Evening digest: Anthropic lawsuit, Nscale $2B round, Bitcoin near $69K

Technology, markets, and policy developments are driving a busy day across the global economy.

Anthropic has sued the Trump administration after the Pentagon labelled the AI firm a supply chain risk, while Nvidia-backed data centre startup Nscale raised a record $2 billion funding round in Europe.

In healthcare, Hims & Hers shares surged after Novo Nordisk dropped a patent lawsuit and struck a distribution deal.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin held near $69,000, showing resilience despite volatility across global financial markets.

Anthropic sues Trump administration

Anthropic filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday, challenging the Pentagon's decision to label the company a "supply chain risk," an unprecedented designation for a US firm that has until now been reserved for foreign adversaries like Huawei.

The dispute stems from Anthropic's refusal to allow its Claude AI to be used in autonomous weapons systems or mass domestic surveillance.

The Pentagon argued it should be able to deploy the technology for "all lawful purposes."

The classification cancels Anthropic's $200 million defence contract and forces military contractors to drop Claude from Pentagon-related work.

Consequently, the US military was still using Claude during its Iran campaign even as the ban took effect.

CEO Dario Amodei said the company had "no choice" but to fight back in court.

Nvidia-backed Nscale raises $2 billion

UK-based AI data centre startup Nscale closed a $2 billion Series C round on Monday, the largest such raise in European history, valuing the company at $14.6 billion.

The round was led by Aker ASA and 8090 Industries, with Nvidia, Citadel, Dell, Jane Street, Point72, and Nokia among the investors.

Founded in 2024, Nscale builds and operates GPU-powered data centres across the UK, US, Norway, Portugal, and Iceland.

It counts Microsoft and OpenAI as key customers, including a $14 billion Microsoft partnership and a Stargate-branded data centre in Norway built with OpenAI.

CEO Josh Payne called the AI boom "the largest infrastructure buildout in human history." The company is also working with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan on a planned IPO.

Hims stock surges 50% as Novo Nordisk drops lawsuit

Novo Nordisk has withdrawn its patent infringement lawsuit against US telehealth firm Hims & Hers and instead struck a deal allowing Hims to sell Novo's branded Ozempic and Wegovy drugs on its platform.

Hims' stock surged nearly 50% in premarket trading after the announcement, while Novo Nordisk shares in Copenhagen rose 1.7%.

The lawsuit, filed in February, accused Hims of illegally compounding semaglutide after the company launched a generic Wegovy pill priced at $49, roughly $100 cheaper than Novo's own version.

As part of the settlement, Hims agreed to stop promoting compounded GLP-1 medications altogether.

The deal reflects a broader shift by pharmaceutical companies toward partnering with telehealth platforms rather than fighting them in court, as online health services become a critical distribution channel for obesity drugs.

Bitcoin holds near $69,000

Bitcoin traded near $69,000 on Monday, showing relative resilience even as global equities crumbled and oil prices spiked amid the escalating Middle East conflict.

The cryptocurrency has stayed trapped in a $62,500–$72,000 range since February's sharp decline, with a brief breakout to $74,047 on March 4 quickly reversed.

The failed rally triggered roughly $900 million in realized losses on March 6, as leveraged longs and passive sell orders absorbed buying pressure.

Analysts at Bitfinex say upside remains capped until $72,000 is decisively cleared.

Adding to the milestone, Bitcoin's mined supply crossed 20 million coins today, over 95% of its 21 million cap, leaving just around 1 million BTC left to be mined.