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☆ Why environmentalists are suing the National Park Service to prevent it from planting trees
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Jonathan Park | Janna Van Vranken | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The National Park Service wants to replant sequoia groves in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, where wildfires in 2020 and 2021 inflicted lasting damage on the iconic sequoia forests. Sequoias are among the species of trees that actually “depend on high-intensity fire in order to reproduce effectively,” said Hanson told CNN. In this September 2021 photo, the Windy Fire blazes through the Long Meadow Grove of giant sequoia trees near the Trail of 100 Giants overnight in Sequoia National Forest. David McNew/Getty Images“The Park Service has to abide by the 1964 Wilderness Act,” said Kevin Proescholdt, conservation director at Wilderness Watch. “The more that agencies will allow natural fire to burn and perform its role, the better these wilderness forests will be,” he said.

Persons: ” Chad Hanson, John Muir, ”, Hanson, ” Hanson, “, replanting, David McNew, Kevin Proescholdt, Proescholdt, ” Proescholdt, what’s Organizations: CNN, National Park Service, National Parks, NPS, John Muir Project, Wilderness Watch, Sequoia, Conservancy, sequoia, Giants, Sequoia National, Service, National Forest Service Locations: Sequoia, California, sequoia

Over the years these cars have gotten bigger and so has their cost to the climate, as carbon dioxide emissions “are almost directly proportional to fuel use” for gas-powered cars. Since then, he has owned several pure-electric cars, and currently owns both a Genesis GV60 electric SUV and a Tesla Model 3. Meanwhile, smaller vehicles, or sedans, have lost a lot of ground in the U.S. market over the past decade. But even the most efficient SUVs will be less efficient than sedans because SUVs weigh so much more. See more about AP’s climate initiative here.

Persons: it's, George Parrott, ”, Parrott, Eric Frehsée, Loren McDonald, ” McDonald, John Organizations: Global, Initiative, International Energy Agency, Transportation, Toyota, Tesla, EV, U.S, Tamaroff, Chevrolet Tahoe, Toyota Sequoia, Nissan, Honda, U.S . Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, National, Traffic Safety Administration, AP Locations: West Sacramento , California, Sacramento, U.S, Edmunds, Michigan, Press

Jack Guez | Afp | Getty ImagesAfter a weekend of crisis and tumult, Sam Altman has returned as the CEO of OpenAI. Nathan Laine | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBret Taylor, board chair Bret Taylor is currently a board member at the e-commerce platform Shopify . It isn't clear if Taylor's involvement with his own AI startup will cease with his appointment to lead OpenAI's board. OpenAI's board fired Altman Friday after determining he was "not consistently candid in his communications," but its members never elaborated further. Jack Guez | AFP | Getty ImagesIlya Sutskever Ilya Sutskever co-founded OpenAI and serves as its chief scientist.

Persons: Sam Altman, Ilya Sutskever, Jack Guez, Altman, There's, Satya Nadella, Nadella, Here's, Bret Taylor, Nathan Laine, He's, Elon, Taylor, Salesforce, Larry Summers, David A, CNBC Larry Summers Larry Summers, Clinton, Summers, Jack Dorsey, Adam D'Angelo Adam D'Angelo, D'Angelo, Helen Toner, CSET, Vox, Jerod Harris, Helen Toner Helen Toner, Toner, Tasha McCauley, Carlton Laguna Nigel, Tasha McCauley Tasha McCauley, Joseph Gordon, Levitt, McCauley, Ilya Sutskever Ilya Sutskever, Sutskever, Greg Brockman, Brockman, Brockman's, Sven Hoppe Organizations: Tel Aviv University, Afp, Getty, Microsoft, CNBC, Sequoia, Tiger Global, Salesforce, Viva Technology Conference, Bloomberg, Google, Economic, Grogan, Harvard University, Obama, Economic Council, Twitter, Meta, Facebook, The Ritz, Carlton, Georgetown University's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Philanthropy, Business Development, Ritz, Rand Corporation, GeoSim Systems, AFP, University of Toronto, Stanford, Technical University of Munich Locations: Tel Aviv, Paris, Davos, Switzerland, Washington, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point , California, Russian Israeli, Canadian

