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☆ We're upgrading Microsoft after earnings. The stock has pulled back enough lately
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Microsoft delivered an overall strong quarter after Tuesday's market close, but a miss on Azure revenue growth put shares under pressure in extended-hours trading. Office Consumer Products and Cloud Services revenue grew 3% as Microsoft 365 Consumer subscriptions grew 10% to 82.5 million. Windows Commercial Products and Cloud Services revenue increased 11%, driven by demand for Microsoft 365. Despite the solid fiscal Q1 outlook for Intelligent Cloud revenue, management guided Azure's constant currency revenue growth to 28% to 29%. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during the Microsoft Build conference at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on May 21, 2024.

Persons: We're, Satya Nadella, Nadella, Amy Hood, Hood, That's, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Jason Redmond Organizations: Microsoft, Revenue, Nvidia, Broadcom, Devices, AMD, Investors, Products, Cloud Services, Consumer Products, Dynamics Products, Enterprise Mobility, Activision, Windows, —, Xbox, Management, CNBC, AFP, Getty Locations: OpenAI, pare, Redmond , Washington

☆ Billionaire Ken Griffin bought a $90 million St. Tropez home and a $45 million dinosaur skeleton. Here are 6 of his most eye-popping purchases.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( Lian Kit Wee | Nora Redmond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Ken Griffin recently bought a $90 million waterfront estate in St Tropez. Griffin currently has a net worth of $41.8 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . The Citadel boss is currently the world's 33rd richest person, with a net worth of $41.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: Ken Griffin, Griffin, — Organizations: Bloomberg, Service, Billionaire, Citadel, Business Locations: St Tropez, Miami

☆ Southwest is ditching its unassigned seat policy for the first time
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-25 | by ( Nora Redmond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Southwest Airlines has had an unassigned seating policy for over 50 years. The carriers now plans to assign seats on all flights and offer premium seating options. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Instead, it will start assigning seats before all flights and offering premium seating options.

Persons: — Organizations: Southwest Airlines, Elliott Investment Management, Service, Business

☆ Nepal just suffered another fatal plane crash. Its aviation safety record is so poor that all its airlines are banned from flying to most of Europe.
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Nora Redmond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

18 people have died after a small passenger plane crashed during takeoff in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepal has a poor aviation safety record and all of its airlines are banned from European airspace. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Advertisement18 people have died after a small passenger airplane crashed during takeoff in Nepal's capital city, Kathmandu. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Saurya Airlines, Business Locations: Kathmandu, Nepal, Pokhara

☆ A PIP means you've probably already been quiet fired, says management academic
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Nora Redmond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

She said she was unexpectedly put on a PIP by her manager several years ago when working in marketing. AdvertisementRymsha explained that many of her former HR business partners hated putting people on them. Quiet firingFor Rymsha, a PIP is an invitation to leave a company. Advertisement"If you get that PIP, you've been quiet fired, probably three to six months ahead of time," she said. Rymsha said often, before a PIP is even issued, employees will gradually see things being taken away from them.

Persons: —, Catherine Rymsha, Rymsha Organizations: Service, Business, University of Massachusetts Locations: Lowell

☆ OpenAI reassigns top AI safety executive Aleksandr Madry to role focused on AI reasoning
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Microsoft Build conference at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on May 21, 2024. OpenAI last week removed Aleksander Madry, one of OpenAI's top safety executives, from his role and reassigned him to a job focused on AI reasoning, sources familiar with the situation confirmed to CNBC. Madry will still work on core AI safety work in his new role, OpenAI told CNBC. The decision to reassign Madry came less than a week before a group of Democratic senators sent a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman concerning "questions about how OpenAI is addressing emerging safety concerns." Leike wrote in a post on X that OpenAI's "safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products."

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Aleksander Madry, Madry, reassign Madry, it's, Lina Khan, they've, Ilya Sutskever, Jan Leike, Leike, Greg Brockman, Brockman, Altman Organizations: Microsoft, CNBC, MIT's Center, MIT, Democratic, Google, Meta, FTC, Department of Justice, Nvidia Locations: Redmond , Washington

☆ Delta has to manually reset each computer system affected by the mass IT outage
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Nora Redmond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

As most airlines began to recover following the technology issues, Delta has struggled to restore operations to full capacity, now resorting to manually resetting each system affected by the meltdown. AdvertisementIt explained that the airline's crew-tracking-related tool, which ensures flights are fully staffed, has needed manual support to repair. The airline with the next highest number of cancellations was United Airlines, with 694 cancellations. AdvertisementSince Friday, Delta has canceled over 5,000 flights, per FlightAware data. Delta canceled 394 flights on Tuesday as of 6.50 a.m.

