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Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI's Valuation Soars to $500 Billion in Landmark Share Sale

OpenAI has completed a $6.6 billion share sale, valuing the company at $500 billion, making it the most valuable private entity globally. The sale, involving current and former employees' shares, attracted investments from SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Thrive Capital, MGX, and T. Rowe Price.

This move serves as a robust retention strategy amidst competition from Meta, which has been actively recruiting OpenAI's talent. OpenAI's recent activities include a $40 billion fundraise at a $300 billion valuation in August, with participation from similar investors alongside Blackstone, TPG, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz.

The company's significant infrastructure commitments, including a $300 billion pledge to Oracle Cloud Services and a potential $100 billion investment from Nvidia, highlight its aggressive expansion plans. These developments follow a non-binding agreement with Microsoft, potentially paving the way for OpenAI's conversion into a for-profit entity, although the share sale could complicate this transition.

OpenAI reported $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025 while burning through $2.5 billion in cash, showcasing its rapid growth and investment in new technologies like the Sora 2 video model.

Artificial Intelligence

Startups' AI Spending: a16z Report Highlights Top Tools and Trends

Andreessen Horowitz, in partnership with Mercury, released its first AI Spending Report, analyzing the top 50 AI-native application layer companies startups are spending money on. The report reveals that startups are adopting a variety of AI products for specific tasks, with major labs like OpenAI and Anthropic leading in spending. Vibe-coding tools such as Replit and Lovable are also popular. The report highlights the increasing use of 'human augmentors' or 'copilots' to boost workforce productivity, but anticipates a shift towards more end-to-end agent tools as the technology evolves. Horizontal applications make up 60% of the list, with vertical applications in sales, recruiting, and customer service following. The integration of consumer and enterprise applications is growing, with companies like Canva seeing use in both sectors. a16z expects the list to change rapidly as older companies launch AI features and new entrants emerge.

E-commerce

Streamlining Prime Shopping: Amazon's 'Add to Delivery' Feature

Amazon has introduced a new 'Add to Delivery' feature for Prime members in the U.S., simplifying the process of adding items to upcoming deliveries. This feature, accessible through a blue button on product pages, allows users to include items in their next order with a single tap, replacing the 'Buy Now' button. An 'Undo' option is available for immediate removal of accidentally added items. This update to the Amazon Shopping app and website aims to better align with how customers shop, often remembering items throughout the week and placing multiple orders. The feature is rolling out to U.S. Prime members for eligible items, with Prime membership costing $14.99 monthly or $139 annually.

Technology

Apple Pivots from Vision Pro to AI-Powered Smart Glasses

Apple is reportedly halting its plans to revamp the Vision Pro VR glasses in favor of developing AI smart glasses, aiming to compete with Meta's offerings. The company is working on two types of smart glasses: a model (N50) that pairs with an iPhone and lacks a display, potentially launching in 2027, and another with a display to rival Meta's Ray-Ban Display. Apple aims to expedite the development of the display-equipped smart glasses, despite being behind Meta in the smart glasses market.

Education

Leverage Edu Navigates Global Education Disruption, Doubles Revenue, and Eyes IPO

Leverage Edu is helping students navigate disruptions in international education caused by visa issues and diplomatic tensions. The company has doubled its revenue, achieved profitability, and is expanding its global presence. They are rerouting students to alternative destinations like Germany and assisting Canadian universities in recruiting from Nigeria. Leverage is also expanding into Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The startup offers a full-service platform, including AI-powered tools and services like loans and housing. They are considering an IPO in India as early as next year.

