🗞️ OpenAI, xAI deals

November 27, 2024   |   Listen Online   |   Read Online Brought to you by: Top stories today: Trump names Stanford professor, critic of Covid lockdowns, to head NIH OpenAI lets staff sell $1.5B of stock; Elon gives X investors 25% of xAI Sora, OpenAI's video model, paused after artists leak access in protest Former Google, Stripe execs. raise $56M to develop OS for AI agents New home sales slump to two-year low to 610K over South storms Follow us on X | Instagram | Advertise 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. CORRECTION: PCE and Core PCE will be released at 8:30 AM, not 10 AM ET. Listen to our AI-generated podcast summarizing today's newsletter (beware of the few hallucinations): Bay Area Times Daily - Nov. 27, 2024 ►   Play Online 1. Trump names Stanford professor, critic of Covid lockdowns, to head NIH "Will restore the NIH to a gold standard of medical research," Trump said. He opposed lockdowns and mask mandates as early as 2021. Could aid longevity research, working with FDA chief Makary, a chronic disease prevention advocate. 2. Surf Freely, Stay Safe: Get Surfshark VPN* Surfshark VPN. Protect your privacy with Surfshark VPN—unlimited devices, no data caps, and zero speed limits. Get 4 extra months free and enjoy the best value among premium VPNs. Browse, stream, and shop securely without worrying about trackers or snooping; just set it up and go. Get Surfshark VPN now for $1.99/mo + 4 months free *Sponsored. 3. OpenAI lets staff sell $1.5B of stock at $157B, while Elon gives X investors 25% of xAI Generative AI Unicorns Database. SoftBank has backed OpenAI with the new $1.5B investment. OpenAI current and former staff can cash out stock in the tender offer. Fidelity, Sequoia Capital, and a16z among the investors getting the 25% stake in xAI. 25% as off after this round, not diluted from any fundraising. 4. Sora, OpenAI's video model, paused after artists leak access in protest Hugging Face: PR Puppet Sora space. ~20 artists made access to Sora public via Hugging Face in protest of OpenAI's treatment. "Hundreds of artists provide unpaid labor through bug testing, feedback, and experimental work," the artists alleged. OpenAI paused all user access to Sora hours after it was made public. 5. Former Google, Stripe execs. raise $56M at $500M to develop OS for AI agents Ex-Android VP and Stripe CTO David Singleton co-founded /dev/agents with 3 ex-Googlers. Index Ventures and CapitalG co-led the seed round. Aimed to develop a common technical framework for AI agents. "We need an Android-like moment for AI," Singleton said. 6. New home sales slump to two-year low to 610K over South storms, affordability challenges Bloomberg, Census Bureau. -17% in annualized new home sales in Oct. from 738K in Sep. -28% in the South region to 339K, the slowest pace since Apr. 2020. West also faced a dip, while Northeast and Midwest saw a rise. $437.3K was the median sale price in Oct., the highest in 14 months. 7. Global smartphone market rebounds in 2024, but Apple barely grows: IDC Bloomberg, IDC. +6.2% YoY estimated in smartphone shipments globally in 2024 to 1.24B units. +0.4% in iPhone volumes. However, Apple continued to dominate the market value-wise, with a $1K ASP, vs. $295 of rivals. 8. South Korea allocates $10B (14.3T KRW) for 2025 to support domestic chipmakers Bloomberg, South Korean finance ministry. "Significant share" of the 1.8T KRW for power cables will also be government-funded. 4T KRW National AI "computing center" will be set up by 2030. Jul.: a 26T KRW aid package was kicked off. 9. Dell, HP report disappointing sales on slower PC market Bloomberg, Companies' filings. -1% in Dell's PC business revenue to $12.1B in Q3 FY25. HP, too, missed the analyst estimate, though its PC unit was +2% to $9.59B. 10. Transactions across ad tech, marketing tech, digital content near 2022 high Axios. 11. Chinese smartphone market to see minimal growth in 2024 amid challenges Counterpoint. 12. Former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson to run for NYC mayor Tilson used to run hedge fund Kase Capital Management. Pledged to tackle crime, housing costs, spending, and schools. The Democratic donor said he never considered running until Harris lost. Crowded field, with politicians Brad Lander, Scott Stringer, and Jim Walden also running. 13. Interesting videos, posts, and memes AI Could Make Quantum Computing Obsolete, Nobel Prize Winner Says Joe Rogan Experience #2234 - Marc Andreessen Dust's Gabriel Hubert and Stanislas Polu: Getting the Most From AI With Multiple Custom Agents This Yudkowskian Has A 99.999% P(Doom) 14. Other headlines Tech TikTok to block teenagers from beauty filters over mental health concerns. Threads gains 35M users since Nov. 1, over 1M daily signups for 3 months. CrowdStrike Q3: revenue +29% to $1.01B, -$17M loss vs. $27M profit last year. Top-Quality Talent, 70% Cost Savings—Meet Athyna.* Money Pickle: Ready to take control of your financial future?* *Sponsored. Tech & law Elon Musk's X seeks to block transfer of InfoWars' accounts to The Onion. Google to drop hotel map results from some EU searches to meet DMA rules. FCC approves T-Mobile, SpaceX license to extend coverage to dead zones. Biotech Alto, digital pharmaceutical startup backed by SoftBank, raises $40M. Crypto Tornado Cash sanctions reversed by U.S. appeals court. Kraken to shut down NFT marketplace in Feb. Crypto super PAC Fairshake already has $103M for 2026 midterms. Downing Tech: consulting on decentralised technologies.* *Sponsored. Business Fed minutes show officials prefer gradual rate cuts. U.S. politics Kevin Hassett picked to direct National Economic Council, Greer as Trade Rep. $24B Ukraine aid package requested by Biden. IRS added enforcement has $20B hole. Trump team signs transition agreement with White House. World Hezbollah, Israel 60-day ceasefire starts. WTI crude oil stable at $69 after falling prior days. Chinese defense minister Jun investigated for corruption: FT. 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? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Amazing! ⭐️⭐️⭐️ OK ⭐️ Bad Advertise on the Bay Area Times Tackle your credit card debt by paying 0% interest until 2026 Reduce interest: 0% intro APR helps lower debt costs. Stay debt-free: Designed for managing debt, not adding. Top picks: Expert-selected cards for debt reduction. Learn How To Apply Now 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.   Update your email preferences or unsubscribe here © 2024 Bay Area Times 228 Park Ave S, #29976, New York, New York 10003, United States Terms of Service