to launch in China in the coming months following an iOS operating system update.

Serenity says the mass production timeline for semiconductor glass substrates is likely to be delayed by at least another quarter. It points out that Samsung Electro-Mechanics recently pushed back its related investment plan after customers encountered bottlenecks in reliability evaluations of glass substrate prototype products, and further adjusted the project’s launch time to 2028 during its latest second-quarter earnings call. Additionally, the mass production timeline of Absolics, a subsidiary of SKC, was previously delayed from the second half of 2026 to the first half of 2027. Serenity concludes that the current key industry mass production milestones are: SKC Absolics delayed from H2 2026 to H1 2027, and Samsung delayed from H2 2027 to H1 2028. Serenity notes that while delays in mass production timelines are not necessarily negative, adjustments to the glass substrate industry chain’s schedules appear “imminent”. For some relevant manufacturers, their capacity ramp-up pace will follow the mass production timelines of the above-mentioned large players, including $LPK, Philoptics (161580), and E&R (8027).

According to sources familiar with the matter, Goldman Sachs is in discussions with potential investors to participate in NVIDIA’s $500 billion AI financing initiative. Leveraging its long-standing partnership with NVIDIA, Goldman Sachs has secured a coveted role in this highly sought-after deal. One source noted that U.S. insurance firms, asset management companies and banks are expected to form the core investor group for the financing; another source added that asset managers plan to hold a substantial portion of the funding. NVIDIA announced on August 10 that it has partnered with six major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, to launch a computing platform aimed at raising over $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure. A second source said Goldman Sachs can provide subordinated capital and private credit financing through its asset management division; its investment banking arm can also help allocate related debt to private credit funds and eventually to the public bond market. (Jinshi)

According to the Financial Times, JPMorgan Chase terminated its banking services relationship with prediction market platform Polymarket last October over regulatory concerns, but has not fully cut off business ties with the firm and is currently pursuing the opportunity to underwrite Polymarket’s future initial public offering (IPO). Sources familiar with the matter said Polymarket was barred from serving U.S. customers in 2022 due to an enforcement action by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), prompting JPMorgan to request the firm find a new banking partner. Polymarket has since partnered with a new bank, whose name has not been disclosed. Even so, JPMorgan continues to maintain business dealings with Polymarket. In February this year, the bank also invited Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan to attend a private banking client conference in Miami, where he delivered a speech alongside former NFL star Tom Brady. Sources said JPMorgan aims to retain the possibility of underwriting Polymarket’s future IPO. Polymarket stated that it still maintains a "close, active relationship" with JPMorgan across multiple entities, operational integrations, and client fund processing, adding that any claims to the contrary are a serious misrepresentation of their ties. In recent years, prediction markets have expanded rapidly and drawn ongoing regulatory scrutiny. Since 2026, platforms including Polymarket and Kalshi have faced legal actions from multiple U.S. states over allegations of operating illegal sports betting, though both companies argue they function as exchanges that match buyers and sellers rather than betting operators. According to aggregated data from Dune users, the nominal trading volume of prediction markets has exceeded $250 billion since 2026. Meanwhile, Polymarket is seeking to raise over $1 billion in funding, targeting a $20 billion valuation—more than double the roughly $8 billion valuation from its previous funding round in 2025.

AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situational Awareness fund nearly liquidated its entire public market stock position in late July, retaining only its private equity stake in Anthropic. It is reported that Citadel, owned by Ken Griffin, acquired most of the stock assets sold by the fund. Situational Awareness once managed up to $45 billion in assets, but after incurring losses in AI infrastructure-related stocks, the fund significantly cut its public equity positions. With nearly all public stocks sold, Anthropic became the only core holding left untouched. According to reports, Aschenbrenner’s July investor letter cited Anthropic’s potential IPO as a key catalyst. Anthropic is one of the world’s most valuable private AI companies; an eventual IPO would give early investors an opportunity to exit and realize returns. Analysts believe that Aschenbrenner’s decision to retain his Anthropic stake amid sharp corrections in AI infrastructure stocks reflects his continued confidence in Anthropic and his own long-term investment thesis on AGI. Anthropic is not yet publicly traded, so retail investors cannot directly trade its shares. The main public market proxies for exposure to Anthropic include Amazon and NVIDIA, both of which have invested heavily in AI infrastructure.