Latest news with #SamAltman
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Calls DeepSeek's Bluff: ‘I Don't Think They Figured Out Something Way More Efficient'
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is widely recognized as one of the most influential figures in artificial intelligence (AI). His recent comments on DeepSeek, a rising AI competitor, offer insight into both his leadership style and his perspective on innovation within the field. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Altman remarked, 'The DeepSeek team is very talented and did a lot of good things. I don't think they figured out something way more efficient than we figured out.' This assessment highlights his respect for competing teams while underscoring his confidence in OpenAI's own technological progress. More News from Barchart Is Palantir Stock a Buy Above $150? Coinbase Stock Just Hit a New 52-Week High. How Much Higher Can Crypto Week Take COIN? This Bullish Catalyst for Nvidia Stock Is Coming in September Get exclusive insights with the FREE Barchart Brief newsletter. Subscribe now for quick, incisive midday market analysis you won't find anywhere else. DeepSeek caused a near-'flash crash' among stocks involved in the AI ecosystem at the beginning of 2025 after they released an AI model to rival U.S. models at a fraction of the cost. However, the DeepSeek team largely used the OpenAI API to train their model, and, ultimately didn't create anything novel, according to Altman. Altman's authority on the subject is well established. After dropping out of Stanford University to pursue entrepreneurial ventures, he co-founded Loopt, a location-based social networking startup that sold for $43.4 million. He then served as president of Y Combinator, where he played a pivotal role in launching and scaling numerous successful startups, cementing his reputation as a force in Silicon Valley. In 2015, Altman co-founded OpenAI, leading the organization through the development of groundbreaking technologies such as GPT-3, DALL-E, and ChatGPT. Under his guidance, OpenAI has secured major investments, including a multi-year $10 billion partnership with Microsoft (MSFT), and has become a central player in the global AI landscape. Altman's comment on DeepSeek is consistent with his broader approach to competition. While he acknowledges the achievements of other teams, he remains focused on the rigorous, incremental progress that has defined OpenAI's trajectory. His statement that DeepSeek has not discovered 'something way more efficient' than OpenAI's own methods suggests a belief in the robustness and scalability of his own company's research and infrastructure. This pragmatic outlook is characteristic of Altman, who has often emphasized the importance of responsible innovation and continuous improvement over comparing oneself to their competitors. The context of Altman's remarks is particularly relevant as the AI industry becomes increasingly crowded with well-funded entrants and rapid technical advances. His perspective that efficiency breakthroughs are rare, even among talented teams, reflects both the complexity of the field and the high bar set by leading organizations. Altman's leadership has positioned OpenAI at the forefront of this competition, with products like ChatGPT achieving historic adoption rates and shaping public discourse on AI's potential and risks. Altman's frank response also aligns with his reputation for transparency and realism. He has consistently advocated for open discussion about AI's capabilities and limitations, both within the industry and in broader society. As the market for advanced AI models continues to evolve, Altman's perspective serves as a reminder that progress is often incremental and that leadership in this space requires both innovation and humility. His experience navigating the challenges of rapid technological change lends weight to his assessments, reinforcing his status as a trusted voice in the ongoing evolution of artificial intelligence. On the date of publication, Caleb Naysmith did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's what the biggest names in tech and business think AI means for white-collar jobs
The biggest names in tech don't agree on what AI means for white-collar jobs. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei sparked fears when he said that AI could wipe out 50% of entry-level office jobs. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman doesn't see such a risk. He's not alone. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei issued a warning in May that AI is going to wipe out entry-level white-collar jobs He said other AI companies and the government are "sugarcoating" the risks of breakthrough technologies within the next five years. Other CEOs and business leaders have disagreed or framed the change with more optimism. "And the hard part about this is, I think it will happen faster than previous technological changes. But I think the new jobs will be better, and people will have better stuff," OpenAI CEO said in June. Here's what some of the biggest names in tech and business are saying about the future of jobs. Dario Amodei Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei kicked off the conversation by warning about how quickly large language models are advancing. "We, as the producers of this technology, have a duty and an obligation to be honest about what is coming," Amodei told Axios. "I don't think this is on people's radar." Amodei said it can seem weird that the AI companies would warn about their own technology. "Well, what if they're right?" Amodei said. Sam Altman OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said some jobs will go away, but society will adapt. "And the hard part about this is, I think it will happen faster than previous technological changes. But I think the new jobs will be better, and people will have better stuff," Altman said during a live episode of The New York Times' "Hard Fork" podcast in June. Altman said that even if it