Persons: —, Delta, Ed Bastian Organizations: Service, Lines, Business, Delta, Microsoft, United Airlines, United, Jackson Atlanta International Airport Locations: Texas, Delta, Delta's, Hartsfield

As boarding, tickets, and pilot communication channels were affected by the outage, passengers were hit with delays and cancellations. AdvertisementScott Sanders, a passenger at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, told Business Insider that people were sleeping on the ground due to the disruption. Sanders' flight to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) had been scheduled to depart on Thursday at 10:55 p.m. 'Tired and hopeless'At Los Angeles International Airport, Sarah Patterson experienced a similar disruption. "We sat on the tarmac for an hour, and they said it was a technical issue with Microsoft," Ebule told BI.

Persons: —, Scott Sanders, Sanders, t4nCH8Y6UD — Scott Sanders, Jordan van den Lamb, Lamb, Sarah Patterson, Patterson, w9trzshNST, Sarah, Ebule, Aditi Bharade Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Business, Tacoma International Airport, Northern, Northern Kentucky International, SEA, Hobart, Jetstar, Los Angeles International Airport, Spirit Airlines, Newark Liberty International Airport, LAX, Spirit, Melbourne Airport, Scoot, Singapore's, Singapore Changi Airport, IndiGo, BI, Amtrak, Speedway Locations: Delta, Seattle, Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Ohio, @SeahawkSanders, Tasmania, Washington ,, Australia, Singapore, Trains

☆ Small Landlords Are Using New Tech Tools to Raise Tenants Rents
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The past few years have solidified single-family rental homes as genuine moneymaking enterprises, not just ho-hum nest eggs. Related storiesWhen everyone was scrambling for their piece of the suburbs during the pandemic, mom-and-pop landlords pounced, using these newfound tools to collect more cash. The company, which estimates only one-fourth of single-family-rental landlords use professional management services, now manages more than 28,000 rentals on behalf of small landlords. As the Wall Street ethos trickles down to small rental owners, it'll be harder and harder to tell them apart. But the gap is narrowing as small rental owners capitalize on the innovations that the institutional class has already embraced.

Persons: Daniel doesn't, Daniel, hasn't, he's, Bryan Smith, —, Zers, John Burns, Rick Palacios Jr, Palacios, Jordan Kavana, Rich Ford, you've, Ford, Devin Redmond, doesn't, Philip Garboden, It's, Garboden, Roofstock Organizations: Atlanta, Corporate, Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, John Burns Research, Consulting, Ark Homes, Rent, Vesta Ventures, University of Chicago Locations: Zillow, Atlanta, Raleigh, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Grand Rapids , Michigan

☆ 5 mistakes to avoid when you're posting about your new job on LinkedIn, according to an HR expert
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Nora Redmond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewA LinkedIn job announcement post is often where your professional network first learns of your new position. AdvertisementFor Holm, a job announcement post should always be positive. "If people are job-hopping a lot, that doesn't look good in the eyes of any employer," Holm said. While there are different situations and sometimes things just don't work out, a recruiter might wonder why this person hasn't kept a job, Holm said. You don't want your current colleagues or employer to discover you're leaving your current workplace via LinkedIn, Holm said.

Persons: —, Carly Holm, Holm, it's, that's, hasn't Organizations: Service, Nashville, Bank of America, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, LinkedIn, Business, Facebook

☆ Heavy rain could put a dampener on the lavish Ambani wedding, with flight delays and flooded roads in Mumbai
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Nora Redmond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

An orange alert for heavy rainfall has been issued in Mumbai for the coming days. The weather warning coincides with the Ambani wedding, featuring a star-studded guest list. Over half the flights arriving in Mumbai on Friday are delayed, and Air India is warning travelers to leave extra time. AdvertisementHeavy rain could put a dampener on the celebrations of Anant Ambani and his wife-to-be, Radhika Merchant at their lavish wedding in Mumbai this weekend. The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for the Maharashtra region, where Mumbai is situated, due to the possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall over the next five days.

Persons: Ambani, —, Anant Ambani, Radhika Merchant, India's, Mukesh Ambani, Kim Kardashian, John Kerry Organizations: Air, Service, India Meteorological Department, CNBC, Business Locations: Mumbai, Air India, Maharashtra

☆ New York's viral new trash cans are the result of a $4 million project involving consultancy giant McKinsey
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-10 | by ( Nora Redmond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. It isn't known exactly how many rats are in NYC, but a 2014 study suggested there were around two million, and a pest control firm in 2023 estimated there were close to three million rats in NYC. Adams said the program was part of his administration's "Trash Revolution," which aims to clean up the city's streets. A Sanitation Department official told New York Streetsblog at the time that the project was worth around $4 million. The Office of the New York State Comptroller shows that McKinsey has worked on at least 10 other projects with the state.

