Latest news with #SiliconValley
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Why OpenAI and Microsoft's AI partnership might be headed for a breakup
Microsoft has been one of OpenAI's biggest backers over the past three years, as OpenAI's flagship product, ChatGPT, has steadily embedded itself into our lives. But the multibillion-dollar relationship now appears to be on shaky ground, with rumors that OpenAI might file an antitrust complaint against the Windows-maker in an attempt to wriggle out of a longstanding agreement between the two companies. The Trump administration is trying to bring back asbestos How one company is revolutionizing the way we use everyday water Housing market weakness triggers Lennar to offer biggest incentives since 2009 The relationship, which began with Microsoft's $1 billion investment in OpenAI in 2019—and has since grown to include more than $10 billion in total funding—is built on Microsoft's entitlement to 49% of OpenAI Global LLC's profits, capped at roughly 10 times its investment. For years, the partnership has remained stable. When Sam Altman was briefly ousted as OpenAI CEO in November 2023, Microsoft remained steadfast in its support of the company. But recent events appear to have strained the relationship—specifically, a new deal OpenAI has made. OpenAI's pending acquisition of AI coding startup Windsurf—valued at $3 billion—has pushed its partnership with Microsoft to the brink. Reports suggest that OpenAI executives have threatened an antitrust complaint if Microsoft insists on full access to Windsurf's intellectual property after the deal closes. At the same time, Microsoft is reportedly uneasy about the prospect of OpenAI developing a competing Copilot product. The two companies did issue a joint statement that conveyed a sense of harmony, though it acknowledged no agreement had been reached regarding Windsurf. 'We have a long-term, productive partnership that has delivered amazing AI tools for everyone,' the companies said. 'Talks are ongoing and we are optimistic we will continue to build together for years to come.' Experts warn that OpenAI should think twice before following through on its reported threats. 'Siccing the antitrust cops on your rivals may feel very satisfying, but that strategy usually boomerangs back on the complaining company when they themselves get big and successful,' says Adam Kovacevich, founder and CEO of the Chamber of Progress, a tech industry coalition. Kovacevich argues that such internal disputes may grab headlines but ultimately distract from the broader goals. 'OpenAI and Microsoft are locked in a pretty intense AI competition with Google, Anthropic, and Meta, and these kind of governance disputes are ultimately a huge distraction from trying to win on the technology front,' he says. An internal OpenAI strategy document, recently surfaced in a court case, reveals the company's bold plan to evolve ChatGPT from a popular chatbot into an all-encompassing 'AI super assistant,' positioning it as both a crucial partner and a potential competitor to Microsoft. The document implicitly acknowledges OpenAI's reliance on partners to achieve massive scale, noting the infrastructure required to serve an enormous user base. Until January 2025, Microsoft was OpenAI's exclusive data center provider, in exchange for integrating OpenAI's models into Microsoft's products, including Copilot. Since then, the landscape has shifted. OpenAI has signed deals with CoreWeave and Oracle for additional computing capacity, and is reportedly close to an agreement with Google—despite Google offering a competing AI model—for cloud hosting. Meanwhile, Microsoft still holds a significant share in OpenAI's future profits. There are reports that OpenAI has proposed a deal to exchange Microsoft's entitlement to future profits for a 33% stake in a restructured OpenAI. But Microsoft currently retains significant control over whether OpenAI can restructure and, under a 2023 agreement, is also believed to be entitled to access any OpenAI technology, including that acquired through acquisitions—potentially giving Microsoft access to Windsurf's technology for its Copilot coding tools. For Microsoft, maintaining the status quo would likely be ideal. They would continue to access OpenAI's core technology, and benefit from Windsurf's specialist expertise to strengthen Copilot's coding capabilities. For OpenAI, the best-case outcome would involve restructuring into a for-profit entity with Microsoft's consent, while establishing boundaries to prevent Microsoft from encroaching on areas where OpenAI might eventually compete. OpenAI would also like to diversify its infrastructure partners—having admitted in legal documents that 'our current infrastructure isn't equipped to handle [redacted] users.' And, perhaps most importantly, OpenAI wants its product to stand on its own—rather than being buried within a Microsoft-branded ecosystem. 'Real choice drives competition and benefits everyone,' the confidential strategy document states. 'Users should be able to pick their AI assistant. If you're on iOS, Android, or Windows, you should be able to set ChatGPT as your default. Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta shouldn't push their own AIs without giving users fair alternatives.' Whether OpenAI will achieve that goal remains an open question. This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Steve Jobs Once Gave A Secretary A Brand New Jaguar Out Of The Blue, Here Is Why The Apple Co-Founder Was So Generous
