SAN FRANCISCO: OpenAI announced Friday a massive $110 billion funding round valuing the ChatGPT maker at $730 billion, with SoftBank, Nvidia and Amazon each making multi-billion-dollar commitments as the artificial intelligence company races to meet surging global demand.&nbsp;The investment round -- one of the largest in Silicon Valley history -- includes $30 billion from Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, $30 billion from chip giant Nvidia, and up to $50 billion from Amazon, with additional investors expected to join as the round progresses.&nbsp;Alongside the capital injection, OpenAI announced strategic partnerships with both Amazon, the world&#39;s biggest cloud company through its AWS division, and Nvidia, whose AI chips remain unparalleled in their capacity for AI training.&nbsp;&quot;SoftBank, Nvidia, and Amazon are long-term partners who share our ambition to turn real scientific progress into systems that deliver meaningful benefits for people at global scale,&quot; OpenAI said in a statement.&nbsp;The eye-watering level of funding reflects the soaring costs of computing power and comes amid lingering questions about whether OpenAI and other AI companies can generate sufficient revenue to cover those costs.&nbsp;The Amazon investment will begin with $15 billion, followed by another $35 billion in the coming months when certain conditions are met, the companies said.&nbsp;According to reports, these include OpenAI going public or achieving artificial general intelligence, a sometimes ill-defined standard of AI capability that more closely matches human-level ability.&nbsp;OpenAI and Amazon also struck a deal in which the ChatGPT maker will use two gigawatts of computing capacity powered by Amazon&#39;s in-house Trainium chips.&nbsp;Amazon&#39;s cloud computing rival Microsoft, which did not participate in the funding round, remains a major shareholder of OpenAI and a strategic partner.&nbsp;In the announcement, OpenAI cited a series of user metrics pointing to a breakneck pace of AI adoption.&nbsp;Even if short of its previous forecasts, ChatGPT now counts more than 900 million weekly active users and over 50 million paying consumer subscribers, with January and February on track to be the platform&#39;s biggest-ever months for new subscriptions, the company said.&nbsp;It added that more than nine million businesses pay to use ChatGPT for workplace tasks, while its Codex software development tool has seen weekly users more than triple since the start of the year to 1.6 million.&nbsp;The figures are intended to reassure more skeptical investors who have questioned OpenAI&#39;s ability to secure revenue, with user growth for its flagship ChatGPT slowing.&nbsp;The company this month began rolling out advertising for its non-premium users in a bid to bring in more revenue.&nbsp;According to The Information tech news, OpenAI now predicts that it will burn more than twice as much cash through 2030 than previously predicted, spending $665 billion on the costs of running and training its AI.&nbsp;Competition has ramped up too.&nbsp;Arch-rival Anthropic, founded by former OpenAI employees, continues to gain ground and grab headlines for its well-regarded Claude AI models.&nbsp;Anthropic earlier this year secured a $30 billion funding round.&nbsp;Google&#39;s AI model Gemini has also emerged as a potent competitor, with Elon Musk&#39;s xAI also attracting investment and users.

Artificial Intelligence

OpenAI announces a $110 billion funding round valuing it at $730 billion, with major backing from SoftBank, Nvidia, and Amazon, as it expands partnerships, scales computing capacity, and accelerates growth amid rising costs and intensifying AI competition.

OpenAI raises $110 bn in record funding round

NEW DELHI: India&#39;s IT minister apologized on Tuesday to visitors to a global <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/indias-tougher-ai-social-media-rules-spark-censorship-fears" style="color:#0073e6;">artificial intelligence</a> summit who had complained of overcrowding and other organizational problems on the first day. The AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, the fourth in a series of annual gatherings to discuss the fast-evolving technology, is the largest edition yet and also the first held in a developing country. Organizers are expecting tens of thousands of attendees, from top-level national delegations to companies, campaigners, and students. But not all areas of the vast conference site were open when big crowds showed up to the five-day event that opened on Monday, with some visitors saying the entry systems and other provisions were not up to scratch. &quot;If anybody has faced any problems yesterday, my apologies for that. We are working very hard,&quot; IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a news conference on Tuesday. &quot;We definitely will make efforts to make it more smooth and make it more enjoyable for all of you,&quot; he said. On Monday, the media center and most of the exhibition zones had not yet opened to general visitors, although Prime Minister Narendra Modi toured the booths in the late afternoon. &quot;Gates are closed, so could not access my own booth at the AI Summit,&quot; startup founder Maitreya Wagh wrote on X on Monday.