☆ After closed door OpenAI drama, open source AI backed by Nvidia, Eric Schmidt, could emerge winner
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Rebecca Fannin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Hugging Face website on a laptop arranged in New York, US, on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. "We should encourage all companies to build on disruption-proof AI technology that only open source can offer." To be clear, big bets made on open source AI pre-date last Friday when news first broke of Sam Altman's removal as OpenAI CEO, and those bets include an open source AI model controlled by one dominant tech company, Meta Platforms ' Llama. Open source and AI governanceFormer Google CEO Eric Schmidt is behind Mistral AI, another open source rival to OpenAI's ChatGPT. A third open source AI startup, Poolside AI, recently pulled in $126 million co-led by French telecom and internet billionaire Xavier Niel and U.S. VC firm Felicis Ventures.

Persons: Gabby Jones, Eric Schmidt, Sam Altman, Microsoft —, Mike Gualtieri, Forrester, Marc Benioff, Delip Rao, Sam Altman's, Thomas Wolf, We've, Wolf, Linus Torvalds, Paul Drews, OpenAI's, Arthur Mensch, Mistral, Xavier Niel Organizations: Nvidia, Bloomberg, Getty Images Tech, Salesforce, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Twitter, Google, Meta, IBM, Intel, Sequoia Capital, Salesforce Ventures, Mistral, alums, Lightspeed Venture Partners, French, . VC, Felicis Ventures Locations: New York, France

Sam Altman will return as CEO of OpenAI, the startup said early Wednesday morning on X, formerly known as Twitter. The move follows immense pressure from employees and investors on the board that ousted him less than a week ago. Former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will join OpenAI's board, the Microsoft-backed startup said, with Taylor holding the chair position. Adam D'Angelo, co-founder and CEO of question-and-answer startup Quora, will remain on the board. That followed an announcement late Sunday that OpenAI had hired ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear as Altman's interim replacement.

Persons: Sam Altman, Salesforce, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Taylor, Adam D'Angelo, OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, Altman, Satya Nadella, Greg Brockman, Emmett Shear, Mira Murati, msft, Nadella, Sam, Greg, OAI Organizations: OpenAI, Twitter, Microsoft, Tiger, Sequoia Capital Locations: openai

☆ VCs didn't care about OpenAI's weird board structure. It was all about investing in Sam Altman and its 'transformative' tech.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

OpenAI's venture capital investors weren't thinking about its mission to serve "humanity" by developing artificial intelligence. After Altman's ouster, Vinod Khosla, an early investor in OpenAI, came to his defense despite the criticism. OpenAI's complex and unique corporate governance structure meant that VCs could invest in the capped profit entity, but never earn any influence over the nonprofit board of directors, all of whom were either cofounders or appointed outside AI experts. The board structure and its governance are all likely to change as part of the deal to bring Sam Altman back as CEO of OpenAI. The purpose of the newly formed OpenAI board – consisting of current board member D'Angelo, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor – is to vet and potentially appoint an expanded board of up to nine people, and that Microsoft and Altman want board seats, The Verge reported.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Altman, VCs, Sam, Altman's, Vinod Khosla, Yunus, Khosla, Wesley Chan, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Tasha McCauley, who's, Joseph Gordon, Levitt, Helen Toner, Adam D'Angelo, Karthee Madasamy, it's, David Sacks, D'Angelo, Larry Summers, Bret Taylor – Organizations: Business, Tiger Global Management, Khosla Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Microsoft, FPV Ventures, Rand Corporation, Georgetown's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, MFV Partners, Qualcomm Ventures, Ikea, Bosch, Novo Nordisk Foundation, Bertelsmann Foundation, Carlsberg Foundation, Craft Ventures Locations: OpenAI, Silicon Valley, Hollywood

