Recent News | OpenAI

Altman Forecasts AI Agents in Workforce by 2025

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts that by 2025, AI agents may join the workforce and significantly impact company output. According to Altman, this will be achieved through the iterative development and distribution of advanced tools. OpenAI is aiming for true superintelligence, which involves creating AI systems that can perform tasks at a level surpassing human capabilities.

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/technology/we-may-see-first-ai-agents-join-workforce-in-2025-openai-ceo-sam-altman-1852572

Anthropic Valued at $18 Billion After Fundraise

Anthropic, a startup known for its GenAI chatbot Claude, was valued at around $18 billion after a fundraise led by Menlo Ventures in 2024. The company, co-founded by Dario and Daniela Amodei, had previously received investments from Amazon.com, which doubled its stake to $8 billion, and Alphabet, which invested $500 million with plans for an additional $1.5 billion. This investment comes as the tech industry is racing to capitalize on generative artificial intelligence technology, following the launch of Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022.

https://channelnewsasia.com/business/anthropic-raise-2-billion-deal-valuing-ai-startup-60-billion-wsj-says-4843691

OpenAI and xAI Secure Record-Breaking Funding Rounds

US venture capital funding has recovered from market lows, with AI startups driving a significant portion of the growth. According to PitchBook data, total capital raised by AI companies in 2024 was nearly 30% higher year-on-year, capturing 46.4% of the $209 billion raised last year. Notably, OpenAI and xAI, backed by Elon Musk, secured funding rounds of $6.6 billion and $12 billion respectively. However, analysts are uncertain whether this enthusiasm will be sustained, citing the need for AI companies to achieve significant business milestones to continue receiving unlimited access to capital.

https://channelnewsasia.com/business/ai-startups-drive-vc-funding-resurgence-capturing-record-us-investment-2024-4843276

OpenAI's O3 Sparks Reasoning Concerns Among Users

Software company OpenAI has recently released a new AI model called O3, which is causing concern among some of its users. The model, designed to reason and make decisions like humans, is being tested by software engineers and developers who are finding it difficult to understand how it arrives at certain conclusions. Some have expressed concerns that the model's reasoning may be flawed or biased, leading to potentially incorrect outcomes.

https://www.firstpost.com/tech/openais-new-o3-reasoning-model-is-freaking-out-software-engineers-developers-heres-why-13851007.html

Panasonic Ties Up with Anthropic in AI Push

Panasonic has partnered with Anthropic, a US-based artificial intelligence company, aiming to generate 30% of its sales from AI products and services by 2025. This move comes as Anthropic is in talks to raise funding at a valuation of $60 billion. Meanwhile, other tech companies are also making significant investments in the space, such as Toyota's investment in a Japanese rocket startup and Nvidia's acquisition of Run:ai for $700 million. Additionally, OpenAI is considering a more conventional for-profit business model, while Uber has faced a setback with its deal to acquire Delivery Hero's unit being rejected by Taiwan.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/startups-tech/startups/anthropic-talks-raise-funding-us60-billion-value

ChatGPT Used in Deadly Las Vegas Truck Blast

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has confirmed that a recent Cybertruck explosion was the first incident in the US where ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence tool, was used to build an explosive device. The suspect, who is believed to have acted alone, had no known animosity towards President-elect Donald Trump and may have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). According to Sheriff Kevin McMahill, the suspect used ChatGPT to help plan the attack, which left seven people with minor injuries. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has stated that their model is designed to refuse harmful instructions and that it provided warnings against such activities in this case. The FBI has ruled out a link between this incident and a separate truck attack in New Orleans that killed over a dozen people.


US AI Startups Soar to Record Funding Heights

Artificial intelligence startups have driven a significant recovery in US venture capital funding, with total capital raised in 2024 increasing nearly 30% year-on-year to $209 billion. AI companies captured a record 46.4% of the total funding, up from less than 10% a decade earlier. Notable examples include OpenAI's $6.6 billion and xAI's $12 billion funding rounds, which have sparked investor optimism about the sector's potential. However, analysts are uncertain whether this enthusiasm will be sustained, particularly for foundation model firms that require substantial capital investments.

https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2025/01/07/ai-startups-drive-vc-funding-resurgence-capturing-record-us-investment-in-2024

OpenAI's Sam Altman Sees AI Agents by 2025

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts that AI agents will join the workforce by 2025, potentially changing the output of companies. He believes that OpenAI is on track to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI), a system that matches or surpasses human intelligence. The company's ChatGPT has already shown AI's potential and is seen as a starting point for more advanced tools. Altman also touched on the tumultuous events of 2023, when he was ousted as CEO before being reinstated days later, stating it was a "big failure of governance" and expressing his growth as a leader through the challenges the company has faced.

https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ai-agents-in-workforce-this-year-openai-ceo-sam-altman-predicts-a-major-shift-7417571

Microsoft Invests $80 Billion in AI Data Centers

Microsoft plans to invest $80 billion in fiscal 2025 on developing data centers for artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based applications. This investment is expected to be used to train AI models and deploy AI-powered services, with more than half of the funds allocated to projects based in the United States. The company's capital expenditure for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 rose 5.3% to $20 billion, according to analysts at Visible Alpha. Microsoft's investment is part of a larger trend in the tech industry, which has seen significant growth since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022.

https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2025/01/04/microsoft-plans-to-spend-80-billion-on-ai-enabled-data-centers-in-fiscal-2025-cnbc-reports