OpenAI

OpenAI outlines advertising plans for ChatGPT access

The US AI firm, OpenAI, has announced plans to test advertising within ChatGPT as part of a broader effort to widen access to advanced AI tools.

An initiative that focuses on supporting the free version and the low-cost ChatGPT Go subscription, while paid tiers such as Plus, Pro, Business, and Enterprise will continue without advertisements.

According to the company, advertisements will remain clearly separated from ChatGPT responses and will never influence the answers users receive.

Responses will continue to be optimised for usefulness instead of commercial outcomes, with OpenAI emphasising that trust and perceived neutrality remain central to the product’s value.

User privacy forms a core pillar of the approach. Conversations will stay private, data will not be sold to advertisers, and users will retain the ability to disable ad personalisation or remove advertising-related data at any time.

During early trials, ads will not appear for accounts linked to users under 18, nor within sensitive or regulated areas such as health, mental wellbeing, or politics.

OpenAI describes advertising as a complementary revenue stream rather than a replacement for subscriptions.

The company argues that a diversified model can help keep advanced intelligence accessible to a wider population, while maintaining long term incentives aligned with user trust and product quality.

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Cerebras to supply large-scale AI compute for OpenAI

OpenAI has agreed to purchase up to 750 megawatts of computing power from AI chipmaker Cerebras over the next three years. The deal, announced on 14 January, is expected to be worth more than US$10 billion and will support ChatGPT and other AI services.

Cerebras will provide cloud services powered by its wafer-scale chips, which are designed to run large AI models more efficiently than traditional GPUs. OpenAI plans to use the capacity primarily for inference and reasoning models that require high compute.

Cerebras will build or lease data centres filled with its custom hardware, with computing capacity coming online in stages through 2028. OpenAI said the partnership would help improve the speed and responsiveness of its AI systems as user demand continues to grow.

The deal is also essential for Cerebras as it prepares for a second attempt at a public listing, following a 2025 IPO that was postponed. Diversifying its customer base beyond major backers such as UAE-based G42 could strengthen its financial position ahead of a potential 2026 flotation.

The agreement highlights the wider race among AI firms to secure vast computing resources, as investment in AI infrastructure accelerates. However, some analysts have warned that soaring valuations and heavy spending could resemble past technology bubbles.

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OpenAI invests in Merge Labs to advance brain-computer interfaces

The US AI company, OpenAI, has invested in Merge Labs as part of a seed funding round, signalling a growing interest in brain-computer interfaces as a future layer of human–technology interaction.

Merge Labs describes its mission as bridging the gap between biology and AI to expand human capability and agency. The research lab is developing new BCI approaches designed to operate safely while enabling much higher communication bandwidth between the brain and digital systems.

AI is expected to play a central role in Merge Labs’ work, supporting advances in neuroscience, bioengineering and device development instead of relying on traditional interface models.

High-bandwidth brain interfaces are also expected to benefit from AI systems capable of interpreting intent under conditions of limited and noisy signals.

OpenAI plans to collaborate with Merge Labs on scientific foundation models and advanced tools, aiming to accelerate research progress and translate experimental concepts into practical applications over time.

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OpenAI expands healthcare strategy with Torch acquisition

The US AI company, OpenAI, has acquired healthcare technology startup Torch only days after unveiling ChatGPT Health, signalling an accelerated push into medical and clinical applications.

Financial terms were not officially disclosed, although media reports estimate the transaction at between $60 million and $100 million.

Torch was developed as a unified medical memory platform, designed to consolidate patient data from hospitals, laboratories, wearable devices and consumer testing services.

The company positioned its technology as a means to support AI systems in navigating fragmented healthcare information, rather than relying on isolated data sources.

Torch’s four-person team will join OpenAI following the acquisition, reinforcing the company’s internal healthcare expertise. OpenAI has emphasised privacy, safety and collaboration with medical professionals as core principles guiding its expansion into sensitive data environments.

The move follows a broader strategy by OpenAI to strengthen enterprise offerings, particularly for large healthcare organisations. Recent hires and partnerships suggest healthcare remains a priority area as AI adoption increases across regulated sectors.

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AI gap reflects China’s growing technological ambitions

China’s AI sector could narrow the technological AI gap with the United States through growing risk-taking and innovation, according to leading researchers. Despite export controls on advanced chipmaking tools, Chinese firms are accelerating development across multiple AI fields.

Yao Shunyu, a former senior researcher at ChatGPT maker OpenAI and now Tencent’s AI scientist, said a Chinese company could become the world’s leading AI firm within three to five years. He pointed to China’s strengths in electricity supply and infrastructure as key advantages.

Yao said the main bottlenecks remain production capacity, including access to advanced lithography machines and a mature software ecosystem. Such limits still restrict China’s ability to manufacture the most advanced semiconductors and narrow the AI gap with the US.

China has developed a working prototype of an extreme-ultraviolet lithography machine that could eventually rival Western technology. However, Reuters reported the system has not yet produced functioning chips.

Sources familiar with the project said commercial chip production using the machine may not begin until around 2030. Until then, Chinese AI ambitions are likely to remain constrained by hardware limitations.