☆ There's a wave of pre-IPO startups with pandemic-era price tags stuck in limbo right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

There is a wave of pandemic-era startups stuck in limbo right now. The days of seeing 80% to 100% year-on-year revenue growth are gone, Hussein Kanji from early-stage fund Hoxton Ventures told Business Insider. Hoxton Ventures' Hussein Kanji said the days of companies racking up 100% year-on-year revenue growth are over. Investors tend to assess whether a company is IPO-ready on the rule of 40, which is revenue growth plus EBIT margin. Kanji added: "This is a lesson for a lot of people – if the IPO window opens up, take the company public."

Persons: they're, James Ulan, Klarna, Ulan, Karna's, Hussein Kanji, Morgan Stanley, Kanji, Kamil Mieczakowski, Fabian Heilemann, Graphcore Organizations: Business, Hoxton Ventures, Hoxton, Nvidia, Sequoia Locations: Ulan

☆ Hundreds of OpenAI employees threaten to follow Altman to Microsoft unless board resigns, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hundreds of OpenAI employees, including co-founder and board member Ilya Sutskever, have signed a letter demanding that either OpenAI's remaining board members resign or those OpenAI employees will join Sam Altman's new venture at Microsoft , reports said. Five hundred and five OpenAI employees have signed the letter, Kara Swisher reported, representing the overwhelming majority of OpenAI's headcount. Multiple OpenAI employees voiced their support on social media as well. Altman was forced out Friday by OpenAI's board, including Sutskever, which cited unspecified issues with his communications. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Sunday announced that Altman and fellow OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman would join the company in a new, largely independent venture.

Persons: Sam Altman, Ilya Sutskever, Sam Altman's, Kara Swisher, Mira Murati, Brad Lightcap, Murati, Twitch, Emmett Shear, Sutskever, Altman, OpenAI's, Altman's, Satya Nadella, OpenAI, Greg Brockman, OpenAI wasn't, — CNBC's Jordan Novet, Hayden Field Organizations: OpenAI, Tech, Microsoft, Wired, CNBC, Sunday Locations: Laguna Beach , California, Sequoia, OpenAI

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told CNBC's Jon Fortt on Monday that the governance structure of OpenAI needs to change, three days after the sudden firing CEO Sam Altman. Early Monday morning Nadella said that Altman, Brockman and their colleagues would join Microsoft as part of a new AI research group. That post followed news that ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear had been named OpenAI interim head as Altman looked to depart. Nadella told Fortt that Microsoft respects OpenAI's nonprofit roots and shares its belief that AI needs to be developed and rolled out in a safe manner. WATCH: A timeline of the drama between Sam Altman, OpenAI and Microsoft

Persons: Satya Nadella, CNBC's Jon Fortt, Sam Altman, Nadella, Altman, OpenAI, Greg Brockman, Brockman, Emmett Shear, Fortt Organizations: Microsoft, Tiger, Sequoia Capital

☆ Former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman returns to headquarters for talks following his abrupt ouster
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI participates in the "Charting the Path Forward: The Future of Artificial Intelligence" at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week in San Francisco, California, on November 16, 2023. Sam Altman, the recently ousted CEO of OpenAI, arrived as a guest Sunday at the headquarters of the company he founded. Altman posted a photo of himself on X, formerly Twitter, wearing an OpenAI visitor badge, writing, "first and last time i ever wear one of these." Jason Kwon, OpenAI's chief strategy officer, also posted a photo of Sam with the badge. Microsoft , Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and venture firm Thrive Capital are part of an effort to reinstate Altman or have been in discussions with him, sources familiar told CNBC.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Jason Kwon, Sam, Brad Lightcap, Lightcap, Greg Brockman, — CNBC's Rohan Goswami, Jordan Novet Organizations: Economic Cooperation, APEC, OpenAI, Microsoft, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global, CNBC Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit in San Francisco, California, U.S. November 16, 2023. "Sam and OpenAI were the catalyst that showed the world what AI tech is capable of," Jannsen said. Silicon Valley's high-profile startup CEO firings typically involve wrongdoing, rather than just philosophical differences about where the company is headed. "Sam Altman is a hero of mine," former Google CEO and investor Eric Schmidt said in an X post. — CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this report WATCH: OpenAI says Sam Altman exiting as CEO because 'board no longer has confidence.'

