September 30, 2024 | Listen Online | Read Online

Brought to you by**:

0. Data and calendar

All values as of 6 AM ET / 3 AM PT, other than S&P500 and NASDAQ close (4 PM ET / 1 PM PT).

All times are ET.

1. OpenAI forecasts revenue +214% to $11.6B in 2025 ahead of $6.5B funding round

$5B losses are expected in 2024.

ChatGPT is expected to make $2.7B in 2024, +286% from 700M in 2023

10M ChatGPT users pay $20M monthly fee.
+$2 ChatGPT price rise is forecasted by the year-end.
Over 5 years: $44 ChatGPT subscription price is projected.

OpenAI has forecasted its revenue to hit $100B in 2029

$300M OpenAI's monthly revenue in Aug., +1,700% since 2023.
~350M users on OpenAI's services each month as of Jun., vs. 100M in Mar.
1M+ 3rd-party developers use OpenAI's technology.

Thrive Capital is said to have the option to invest up to $1B more at the $150B valuation through 2025

Microsoft, Nvidia, Tiger Global, and MGX are said to also invest in the round.
However, Apple would not participate in the round.
2-year provision mandating OpenAI convert from a non-profit to a public-benefit corporation may be included.
The funding could be closed this week.

2. Simplify your startup's finances with Mercury**

Mercury.

Mercury simplifies your finances by powering them from the one thing every business needs: a bank account.*
Not only does Mercury make it easy to tackle banking tasks in just a few clicks, its new software allows founders and finance teams to pay bills, send invoices, and close the books faster.
The result is simplified financial workflows that make you more precise, give you more control, and help you work faster than ever.

Join over 200K startups who use Mercury to simplify their finances today.

**Sponsored. Clicking on ad links may share your email with Mercury for remarketing purposes.

3. Apple considers new AR headset options, including moving compute to iPhone

iPhone may replace Vision Pro's on-board computer and external battery pack:

Apple.

Vision Pro 2 may include a new chip and Apple Intelligence.
Meta took on Apple's offering with its significantly cheaper Quest 3S headset.
Apple may explore smart glasses and new AirPods Pro with similar features.

Relatedly, Apple is said to be building homeOS, running on two new smart displays

tvOS could be the basis for homeOS.
2025: when a low-end Apple smart display with FaceTime may launch.
~$1,000 may be the price of the high-end tabletop with an iPad-like display.

4. Brazil's top court imposes $5M+ fine before it allows X to resume service

Musk and Brazil Supreme Court judge Moraes' fight over misleading content has impacted X's business in the South American country:

$3.4M was for the original fines that X must pay: Moraes.
$1.8M is a new fine for the post-ban resumption of X's service in Brazil.
Last week, X said it had complied with the orders to ban certain accounts.
X is said to challenge the additional $1.8M fine, while it's likely to pay the rest.
Elon previously had called Moraes order "censorship" and vowed to protect free speech, before caving in to the legal demands.

5. The CFO's Daily Checklist*

Oracle NetSuite.

Download this guide to unlock your daily CFO "to-dos", including:

Effectively communicating with other departments.
Setting aside time each day for deep work.
Mentoring potential successors.

Unlock now

*Sponsored.

6. California's Gov. Newsom blocks controversial AI safety bill

Big tech companies opposed the AI safety bill, while Elon Musk and Anthropic were among its proponents:

California "cannot afford to wait for a major catastrophe," Newsom said.
It would apply "stringent standards to even most basic functions," he said.
Bill's author Wiener responded by saying the veto made California less safe.

Relatedly, Newsom has passed a law to protect consumer brain data

The law has amended the privacy law CCPA to include "neural data."
It includes the data generated by brain activity.
Users can request, delete, correct and limit what brain data is collected.
Opting out from companies selling or sharing that data is also possible.

7. China urges local companies to avoid buying NVIDIA's chips

China contributed 12.2% to NVIDIA's Q2 FY25 revenues amid U.S. export curbs:

Bloomberg, NVIDIA's reports.

Huawei and Cambricon are among the local competitors Beijing is pushing.
Chinese firms are rushing to buy H20s before the anticipated 2024 U.S. sanction.

8. M&A for VC companies remains sluggish, with 1,329 deals closed in 2024 YTD

Crunchbase.