Social Media & Privacy

Meta Denies Microphone Spying, Embraces AI for Ad Targeting

Instagram head Adam Mosseri has refuted claims that Meta actively listens to users through their microphones for ad targeting. Despite repeated denials, the perception persists due to the accuracy of Meta's ad recommendations. Mosseri explains that Meta's ad system relies on data shared by advertisers about website visitors and algorithms that target users based on similar interests.
However, Meta is now set to use data from user interactions with its AI products to further refine ad targeting. This new approach, detailed in an upcoming privacy policy, raises concerns about potential privacy intrusions, as AI chatbots engage users in more personal conversations. Mosseri also suggests that perceived coincidences and the subconscious processing of previously viewed ads contribute to the feeling of being listened to.

Finance & Venture Capital

Better Tomorrow Ventures Secures $140M Fund, Doubling Down on Fintech's Untapped Potential

Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV) has raised a $140 million third fund, signaling continued confidence in the fintech sector. BTV, led by Sheel Mohnot and Jake Gibson, focuses on digitizing financial services, which they believe are still largely manual. Despite a recent cooling in fintech enthusiasm, BTV sees significant opportunities in areas like accounting, where AI can automate tasks and address labor shortages. The firm has invested in accounting startups like Basis, Layer, and InScope, and believes AI has broad applications across financial services, including underwriting, compliance, and fraud detection. BTV plans to invest in 30 to 35 companies with check sizes ranging from $500,000 to $3.5 million.

Technology

Disney's Legal Action Forces Character.AI to Remove Iconic Characters

Character.AI has removed Disney characters from its platform after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Disney.

Disney accused Character.AI of infringing on copyrights and damaging Disney's reputation due to the chatbots being potentially harmful and sexually exploitative.

The cease-and-desist letter stated that Character.ai is freeriding off the goodwill of Disney’s famous marks and brands, and blatantly infringing Disney’s copyrights.

Searches for Disney-owned characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Captain America, and Luke Skywalker on Character.AI now yield no results.

Other characters from media copyrighted by Disney still appear in searchresults, such as Percy Jackson and Hannah Montana.

Artificial Intelligence

California's AI Safety Law: Balancing Innovation and Regulation

California's SB 53, an AI safety and transparency bill, demonstrates that state regulation can coexist with AI progress, according to Adam Billen of Encode AI.

SB 53 mandates that large AI labs be transparent about their safety and security protocols, particularly regarding the prevention of catastrophic risks like cyber attacks and bio-weapons development. Companies are expected to adhere to these protocols, with enforcement by the Office of Emergency Services.

Billen argues that this law reinforces existing safety practices, preventing companies from cutting corners under competitive pressure, as some AI firms might relax safety standards to compete.

While there was less opposition to SB 53 compared to its predecessor, concerns remain in Silicon Valley about AI regulation hindering U.S. competitiveness against China. There are also efforts to preempt state AI laws through federal measures, such as Senator Ted Cruz's SANDBOX Act.

Billen emphasizes that state bills like SB 53, which address issues like deepfakes, algorithmic discrimination, and children's safety, are essential and don't impede U.S. competitiveness. He suggests focusing on measures like export controls to address concerns about the AI race with China.

He concludes that SB 53 exemplifies democracy in action, where industry and policymakers collaborate to create agreeable legislation.

Technology & Privacy

Eufy Rewards Users for Theft Videos to Enhance AI, Sparks Privacy Concerns

Eufy, a security camera company, incentivized users to submit videos of staged or real package and car thefts to train its AI, offering $2 per video. This initiative aimed to improve the AI's ability to detect theft events.

The campaign ran from December 2024 to February 2025, with Eufy seeking 20,000 videos of each type of theft. Participants submitted videos via a Google Form, providing their PayPal for payment. Eufy also runs other campaigns aimed at incentivizing its customers to send in videos to train their AI, offers users rewards that range from an “Apprentice Medal,” which appears to simply be abadge next to the user’s name in the app, to gifts such as cameras or giftcards.

Concerns about privacy risks arise from such data collection practices. Previously, Eufy faced criticism for misleading claims about end-to-end encryption of camera streams. Another company, Neon, faced a security breach after paying users for call recordings, exposing user data and highlighting potential security vulnerabilities in such programs.