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☆ OpenAI just secured a ton of new cash. Now it needs to wow us
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-04 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

One thing seems clear: The company is burning through far more cash than it’s bringing in, according to reporting from the New York Times. (That’s revenue largely from subscriptions to premium versions of ChatGPT and licensing its tech to third-party developers.) Here’s where things get a little wild:Next year, OpenAI estimates that its revenue will more than triple to $11.6 billion. It’s not clear how, or whether, OpenAI is working on reducing its significant cash burn. “It has nothing to do with reality.”One way OpenAI could improve its margins would be to cut costs.

Persons: CNN Business ’, New York CNN —, Goldman Sachs, that’s, Gil Luria, Davidson, ” Luria, “, Luria, There’s, OpenAI, Sam Altman, we’ve, ” Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Google, Pfizer, Microsoft, Nvidia, Ark Investment Management, Apple, Wall Street, New York Times, Times, CNN, CNBC, Bravo, ” Locations: New York, Silicon Valley, Silicon

☆ My small business almost closed due to staffing shortages. Here's what helped me hire 27 seasonal workers — and save lives.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-15 | by ( Paulana Lamonier | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This summer, her swim program almost shut down due to a staff shortage. Lamonier posted a video that was viewed over 47,000 times and was able to staff her program. This article is part of "Talent Insider," a series containing expert advice to help business owners tackle a variety of hiring challenges. We offered swim lessons in private residential homes and taught up to 100 students how to swim one summer. It also reminded our community that not having a Black-owned swim program would directly impact more drownings in the community.

Persons: Paulana Lamonier, Lamonier, —, Gen Zers, Zers, I've Organizations: Black, Service, York College, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, CDC, Fuse, of Health, Cross, YMCA, BPWS, New York, Employment Locations: Astoria, Queens, New

☆ Sam Altman Is Back at OpenAI. I Have a Question for Him. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( David Brooks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

One of the nice things about OpenAI is that it was built on distrust. It began as a nonprofit research lab because its founders didn’t think artificial intelligence should be pioneered by commercial firms, which are driven overwhelmingly by the profit motive. As it evolved, OpenAI turned into what you might call a fruitful contradiction: a for-profit company overseen by a nonprofit board with a corporate culture somewhere in between. Many of the people at the company seem simultaneously motivated by the scientist’s desire to discover, the capitalist’s desire to ship product and the do-gooder’s desire to do this all safely. The events of the past week — Sam Altman’s firing, all the drama, his rehiring — revolve around one central question: Is this fruitful contradiction sustainable?

Persons: OpenAI, Sam Altman’s

☆ As ‘Billions’ Ends, Its Creators Discuss the Changing Face of the Ultrarich
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Sean T. Collins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

As the Showtime financial thriller “Billions” prepares to air its final episode this weekend, it’s worth considering how far we’ve come. The show started as the story of the crusading U.S. Attorney Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti) and the hard-charging hedge funder Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis). Exclusive restaurants, elaborate schemes and a host of cameos by real-world power players provided the backdrop for their battle. In a video chat earlier this month they discussed the state of play and the fates of the major players in the series, without revealing who (if anyone) wins the final “Billions” battle. According to an otherwise cagey Koppelman, “The end of this show is really for ‘Billions’ fans.” These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Persons: Chuck Rhoades, Paul Giamatti, Bobby Axelrod, Damian Lewis, Lewis, Brian Koppelman, David Levien, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Mike Prince, Corey Stoll, Chuck, Prince, —, Wendy, Maggie Siff Organizations: Showtime, U.S, New York Times, CNBC Locations: Miami

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers avoid challenges to 'cartoon' villain image
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Defense lawyers will have a chance to put forward a competing narrative when they present their case, beginning as soon as Thursday. A STRATEGIC CHOICEAllowing specific unfavorable accounts by prosecution witnesses to go unchallenged on cross-examination could be a strategic choice by the defense, according to experts. During opening statements, Cohen told jurors of the prosecutors: "They'd have you think he was quite the villain, or, more precisely, almost a cartoon of a villain. "It was pretty humiliating," said Singh, who has pleaded guilty to fraud charges. Ellison, who has also pleaded guilty to fraud, said Bankman-Fried told her that his signature sloppy dress and wild mop of curly locks was an "important part of FTX's image."

