OpenAI is in early discussions over a share sale that could value the company at around $500 billion, according to a source familiar with the talks.
The transaction would occur before a possible IPO and let current and former employees sell several billion dollars’ worth of shares.
The valuation marks a steep rise from the $300 billion figure attached to its most recent funding round earlier in the year. Backed by Microsoft, OpenAI has seen rapid growth in users and revenue, with ChatGPT attracting about 700 million weekly active users, up from 400 million in February.
Revenue doubled in the first seven months of the year, reaching an annualised run rate of $12 billion, and is on track for $20 billion by year-end.
The potential sale comes as competition for AI talent intensifies.
Meta has invested billions in Scale AI to lure its chief executive, Alexandr Wang, to head its superintelligence unit. At the same time, firms such as ByteDance and Databricks have used private share sales to update valuations and reward staff.
Thrive Capital and other existing OpenAI investors are discussing joining the deal.
OpenAI is also preparing a major corporate restructuring that could replace its capped-profit model and clear the way for an eventual public listing.
However, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said any IPO would only happen when the company and the markets are ready.
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A senior White House official has urged Asia-Pacific economies to support an AI future built on US technology, warning against adopting Europe’s heavily regulated model. Michael Kratsios remarked during the APEC Digital and AI Ministerial Meeting in Incheon.
Kratsios said countries now choose between embracing American-led innovation or falling behind under regulatory burdens. He framed the US approach as one driven by freedom and open-source innovation rather than centralised control.
The US is offering partnerships with South Korea to respect data concerns while enabling shared progress. Kratsios noted that open-weight models could soon shape industry standards worldwide.
He met South Korea’s science minister in bilateral talks to discuss AI cooperation. The US reaffirmed its commitment to supporting nations in building trustworthy AI systems based on mutual economic benefit.
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As these AI assistants summarise news content directly in search results, users are less likely to click through to the sources, threatening already struggling publishers who depend on ad revenue and subscriptions.
A Pew Research Centre study found that when AI summaries appear in search, users click suggested links half as often as in traditional search formats.
Matt Karolian of the Boston Globe Media warns that the next few years will be especially difficult for publishers, urging them to adapt or risk being ‘swept away.’
While some, like the Boston Globe, have gained a modest number of new subscribers through ChatGPT, these numbers pale compared to other traffic sources.
To adapt, publishers are turning to Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), tailoring content so AI tools can be used and cited more effectively. Some have blocked crawlers to prevent data harvesting, while others have reopened access to retain visibility.
Legal battles are unfolding, including a major lawsuit from The New York Times against OpenAI and Microsoft. Meanwhile, licensing deals between tech giants and media organisations are beginning to take shape.
With nearly 15% of under-25s now relying on AI for news, concerns are mounting over the credibility of information. As AI reshapes how news is consumed, the survival of original journalism and public trust in it face grave uncertainty.
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Microsoft is offering security researchers up to $5 million for uncovering critical vulnerabilities in its products, with a focus on cloud and AI systems. The Zero Day Quest contest will return in spring 2026, following a $1.6 million payout in its previous edition.
Researchers are invited to submit discoveries between 4 August and 4 October 2025, targeting Azure, Copilot, M365, and other significant services. High-severity flaws are eligible for a 50% bonus payout, increasing the incentive for impactful findings.
Top participants will receive exclusive invitations to a live hacking event at Microsoft’s Redmond campus. The event promises collaboration with product teams and the Microsoft Security Response Centre.
Training from Microsoft’s AI Red Team and other internal experts will also be available. The company encourages public disclosure of patched findings to support the broader cybersecurity community.
The competition aligns with Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative, which aims to strengthen cloud and AI security by default, design, and operation. Vulnerabilities will be disclosed transparently, even if no customer action is needed.
Full details and submission rules are available through the MSRC Researcher Portal. All reports will be subject to Microsoft’s bug bounty terms.
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Apple is developing its AI-powered answer engine to rival ChatGPT, marking a strategic turn in its company’s AI approach. The move comes as Apple aims to close the gap with competitors in the fast-moving AI race.
A newly formed internal team, Answers, Knowledge and Information, is working on a tool to browse the web and deliver direct responses to users.
Led by former Siri head Robby Walker, the project is expected to expand across key Apple services, including Siri, Safari and Spotlight.