were true that such a large number of jobs were about to be wiped out, "the inertia of society" wouldn't allow for it. "And the take that half the jobs are going to be gone in a year or two years or five years or whatever — I think that's just — I think that's not how society really works," he said. "Even if the technology weren't ready for that, the inertia of society, which will be helpful in this case, is like — there's a lot of mass there." Jensen Huang Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang didn't mince words. "I pretty much disagree with almost everything he says," Huang told reporters of Amoedi's views at VivaTech 2025 in Paris. "He thinks AI is so scary, but only they should do it." Huang said that he's much more optimistic. "If you want things to be done safely and responsibly, you should do it in the open," Huang said, likening AI development to medical research, where transparency and peer review are essential. "I believe AI is not that expensive. Do I think AI will change jobs? It will change everyone's — it's changed mine." Marc Benioff Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said he's seeing no evidence of such a near-immediate upheaval. "That isn't how I see AI," Benioff said during a recent onstage interview at the 2025 AI for Good Global Summit. "Maybe they have AI, I don't have. But in the AI I have, it's not going to be some huge mass layoff of white-collar workers, it is a radical augmentation of the workforce." Benioff encouraged people to "shed their fear" about AI. "When I'm talking to our customers, I'm not hearing them say, "Oh, now I'm laying off these people because this A,B,C technology increase because of AI.' So, I think we need to somehow shed the fear of what that all means." Jim Farley Ford CEO Jim Farley said he sees problems ahead. "Artificial intelligence is going to replace literally half of all white-collar workers in the US," Farley said during an appearance at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Farley said he's concerned that too much of the American education system is focused on four-year degrees instead of trades. Mark Cuban Mark Cuban said the situation will be the opposite of Amodei's warning. "Someone needs to remind the CEO that at one point there were more than 2m secretaries. There were also separate employees to do in office dictation. They were the original white collar displacements," Cuban wrote on in a post on Bluesky. "New companies with new jobs will come from AI and increase TOTAL employment," he continued. Brad Lightcap Like Altman, OpenAI's COO Brad Lightcap doesn't see the sky falling. "We have no evidence of this," Lightcap said during the "Hard Fork" podcast taping. "And Dario is a scientist. And I would hope he takes an evidence-based approach to these types of things." Lightcap said that every technology changes the job market. "I think every time you get a platform shift, you get a change in the job market," he said." I mean, in 1900, 40 percent of people worked in agriculture. It's 2 percent today. Microsoft Excel has probably been the greatest job displacer of the 20th century." Andy Jassy Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that AI is already changing workflows. He said it will soon lead to a reduction in some jobs. "As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done," Jassy said in a memo posted to the Amazon website. "We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs." Sebastian Siemiatkowski Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said AI may cause a recession due to the sheer number of job cuts. "I don't want to be one of them," Siemiatkowski said of CEOs who downplay the changes AI will bring. "I want to be honest, I want to be fair, and I want to tell what I see so that society can start taking preparations." 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Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
Best of the Week: From pocket money to QR codes
I still remember the day I turned 18. My father had a mission: 'Open your own bank account," 'Apply for a PAN card," 'Get a driver's license." I did it all—partly out of excitement, partly because I was the obedient eldest child. Once the account was set up, he began giving me pocket money and insisted I deposit it every month. And like the dutiful child I pretended to be, I made those bank visits, mostly. What he didn't know was that I always skimmed 10% off the top, kept a little for myself before handing over the rest. I wasn't being rebellious, just a teenager tasting the first flavours of freedom. And freedom, of course, came with its own expenses. Withdrawing money wasn't easy either. Sure, there were ATMs, but to my 18-year-old self, those machines felt intimidating—not because I didn't know how they worked, but because any mistake felt irreversible. So when relatives gave me cash, I quietly stashed it away instead of telling Dad—because I knew he'd ask me to deposit that too. And then came UPI. At first, only a few people used it, and most adults around us were sceptical. But fast forward to today, and cash feels almost inconvenient. Even auto-walas now refuse ₹500 notes, flashing their QR codes instead, with pride. But it's not just the way we pay that's changed. The emotional currency of money in relationships has shifted too. A decade ago, I used to hide cash from my father. Today, when he gives me some, I hand it right back and ask him to UPI it instead. Even if it's just ₹100, the routine remains the same. Honestly, I miss the simplicity of those earlier days. Physical cash created boundaries. It made us pause, budget, and weigh our choices. Now, with UPI at our fingertips, we've become impulsive QR-code scanners, even for the smallest things. Funny how something that once felt so futuristic is now second nature. But somewhere between bank queues and barcodes, there's also a quiet role reversal with my father. And that says more than just 'times have changed." It shows we've changed—together. On to the best of Mint's work from this week Is