Latest news with #Friedman
The Hindu
16 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
After Scale AI, Meta is going after OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever's startup Safe Superintelligence
Meta is on AI overdrive. After steadily losing talent to rivals and a faulty product launch during its developer event, Llamacon, in May, the social media giant is desperately trying to stay in the AI race. Its plan: if you can't build internally, then go shopping. Last week (June 10), Meta agreed to pick 49% stake in data-labelling firm Scale AI — a deal that brought the company's founder Alexandr Wang under Meta's fold. Now, per media reports, the social network is looking to bolster Mr. Wangs' team. After its failed attempt to buy OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever's startup Safe Superintelligence Inc earlier this year, Meta has opened communication channels with SSI CEO Daniel Gross and ex-Github CEO Nat Friedman. It must be noted that both — Mr. Gross and Mr. Friedman — run a venture fund called NFDG. Per media reports, the duo is expected to join Meta and report to Mr. Wang — Meta's superintelligence department chief. Meta will also own a portion of NFDG under the terms. Neither Mr. Gross nor Mr. Friedman have confirmed or denied talks with Meta. Apart from this, Meta has also attempted poaching OpenAI's AI researchers by offering some even upto $100 million as joining bonus Mr. Sutskever's startup SSI, per an April funding round, was valued at $32 billion. The firm was established by the Canadian computer scientist after he quit OpenAI over alignment issues.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Facebook-parent Meta in talks to hire former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman for its AI team: Report
Facebook-parent Meta is reportedly looking to bring former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman on board, reports The Information. As per the report, the aim is to support the company's artificial intelligence efforts. The report quoted a person familiar with the matter. It said that the social media giant is also in talks with Daniel Gross—Friedman's partner at investment firm NFDG—about a potential role related to AI at Meta. Additionally, Meta is considering a partial buyout of NFDG, the report said. These developments come as major tech firms continue to invest heavily in AI to maintain a competitive edge. Last week, Meta announced a $14.8 billion investment in Scale AI, its second-largest investment to date. The company also hired Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang to lead its newly formed superintelligence unit. Friedman currently serves on Meta's Advisory Group, an external council that offers guidance on technology and product strategy. As mentioned above, the company hired 28-year-old Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang as Superintelligence Chief recently. Meta signed an investment of $14.3 billion in Scale AI, taking a 49% stake in a deal. Confirming the partnership, Meta said: 'We will deepen the work we do together producing data for AI models, and Alexandr Wang will join Meta to work on our superintelligence efforts.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Perdagangkan CFD Emas dengan Broker Tepercaya IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Sending a memo to ScaleAI employees, Wang confirmed his exit from the company. He will remain on Scale's board. Scale's Chief Strategy Officer, Jason Droege, will serve as interim CEO. Wang also told employees that a small number of Scale's 1,500 workers will join him at Meta. Alcatel V3 Ultra Unboxing & Hands-on | Dual Display Mode, Sleek Design & More! AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
The Star
2 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Meta in talks to hire former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman to join AI efforts, The Information reports
FILE PHOTO: A Meta logo is pictured at a trade fair in Hannover Messe, in Hanover, Germany, April 22, 2024. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo (Reuters) -Meta Platforms is in talks to hire former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman to join the Facebook parent's AI efforts, The Information reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The social media giant is also in discussion with Daniel Gross, Friedman's partner in the investment fund NFDG, about joining the company to work on AI, the report added. Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The company is also in talks to partially buy out NFDG, the report said. Big tech companies are doubling down on AI partnerships and investment to stay ahead in the race for dominance. Meta announced a $14.8 billion investment in Scale AI last week, its second-largest investment to date. The company hired Scale AI CEO, Alexandr Wang, to work with Meta and lead its new superintelligence unit. Friedman is part of Meta's Advisory Group, an external advisory council established by the company to provide guidance on technology and product development. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
The Giants just made a big trade. Will the Dodgers make one of their own?
