Latest news with #GeneralIntelligence
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta acquires AI audio startup WaveForms
Meta has acquired AI voice startup WaveForms for an undisclosed sum, The Information reports. It's the company's latest buy to strengthen its new AI unit, Superintelligence Labs, and Meta's second major AI audio acquisition in the last month after it bought PlayAI. WaveForms, founded just eight months ago, raised $40 million from Andreessen Horowitz in a round that valued the company at $160 million pre-money, per PitchBook data. Two of the startup's co-founders – former Meta and OpenAI researcher Alexis Conneau, and former Google advertising strategist Coralie Lemaitre – have reportedly joined Meta. While at OpenAI, Conneau co-created GPT4-o Advanced Voice Mode neural networks. TechCrunch has reached out to WaveForms to find out if its third co-founder and chief technologist, Kartikay Khandelwal, will also join Meta, as well as the outcome of the deal for the roughly 14 other staffers (per LinkedIn) at the company. WaveForms appears to have taken down its own website, but the company's LinkedIn page describes its mission as solving the 'Speech Turing Test,' which tries to measure if a listener can distinguish between human and AI-generated speech. WaveForms was also developing 'Emotional General Intelligence,' which focuses on understanding individual self-awareness and management. 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
Hans India
7 days ago
- Business
- Hans India
Sam Altman Teases GPT-5: OpenAI Prepares Major Launch With New Models, Features, and Products
OpenAI is once again making headlines as the company prepares for a major AI rollout this month. CEO Sam Altman has confirmed that OpenAI will be launching new models, features, and products in the coming days, including the highly anticipated GPT-5 model. Although Altman stopped short of revealing specifics, he assured users that what's coming will be worth the wait. In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), Altman noted, "Please bear with us through some probable hiccups and capacity crunches. Although it may be slightly choppy, we think you'll really love what we've created for you!" His comment referenced the chaotic launch of GPT-4o's image generation feature, where overwhelming user demand caused system overloads and GPU strain. That incident saw Altman quip that GPUs were 'melting' under pressure, along with his team. Altman's latest update arrives just as OpenAI gears up to release its next-generation language model, GPT-5. First launched in 2022, the GPT series has continually pushed the boundaries of artificial intelligence. According to sources close to the company, GPT-5 is slated for an early August release, aligning with Altman's public hints during a recent podcast appearance. While avoiding any spoilers, Altman did emphasize that GPT-5 marks a meaningful leap in performance. He shared a personal moment from testing, recalling how GPT-5 was able to solve a challenging problem that had initially stumped him. 'Here it is,' he said, describing the realization that GPT-5 had advanced to a new level of reasoning. One of the most exciting elements of this release is that GPT-5 will reportedly be offered in three distinct versions: a flagship model, a compact 'mini' version, and a lightweight 'nano' model. The flagship and mini versions will be made available directly through ChatGPT, while the nano version will be tailored for API integration, targeting developers who require streamlined, high-efficiency AI solutions. Insiders also suggest that GPT-5 will unify OpenAI's core GPT models with the o-series under a single, simplified framework. This unified approach aims to enhance user experience for both developers and enterprises working on tasks requiring strong reasoning capabilities. A key upgrade in GPT-5 lies in its reasoning performance, built on advancements developed and tested in the o3 model. These improvements are expected to make the system more robust across complex and logic-based tasks. While OpenAI has not confirmed if the model will be open source, some sources hint that an open version could precede the official launch. This push aligns with OpenAI's broader mission to move closer to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) — a state where machines match or surpass human-level performance across diverse tasks. While it's clear the company has ambitious goals, it's also evident they're committed to delivering tools that are practical, powerful, and accessible. As the countdown to GPT-5 begins, all eyes are on OpenAI. Whether it's the enhanced capabilities or the suite of supporting tools, this release could set a new standard in the AI landscape.
Business Insider
29-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
OpenAI and Microsoft are dueling over AGI. These real-world tests will prove when AI is really better than humans.