Persons: Sam Altman, Carlos Barria, OpenAI, Steve Jobs, Altman, —, Jobs, U.S . Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Greg Brockman, Brockman, Ron Conway, Greg, Brian Chesky, Matt Schlicht, Schlicht, Sam, Ryan Jannsen, Jannsen, Patrick Moorhead, They're, Moorhead, Josh Wolfe, Wolfe, he'd, Eric Schmidt, Tom Williams, Airbnb's Chesky, what's, Chesky, Satya Nadella, Zachary Lipton, Carnegie Mellon's Lipton, Lipton, — CNBC's Lora Kolodny Organizations: Economic Cooperation, Reuters, ChatGPT, Apple, U.S ., Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft, Tiger, Sequoia Capital, CNBC, Google, Lux Capital, Cq, Inc, Getty, Carnegie Mellon University, Industry Locations: Asia, San Francisco , California, U.S, Silicon Valley, OpenAI, what's, —

☆ OpenAI is hiring former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear to run company two days after ousting Sam Altman
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Emmett Shear, former CEO of Twitch, in a Bloomberg Television interview in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. OpenAI is bringing in former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear to run the artificial intelligence company, two days after the sudden ouster of Sam Altman, CNBC has confirmed. Unlike most Silicon Valley startups, OpenAI wasn't structured like a typical corporation with large chunks of equity controlled by the founders. Shear stepped down as CEO of Twitch, the livestreaming service now owned by Amazon , in March. — CNBC's Ari Levy contributed to this reportWATCH: Madrona's Matt McIlwain talks Sam Altman's departure as OpenAI CEO

Persons: Emmett Shear, Twitch, OpenAI, Sam Altman, Shear, Altman, Mira Murati, didn't, Murati, — CNBC's Ari Levy, Matt McIlwain, Sam Altman's Organizations: Bloomberg Television, CNBC, Bloomberg, Microsoft, Tiger, Sequoia Capital, Amazon, OpenAI Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S

OpenAI investors are pushing to bring back Sam Altman as CEO one day after he was ousted by the board, according to people familiar with the matter. Sequoia Capital has also been in contact with Altman, a person familiar with knowledge of the matter told CNBC. Sequoia also informed Microsoft that it would back efforts to bring back Altman and Brockman, the person said. The Verge first reported on the talks to bring back Altman. In addition to ousting Altman, the company removed Brockman, the chairman, from his board leadership position but said he would remain as president.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Greg Brockman, it's, Sequoia, Brockman, Altman didn't, Mira Murati Organizations: Microsoft, Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, CNBC, Sequoia Locations: Silicon Valley, OpenAI

☆ Who's on the OpenAI board — the group behind Sam Altman's ouster
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-18 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

On Friday, the board of OpenAI, the buzzy AI company behind viral chatbot ChatGPT, suddenly and publicly ousted its CEO Sam Altman. OpenAI's board said it conducted "a deliberative review process" and that Altman "was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities." She is an adjunct senior management scientist at Rand Corporation and has been on the OpenAI board since 2018. "While our partnership with Microsoft includes a multibillion-dollar investment, OpenAI remains an entirely independent company governed by the OpenAI Nonprofit," OpenAI has publicly stated. On that day, Altman told Nadella, "I think we have the best partnership in tech and I'm excited for us to build AGI together."