If you're a major league team trying to move a $250-million contract, what other team would you likely call first? The Dodgers, of course. On Sunday, the Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers, a three-time All-Star two years shy of 30. Andrew Friedman said he never heard from them. That made sense. The Red Sox were no longer using Devers as a third baseman, a decision backed by publicly available defensive metrics and the presence of Alex Bregman. The San Francisco Giants, the team that acquired Devers, say they'll use him as a first baseman and designated hitter, and the Dodgers are more than covered there by Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani. But, in the wake of the biggest trade so far this season, I thought back to the mission statement the Dodgers' president of baseball operations put upon himself last winter. Here we are two weeks from July, and here was that Friedman statement from December: 'I do not want to buy in July.' What Friedman does not want might not matter a month from now. He could see a pretty picture, or he could need a pretty pitcher. For all the scrutiny of their shortcomings, the first-place Dodgers are in a pretty good spot. They lead the majors in runs, home runs and OPS. They have won six of their past eight games, all against the teams immediately below them in the National League West standings: the Giants and the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers lead the toughest division in the majors by a season-high 3½ games over San Francisco, 5 games over San Diego. After the Padres leave town Thursday, the Dodgers play 12 consecutive games against teams with losing records, including the team with the worst record in the NL and the worst record in the American League — the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago White Sox, respectively. Friedman would rather not trade in July because the cost in prospects tends to be high. However, for the Dodgers, the annual expectation of winning the World Series trumps that. 'It's been our goal the last three or four years not to buy in July,' Friedman said Tuesday. 'It hasn't necessarily played out according to plan.' On offense, the lone hole is glaring. The only starting position player not performing above league average on offense is left fielder Michael Conforto, who is batting .168 with a .277 slugging percentage and a negative WAR. The Dodgers do have Hyeseong Kim as a wild card on the bench, and on a roster loaded with positional flexibility. 'To date, obviously, Michael hasn't performed up to what he expected or we expected,' Friedman said. 'But, watching the way he is working, watching the progress being made, I would bet that his next two months are way better than his last two months. 'Obviously, like we will with all of our players, we will continue to assess where they are. The important thing is, if we have an injury or (poor) performance, do we feel like we have different ways to maneuver? We do.' Is there a possibility of trading for a left fielder? 'Never say never,' Friedman said, 'but I think we would hold a very high bar and find it very unlikely.' By the middle of July, the Dodgers would like their starting rotation to include Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the recently returned duo of Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw, and the rehabilitating duo of Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell. On paper, that would be a pretty sweet rotation. On the field, Yamamoto has a 5.65 earned-run average this month. It is unlikely the perennially cautious Dodgers would let Ohtani and Kershaw make every start from now through the end of the season, even if the two stayed healthy. And it is uncertain whether Glasnow and Snell can return healthy and effective by the time Friedman would have to decide whether to trade prospects for a starting pitcher. No buy in July? 'I'm still optimistic,' Friedman said. 'It requires guys coming back on or close to the timelines that we have penciled out. 'We have shown that, if we're not in position to do that, we'll be aggressive to add. But our strong desire is not to.' It is not that the Dodgers consider a bullpen game some sort of failure, or last resort. The Dodgers ran a bullpen game in an elimination game last October. They won that game, and another bullpen game in which they clinched the NL championship. They have run bullpen games in each of their past four games against San Diego, and they have won three. They'll essentially run another one Wednesday, since Emmet Sheehan will be activated after four triple-A starts, none of which lasted more than 3⅓ innings. So far, so good. But the Dodgers are about October, and getting there may not be painless with Jack Dreyer making one fewer start than Glasnow, and twice as many as Snell.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Red Wings Still in Marner Sweepstakes Amid Western Interest Reports
Detroit Red Wings remain in the mix for Marner despite reports he prefers a move out West. Image The Red Wings enter the summer with the hopes of making some moves that can hopefully propel the team into playoff contention for the first time in nine seasons. Detroit has $21.3 million in projected cap space and one of the options that came up was Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner. Advertisement Toronto's 102-point scorer is one of the league's top free agents in years. One lucky team will get a 28-year-old playmaker in his prime that is hungry to play meaningful games but in a quieter market than the hockey hub that is Toronto. More Red Wings: Detroit's Lucas Raymond Named To Sweden 2026 Olympic Roster We recently spoke to the chances on the Red Wings signing Marner, explaining that his hometown of Toronto would still be in relatively close proximity and he would immediately join a team with hopes of making the playoffs. Unlike Utah or Anaheim who have more cap space, Detroit would give Marner an immediate chance to get back into the playoff picture but with a new team that is on the way up towards building into a cup contender. Advertisement The only problem is the media circus still may be too much for Marner. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman spoke on the matter on his recent podcast "32 Thoughts" and explained that he heard from some players on the team that they expect Marner to travel West. Bookmark The Hockey News Detroit Red Wings team site to stay connected to the latest news, game-day coverage, and player features. Friedman describe the move as being a "clean break" for Marner as he would be able to start new somewhere far away from the craziness of his home city. This may make things difficult for the Red Wings to overcome but there are still contenders inside the East. The Carolina Hurricanes have been desperate to grab a big name superstar and Marner could be their guy as they have a slightly higher $28.4 million in cap space available. Friedman explained that the Hurricanes have been vocal about pursuing Marner saying "There's been a lot of reporting that Carolina is interested in him." Advertisement If Carolina could ease Marner's mind into staying in the East, who's to say Detroit can't convince him to join one of the most promising cores in the league. The Vegas Golden Knights have also been rumored to be in the conversation with Marner and could present another tough challenger for Detroit. The biggest factor seemingly will be money as Friedman said that he is expecting the number to be very high on a per annual basis with it landing somewhere around $14 million per season. One of the biggest pieces of news that came out in Detroit's favor is the Marner may also be seeking a shorter term deal like his teammate Auston Matthews has done in the past to allow himself to get an easy out when needed. Advertisement More Red Wings: Moritz Seider Named To Germany 2026 Olympic Roster This could give the Red Wings a chance to persuade Marner by explaining the direction of the franchise and giving a compact plan for a four to five year deal at an aggressive price tag, where by the end, Marner can see the rising stars in the system like Nate Danielson, Simon Edvinsson and Axel Sandin-Pellikka. The hope is by this point, Detroit will be in a contending position once again and fast track the process by adding in a bonifided 100-point scorer that can help players around him succeed. It's a tall order for the Red Wings to come out on top against a lot of teams that are already contending but despite the reports there still is a road map for it to happen. Never miss a story by adding us to your Google News favorites.