GPT-5 going to blow our minds—or just mildly impress us? With Sam Altman teasing a launch, all eyes are on OpenAI to deliver real AGI breakthroughs: better memory, smarter reasoning, and more human-like autonomy. But can it rise above legal landmines, internal shake-ups, and fast-charging rivals like Google's Gemini and Meta's Llama 3? While ChatGPT clocks 5.2 billion visits monthly, a sluggish or buggy GPT-5 could flip the script. Especially when rivals are building faster, open-weight, customizable models. If GPT-5 doesn't drastically cut hallucinations and boost real-time performance, will it still matter—or be just another model in the race? Bitcoin has smashed past $122,000, riding a Trump-fuelled crypto wave. With pro-crypto regulators, scrapped SEC crackdowns, and talk of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, is the US turning into a crypto haven, or a high-stakes experiment? Venture capital is flowing again, ETFs are booming, and stablecoins are going mainstream with PayPal, Visa, and Stripe jumping in. But are we ignoring the risks? Hacks, phishing scams, and Trump's own meme coin ($TRUMP) muddy the waters. As politics and policy blur into profit, will this crypto renaissance sustain—or snap with the next shock? Ever imagined a company needing a football stadium to host its AGM? Back in 1985, that was Reliance—12,000 shareholders, restless excitement, and Dhirubhai Ambani at the mic. Fast forward to 2025, and that spirit still echoes—only louder. After a sleepy couple of years, Reliance has roared back with a 24% surge this year, massively outperforming the Nifty. What changed? It's not just oil anymore. Retail and Jio now drive half the profits, while New Energy and JioStar are writing the next chapter. But here's the real kicker: can a ₹20-trillion giant really still be in growth mode? Is quick commerce finally breaking out of metro limits? A new Emkay report says yes—and this could be a game-changer. Tier-II cities, once thought too slow for 10-minute deliveries, are warming up to Blinkit, Zepto, and Instamart. Why? A wider product range, lower rents, and cheaper labour help offset smaller order volumes. Interestingly, breakeven is faster here—just 800 orders, compaerd to 1,300 in metros. But challenges like poor mapping, low average orders, and logistics snags still loom large. Still, one in four new users for Instamart in early 2025 came from these towns. India's aviation rulebook is set for a major reboot. The draft Indian Aircraft Rules, 2025, aims to replace two colonial-era laws and align the sector with global norms under ICAO. But can relaxing pilot licensing rules and introducing fatigue management actually solve India's pilot crunch? For the first time, even Class 10 pass-outs from arts or commerce streams can aim for the skies. And with over 1,500 aircraft on order, the timing couldn't be better. Enhanced safety oversight and proper rest for crew could reshape flight operations—but will airlines embrace the cost? With public feedback open till 14 August, the question is: will these changes truly empower India's aviation future? India's inflation is cooling fast. In June, retail inflation fell to 2.1%, its lowest in over five years, thanks to a rare bout of food deflation led by plunging vegetable prices. This marked the eighth straight month of easing inflation, offering a breather to the Reserve Bank after years of high prices. Core inflation remains sticky, and over 60% of items are costlier than the headline number suggests. So while the data paints a calm picture, the ground reality is more nuanced. Is this the bottom of India's inflation curve, or the calm before another spike? As China tightens its grip on rare earth exports, India's mostly forgotten magnet makers are suddenly in demand. Auto parts giants like Sona Comstar and EV players such as Ather and Ola Electric are racing to cut reliance on Chinese heavy rare earths, either by switching to lighter alternatives like cerium and neodymium or eliminating magnets altogether. But doubts remain: can these alternatives match the efficiency and durability of heavy rare earth magnets, especially in high-performance vehicles? After years of anticipation, Tesla has made its long-awaited debut in India, unveiling its Model Y SUV in Mumbai. Priced between ₹59.9 lakh and ₹67.9 lakh, the vehicle enters a nascent luxury EV segment dominated by brands like BYD, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz—while leaving mass-market players such as Tata and Mahindra largely untouched. The debut drew a flood of media and fans despite limited public access. The big question now: Will Tesla's brand pull help the premium EV segment break out of its niche? Move over, Switzerland, Belgium and France, India wants to own its chocolate moment. At the heart of this transformation is Manam Chocolate, a homegrown brand that's part of a fast-growing tribe of Indian craft chocolate makers reinventing the bean-to-bar journey with local cacao, global technique, and luxury retail flair. From the cocoa farms of Andhra Pradesh to sleek cafes and experiential stores in Delhi and Hyderabad, these brands are reshaping what premium chocolate looks and tastes like in India—bold, artisanal, and unapologetically local. This Long Story takes a close look at the journey of Manam Chocolate, one of the many players in India's fast-growing local chocolate landscape. India's taxpayer base is undergoing a quiet but significant transformation. A fast-growing segment of salaried individuals with capital gains, rental income from multiple properties, or foreign assets is reshaping the income tax landscape. ITR-2 filings, used by such individuals, have more than doubled since the FY21 assessment year, now making up 14% of all returns. The shift signals growing retail participation in stocks, mutual funds and property, and reflects a broader formalisation of incomes. As India's middle class gets wealthier and more financially savvy, what does this new class of investor-taxpayers mean for the future of tax policy?