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, OpenAI, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Adam D'Angelo, Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, Reid Hoffman, Neuralink, Zilis, Will Hurd, Brockman, Sam, Sutskever, he's, D'Angelo, McCauley, Toner, Andreessen Horowitz, AGI, weren't, Mira Murati, OpenAI's Dev, Satya Nadella, Nadella, Dev, Brad Lightcap Organizations: Thursday's APEC, Summit, Google, Facebook, OpenAI, GeoSim Systems, Rand Corporation, University of Oxford's Center, Georgetown's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Sequoia Capital, Microsoft, CNBC, Fortune Locations: Texas, OpenAI

☆ Ruzwana Bashir Is Quietly Connecting the Tech World
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +18 min

Story by Melia RussellPhotography by Lelanie FosterRuzwana Bashir is ransacking her kitchen cabinet for just the right tea. Bashir wears an Erdem floral-printed bra top, Erdem skirt, Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, Old Jewelry earrings along with her own bracelet and ring. "Part of building a business was going out and sharing what you were doing with the world," Bashir says. For years Bashir's startup had been building muscle around these capabilities; now it had an eager audience. Eating at acclaimed restaurants is fine, but Bashir prefers the more-intimate affairs at tech executives' homes because, she says, "you can stay longer."

Persons: Melia Russell, Lelanie Foster Ruzwana Bashir, Peek, She's, she's, Andy Warhol, Picasso, Bashir, I'm, Andreessen Horowitz, Jack Dorsey, Eric Schmidt, Goldman Sachs, Giuseppe Zanotti, Lelanie Foster, Bashir isn't, Elon Musk, Ronan Farrow, Roelof Botha, Mustafa Suleyman, we've, Bennett Miller, Capote, " Miller, —, doesn't, didn't, Madeleine Albright, Tom Ford, Jared Cohen, Oskar Bruening, Forbes, Mark Zuckerberg, I've, Bashir wasn't, Travis Kalanick, Adam Neumann, Ty, Emily Weiss, Bashir refashioned, Donald Trump, Bruening, Laurence Tosi's, Miller, Beyoncé, shrugs, Anna Wintour, Anna, we're, Taylor Swift, Katie Haun, Marc Benioff, Reid Hoffman, Marissa Mayer, Dick Costolo —, Cohen, Katherine Maher, Maher, Daniel Kahneman, It's, Radel, Becky Akinyode, Elaine Winter, Tiffany Bloomfield, Dela, Chad Hilliard, Enmi, Kenny Aquiles Ulloa, Cyrenae, Madison Perez, Aidan Lapp, Bashira Webb, Bryan Erickson, Jinyoung Chang, Rodriguez, Rebecca Zisser, Claire Landsbaum, Emma LeGault, Joi, Marie McKenzie, Conner Blake, Kyle Desiderio, Victoria Gracie, Nicole Forero, Virginia Alves Organizations: Google, Museum of, Business, Elon, Vogue, Roelof, Oxford University, Oxford Union, Blackstone Group, Harvard Business School, Studios, Web, Young, Organization, Dela Revoluciøn, Enmi Yang Digital Tech Locations: Manhattan, SoHo, Bahamas, United States, Balthazar, England, Israel, Petra, Istanbul, Elle, Utah, COVID, Salt Lake City, Costa Rica, Atlanta, WestCap

☆ China's Moore Threads valued at $3.4 bln in funding before U.S. curbs - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The month before Moore Threads had raised roughly 1 billion yuan in a so-called "series B+" round, one of the sources said. Investors priced Moore at 24 billion yuan prior to the capital raise, and around 24.8 billion yuan after the injection of new capital, said the other source, who had been briefed about the fundraising progress in September. On Tuesday, updates to Moore Threads' company registration data on third-party database Qichacha showed it added new shareholders including a fund called Houxue Qingxin and venture investment firm Chenan Zhizhi alongside an increase in its registered capital. It was widely considered one of China's most prominent efforts to develop products capable of competing with those from market-dominating Nvidia. ($1 = 7.2482 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Florence Lo, Moore, Chenan, ByteDance, Jan Harvey Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Reuters, Nvidia, AMD, China Mobile, Sequoia Capital, Beijing, Thomson Locations: China, Rights BEIJING, U.S, Sequoia Capital China