India

Organizers are expecting tens of thousands of attendees, from top-level national delegations to companies, campaigners and students; not all areas of the vast conference site open, some visitors say the entry systems and other provisions were not up to scratch.

Indian minister apologizes after AI summit crowding complaints

SAN FRANCISCO: OpenAI announced Friday it will begin testing advertisements on ChatGPT in the coming weeks, as the wildly popular artificial intelligence chatbot seeks to increase revenue to cover its soaring costs.&nbsp;The ads will initially appear in the United States for free and lower-tier subscribers, the company said in a blog post outlining its long-anticipated move into advertising.&nbsp;The integration of<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/chatgpt-now-lets-users-buy-from-etsy-shopify-in-push-for-chatbot-shopping" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer"> advertising</a> has been a key question for generative AI chatbots, with companies largely reluctant to interrupt the user experience with ads.&nbsp;But the exorbitant costs of running AI services may have forced OpenAI&#39;s hand.&nbsp;Only a small percentage of its nearly one billion users pay for subscription services, putting pressure on the company to find new revenue sources.&nbsp;Since ChatGPT&#39;s launch in 2022, OpenAI&#39;s valuation has soared to $500 billion in funding rounds -- higher than any other private company. Some expect it could go public with a trillion-dollar valuation.&nbsp;But the ChatGPT maker burns through cash at a furious rate, mostly on the powerful computing required to deliver its services.&nbsp;With its move, OpenAI brings its business model closer to tech giants Google and Meta, which have built advertising empires on the back of their free-to-use services.&nbsp;Unlike <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/openai-signs-38-bn-infrastructure-deal-with-cloud-giant-aws" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">OpenAI</a>, those companies have massive advertising revenue to fund AI innovation with Amazon also building a solid ad business on its shopping and video streaming platforms.&nbsp;&quot;Ads aren&#39;t a distraction from the gen AI race; they&#39;re how OpenAI stays in it,&quot; said Jeremy Goldman, an analyst at Emarketer.&nbsp;&quot;If ChatGPT turns on ads, OpenAI is admitting something simple and consequential: the race isn&#39;t just about model quality anymore; it&#39;s about monetizing attention without poisoning trust,&quot; he added.&nbsp;OpenAI&#39;s pivot comes as Google gains ground in the generative AI race, infusing services including Gmail, Maps and YouTube with AI features that in addition to its Gemini chatbot compete directly with ChatGPT.&nbsp;To address concerns about its pivot into advertising, OpenAI pledged that ads would never influence ChatGPT&#39;s answers and that user conversations would remain private from advertisers.&nbsp;&quot;Ads do not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you,&quot; the company stated. &quot;Answers are optimized based on what&#39;s most helpful to you. Ads are always separate and clearly labeled.&quot;&nbsp;In an apparent reference to Meta, TikTok and Google&#39;s YouTube platforms accused of maximizing user engagement to boost ad views OpenAI said it would &quot;not optimize for time spent in ChatGPT.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;We prioritize user trust and user experience over revenue,&quot; it added.&nbsp;The commitment to user well-being is a sensitive issue for OpenAI, which has faced accusations of allowing ChatGPT to prioritize emotional engagement over safety, allegedly contributing to mental distress among some users.

OpenAI will test ads on ChatGPT for US free users to boost revenue amid high AI costs, pledging ads won’t affect answers or privacy as competition with Google intensifies and rising valuations and investor pressure.