Persons: —, Eric Adams, Jessica Tisch, Gracie, Adams, Alicia Keys Organizations: Service, McKinsey, NYC Department of Sanitation, Business, McKinsey & Company, Sanitation Department, New York, New York Times, New York State Comptroller Locations: Manhattan, Barcelona, New York

☆ A public sector 4-day workweek trial had practically no drawbacks, researchers found
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Nora Redmond | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewA four-day workweek reduces staff turnover, improves employee mental health, and saves money, according to the largest public sector trial held in the UK. On Monday, academics at two British universities — Cambridge and Salford — released their findings from a 15-month trial of a shortened working week. It is the largest public sector trial of the four-day workweek held so far in the UK, involving 697 employees, including office and waste workers. The number of external applicants for open roles also greatly increased, with 76% reporting the four-day week trial as influencing them to apply for open positions. The US, Canada, Ireland, and Germany are among the countries that have trialed the shortened working week.

Persons: —, Daiga Kamerāde, Brendan Burchell, Burchell, Joe Ryle Organizations: Service, — Cambridge, Salford —, South, South Cambridgeshire District, Business, Staff, University of Salford, Workers, Human, Political Sciences, University of Cambridge Locations: South Cambridgeshire, England, Canada, Ireland, Germany, Belgium

☆ 3 ways artificial intelligence could drive Microsoft stock past its record highs in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Investors have been drawn to Microsoft for its early leadership in the fast-growing artificial intelligence space. Year-to-date Microsoft stock is up roughly 24%, compared to the S & P 500's 15% advance. Excitement for Microsoft as an AI play, along with demand for its cloud computing business, show no signs of slowing. Copilot subscriptions Finally, the company can generate a nice recurring revenue stream from Microsoft 365′s Copilot AI add-on. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during the Microsoft Build conference at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on May 21, 2024.

Persons: Jim Cramer, Copilot, Satya Nadella, Piper Sandler, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Jason Redmond Organizations: Microsoft, Management, Revenue, . Enterprise, Wall Street, CNBC, AFP, Getty Locations: OpenAI, Microsoft's, Redmond , Washington

☆ Microsoft reaches settlement in California over claims it punished employees for taking protected time off
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft is paying $14.4 million to settle a case in California over allegations that the company retaliated against employees who had taken legally protected time off. Within core Microsoft, women represented 31.2% of the workforce in 2023, up from 27.6% in 2019, according to the company's latest diversity report. Employees have reported feeling worried about retaliation after asking for protected leave, according to the California complaint. As part of the settlement, Microsoft will provide training to direct and second-level managers of staff members in California and to human-resources employees who deal with their bonuses and merit increases. Managers will also be instructed not to consider time off for protected leave when making "impact" decisions.

Persons: Microsoft's, Microsoft didn't, Satya Nadella, Mustafa Suleyman Organizations: Microsoft, Mobile, California's Civil Rights Department, Employees Locations: Barcelona, California, Redmond , Washington

☆ Boeing hid questionable parts from regulators that may have been installed in 737 Max planes, new whistleblower alleges
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Chris Isidore | Gregory Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Boeing has been under intense scrutiny with numerous federal investigations and congressional hearings since a January 5 Alaska Air Boeing 737 Max flight had a door plug blow off, leaving a gaping hole in both the plane and Boeing’s reputation. He also claims Boeing in August 2023 told employees to delete records about nonconforming parts, which led him to complain – but Boeing took no action. Jason Redmond/ReutersAt an April 17 hearing Boeing engineer Sam Salehpour testified that Boeing is putting out defective planes because he and others who complain faced pressure not to do so. But the January 5 incident aboard the Alaska Air flight happened just days before the end of the probationary period. Boeing has denied the Alaska Air incident violated the deferred prosecution agreement and is challenging any potential criminal liability in court.