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
An OpenAI employee's farewell letter offers a rare window into what it's like working at the company
OpenAI has lost some key talent, but few of them have talked about their time at the company. One employee, Calvin French-Owen, however, recently shared some details. OpenAI has a bottom-up culture where promotions are meritocratic, he said. A lot can happen in a year at OpenAI. Calvin French-Owen, a former member of OpenAI's technical staff who helped launch a series of AI coding tools called Codex, published a lengthy blog post on Tuesday that detailed what happened to him in his year at the company. His blog offers a rare, first-person account of everyday life at OpenAI — insight that its string of recently departed employees haven't provided until now. He said he left about three weeks ago after starting in May 2024. Prior to OpenAI, he was the cofounder of a customer data platform called Segment, according to his LinkedIn profile. He said he's still figuring out what's next. French-Owen said that OpenAI has a "bottoms-up" culture, especially in its research departments. This makes the company "very meritocratic," he said, and people are promoted on their ability to generate ideas and execute them. The most competent, he said, weren't great at all-hands presentations or "political maneuvering." Despite the revelations about CEO Sam Altman's leadership style that surfaced during his brief ousting as CEO in 2023 — and subsequent chatter of culture clashes between the company's academic and corporate factions — French-Owen said the company stays true to its nonprofit origins. "The longer you've been there, the more you probably view things through the 'research lab' or 'nonprofit for good' lens," he wrote. That's not to say the company isn't worried about turning a profit. He said success is mostly measured by the number of subscriptions a new tool or update generates, a key path to profitability. He also said the company doesn't operate like an institution or a tech giant. It makes decisions quickly, teams are fluid, and it can be "very secretive," he said, so he never knew what others were working on in much detail. Another hallmark of the fast-paced, startup-like culture is that most communication takes place on Slack. French-Owen said he received about 10 emails during his whole tenure at OpenAI. But the pace can sometimes backfire. "Everything breaks when you scale that quickly: how to communicate as a company, the reporting structures, how to ship product, how to manage and organize people, the hiring processes, etc," he said. Hours are long, he said, especially as it comes close to a product launch. Some of OpenAI's engineers told media outlets that they were burned out from working 80 hours a week, and the company gave them a week off earlier this month. When the launch of Codex neared, French-Owen said he worked from 7 a.m. to midnight most days, and weekends, too. "The stakes feel really high," he said. "On the one hand, there's the goal of building AGI — which means there is a lot to get right. On the other hand, you're trying to build a product that hundreds of millions of users leverage." Artificial general intelligence is broadly defined as AI that reasons as well as or better than humans. It's what most leading AI companies are competing to develop first. Talent is the key to reaching that goal. The biggest tech companies in the world are throwing millions at a handful of top researchers to win the race to AGI. Meta has been at the forefront of these talent wars. CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently hired Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang to lead its AI efforts, and has recruited some of the top AI researchers in the world from other companies. One of the top places Zuckerberg is poaching from is OpenAI. Jason Wei, who worked on OpenAI's o1 and deep research models, and colleague Hyung Won Chung, both left for Meta this week. Ultimately, French-Owen said there's a chance he'd return to OpenAI. "It's entirely possible that the quality of the work will draw me back," he said. "It's hard to imagine building anything as impactful as AGI, and LLMs are easily the technological innovation of the decade." OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Read the original article on Business Insider
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Report: Why Altman could replace Musk as Trump's new billionaire buddy
After the dramatic rise and fall of President Donald Trump's partnership with Elon Musk, the former DOGE boss has been exiled to the sidelines and is forced to watch his nemesis, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, potentially take his place. Altman and Musk had one of the most publicly brutal fallouts in the tech world when they went from partners to foes in 2018. The two founded OpenAI together in 2015 as a non-profit to ensure the landscape of artificial intelligence remained ethical amid technological advancements. However, due to competing AI models from Google and Amazon, OpenAI shifted to a public benefit corporation, which Musk blasted for straying from the original business model. The Tesla CEO left the company in 2018, and a bitter feud ensued between the two as Musk founded his own AI