AGI is a pretty silly debate. It's only really important in one way: It governs how the world's most important AI partnership will change in the coming months. That's the deal between OpenAI and Microsoft. This is the situation right now: Until OpenAI achieves Artificial General Intelligence — where AI capabilities surpass those of humans — Microsoft gets a lot of valuable technological and financial benefits from the startup. For instance, OpenAI must share a significant portion of its revenue with Microsoft. That's billions of dollars. One could reasonably argue that this might be why Sam Altman bangs on about OpenAI getting close to AGI soon. Many other experts in the AI field don't talk about this much, or they think the AGI debate is off base in various ways, or just not that important. Even Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, one of the biggest AI boosters on the planet, doesn't like to talk about AGI. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sees things very differently. Wouldn't you? If another company is contractually required to give you oodles of money if they don't reach AGI, then you're probably not going to think we're close to AGI! Nadella has called the push toward AGI "benchmark hacking," which is so delicious. This refers to AI researchers and labs designing AI models to perform well on wonky industry benchmarks, rather than in real life. Here's OpenAI's official definition of AGI: "highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work." Other experts have defined it slightly differently. But the main point is that AI machines and software must be better than humans at a wide variety of useful tasks. You can already train an AI model to be better at one or two specific things, but to get to artificial general intelligence, machines must be able to do many different things better than humans. Please help BI improve our Business, Tech, and Innovation coverage by sharing a bit about your role — it will help us tailor content that matters most to people like you. Continue By providing this information, you agree that Business Insider may use this data to improve your site experience and for targeted advertising. By continuing you agree that you accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . My real-world AGI tests Over the past few months, I've devised several real-world tests to see if we've reached AGI. These are fun or annoying everyday things that should just work in a world of AGI, but they don't right now for me. I also canvassed input from readers of my Tech Memo newsletter and tapped my source network for fun suggestions. Here are my real-world tests that will prove we've reached AGI: The PR departments of OpenAI and Anthropic use their own AI technology to answer every journalist's question. Right now, these companies are hiring a ton of human journalists and other communications experts to handle a barrage of reporter questions about AI and the future. When I reach out to these companies, humans answer every time. Unacceptable! Unless this changes, we're not at AGI. This suggestion is from a hedge fund contact, and I love it: Please, please can my Microsoft Outlook email system stop burying important emails while still letting spam through? This one seems like something Microsoft and OpenAI could solve with their AI technology. I haven't seen a fix yet. In a similar vein, can someone please stop Cactus Warehouse from texting me every 2 days with offers for 20% off succulents? I only bought one cactus from you guys once! Come on, AI, this can surely be solved! My 2024 Tesla Model 3 Performance hits potholes in FSD. No wonder tires have to be replaced so often on these EVs. As a human, I can avoid potholes much better. Elon, the AGI gauntlet has been thrown down. Get on this now. Can AI models and chatbots make valuable predictions about the future, or do they mostly just regurgitate what's already known on the internet? I tested this recently, right after the US bombed Iran. ChatGPT's stock-picking ability was put to the test versus a single human analyst. Check out the results here. TL;DR: We are nowhere near AGI on this one. There's a great Google Gemini TV ad where a kid is helping his dad assemble a basketball net. The son is using an Android phone to ask Gemini for the instructions and pointing the camera at his poor father struggling with parts and tools. It's really impressive to watch as Gemini finds the instruction manual online just by "seeing" what's going on live with the product assembly. For AGI to be here, though, the AI needs to just build the damn net itself. I can sit there and read out instructions in an annoying way, while someone else toils with fiddly assembly tasks — we can all do that. Yes, I know these tests seem a bit silly — but AI benchmarks are not the real world, and they can be pretty easily gamed. That last basketball net test is particularly telling for me. Getting an AI system and software to actually assemble a basketball net — that might happen sometime soon. But, getting the same system to do a lot of other physical-world manipulation stuff better than humans, too? Very hard and probably not possible for a very long time. As OpenAI and Microsoft try to resolve their differences, the companies can tap experts to weigh in on whether the startup has reached AGI or not, per the terms of their existing contract, according to The Information. I'm happy to be an expert advisor here. Sam and Satya, let me know if you want help! For now, I'll leave the final words to a real AI expert. Konstantin Mishchenko, an AI research scientist at Meta, recently tweeted this, while citing a blog by another respected expert in the field, Sergey Levine: "While LLMs learned to mimic intelligence from internet data, they never had to actually live and acquire that intelligence directly. They lack the core algorithm for learning from experience. They need a human to do that work for them," Mishchenko wrote, referring to AI models known as large language models. "This suggests, at least to me, that the gap between LLMs and genuine intelligence might be wider than we think. Despite all the talk about AGI either being already here or coming next year, I can't shake off the feeling it's not possible until we come up with something better than a language model mimicking our own idea of how an AI should look," he concluded.