Persons: Sam Mohawk, ”, Dave Calhoun, Calhoun, We’ve, Sen, Richard Blumenthal, Blumenthal, ” Blumenthal, “, Max, Howard McKenzie, Boeing’s, Jason Redmond, Sam Salehpour, ” Salehpour, ” Calhoun’s, Richard Aboulafia, “ I’m, Calhoun’s Organizations: Washington CNN, Boeing, Federal Aviation Administration, Congressional, CNN, Alaska Air Boeing, Max, Connecticut Democrat, FAA, Reuters, Consultancy, Alaska Air, Alaska Airlines, Alaska Airlines ’, Department Locations: Renton , Washington, Connecticut, Mohawk, Renton, Alaska, Indonesia, Ethiopia

☆ Microsoft stock will surge 24% amid a 'tidal wave' of AI-monetization opportunities, Wedbush says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft stock is set to hit $550 on AI monetization opportunities, Wedbush Securities said. Client checks revealed growing bullishness towards Microsoft's AI Copilot software. AdvertisementArtificial intelligence deal conversions are accelerating, priming shares of Microsoft to reach even higher records, Wedbush Securities said. Behind the call were increasingly bullish customer checks, Wedbush Securities said, driven by "a tidal wave of Copilot and Azure monetization now on the doorstep for MSFT." Growth in Azure, Microsoft's cloud platform, has boomed in recent quarters, and could be a bridge into more AI spending, Ives wrote.

Persons: —, Redmond, Dan Ives, Ives, Wedbush Organizations: Microsoft, Wedbush Securities, Service, Nadella, Oracle, IBM, Nvidia, Apple

☆ From $40 billion fraud to $4.5 billion settlement: Inside the latest crypto firm paying big bucks to end legal trouble
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-16 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

This week, a judge signed off on Do Kwon and his bankrupt Terraform Labs settling with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for $4.5 billion. This comes after a jury unanimously found Kwon and his company liable for securities fraud following less than two hours of deliberation. But investors piled in anyway, giving luna and UST a combined market value of almost $40 billion at one point. Terraform and Kwon fought our efforts to investigate – taking a fight over investigative subpoenas all the way to the Supreme Court. They are Caroline Ellison, the Alameda Research CEO who at one time dated Bankman-Fried; FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh; and Gary Wang, the co-founder and chief technology officer of FTX.

Persons: Kwon, Woohae Cho, Sam Bankman, Changpeng Zhao, Luna, atoning, Alex Mashinsky, Wall, Stevo Vasiljevic, Reuters Kwon, He's, Satoshi Nakamoto, Elon Musk, Mike Novogratz, Gary Gensler, –, Fried, Fatih Aktas, Lewis Kaplan, Kaplan, Bankman, convicting, Prosecutors, Ryan Salame, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang, FTX, Jason Redmond, Zhao, Richard Jones, …, Binance, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Terraform Labs, Bloomberg, Getty, U.S, Forbes, Arrows Capital, Voyager, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Labs, U.S . Justice Department, Futures Trading Commission, Treasury Department, bitcoin, BlackRock, Fidelity, Reuters, terraUSD, UST, Traders, Twitter, SEC, Supreme, Anadolu Agency, Alameda Research, ., Republicans, Bankman, AFP, of Prisons, District, Bank, DOJ, CFTC, Treasury, Binance, New, Commercial Bank Locations: U.S, Balkans, Podgorica, Montenegro, Singapore, Dubai, Serbia, Balkan, South Korea, United States, lockstep, New York, Manhattan, Seattle, Lompoc , California, Binance

☆ Microsoft to delay launch of AI Recall tool due to security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Katie Bartlett | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during the Microsoft Build conference at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on May 21, 2024. Microsoft plans to make the AI feature available on all Copilot+ PCs soon after they receive feedback through WIP. Microsoft first introduced the Copilot+ PC on May 20 as a computer designed to run advanced AI programs, including Recall. Recall is an AI tool that regularly takes screenshots to create a record of activity, allowing users to search for their previous actions. Microsoft's decision to delay Recall follows heightened concerns around security as the AI field evolves rapidly.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Pavan Davuluri Organizations: Microsoft, Windows, Industry Locations: Redmond , Washington, U.S

☆ I doubled my income at Microsoft after starting my career in a factory. I only had enough money for 1 semester of school, but I was determined.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Perri Ormont Blumberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewThis as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nandita Gupta, an accessibility product manager at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington. I'm an accessibility product manager at Microsoft. Since December 2021, I've worked as an accessibility product manager for Accessibility Insights, a suite of products that helps developers code with accessibility in mind. There came a moment in my manufacturing job when I asked myself, "What am I doing? Taking the Microsoft job doubled my earnings from my last job — my annual income was around $75,000 in manufacturing, and the move to Microsoft brought my total compensation to over $170,000.