☆ Sequoia-backed Upway refurbishes and resells e-bikes. It just raised $30 million with this 17-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Upway, a French startup that refurbishes and resells secondhand e-bikes, has just raised $30 million in Series B funding. The Paris-based company, founded in 2021 by former Uber executives Stéphane Ficaja and Toussaint Wattinne, buys up used e-bikes, refurbishes them where necessary, and sells them on for a discounted price. Electric bikes sales hit 5 million in 2021 , out of 22 million overall bike sales, according to European trade organization CONEBI. Micro-mobility rentals, such as Lime and Tier, helped popularise the market and accelerate the adoption of e-bikes in cities, Wattinne said. Check out the 17-slide redacted pitch deck it used to raise the funds:UpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpwayUpway

Persons: Stéphane Ficaja, Toussaint Wattinne, Wattinne, Bolt, David Helgason, Ari Organizations: Uber, Business, Korelya, Sequoia, Exor Ventures, Unity Locations: Paris, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, LA, Grover, Berlin

☆ 3 things to know about the most important relationship in the global economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Even so, finding ways to “get back on a normal course” — in the words of Biden — matters hugely to the global economy. He also pointed to some American companies leaving China altogether, such as asset management giant Vanguard. In the third quarter, a measure of foreign direct investment into China turned negative for the first time in 25 years. The country is by far the world’s biggest gallium producer, and a leading global producer of germanium, according to the US Geological Survey. Listed American companies with big business in China, such as Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA), may face higher scrutiny, too.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, “, Biden, ”, Scott Kennedy, Chenggang Xu, California Justin Sullivan, Xu, Gina Raimondo, Adam Glanzman, Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Donald Trump, Liu, … Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Economic Cooperation, CNN, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Stanford Center, China’s, Shipping, Port, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, European Union, American Chamber of Commerce, Vanguard, Companies, US, Nvidia, Semiconductor Industry Association, Bloomberg, Getty, Geological Survey, Council, Foreign Relations, Communist Party of China Finances, Capital, Apple, Chinese Communist Party, China Economic, Security, Commission, Biden, CFR Locations: China, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Asia, United States, Mexico, Canada, Port of Oakland, California, Shanghai, Ukraine, Moscow, Washington, Beijing, American, New York, US, Japan, Netherlands, Sequoia

☆ New Toyota Camry will be hybrid-only
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Toyota Camry, the best-selling car in America, is going hybrid-only. The Camry is available in a hybrid version now, but the redesigned 2025 Camry will be offered only as a hybrid car combining a gasoline engine with electric motors. Making the Camry hybrid-only is a big step. The Toyota Crown Signia is a new hybrid-only SUV. Besides unveiling the new Camry Tuesday night, Toyota also revealed another new hybrid-only SUV model, the Crown Signia.

Persons: there’s, We’ve, ” Mike Tripp, Tyson Jominy, “ It’s, ”, “, Jominy, Tripp Organizations: CNN, Toyota Camry, Toyota, Camry, J.D, They’re, Corolla, Lexus Locations: America, Sienna, United States

☆ Valuations will normalize as interest rates come down, says Sequoia Capital's Roelof Botha
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailValuations will normalize as interest rates come down, says Sequoia Capital's Roelof BothaRoelof Botha, Sequoia Capital managing partner, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss what the equity market's reaction to the latest CPI data will do to Botha's investing world, current valuation levels, and how those levels have affected Sequoia.

Persons: Roelof Botha Roelof Botha Organizations: Sequoia Capital

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Sequoia Capital's Roelof Botha
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Sequoia Capital's Roelof BothaRoelof Botha, Sequoia Capital managing partner, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss what the equity market's reaction to the latest CPI data will do to Botha's investing world, current valuation levels, and how those levels have affected Sequoia.