OpenAI introducing ads to ChatGPT

BERLIN: Europe must strive to lead in the AI race, top officials urged Tuesday at a summit focused on propelling the region to the forefront of the digital era and reducing its reliance on US tech titans.&nbsp;As the Berlin gathering got underway, the EU also announced that Amazon and Microsoft cloud services could face stricter competition rules in the bloc as Brussels probes their market power.&nbsp;The summit brought together leaders from Europe&#39;s tech sector, and was to be addressed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron later Tuesday.&nbsp;&quot;Europe&#39;s goal is very simple: we want to lead, not follow, on AI and frontier technologies,&quot; European Commission digital chief Henna Virkkunen told the opening of the event.&nbsp;&quot;We have the market, we have the talent, we have the ambition. Now we must deliver scale in investment, innovation and uptake.&quot;&nbsp;Europe is responding to calls to blaze its own digital path and take steps to catch up in the AI race against China and the United States.&nbsp;Concerns about US tech dominance have also grown as ties with Washington become increasingly uneasy under the &quot;America First&quot; administration of Donald Trump.&nbsp;Despite the US-Europe tensions, a senior official from the French presidency said the summit was not about &quot;confrontation&quot; with the United States or even China.&nbsp;Rather it is about &quot;how we protect our core sovereignty and what rules need to be established, especially at the European level&quot;, said the official.&nbsp;&nbsp;Become a creatorAlso speaking at the opening, German Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger said that &quot;for too long, Europe has been mainly a customer and a bystander.&nbsp;&quot;Now we must become a creator&quot;.&nbsp;But the continent is &quot;not moving fast enough,&quot; he said, adding that &quot;regulation is too complex and infrastructure is still behind&quot;.&nbsp;His comments came a day before the EU was set to propose a rollback of its rules on AI and data protection -- a move welcomed by businesses, but criticised by privacy advocates.&nbsp;Virkkunen also announced the move against Amazon and Microsoft cloud services in Berlin, saying that twin investigations aim to assess whether the tech giants &quot;should be designated as the gatekeepers on cloud computing&quot;.&nbsp;The European Commission, the bloc&#39;s digital regulator, said it will investigate whether Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft&#39;s Azure should come under the scope of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).&nbsp;Efforts to build up &quot;sovereign&quot; EU cloud computing capabilities, which proponents argue would better protect Europeans&#39; data, were also being discussed in Berlin.&nbsp;Digital ministers from across Europe, as well as CEOs of tech firms like France&#39;s Mistral and Germany&#39;s SAP, were attending, and announcements on new digital initiatives were expected.

Europe wants to lead in AI and is probing Amazon and Microsoft cloud services under the DMA for potential "gatekeeper" status. Officials at the German summit urged Europe to move faster, become a "creator," and protect its digital sovereignty.



Europe challenges US tech giants at AI summit

LONDON: Britain&#39;s music industry contributed &pound;8 billion to the UK economy in 2024, but the effects of Brexit and AI have clouded the sector&#39;s outlook, an industry report showed Wednesday.&nbsp;UK tours by Taylor Swift and Take That helped lift the industry&#39;s contribution to the UK economy last year, according to the annual report from UK Music, an umbrella organization for the industry.&nbsp;Music exports were also boosted by the international success of artists such as Charli XCX and Lola Young.&nbsp;However, annual growth was slower than the double-digit increases recorded in the immediate aftermath of the Covid pandemic, the report said.&nbsp;UK Music&#39;s chief executive Tom Kiehl warned that the industry faced a number of challenges, pointing to the &quot;need for urgent action&quot;.&nbsp;He said that the UK government would be judged on the &quot;progress it makes in regulating artificial intelligence and unlocking EU touring&quot;.&nbsp;The impact of Brexit, such as through increased touring costs, red tape and fewer EU clients making recording studio bookings, is &quot;still bad and is getting worse&quot;, the report said.&nbsp;Elsewhere, two-thirds of music creators surveyed by UK Music said that AI poses a threat to their career.&nbsp;Ninety percent of British music creators said protections should be in place to stop their work being used without permission or payment.&nbsp;The UK government plans to make it easier for AI companies to access data by introducing a copyright exception for commercial AI training with its Data (Use and Access) Bill.&nbsp;Under the proposed law, companies developing AI models would not need permission from creatives to access certain content, a plan that has provoked a fierce backlash from the cultural sector.