Job postings suggest Apple is recruiting talent with search engine and algorithm expertise. CEO Tim Cook has signalled Apple’s willingness to acquire companies that could speed up its AI progress.
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A recent Fortune survey indicates that 61 percent of white‑collar professionals expect AI to make their roles, or even their entire teams, obsolete within 3–5 years, yet most continue to rely on AI tools daily without visible concern.
Seventy percent of respondents credit AI with boosting their creativity and productivity, and 40 percent say it has eased stress and improved work‑life balance. Despite these benefits, many admit to ‘feigning’ AI use in workplace settings, often driven by peer pressure or a lack of formal training.
Executive commentary underscores the tension: senior business leaders, including Jim Farley and Dario Amodei, predict rapid AI‑driven disruption of white‑collar roles. Some executives forecast up to 50 percent of certain job categories could be eliminated, though others argue AI may open new opportunities.
Academic studies suggest a more nuanced impact: AI is reshaping role definitions by automating routine tasks while increasing demand for complementary skills, such as ethics, teamwork, and digital fluency. Wage benefits are growing in jobs that effectively blend AI with human oversight.
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At Mindvalley’s AI Summit, former Google Chief Decision Scientist Cassie Kozyrkov described AI as not a substitute for human thought but a magnifier of what the human mind can produce. Rather than replacing us, AI lets us offload mundane tasks and focus on deeper cognitive and creative work.
Work structures are being transformed, not just in factories, but behind computer screens. AI now handles administrative ‘work about work,’ multitasking, scheduling, and research summarisation, lowering friction in knowledge work and enabling people to supervise agents rather than execute tasks manually.
Personal life is being reshaped, too. AI tools for finance or health, such as budgeting apps or personalised diagnostics, move decisions into data-augmented systems with faster insight and fewer human biases.
Meanwhile, creativity is co-authored via AI-generated design, music or writing, requiring humans to filter, refine and ideate beyond the algorithm.
Recognising cognitive change, AI thought leaders envision a new era where ‘blended work’ prevails: humans manage AI agents, call the shots, and wield ethical oversight, while the AI executes pipelines of repetitive or semi-intelligent tasks.
Samsung smart TVs have returned to normal after a widespread outage that left users unable to access popular streaming apps like YouTube, Apple TV, and Hulu. The disruption began on Thursday evening, with users reporting issues across multiple countries.
While the apps remained visible, attempts to open them produced server maintenance and connectivity errors. Netflix appeared unaffected, likely due to its use of an independent content delivery system.
Samsung has not publicly stated about the outage, and the exact cause remains unknown. Most users now report that their apps are working again.
Some regained access by holding the power button on their remote to perform a hard reboot of the TV.
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Andrew Tulloch, an Australian AI engineer raised in Perth, has reportedly rejected a US$1 billion (A$1.55 billion) compensation package from Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta.
Tulloch, a University of Sydney mathematics graduate with a near-perfect ATAR, co-founded the AI start-up Thinking Machines Lab earlier this year with former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati.
Thinking Machines Lab, focused on building safer, customisable multimodal AI systems, has already secured US$2 billion in seed funding and is now valued at $12 billion. Investors include major tech firms Nvidia, AMD and Cisco, and the Albanian government.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Meta attempted to acquire the company and later made direct offers to key employees. Tulloch declined the offer, which Meta dismissed as “inaccurate and ridiculous.”
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Eswatini is moving forward with a national digital transformation plan focused on infrastructure, legislation and skills development.
The country’s Minister of ICT, Savannah Maziya, outlined key milestones during the 2025 Eswatini Economic Update, co-hosted with the World Bank.
In her remarks, Maziya said that digital technology plays a central role in job creation, governance and economic development. She introduced several regulatory frameworks, including a Cybersecurity Bill, a Critical Infrastructure Bill and an E-Commerce Strategy.
Additional legislation is planned for emerging technologies such as AI, robotics and satellite systems.
Infrastructure improvements include the nationwide expansion of fibre optic networks and a rise in international connectivity capacity from 47 Gbps to 72 Gbps.
Mbabane, the capital, is being developed as a Smart City with 5G coverage, AI-enabled surveillance and public Wi-Fi access.
The Ministry of ICT has launched more than 11 digital public services and plans to add 90 more in the next three years.
A nationwide coding initiative will offer digital skills training to over 300,000 citizens, supporting wider efforts to increase access and participation in the digital economy.
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