Steve Jobs earned a reputation for merciless standards, yet sometimes his demand for perfection came wrapped in jaw-dropping generosity. What Happened: Ron Givens, Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) director of quality from 1981 to 1986, recalled the day a secretary shuffled in late. Jobs stormed over to ask why, and she admitted her car had died that morning. "That afternoon, he walks into her office, tosses a set of keys to a brand-new Jaguar and says, 'Here, don't be late anymore,'" Givens told WRAL in an interview back in 2011. A Jaguar XJ cost roughly $35,000 in 1981, about $123,000 in today's dollars when adjusted for inflation, making the spur-of-the-moment gift an extraordinary employee perk. Don't Miss: Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Peter Thiel turned $1,700 into $5 billion—now accredited investors are eyeing this software company with similar breakout potential. Learn how you can invest with $1,000 at just $0.30/share. The story illustrates the paradox of Apple's co-founder, who was a boss employees feared, yet one who could motivate "out of your socks," as Givens put it. Jobs, then 26, lived and breathed the company, prowling hallways to grill engineers on pixel placement one minute and springing surprises the next. Givens, two decades older, said he often thought Jobs's ideas were "stupid" until their brilliance clicked later. Back in 2011, he said he still kept a $1,000 Steuben-glass apple Jobs had handed him unannounced. Why It Matters: Steve Jobs ran Apple with icy precision, insisting on "only A players" and admitting that firing weaker talent, though "very painful," was necessary to maintain high standards. His late-night demands could left teams exhausted, and Pixar's Pete Docter later said Jobs's 3 am phone calls were a work trait he would "never repeat." Elon Musk openly praises that edge, agreeing with Jobs that a CEO's chief duty is "recruiting exceptional talent" rather than hand-holding staff, and he echoes Jobs's view that "the greatest people are self-managing." Not every leader wants the full Jobs playbook. Bill Gates once called comparing Musk to the "genius" Jobs a "gross oversimplification," warning that charisma can mask managerial chaos. Read Next: Are you rich? Here's what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. These five entrepreneurs are worth $223 billion – they all believe in one platform that offers a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends Photo Courtesy: rnkadsgn on Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article Steve Jobs Once Gave A Secretary A Brand New Jaguar Out Of The Blue, Here Is Why The Apple Co-Founder Was So Generous originally appeared on Erreur lors de la récupération des données Connectez-vous pour accéder à votre portefeuille Erreur lors de la récupération des données Erreur lors de la récupération des données Erreur lors de la récupération des données Erreur lors de la récupération des données
The Verge
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Verge
Posted Jun 18, 2025 at 6:01 PM EDT
Click this suspicious link to claim your free Andreesen Horowitz crypto today! Actually, please don't. The venture capital fund's X account seems to have been hacked. (Update: Andreesen Horowitz later confirmed that their account had been compromised.)
The Verge
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Verge
Posted Jun 18, 2025 at 6:01 PM EDT 7 Comments / 7 New
Click this suspicious link to claim your free Andreesen Horowitz crypto today! Actually, please don't. The venture capital fund's X account seems to have been hacked. (Update: Andreesen Horowitz later confirmed that their account had been compromised.)
Android Authority
6 hours ago
- Android Authority
Will Android 'App Cast' let you stream apps from device to device? (APK teardown)
Rita El Khoury / Android Authority TL;DR Google Play Services shows evidence of an in-development 'App Cast' tool. While its full functionality is unclear, it appears able to gather info about remote Android devices and access their installed apps. One possibility could be the ability to remotely stream apps from one Android device to another. Google's always working on something new for Android, and we spend a fair amount of time digging through app and system updates in the hope of getting an early look at some of those developments. When we're lucky, evidence is abundant and we're able to easily infer what Google's up to. Other times, however, it's a bit harder to get the full picture of what Google might be working on — even when it seems clear that developers are definitely up to something. And today, we're finding ourselves much more in the latter camp. Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release. We're looking at a recent update to Google Play Services, and as you may know, this software is how Google implements a lot of system-level functionality in Android — like we looked at just last month when we spotted new device backup settings. This time we've been crawling through the 25.24.31 beta release, and have spotted evidence of a new 'App Cast' feature. We see references to App Cast popping up in code related to multi-device sync. We've also identified a number of text strings that appear to have been added in preparation of App Cast support: Code Copy Text Starting app cast for package %s Fetching app list from remote device. Unable to get icon: %s not found Starting cast session for ' ' from ' Launching '%s' on remote device '%s' We haven't been able to surface a UI for App Cast, and so we can't see any of this in action, but one possibility could involve Google giving Android devices the ability to stream apps installed on other hardware linked to your account. We can tell that there are elements in place for choosing devices from a list, and showing a progress bar. And as mentioned in the strings above, we see code for pulling up a list of installed apps. Admittedly, the need for an app streaming mode feels a little narrow — in a lot of cases, it seems easier to just install the app on multiple devices — but we can appreciate times that require access to data that lives on a specific phone or tablet. We also wonder if this casting might extend to bigger screens, letting you view Android apps from your phone on Google TV. But as we said, right now we just don't have enough of the puzzle to really say with any kind of certainty what Google is building here; this is all vibes at the moment. We've also spotted work in Play Services on some manner of new notification sync support that appears in proximity to some of this App Cast stuff, but we're not sure if that's just a coincidence, or if they're really meant to be related. That's a little frustrating, but we'll keep digging into future Play Services builds in the hopes that we can soon nail down Google's intentions for App Cast. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