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OpenAI and SoftBank back a $1 billion AI data centre energy partnership

SoftBank Group and OpenAI announced a strategic partnership with SB Energy, involving a combined investment of $1 billion to support the development of large-scale AI data centres and energy infrastructure in the US.

The agreement forms part of the broader Stargate initiative, which aims to expand domestic AI computing capacity.

As part of the arrangement, OpenAI signed a lease for a 1.2 gigawatt data centre project in Milam County, Texas, with SB Energy selected to develop and operate the facility.

The partners stated that the project is designed to support the rising demand for AI computing while minimising water usage and enhancing local energy supply.

SB Energy also secured an additional $800 million in redeemable preferred equity from Ares, strengthening its financial position for further expansion.

The companies stated that the collaboration is expected to generate construction employment, long-term operational roles and investment in grid modernisation, while establishing a scalable model for future AI-focused data centre developments.

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OpenAI secures massive funding round led by SoftBank

SoftBank Group has completed a $41 billion investment in OpenAI, marking one of the largest private funding rounds on record. The deal gives the Japanese conglomerate an estimated 11 percent stake in the ChatGPT developer.

The investment reflects SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son’s renewed focus on AI and supporting infrastructure. The company is seeking to capitalise on rising demand for the computing capacity that underpins advanced AI models.

SoftBank said the latest funding includes an additional $22.5 billion investment, following an earlier $7.5 billion injection in April. OpenAI also secured a further $11 billion through an expanded syndicated co-investment from other backers.

The funding values OpenAI at roughly $300 billion on a post-money basis, though secondary market transactions later placed the company’s valuation closer to $500 billion. The investment follows SoftBank’s recent agreement to acquire DigitalBridge Group, a digital infrastructure investor.

OpenAI remains a central beneficiary of the global surge in AI spending. The company is also involved in Stargate, a large-scale data centre project backed by SoftBank and other partners to support next-generation AI systems.

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OpenAI strengthened ChatGPT Atlas with new protections against prompt injection attacks

Protecting AI agents from manipulation has become a top priority for OpenAI after rolling out a major security upgrade to ChatGPT Atlas.

The browser-based agent now includes stronger safeguards against prompt injection attacks, where hidden instructions inside emails, documents or webpages attempt to redirect the agent’s behaviour instead of following the user’s commands.

Prompt injection poses a unique risk because Atlas can carry out actions that a person would normally perform inside a browser. A malicious email or webpage could attempt to trigger data exposure, unauthorised transactions or file deletion.

Criminals exploit the fact that agents process large volumes of content across an almost unlimited online surface.

OpenAI has developed an automated red-team framework that uses reinforcement learning to simulate sophisticated attackers.

When fresh attack patterns are discovered, the models behind Atlas are retrained so that resistance is built into the agent rather than added afterwards. Monitoring and safety controls are also updated using real attack traces.

These new protections are already live for all Atlas users. OpenAI advises people to limit logged-in access where possible, check confirmation prompts carefully and give agents well-scoped tasks instead of broad instructions.

The company argues that proactive defence is essential as agentic AI becomes more capable and widely deployed.

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Stronger safeguards arrive with OpenAI’s GPT-5.2 release

OpenAI has launched GPT-5.2, highlighting improved safety performance in conversations involving mental health. The company said the update strengthens how its models respond to signs of suicide, self-harm, emotional distress, and reliance on the chatbot.

The release follows criticism and legal challenges accusing ChatGPT of contributing to psychosis, paranoia, and delusional thinking in some users. Several cases have highlighted the risks of prolonged emotional engagement with AI systems.

In response to a wrongful death lawsuit involving a US teenager, OpenAI denied responsibility while stating that ChatGPT encouraged the user to seek help. The company also committed to improving responses when users display warning signs of mental health crises.

OpenAI said GPT-5.2 produces fewer undesirable responses in sensitive situations than earlier versions. According to the company, the model scores higher on internal safety tests related to self-harm, emotional reliance, and mental health.

The update builds on OpenAI’s use of a training approach known as safe completion, which aims to balance helpfulness and safety. Detailed performance information has been published in the GPT-5.2 system card.

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ChatGPT becomes more customisable for tone and style

OpenAI has introduced new Personalisation settings in ChatGPT that allow users to fine-tune warmth, enthusiasm and emoji use. The changes are designed to make conversations feel more natural, instead of relying on a single default tone.

ChatGPT users can set each element to More, Less or Default, alongside existing tone styles such as Professional, Candid and Quirky. The update follows previous adjustments, where OpenAI first dialled back perceived agreeableness, then later increased warmth after users said the system felt overly cold.

Experts have raised concerns that highly agreeable AI could encourage emotional dependence, even as users welcome a more flexible conversational style.

Some commentators describe the feature as empowering, while others question whether customising a chatbot’s personality risks blurring emotional boundaries.

The new tone controls continue broader industry debates about how human-like AI should become. OpenAI hopes that added transparency and user choice will balance personal preference with responsible design, instead of encouraging reliance on a single conversational style.

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