OpenAI smashes funding record on path to AGI

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If you thought OpenAI was down for the count due to some high-profile departures — think again. The startup defied expectations Wednesday with a record-setting funding round. And: Learn about some of the tools hidden within ChatGPT.

Today’s Insights

• OpenAI officially breaks funding record

• Character AI’s big pivot

• Tutorial: How to use multiple tools in ChatGPT

• Everything else you should know today

• 5 new AI tools to boost your productivity

• AI-Generated Images: Exploring Forgotten Places

NEXT IN AI

OpenAI forges ahead with record-setting funding round

OpenAI is playing a high-stakes game of chutes and ladders as it races toward AGI. It shot to new heights with the reasoning-focused o1 and the long-awaited Advanced Voice mode. Then, news that it was adopting a for-profit model — and that three execs were headed for the door — sent it crashing back down to earth.

But the Sam Altman-led startup just found a new ladder right back to the top with a $6.6B funding round that values the company at $157B — the largest VC deal ever recorded. Here’s everything you need to know about the historic milestone:

• The investment firm Thrive Capital led the round; Microsoft and Nvidia joined in as well — but Apple was notably absent

• In an unusual move, the funders promised not to back OpenAI’s biggest rivals, including Anthropic and xAI

• The company has grown to around 1,700 employees — up from 700 at the start of 2024

• Despite some internal chaos, just 6% of employees have left for other firms, according to Sherwood News

Why it matters: Investors are putting a lot of faith in the ChatGPT-maker. It’s now valued at around 40 times its revenue, a ratio way above the norm. Sure, they think it has plenty of room to grow, but the move also signals their confidence that OpenAI is the company best positioned to reach AGI.

What will OpenAI do with the funds? In all likelihood, it’s already deep into building GPT-5. The funding boost will let OpenAI push on to the next level, including models that can interact with the real world, completing complex tasks for you.

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THE AI ACADEMY

How to use multiple tools in ChatGPT

ChatGPT now allows you to use and switch multiple tools in a single chat. Here's how you can do it:

• Go to ChatGPT and log in with your account.

• In the prompt box enter '/' and you'll see a pop-up with 3 options: Picture (DALL-E), Search (web), or Reason (GPT-o1)

• Choose the most suitable option for you.

• Write in your prompt and press enter.

Some sample prompts are:
'/Picture [enter details]'
'/Search [enter search query]'
'/Reason [enter tasks]'

FROM THE FRONTIER

Character AI pivots after execs are scooped by Alphabet

AI startups aren’t like ordinary companies. They have to pay millions upfront to train their own models, and sometimes that cost is too much to bear. That’s led Character AI, which builds interactive avatars with unique personalities, to throw up its hands and say “Fine, let’s just borrow someone else’s.”

It’s just one of the major shakeups coming to the platform after Alphabet poached a fifth of its workforce — including its two cofounders — in August. But Character’s remaining employees aren’t letting the search giant have the final word. They just brought on an executive from Alphabet-owned YouTube, who previously helped lead the platform’s sports, movies, and TV efforts — potentially hinting at the company’s future direction.

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AI & TECH NEWS

Everything else you need to know today

• Lab Partner: DeepMind and BioNTech are teaming up on an AI lab assistant that can help design and automate experiments and even predict their outcomes.

• Echo Chamber: Amazon gave its employees access to an internal AI chatbot called Cedric because it fears platforms like ChatGPT aren’t secure enough.

• Sky High: The AI-powered coding platform Poolside raised $500M in a Series B round that values the Paris-based startup at $3B.

• Chip Challenger: AI chip designer Cerebras has filed for an IPO in what could be the biggest threat yet to Nvidia’s market dominance.

🏥 Medical Milestone: Biotech AI startup Recursion received FDA approval to begin testing a cancer drug discovered with its AI platform, which took about a decade to develop. If successful, the new treatment could benefit more than 100,000 patients with breast, prostate, and other types of cancer.

🏃 Gaining Ground: Alphabet is reportedly working on its own reasoning-focused model in a bid to take on OpenAI’s frontier LLM o1. Meanwhile, The Information reported that the search giant may also be teaming up with Samsung on new smart glasses outfitted with an AI agent.

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PROMPT OF THE DAY

Which programming language is best?

Prompt: Suggest which programming languages and frameworks are best suited for a web development project that <details on the project’s type, main purpose and requirements, target audience and the user’s needs, and other relevant factors>. What languages and frameworks do you recommend, and why?

_{Source: Upbase}

AI-GENERATED IMAGES

Exploring Lost Places

Midjourney Prompt: an abandoned (subject), dusty, dirty, demolished, cobwebs etc... --sref 4212635689

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