Persons: Sam Bankman, Andrew Kelly, Fried, Bankman, doesn't, Jordan Estes, Kramer Levin, Mark Cohen, Cohen, Rachel Maimin, Lowenstein Sandler, Sam, gooder, Nishad Singh, Singh, Caroline Ellison, Alameda's, Ellison, Luc Cohen, Will Dunham, Amy Stevens Organizations: FTX, Manhattan, REUTERS, Alameda Research, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Manhattan, Washington, Alameda, New York

WASHINGTON (AP) — After being thwarted by Congress, President Joe Biden will use his executive authority to create a New Deal-style American Climate Corps that will serve as a major green jobs training program. The climate corps had been proposed in early versions of the sweeping climate law approved last year but was jettisoned amid strong opposition from Republicans and concerns about cost. Democrats and environmental advocacy groups never gave up on the plan and pushed Biden in recent weeks to issue an executive order authorizing what the White House now calls the American Climate Corps. White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said the administration will work with at least six federal agencies to create the climate corps and will pair with at least 10 states. California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan and Washington have already begun similar programs, while five more are launching their own climate corps, Zaidi said: Arizona, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and Utah.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Biden's, Massachusetts Sen, Ed Markey, Alexandria Ocasio, Bruce Westerman, Joe Neguse, Ali Zaidi, Zaidi Organizations: WASHINGTON, Corps, House, American Climate Corps, Civilian Conservation Corps, Sunrise Movement, Democratic, New York Rep, Republicans, FDR, ”, Natural Resources, Colorado Democrat Locations: Paris, Massachusetts, Alexandria, Cortez, federal, ” Arkansas, U.S, California , Colorado , Maine , Michigan, Washington, Arizona , Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Utah

☆ Replanting the Amazon could slow global warming. Here’s why it’s hard
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +24 min

Milton da Costa Junior nosed his pickup through a remote stretch of the western Brazilian Amazon to check on his babies. Local authorities said the September 2021 incident, which Da Costa outlined in a police report that was reviewed by Reuters, is being investigated. Out of dozens of reforestation initiatives in the country, Rioterra and The Black Jaguar Foundation, a Brazilian-European group, are among the largest. Illegal invaders destroy in hours what it takes Rioterra or Black Jaguar a year to plant. In all, Black Jaguar has signed contracts with 26 farms and planted 326 hectares (806 acres) to date.

Persons: Milton da Costa, Da Costa, Carlos Nobre, Alexis Bastos, Rioterra, ”, Nobre, “, Bastos, Jamari, Dejesus Aparecido Ramos, it’s, ” Bastos, Jair Bolsonaro, Germany –, Bolsonaro, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Black, Ben Valks, Valks, Leandro Silveira, Silveira, São, ” Valks, aren’t, Cristina Banks, Leite, Marcos Mariani, Araguaia, Mariani, Tânia Irres, ” Irres, Regina Molke, I’ll, Clovis, Black Jaguar, Aquaverde, Renato Franklin, “ Ben, ” Franklin, L’Oreal, da Costa, ” Da Costa, da, Spring, Clare Trainor, Catherine Tai, Lais Morais, Ilan Rubens, Lucy Ha, John Emerson, Marla Dickerson Organizations: Milton da Costa Junior, Toyota, Reuters, Black Jaguar Foundation, National Institute for Space Research, Rioterra, Cultural, Environmental Studies, Petrobras, “, Amazon Fund, Environment Ministry, United, United Arab Emirates, São Paulo, Global, Farmers, Brazil’s Central Bank, Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, Imperial College London, Santana, Bolsonaro, United Nations, Space Agency, Copernicus, Sentinel Locations: Machadinho, Rondônia, Brazil, Germany, Brazilian, European, Manhattan, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Bastos, Porto Velho, droves, Rio, Black, Itapuã, Oeste, Norway, United Arab, Pará, Caixa, “, Costa, Syria, Paris, Santana, Araguaia’s, Clovis, Regina, United States, South, Geneva, Rio Preto, da Costa

