AI news this week: Reddit ends RSS and public API access (28 Sept to 2 Oct 2026)
The week in AI, 28 September to 2 October 2026
Reddit is closing two doors that content teams use every day, Google has a new model it is keeping to security teams for now, Shopify builds stores through chat, and Apple wants a firmer hand on Mac privacy.
Reddit closes the tap
Reddit announced on 30 September that it will stop supporting RSS feeds on 13 November and shut its public API by March 2027. The company says RSS has become a common way for scrapers and automated abuse to reach the site, which is why the feeds are being wound down.
The API closure reaches further than feeds. Tools built on it include social listening products and research tools, plus AI assistants, according to TechCrunch. Assistants that answer questions with Reddit data will need commercial deals with Reddit once public access ends.
Money explains the timing. TechCrunch points to Reddit's AI licensing business, where revenue beyond advertising rose 24% year on year to $43 million in the second quarter, and reads the move as Reddit not wanting to give away data it now sells.
What this means for a one-person content operation
Reddit is where customers describe your product category in their own words, so a lot of content workflows lean on it. You skim a subreddit for questions worth answering and run a saved search for brand mentions. Some of you paste a thread into an AI assistant and ask for the themes. Each of those has something plugged into Reddit that is about to change.
The RSS cut-off arrives first. If a feed reader or an automation that posts to Slack pulls from a subreddit or a search through RSS, it stops on 13 November. Reddit says RSS used outside moderators' own communities has no replacement.
The API change follows in March 2027. A listening tool or research script that reads Reddit through the public API will be affected, and the vendor behind it will need a plan.
The limits
Moderators get a migration path. Those who rely on RSS alerts are pointed to the Discord Relay Devvit app and asked to migrate before 13 November. Developers of approved third-party apps and bots have until 12 January 2027 to register with Reddit, or they lose API access after that date.
Old Reddit is tightening too. Over the next few months, Reddit will limit logged-in access to people who have used it in the last six months, citing abusive scraping and automated traffic.
One caveat on sourcing: the details above come from TechCrunch's reporting on Reddit's announcements for moderators and developers. Check Reddit's own posts for the exact terms that apply to your tools.
How to check your setup this week
- List every place Reddit data enters your work: feed readers, automations, alerts, listening tools, and any AI assistant you ask to read threads.
- Mark the RSS ones and fix them before 13 November. Moderators can follow Reddit's Discord Relay suggestion, and everyone else needs a manual check or a different source.
- Ask your listening tool vendor whether it will still have Reddit data after March 2027, and get the answer in writing.
- Save the threads your research depends on, with the link and the date, so your notes survive any tool change.
- If you run an approved bot or app, register it before 12 January 2027.
Top news this week
Americas and Europe
Google launches Gemini 4 Argon to cyber defenders first
Google blog, 30 September 2026
Google's new flagship model goes to vetted security teams through its Fairwind Program, and wider access to follow, starting with paid API customers and Google AI Ultra subscribers. It lifts the output limit to 1 million tokens, up from 64,000, and carries an introductory price of $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, rising to $4 and $20 later. The announcement names no public release date.
Shopify lets merchants build a store by chatting
Shopify newsroom, 1 October 2026
Canvas is a new design surface where merchants work with Sidekick, Shopify's AI agent, on a live render of the code behind their store, and it is rolling out over the coming days. Shopify says it does not replace the existing editor yet. TechCrunch adds that third-party themes, app blocks, and translations are missing at launch, and that Canvas is desktop-only.
Apple tightens Full Disk Access on the Mac because of AI agents
Apple Developer news, 2 October 2026
Apple says some developers use Full Disk Access in ways that expose files, mail, messages, and browsing history without users' full understanding, and it will add controls so granting it takes very explicit user action. The post gives no date or detail. TechCrunch links the move to a disputed claim that Meta's Muse, which we covered last week, read a journalist's private messages.
Claude Sonnet 5.5 arrives at the same price as Sonnet 5
Anthropic, 28 September 2026
Anthropic says the model runs more than 30% faster and costs up to 30% less per task, because it needs far less tokens for the same work. List prices stay at $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens. Anthropic calls it strongest at everyday tasks and at producing documents, slides, and spreadsheets, and says Opus 5.5 stays ahead on complex work that needs sustained judgement.
Asia and global
India lines up $25 billion for deep tech
CNBC, 29 September 2026
Rajat Tandon of the Indian Venture and Alternative Capital Association told CNBC that around $25 billion will be available for deep tech investment, including $11 billion the government has committed through its Research Development Infrastructure Fund, to be matched by venture capital and private equity managers. Deep tech here covers AI, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, drones, and space tech. The $25 billion figure comes from Tandon.
Funding rounds this week
Five rounds from the week, each confirmed against a company announcement or TechCrunch's reporting.
| Company | Round | Amount | Date | What they do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instinct | Series C, $10B valuation | $1B | 28 September | Consumer AI agent that books travel, pays bills, and cancels subscriptions, using its own phone number and computer. Backers include Sequoia Capital, Benchmark Capital, and Coatue. |
| General Intuition | Round label not stated, $6.2B valuation | $220M | 29 September | Builds world models trained on action-labelled gameplay video, drawing on the Medal platform. Investors include Valor Equity Partners, Atreides, 776, Point72, Khosla Ventures, and General Catalyst. |
| SiMa.ai | Series C, $1.45B valuation | $150M | 28 September | Chips and software for physical AI in humanoid robots, cars, and drones. Co-led by Fidelity Management & Research Company and Amplify. |
| Flow Engineering | Series B, $750M valuation | $50M | 30 September | AI agents that line up CAD drawings with product requirements and simulation results for hardware design. |
| Photon | Seed | $4.5M | 1 October | Tools for building agents that work over iMessage, WhatsApp, SMS, email, and voice instead of mobile apps. |
Sources
- TechCrunch: Reddit is killing RSS feeds and ending public API access because of AI bots
- Google: Gemini 4 Argon, our next era of frontier intelligence
- TechCrunch: Google releases Gemini 4 Argon
- Shopify: Introducing Canvas
- TechCrunch: Shopify debuts Canvas
- Apple Developer: Updates to Full Disk Access in macOS
- TechCrunch: Apple says it's tightening macOS Full Disk Access controls
- Anthropic: Introducing Claude Sonnet 5.5
- CNBC: India readies $25 billion for deep tech investment
- TechCrunch: Viral AI agent Instinct raises $1B Series C
- General Intuition on X: $220M at a $6.2B valuation
- General Intuition: company site
- SiMa.ai: Series C press release
- TechCrunch: Flow Engineering at $750M valuation
- TechCrunch: Photon raises $4.5M
Data as of 2 October 2026.