Anthropic Skills for Claude & Harvey $300M Series E

🎯 Key Takeaways

✓ Anthropic Skills: New system for task-specific Claude capabilities - available to Pro, Max, Team, Enterprise users
✓ Harvey $300M Series E: Legal AI startup valued at $5B, led by Kleiner Perkins and Coatue
✓ Google Gemini Enterprise: Conversational AI platform for corporate clients with internal data integration
✓ Microsoft MAI-Image-1: First in-house image generation model debuts in top 10 on LMArena
✓ WatchGuard CVE-2025-9242: Critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.3) in Fireware OS allows unauthenticated code execution

Anthropic Launches Skills: Task-Specific Capabilities for Claude

Anthropic Skills system for Claude AI with composable task-specific folders — Anthropic Skills enable Claude to load task-specific instructions and tools when needed

Revolutionary System for Customizing AI Capabilities

On October 16, 2025, Anthropic announced Skills for Claude, a new system that allows the AI to load task-specific instructions, scripts, and resources when needed. Skills are folders containing instructions and resources that Claude can access only when relevant to the task at hand, improving efficiency and accuracy for specialized workflows.

🎯 How Skills Work:

• Composable: Skills stack together - Claude identifies needed skills and coordinates their use
• Portable: Use same format across Claude apps, Claude Code, and API
• Efficient: Progressive disclosure - Claude sees skill names/descriptions, loads only what's needed
• File Structure: Folder with required SKILL.md file + optional referenced files
• API Limits: Up to 8 skills per request, 8MB combined upload, YAML frontmatter required

🔧 Availability: Skills are available to Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise users. Free tier is not included. Anthropic provides starter Skills for creating Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, documents, and fillable PDFs. Users can create custom Skills for brand guidelines and specialized workflows.

This launch positions Anthropic as a leader in customizable enterprise AI, directly competing with OpenAI's GPTs and Google's custom AI agents while maintaining consistency across all Claude platforms.

Harvey Raises $300M Series E at $5B Valuation

Legal AI Startup Reaches $5B Valuation with Major Round

Legal AI platform Harvey announced a $300 million Series E funding round at a $5 billion valuation, co-led by Kleiner Perkins and Coatue. The funding underscores growing investor confidence in vertical AI applications for professional services, particularly legal technology.

💼 Harvey Platform Capabilities:

• Legal Research: AI-powered case law analysis and precedent discovery
• Document Review: Contract analysis, due diligence automation
• Brief Writing: AI-assisted legal document drafting
• Compliance: Regulatory compliance monitoring and reporting
• Enterprise Integration: Connects with firm management systems

Harvey's success reflects the broader trend of AI adoption in professional services, where domain-specific AI tools are commanding premium valuations. The company competes with Thomson Reuters' CoCounsel, LexisNexis, and Casetext in the rapidly growing legal AI market.

🏢 Enterprise AI Launches: Google Gemini Enterprise & Microsoft MAI-Image-1

Google Gemini Enterprise for Corporate Clients

Google launched Gemini Enterprise, a conversational AI platform for corporate clients that allows employees to interact with internal data, documents, and software through chat. The system includes pre-built agents for analysis and tools to create custom AI assistants. Early adopters include Gap, Figma, and Klarna.

Microsoft MAI-Image-1: First In-House Image Model

Microsoft introduced MAI-Image-1, its first in-house image generation model, which debuted among the top 10 text-to-image models on LMArena. Trained to produce photorealistic, diverse, and non-repetitive visuals, the model focuses on creative applications across Microsoft products and is optimized for speed and visual quality.

🎨 Competitive Landscape: Microsoft's entry into in-house image generation marks independence from OpenAI's DALL-E, while Google's Gemini Enterprise directly competes with OpenAI's ChatGPT Enterprise and Anthropic's Claude for Enterprise offerings.

🛡️ Critical Security Vulnerability: WatchGuard Fireware CVE-2025-9242

Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution in Network Security Appliances

Cybersecurity researchers disclosed details of a recently patched critical security flaw in WatchGuard Fireware (CVE-2025-9242, CVSS score: 9.3), an out-of-bounds write vulnerability affecting Fireware OS versions 11.10.2 through 11.12.4_Update1 and 12.0 up to 12.5.3.8, which could allow unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code.

⚠️ Vulnerability Details:

CVE ID: CVE-2025-9242

CVSS Score: 9.3 (Critical)

Type: Out-of-bounds write vulnerability

Attack Vector: Remote, unauthenticated

Affected Versions: Fireware OS 11.10.2-11.12.4_Update1, 12.0-12.5.3.8

Impact: Arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges

🚨 PATCH IMMEDIATELY: Organizations using WatchGuard network security appliances should apply patches immediately. The critical CVSS score and remote attack vector make this vulnerability particularly dangerous for internet-facing devices.

📊 Market Snapshot: October 17, 2025

💱 Currency Exchange

1 USD = ₹87.90

October 17, 2025

Stable

Consistent with week average

🪙 Cryptocurrency Markets - Recovery Mode

Market Rebounds: Bitcoin shows recovery with +0.98% gain to $107,116, while Ethereum increases 3.09% to $3,870. Market sentiment improves from previous day's fear index of 32.

₿

Bitcoin

$107,116

↑ 0.98%

💎

Ethereum

$3,870

↑ 3.09%

🐕

Dogecoin

$0.195

↑ 1.5%

🦴

Shiba Inu

$0.0000127

Stable

📈 Recovery Signals: After two days of decline, crypto markets show signs of stabilization with Bitcoin rebounding from lows and Ethereum posting strong gains. Market cap at $2.13T for Bitcoin.

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Anthropic Launches Skills for Claude & Harvey Raises $300M at $5B

Dillip Chowdary