firm, xAI. He then became one of the most powerful men in government after he assumed the position as head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency . The alliance with the president left Altman on the sidelines while his billionaire cohorts, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Musk, seemed to only grow closer to Trump. But Musk has fallen out spectacularly with Trump over the president's Big Beautiful Bill, which Musk says is wasteful. Musk's claims that Trump was in the Jeffrey Epstein files saw him cast further into Siberia. Trump has been engulfed by the Epstein scandal over claims he drew the tycoon a 'bawdy' birthday picture of a naked woman. And from that chaos, Altman has been able to emerge as Trump's new favorite tech tycoon, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. As Musk has been sidelined by the president amid a shockingly public feud, Altman has seemingly assumed the position as the expert on AI in closest proximity to the president. His firm OpenAI - which owns ChatGPT - is seen as having one of the brightest futures in the burgeoning AI industry, with Altman's $1.8 billion fortune likely to soar a as a result. Altman's White House appearance The relationship presents an opportunity for Altman to have a larger presence in governmental regulation of AI. The day after Trump was inaugurated, Altman joined Masayoshi Son, the chairman of SoftBank and Oracle founder Larry Ellison to announce a massive joint $500 billion AI project called Stargate . The initiative will build AI infrastructure across the country, focusing on building data centers and training new models. Sources familiar with the project told the New York Times that Stargate was in the works for months but was timed to follow Trump's inauguration so that the president could take credit. Altman thanked Trump during the announcement, adding, 'We wouldn't be able to do this without you, Mr. President.' Musk attacked the deal on X, claiming that SoftBank didn't have the funds for the massive infrastructure project and claimed it was fake. Altman hit back that Musk was wrong and slammed the DOGE chief, 'I realize what is great for the country isn't always what's optimal for your companies, but in your new role I hope you'll mostly put [America] first.' When asked about the exchange at the time, Trump told reporters, 'The government's not putting up anything. They're very rich people. Elon doesn't like one of those people.' 'People in the deal are very, very smart people, but Elon—one of the people he happens to hate. But I have certain hatreds of people, too,' he added. In June, Trump introduced Altman at his New Jersey golf club, calling the tech mogul a 'brilliant man,' adding, 'I hope he's right about AI.' Breaking ties with Dems The newfound friendship was somewhat surprising considering Altman's longtime allegiance to the Democratic Party . He endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and previously compared Trump to Adolf Hitler. Altman also donated to Biden's re-election campaign in 2023. But as the tech industry began to shift towards the right, Altman eventually followed suit and backpedaled on his criticisms of Trump . When Musk reposted old tweets from Altman criticizing the president, the OpenAI exec brushed them off, explaining that his views had changed. 'Watching @potus more carefully recently has really changed my perspective on him (i wish i had done more of my own thinking and definitely fell in the npc [non-player character] trap),' Altman wrote. 'I'm not going to agree with him on everything, but i think he will be incredible for the country in many ways!' This past Independence Day, Altman solidified his departure from the Democratic party, accusing them of 'losing the plot.' He clarified that he wasn't a Republican and identified his partisanship as 'politically homeless.' Cozying up to Trump Altman's previous political affiliation and feud with Musk initially put him at a distance from the president. He was relegated to the overflow room at Trump's inauguration, sitting far away from Zuckerberg, Bezos , and Google's CEO Sundar Pichai. Musk and Zuckerberg also met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after he was re-elected, but Altman could only score a meeting with Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, the New York Times reported in February. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the meeting was tense and Lutnick yelled at Altman for 'being a leftist.' Sources told the Journal that OpenAI then hired lobbyist Jeff Miller and Trump campaign advisor Chris LaCivita, who helped integrate Altman into MAGA world. Altman and other OpenAI executives also met with Trump last year at a hotel in Las Vegas to reveal Sora, artificial intelligence for video generation, sources told the Journal. After Stargate was announced, Altman's influence seemed solidified, and in May, the project launched a data center in Abu Dhabi. On June 16, OpenAI announced a contract deal with the Pentagon, potentially signaling Altman's dominance in the industry. As Altman inched closer to the White House, Musk stepped down from his position at DOGE, launching a string of attacks online against Trump, claiming he was on the 'Epstein list' and slamming the president's 'Big Beautiful Bill.'