UK Music’s 2024 report says the industry added £8 billion to the economy but faces threats from Brexit and AI, warning of rising touring costs, copyright risks, and slower growth despite major tours and exports.

UK music industry warns growth threatened by AI, Brexit

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: China has released official guidelines to systematically integrate artificial intelligence into government operations, aiming to enhance efficiency, decision-making, and security. The guidelines have been issued by the Cyberspace Administration of China and the National Development and Reform Commission, said a statement posted on Chinse government website on Saturday. According to the statement, the guidelines provide direction for the deployment, application and continuous optimization of AI large model technologies, products and services across agencies. Systematic and orderly approach&nbsp;They aim to ensure a systematic and orderly approach to integrating AI by emphasizing planning, intensive development, people-orientation, collaborative construction and sharing, as well as ensuring high efficiency, safety and effectiveness. The guidelines emphasize scenario-driven approaches.&nbsp; &ldquo;By focusing on common and high-frequency needs in areas such as governmental services, social governance, office operations and decision-making support &mdash; governmental departments are encouraged to select typical scenarios for the exploration and application of AI large models based on local conditions and existing technological foundations to standardize deployment,&rdquo; the statement said. &lsquo;Coordinated and intensive&rsquo;&nbsp;The Chinese government issued guidelines state that AI deployment in government affairs should be coordinated and intensive.&nbsp; &ldquo;Prefectural cities should follow provincial guidelines, while counties should reuse computing power and model resources from higher-level governments.&rdquo; Additionally, data governance should be strengthened to improve data quality and support optimized AI model training, the guidelines said. The guidelines also stress the importance of operational management, noting that departments should balance workload reduction with technological empowerment &mdash; avoiding excessive focus on technological advancement and preventing &quot;digital formalism&quot;.&nbsp; Model hallucinations&nbsp;&ldquo;A life cycle management system should define application methods and boundaries, emphasizing AI&#39;s auxiliary role to mitigate risks such as model hallucinations,&rdquo; the official statement says. The guidelines propose the implementation of robust safety management, including the establishment of a safety responsibility system to clarify safety duties and tasks, and enhance the capacity to respond to AI security risks.&nbsp; Additionally, adhering to confidentiality requirements is essential to prevent the input of State secrets, work secrets and sensitive information into nonclassified AI large models, thereby mitigating the risk of leaks caused by the aggregation and association of sensitive data. The guidelines also emphasize the need to strengthen organization and implementation by accelerating the development of a national standard system for AI large models in the government affairs sector and establishing key standards.&nbsp; Improving digital literacyThis also involves promptly summarizing and promoting typical scenarios and innovative applications. Monitoring and evaluation should be conducted by establishing a comprehensive system for the entire process of deploying and applying AI large models in the government affairs sector to facilitate continuous iterative optimization, according to the guidelines.&nbsp; Training and publicity efforts should be enhanced to improve the application capabilities and proficiency of staff and to elevate the digital literacy of the entire population, the statement concludes.

China's new AI guidelines direct systematic integration of large models in government work, emphasizing efficiency, safety, scenario-based deployment, data governance, risk mitigation, staff training, digital literacy, and a national standard system for continuous improvement.

Articles tagged with "Artificial Intelligence"

OpenAI raises $110 bn in record funding round

Indian minister apologizes after AI summit crowding complaints

OpenAI introducing ads to ChatGPT

Europe challenges US tech giants at AI summit

UK music industry warns growth threatened by AI, Brexit

China releases guidelines to direct implementation of AI in government work

OpenAI raises $110 bn in record funding round