$67B in M&A for venture-backed companies this year, vs. $71.5B in 2023.
PE firms have led M&A deals in 2024.
EQT emerged as the most active acquirer in venture-backed startups in 2024.
Salesforce, NVIDIA, and Cloudflare were among the other active acquirers.
Biotech dominated the sectors saw most $1B+ deals in 2024.

9. Washington D.C. emerges as larger VC hub than Seattle, Austin

PitchBook.

Since Q3 2018, D.C. startup funding surpassed Seattle and Austin.
$36.1B has been closed by VC funds in D.C. since 2018.
$826M closed by Sands Capital in 2021, QED closed $650M last year.
Proximity to federal agencies has driven D.C.'s growth.

10. South Korea's chip inventories -42.6% in Aug., fastest since 2009

Bloomberg.

+10.3% is South Korea's chip production and +16.1% shipments.
Samsung and SK Hynix are among Korea's top memory chip players.
Skyrocketing AI demand is drying up chip inventories.

11. Interesting videos, posts, and memes

OpenAI's $150B conversion, Meta's AR glasses, Blue-collar boom, Risk of nuclear war

The Future of Sound: Udio's Vision for AI-Generated Music | E2016

Do this to make more money from your startup

How To Find A Co-Founder | Startup School

12. Other headlines

AI

ByteDance plans new AI model trained with Huawei chip: sources.
Amazon's AI partnership with Anthropic cleared by UK.
NotebookLM's automatically generated podcasts get positive review.

Athyna: hire incredible global talent with up to 70% savings vs. U.S. hires.*
monday.com connects and empowers teams to excel in every aspect of work. Get started now!*

*Sponsored.

Tech

X value cut by Fidelity by 79% vs. purchase price.
SpaceX capsule for stuck NASA astronauts docks at space station.

Sidebar is a personal board of advisors for the next generation of leaders. Join now! *
Mercury saves your finance team valuable time.*

*Sponsored. Clicking on ad links may share your email with Mercury for remarketing purposes.

Tech & law

Elon to meet SEC for testimony on Oct. 3 over Twitter deal.
EU to vote on Oct. 4 to finalize tariffs for China-made EVs.
YouTube blocks songs by Adele, Bob Dylan, and others in legal rights dispute.
Brazil to propose steps to block use of benefits for online bets.

Biotech

BlueCruise: new cruise mixes co-working, longevity.
GE HealthCare's diagnostic drug for heart disease gets FDA approval.
Sanofi-Regeneron's Dupixent wins FDA's nod for "smoker's lung."

Business

Swiss central bank's new chief takes charge amid Credit Suisse fallout.
BYD recalling 97K top-selling EVs on steering component fault.

Crypto

Binance founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao released.
Mango Markets agrees to settle SEC charges by destroying MNGO tokens.
Matrixport buys Deutsche Boerse unit Crypto Finance.

U.S. politics

Trump says he will seek Google's prosecution over "bad stories" about him.
Republicans lay legal groupwork for election challenges.
Trump vows to end Ukraine war as he meets with Zelensky.
Harris promises tougher immigration, fentanyl controls at border.
Harris campaign raises $55M over two weekend events.

World

IDF special forces launching targeted raids into southern Lebanon.
Israeli strikes kill Hamas leader in Lebanon, 3 Palestinian leaders in Beirut.
Yemen port, power plants struck by Israel after Houthi missile attacks.
Arab world split in reactions to killing of Hezbollah chief Nasrallah.
Japan's incoming PM Ishiba calls election for Oct. 27.
India to probe fire at Tata plant making components for iPhone.

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here. Liked it? Forward it to friends and get rewards (see below).

Share Bay Area Times

Share our newsletter with your friends and get free Bay Area Times rewards!

You currently have 0 referrals, only 1 away from receiving our Generative AI Unicorns Database.

Click to Share

Or copy and paste this link to others: https://www.bayareatimes.com/subscribe?ref=UbEAXR818y

What did you think of today's newsletter?

Advertise on the Bay Area Times

Disclaimer: The Bay Area Times is a news publisher. All statements and expressions herein are the sole opinions of the authors or paid advertisers. The information, tools, and material presented are provided for informational purposes only, are not financial advice, and are not to be used or considered as an offer to buy or sell securities; and the publisher does not guarantee their accuracy or reliability. You should do your own research and consult an independent financial adviser before making any investments. Neither the publisher nor any of its affiliates accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of the information contained herein. Assets mentioned may be owned by members of the Bay Area Times team.

Please read our Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy before using Our Service.