Qiao Ling speaks up to correct him. Instead of apologizing, Thomas laughs it off and asks Qiao Ling if she has a nickname because her real name is "too hard to remember." Many people think of allyship as a two-way relationship between the ally ("I saw it") and the affected person ("It happened to me"). Step 2: Help the affected person as they want to be helped. Rather than treating the affected person as you would wish to be treated, help them as they would wish to be helped.

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Salesforce, cold plunges, and Tesla's biggest Chinese rival
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Maybe I'll go to a coffee shop for something stronger than my usual Trader Joe's instant cold brew. How these OnlyFans creators used Reddit to grow their businesses. Tesla's biggest Chinese rival just released an $11,000 EV. Heinz promised to buy the infamous "ketchup boat guy" a boat with a GPS. But he said the money from Heinz only afforded him a small used boat and engines.

☆ Benioff vs. Benioff
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

Within Salesforce, Benioff riffs are at times met with backlash from an angry workforce. "You're not going to fire your family during times of need," a former Salesforce executive told Insider. "I don't think they understand Ohana," Benioff told Insider. "Look, we have to be the example of stakeholder capitalism," Benioff told Insider. A 'New Day' at Salesforce"I use the Japanese principle of shoshin, beginner's mind," Benioff told Insider in a phone interview in March.

☆ America’s Most Prolific Logger Recasts Itself as Environmental Do-Gooder
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Ryan Dezember | Photographs Tristan Spinski For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

KIBBY TOWNSHIP, Maine— Weyerhaeuser Co. has cut down more trees than any other American company since its founder started logging before the Civil War. Environmentalists have long treated it as an enemy. Now, the new math of carbon emissions is enabling the lumber producer to cast itself as something quite different: a force for environmental good.

☆ Bono Is Still Trying to Figure Out U2 and Himself
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +28 min

Mamadi Doumbouya for The New York Times Talk Bono Is Still Trying to Figure Out U2 and HimselfThere are different Bonos to different people, including the man himself. You say, “But you’re U2 — you don’t need that.” What’s interesting is that we want that. But I also wrote the book to try to figure out what was going on with U2. They sound like U2 songs. Do they sound like U2 songs?

☆ Compass employees question the real-estate brokerage's cost cutting, saying it threatens the startup's tech ambitions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Kaja Whitehouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

This is Kaja Whitehouse reporting to you from New York City, where real estate isn't just a profession — it's an obsession. But you don't have to be preoccupied with real estate, or located in the Big Apple, to known about Compass, the fast-rising real-estate brokerage that IPOed last year. When Compass IPOed in April 2021, it garnered a $7 billion valuation — the highest price ever for a residential real estate brokerage. In other news:Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon moonlights as a DJ, and is now set to play at the Lollapalooza music festival in July. It's no secret that Goldman Sachs' CEO David Solomon has been under pressure over his burgeoning consumer banking division Marcus.

☆ The wealthy elite who gather in Davos to talk about saving the planet always ignore the best solution: paying more taxes
▼ + stars: | 2022-03-05 | by ( Paul Constant | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He spoke with Peter Goodman about his new book and the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. Goodman says Davos has become a feel-good event for billionaires who refuse to make real change. But Davos's most noteworthy topics are the ones that don't typically get discussed: For instance, historian Rutger Bregman made waves in 2019 when he told the affluent audience at Davos that they were ignoring the solution that mattered most: "Taxes, taxes, taxes. The solutions to the very real problems discussed at Davos every year are relatively simple, but they'll never be welcomed by the Davos audience. The only people who aren't ready to hear about that solution, unfortunately, are the people who gather at Davos every year.

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