Libya Review
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Libya Review
Libyan Defence Minister Receives Chadian Counterpart in Benghazi
Libya's Defence Minister in the Parliament-designate government, Ahmed Houma, held a high-level meeting on Sunday in Benghazi with a visiting Chadian delegation, aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in military and security affairs. The official visit came at the invitation of the Libyan side and coincided with the 11th anniversary of the Karama Revolution, a key turning point in Libya's modern history. The anniversary commemorates efforts to combat terrorism and restore national sovereignty under the leadership of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. The Chadian delegation was led by Defence Minister Issaka Malloua Ndjamous and included Deputy Director of General Intelligence and three senior advisers to the President of Chad. They were received in Benghazi by Minister Houma, alongside the Director of Military Intelligence, Major General Fawzi Al-Mansouri, the Head of Protocol at the General Command, a representative of the Commander-in-Chief's Office, and several department heads from Libya's Ministry of Defence. The discussions focused on reinforcing joint efforts to confront regional security challenges and improving coordination between the two nations. Both sides stressed the importance of enhanced cooperation in securing their shared borders and combating cross-border threats such as terrorism, organised crime, and human trafficking. The visit marks a renewed effort to build strategic partnerships in the Sahel and Sahara region, a hotspot for instability. The Libyan side highlighted the significance of mutual trust and military collaboration in promoting regional peace and stability. Libya and Chad have long-standing ties, but recent years have seen renewed interest in revitalising defence relations in light of shifting security dynamics across North Africa and Central Africa. This official meeting signals a step forward in aligning the two countries' security agendas and strengthening their shared commitment to maintaining order in a volatile regional landscape. Tags: benghaziChadDefence Ministerlibya
Mid East Info
15-04-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
Fast-growing UAE AI start-up AIREV secures investment from Ireland's Venturewave Capital - Middle East Business News and Information
Irish venture private equity firm invests in AIREV as part of Series A raise AIREV's On-Demand is one of the world's first AI operating systems -On-Demand offers hardware providers opportunity to monetize infrastructure Abu Dhabi: AIREV, the UAE artificial intelligence start-up that is one of the fastest-growing AI companies in the Gulf region, has secured investment from Irish-based venture private equity firm Venturewave Capital. The capital injection will be deployed to support AIREV's rapid growth trajectory as it scales one of the world's first AI operating systems – 'On-Demand'. The deal with Venturewave Capital, which is active across diverse asset classes in Europe, US, ASEAN and the Middle East, will enable On Demand to access new opportunities and specifically expand to new market territories from UAE and Ireland. With over 4 million AI-first users worldwide, and backed by Core 42, a G42 company, AIREV continues to refine its revolutionary agentic AI Operating System, On-Demand. Designed to power the post-Artificial General Intelligence/Artificial Super Intelligence economic shift, On-Demand allows users to build their own AI applications by combining the world's leading large language models with hundreds of agents and AI tools. The platform democratizes advanced AI technology, simplifying the user experience, and empowering rapid innovation in generative AI products. AIREV already has commercial deployment agreements with computer systems and components supplier Panchea and AI systems and technology solutions provider AIdeology (an Nvidia Elite Partner), and is in commercial and R&D discussions with Fortune 500 semiconductor companies. Over 60,000 users have already adopted the new platform, which offers access to inference capabilities across leading models, including those from OpenAI, Google's Gemini, Meta's Llama, and Arabic language model Jais—developed by Inception, a G42 company. Over 300 specialized agents are available on its marketplace, and the site also seamlessly integrates with major ERP and CRM systems like Salesforce, SAP, and Microsoft Dynamics. On Demand is capable of running on all hardware systems, enabling hardware providers to monetize usage of their infrastructure by linking the computational activity of users to revenue generated. The signing of the funding agreement was witnessed by HE Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister for Foreign Trade, and HE Niamh Smyth TD, Ireland's Minister for Trade Promotion, AI and Digital Transformation. Minister Niamh Smyth TD stated: 'Venturewave Capital's investment in AIREV highlights Ireland's role as a connector of global tech innovation. AIREV's work in Artificial Intelligence – from education to healthcare – exemplifies technology's power to transcend markets.' Muhammad Khalid, AIREV's Founder and CEO, said: 'With On-Demand, companies can create the right AI for them – quickly, easily and affordably. Think of it as an App Store for AI, but with unseen levels of optimization and personalization. VentureWave Capital recognised that the platform can be transformative for businesses and that our team – young, dynamic, agile and nimble – possess the necessary expertise to develop a blockbuster product with the potential to disrupt the global AI ecosystem. Since we launched On-Demand, we have seen amazing early growth, and built an incredible community of global users. We look forward to working alongside VentureWave Capital and all our partners to expand the market for highly tailored, powerful AI solutions for developers and enterprises.' Alan Foy, Executive Chairman and Founder, Venturewave, added: 'VentureWave Capital is delighted to finalise this strategic investment in AIREV, a UAE-based AI company rapidly emerging as a global leader in transformative AI solutions. AIREV is committed to global expansion from the UAE in partnership with Ireland. The excellent team is developing technologies that not only expand human potential but also address real-world challenges across sectors such as education, healthcare, and energy.' As well as On-Demand, AIREV, which was formed in 2023 by Muhammed Khalid (CEO), Dr Youssef Youssef (COO) and Kayaan Unwalla (CSO), includes other next generation AI-driven businesses including viral edtech platform School Hack. About AIREV: AIREV, a next generation AI company headquartered in the UAE, has quickly risen as a leader in the global AI ecosystem. Backed by Core42, a G42 company, and now VentureWave Capital, AIREV is shaping the future of technology-driven economic growth through its Agentic AI Operating System, On-Demand. AIREV is part of Microsoft's startup program and the Nvidia Inception program, with On Demand built completely on Microsoft's Azure structure. About Venturewave Capital: Venturewave Capital is a venture private equity investment firm that focuses on entrepreneurial companies with high-impact potential. They seek to maximise financial potential by applying proven tools and methods to scale and grow. Venturewave Capital, a member of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), is the first Irish signatory of the IFC Principles for Impact Investing:
