DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ OpenAI closes funding at $157 billion valuation, as Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank join round
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-02 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Microsoft Build conference at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on May 21, 2024. OpenAI has closed its long-awaited funding round at a valuation of $157 billion, including the $6.6 billion the company raised from an extensive roster of investment firms and big tech companies. Thrive planned to invest $1 billion in the round, CNBC previously reported. Earlier this year, OpenAI was valued at a reported $80 billion, up from $29 billion in 2023. There are also 11 million ChatGPT Plus subscribers and 1 million paying business users on ChatGPT, a person close to the company said.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, SoftBank, Sarah Friar, Friar, Mira Murati, Bob McGrew, Barret Zoph, Altman, Bret Taylor, Sam, Taylor Organizations: Microsoft, Nvidia, CNBC, New York Times, OpenAI, Italian Tech, Khosla Ventures, Fidelity, MGX, Tiger Global Locations: Redmond , Washington

☆ Here's what OpenAI employees are saying about the company's future
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

OpenAI plans to restructure into a for-profit company, moving away from nonprofit board oversight. Here's what some former and current employees are saying about the latest changes. AdvertisementAfter a whirlwind week for OpenAI, former and current employees are weighing in on the company's path forward. Gretchen Krueger, a former policy researcher at OpenAI, said the company's nonprofit governance structure and cap on profits were part of the reason she joined in 2019 — the year that OpenAI added a for-profit arm. "Those of us at @OpenAI working on o1 find it strange to hear outsiders claim that OpenAI has deprioritized research.

Persons: —, Mira Murati, Barret Zoph, Bob McGrew, Sam Altman, OpenAI, hasn't, Altman, OpenAI's, Jan Leike, Gretchen Krueger, Noam Brown, Brown, Mark Chen, I've, it's Organizations: Service, OpenAI, Italian Tech, Outsiders, o1, Business Locations: Murati

☆ Sam Altman tells OpenAI staff there's no plan for him to receive a 'giant equity stake' in company
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

At an all-hands meeting Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied that there are plans for him to receive a “giant equity stake” in the company, calling that information “just not true,” according to a person who was in attendance. Regarding his potentially attaining an equity stake, Altman said, “There are no current plans here,” the person said. OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor told CNBC in a statement that while the board has talked about the matter, no specific figures are on the table. OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, who briefly served as interim CEO, said she would be leaving after 6½ years. Days later, Altman was back at the company and Murati moved from interim CEO back to the role of CTO.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Sarah Friar, Bret Taylor, Sam, ” Taylor, Mira Murati, Bob McGrew, Barret Zoph, “, ” Altman, ” Murati, OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, Jan Leike, John Schulman, Anthropic, it’s, Murati Organizations: CNBC, Italian Tech, Microsoft, Tiger Global Locations: Turin, Italy

☆ AI leaders are reacting to OpenAI's wild 24 hours with a mix of schadenfreude and concern
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-26 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's been a wild 24 hours at OpenAI. Meanwhile, CEO Sam Altman said Thursday the exec departures were unrelated to restructuring talks. AdvertisementIt's been a wild 24 hours at OpenAI, with three high-level execs leaving the company — including CTO Mira Murati — and reports it's restructuring as a for-profit benefit corporation. Speaking at Italian Tech Week Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the executive departures and restructuring talks were unrelated. "I obviously won't pretend it's natural for this one to be so abrupt, but we are not a normal company," he wrote.

Persons: It's, Sam Altman, —, Mira Murati —, Sam Altman's, execs, Altman, Elon Musk, Gary Marcus —, Altman —, Sora hasn't, Marcus, Nicolas Miailhe, Miailhe, I've, it's, Mark Chen, Bob McGrew Organizations: Service, Italian Tech, OpenAI, Bloomberg, Reuters, Geometric Intelligence, Future Society Locations: —

☆ Sam Altman tells OpenAI staff there's no plan for him to receive 'giant equity stake' in company
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-26 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In this photo illustration, the OpenAI logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen with a photo of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. At an all-hands meeting on Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied that there are plans for him to receive a "giant equity stake" in the company, calling that information "just not true," according to a person who was in attendance. Regarding his potentially attaining an equity stake, Altman said, "There are no current plans here," the person said. Altman said the departures were not related to the company's potential restructuring, contrary to some media reports. Days later, Altman was back at the company and Murati moved from interim CEO back to the role of CTO.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Sarah Friar, Bret Taylor, Sam, Taylor, Mira Murati, Bob McGrew, Barret Zoph, Murati, OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, Jan Leike, John Schulman, Anthropic, it's Organizations: OpenAI, CNBC, Italian Tech, Microsoft, Tiger Global Locations: Turin, Italy

☆ Sam Altman is way more interested in AI's next chapter than upheaval at OpenAI
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-26 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewSam Altman might be facing upheaval at OpenAI, but that isn't stopping him from discussing his grand plans for the company's next stage. 'Better everything'"The two trends I'm most excited about for the next couple of decades are abundant intelligence and abundant energy," Altman told the audience. The growth, the increase in quality of life we can have in the world — better sustainability, better education, better healthcare, better everything," he added. AdvertisementIt's not the first time Altman has talked up the glorious future that AI — and by extension, OpenAI — may usher in. AdvertisementAltman has previously called for massive investment in AI infrastructure, warning that making AI technology widespread would require "lots of energy and chips."

Persons: —, Sam Altman, Altman, Mira Murati, Murati, John Elkann, cofounders Ilya Sutskever, John Schulman, Elon Musk, OpenAI, Altman's Organizations: Service, Italian Tech, Business, Google, Elon, Bloomberg, Energy Locations: OpenAI, Italy

☆ Director of Disney's Lion King says AI is a 'Wild West,' echoes how animation changed film
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-06 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Kevin Winter | Getty ImagesArtificial intelligence is a "Wild West" with "very few rules" — but it has the potential to democratize the film industry in the long term, according to the director of "The Lion King." Minkoff was speaking with CNBC ahead of the Reply AI Film Festival. 'Hyperbole' versus 'legitimate concerns'The arrival of new technology has for decades been a fear among people working in the film industry, Minkoff noted. Alexander de Lukowicz, co-director of "Gia Pham," told CNBC that humans are essential to how he and his team work to generate short films. We wanted to produce something like a film to really check the boundaries of what's possible," de Lukowicz told CNBC.

Persons: Lion, Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff, Kevin Winter, it'll, Minkoff, Stuart Little, Simba, Filippo Rizzante, Rizzante, Gia Pham, Alexander de Lukowicz, It's, de Lukowicz Organizations: CNBC, American Society for Composers, Publishers, Broadcast, Inc Locations: Venice

Read previewIt appears Elon Musk and Grimes are getting along again after the former couple sued each other last year, kicking off a contentious legal battle over the three children they share. Grimes shared a clip from the video game "Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty" in which a character she voices performs a song onstage and appears suspended in a holographic spider web. Musk sued the musician on September 7, 2023, to "establish the parent-child relationship" with the children. Related storyOn September 29, 2023, Grimes sued Musk, asking for primary physical custody and joint legal custody of their three kids. AdvertisementNeither Musk nor Grimes, or their representatives, have commented publicly on the custody battle.

Persons: —, Elon Musk, Grimes, Musk, didn't, Matteo Milleri, Anyma, Milleri Organizations: Service, Business, Lone Star State Locations: Texas, California, Italian, Belgium, Indio , California

Search resuls for: "Italian Tech"

8 mentions found