Persons: —, Nandita Gupta, I've, MasterClass, Lauryn Haas Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Business, Google, Zoo Atlanta, TED, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, TEDx Georgia Tech Locations: Redmond , Washington, lhaas@businessinsider.com

☆ OpenAI ex-employees worry about company's control over their millions of dollars in shares
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

However, current and former OpenAI employees have been increasingly concerned about access to liquidity, according to interviews and documents shared internally. "We're incredibly sorry that we're only changing this language now," an OpenAI spokesperson told CNBC after the company changed course. In at least two tender offers, the sales limit for former employees was $2 million, compared to $10 million for current employees. In addition to current and former employees, OpenAI has a third tier for share sales that consists of ex-employees who now work at competitors. OpenAI said it's never canceled a current or former employee's vested equity or required a repurchase at $0.

Persons: Sam Altman, Jason Redmond, OpenAI, Slack, Siri, Ilya Sutskever, Jan Leike, Altman's, Sarah Friar, Larry Albukerk, Albukerk, CNBC they've, it's, Doug Brayley Organizations: Microsoft, AFP, Getty, CNBC, Apple, Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department, Nvidia, OpenAI, EB Exchange, Ropes & Gray Locations: Redmond , Washington, OpenAI, California

☆ Microsoft says AI feature that captures screenshots on new PCs will be off by default after backlash
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at an event on Microsoft's campus in Redmond, Washington, on May 20, 2024. Microsoft said an artificial intelligence feature on new PCs that captures screenshots and enables searching of user activity will be off by default after security researchers determined that attackers could access the underlying data. The Recall feature was one of the main capabilities Microsoft showed during a press briefing last month for forthcoming Copilot+ PCs with AI computing power onboard. Microsoft has already added the Copilot conversational chatbot into Windows in a way that resembles OpenAI's popular ChatGPT. Microsoft is adding security protections to Recall in addition to requiring people to manually turn it on once Copilot+ PCs become available on June 18.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Davuluri, Kevin Beaumont Organizations: Microsoft, Windows Locations: Redmond , Washington, U.S

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (L) speaks with Microsoft Chief Technology Officer and Executive VP of Artificial Intelligence Kevin Scott during the Microsoft Build conference at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on May 21, 2024. The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department are set to open antitrust investigations into Microsoft , OpenAI and Nvidia , examining the powerful companies' influence on the artificial intelligence industry, a source familiar confirmed to CNBC. The FTC will take the lead on looking into Microsoft and OpenAI, while the DOJ will focus on Nvidia, and the investigations will focus on the companies' conduct, rather than mergers and acquisitions, according to the source. The news also follows the FTC's January decision to conduct an extensive study on AI industry heavyweights, including Amazon , Alphabet , Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI. Microsoft and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Sam Altman, Kevin Scott, Anthropic, Claude chatbots, that's, Lina Khan, Khan, OpenAI, — CNBC's Eamon Javers Organizations: Microsoft Chief Technology, Artificial, Microsoft, Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department, Nvidia, CNBC, FTC, DOJ, New York Times, Google, Meta Locations: Redmond , Washington

☆ Microsoft confirms layoffs in mixed reality but will keep selling HoloLens 2 headsets
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft will lay off some employees who work on mixed reality, a spokesperson told CNBC on Monday. Although the cuts will affect the department that contributes to the HoloLens 2 augmented reality headset, Microsoft plans to continue selling the device. "Earlier today we announced a restructuring of the Microsoft's Mixed Reality organization," the spokesperson said in an email. In addition, we will continue to invest in W365 to reach the broader Mixed Reality hardware ecosystem. In December, Microsoft further reduced investment in augmented reality and virtual reality, which blocks out the surrounding world, when it deprecated Windows Mixed Reality, which included tools for running applications in head-mounted displays.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Apple Organizations: Microsoft, CNBC, Department, U.S . Defense Department, Bloomberg, Nvidia, Vision, Microsoft Ignite, Meta Locations: Redmond , Washington, Seattle

☆ OpenAI creates oversight team with Sam Altman on board, begins training new model
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

OpenAI on Tuesday said it created a Safety and Security Committee led by senior executives, after disbanding its previous oversight board in mid-May. The formation of a new oversight team comes after OpenAI dissolved a previous team that was focused on the long-term risks of AI. AI safety has been at the forefront of a larger debate, as the huge models that underpin applications like ChatGPT get more advanced. Bret Taylor, Adam D'Angelo, Nicole Seligman, who are all on OpenAI's board of directors, now sit on the new safety committee alongside Altman. Leike this month wrote that OpenAI's "safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products."

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, Jan Leike, AGI, Bret Taylor, Adam D'Angelo, Nicole Seligman, Altman, CNBC's Hayden Field Organizations: Microsoft, Security Locations: Redmond , Washington

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