Persons: Roelof Botha Roelof Botha Organizations: Sequoia, Sequoia Capital

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 9 (Reuters) - OpenAI's announcement on artificial intelligence "apps" do not spell the death knell for nascent startups building AI products, two OpenAI investors said at a Reuters NEXT conference on Thursday. Investors are still hunting for new AI products that could help consumers interact better with the technology and address deep tech issues such as brain computer interface, they said. We're in an intermediary step in a decades-long revolution," Konstantine Buhler, partner at Sequoia Capital, told the conference. Avery Klemmer, investor at Thrive Capital, which recently increased its investment in OpenAI, also said she sees opportunities for the rise of consumer applications beside ChatGPT. Despite recent frenzied investments into the technology by companies and venture capital firms, analysts and investors say development of AI products is still in the early stages.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Konstantine Buhler, Avery Klemmer, ChatGPT, Klemmer, Jill Chase, Krystal Hu, Sayantani Ghosh, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters NEXT, Sequoia Capital, Sequoia, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: OpenAI, New York

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 9 (Reuters) - OpenAI's announcement on artificial intelligence "apps" do not spell the death knell for nascent startups building AI products, two OpenAI investors said at a Reuters NEXT conference on Thursday. Investors are still hunting for new AI products that could help consumers interact better with the technology and address deep tech issues such as brain computer interface, they said. We're in an intermediary step in a decades-long revolution," Konstantine Buhler, partner at Sequoia Capital, told the conference. Avery Klemmer, partner at Thrive Capital, which recently increased its investment in OpenAI, also said she sees opportunities for the rise of consumer applications beside ChatGPT. Despite recent frenzied investments into the technology by companies and venture capital firms, analysts and investors say development of AI products is still in the early stages.

☆ Voice cloning AI startup ElevenLabs was worth $100 million five months ago. Now, sources say it's about to hit $1 billion.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

ElevenLabs, a generative AI startup focused on voice, is in talks to raise capital in a deal that would catapult its valuation to $1 billion. It is unclear as yet whether Sequoia would invest alongside Andreessen Horowitz or if they are competing with one another. Five months on, the prospective new round will increase that valuation 10 times over to $1 billion, three sources said. ElevenLabs and Andreessen Horowitz did not respond to a request for comment. Bruce Reed, President Biden's AI chief, said that voice cloning "keeps me up at night," in an interview with Politico.

Persons: Andreessen Horowitz, Joe Rogan, Emma Watson, Gizmodo, ElevenLabs, Sequoia, OpenAI's ChatGPT, FOMO, Mati Staniszewski, Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, Eric Adams, Adams, Bruce Reed, Biden's, Meta Organizations: Google, VC, Sequoia, Meta, Britain's Companies, Concept Ventures, New York City, White, Politico Locations: London, New York

☆ Microsoft-backed OpenAI announces GPT-4 Turbo, its most powerful AI yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

ChatGPT, which broke records as the fastest-growing consumer app in history months after its launch, now has about 100 million weekly active users, OpenAI said Monday. And when it comes to GPT-5, Altman told reporters, "We want to do it, but we don't have a timeline." GPT-4 Turbo can. While earlier versions limited you to about 3,000 words, the GPT-4 Turbo accepts inputs of up to 300 pages in length. OpenAI said GPT-4 Turbo is available in preview for developers now and will be released to all in the coming weeks.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Justin Sullivan, OpenAI, It's, Mira Murati, Satya Nadella, Nadella, Andreessen Horowitz, GPT, it's, Tony Stark's J.A.R.V.I.S, Pam, Anthropic's Claude, chatbot Organizations: Google, Fortune, Microsoft, Sequoia Capital, Bowl, Marvel, Smart Locations: San Francisco , California, OpenAI

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