OpenAI presents new series of AI models with 'reasoning' abilities

OpenAI presents new series of AI models with 'reasoning' abilities


The o1 will be available in ChatGPT and its API starting Thursday. | Photo: Bloomberg


Microsoft-backed OpenAI said on Thursday it was launching a series of AI models designed to spend more time processing to solve hard problems.

 


The models, dubbed o1 and o1-mini, can reason through complex tasks and solve harder problems than previous models in science, coding and math, the AI firm said.

 


The o1 will be available in ChatGPT and its API starting Thursday.

 


“We trained these models to spend more time thinking through problems before they respond, much like a person would.

 

Through training, they learn to refine their thinking process, try different strategies, and recognize their mistakes,” OpenAI said.


(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

 

First Published: Sep 12 2024 | 11:44 PM IST



Source link

OpenAI fundraising set to catapult startup's valuation to 0 billion

OpenAI fundraising set to catapult startup's valuation to $150 billion



By Rachel Metz, Ed Ludlow, Gillian Tan and Mark Bergen




OpenAI is in talks to raise $6.5 billion from investors at a valuation of $150 billion, according to people familiar with the situation. 

 


The new valuation, a figure that doesn’t include the money being raised, is significantly higher than the $86 billion valuation from the company’s tender offer earlier this year, and cements its place as one of the most valuable startups in the world. 


At the same time, OpenAI is also in talks to raise $5 billion in debt from banks in the form of a revolving credit facility, said one of the people, all of whom asked not to be identified discussing private information. 

 

 


The startup declined to comment. The people familiar with the deal noted that the discussions are still ongoing and the terms could change. 

 


The funding round is slated to be led by Thrive Capital, Bloomberg previously reported. Thrive declined to comment on the latest valuation. Microsoft Corp., the company’s largest investor, is also set to participate, and Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp., have been in talks about investing. 

 


OpenAI is not the first major tech startup to turn to Wall Street banks for a revolving credit facility. A slew of technology companies, including Facebook — now Meta Platforms Inc. — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Uber Technologies Inc. and DoorDash Inc. have tapped Wall Street for credit lines before pursuing an initial public offering, often in part to strengthen banking relationships. Historically, companies tend to reward banks that make big credit commitments with roles on their IPOs. In return, lenders sometimes offer better terms on the financing.

 


Founded in 2015, OpenAI has been at the center of the technology industry’s rapid shift toward AI, kicking off an investing frenzy with the 2022 debut of its easy-to-use chatbot, ChatGPT. The company’s products, which can generate realistic images and human-sounding text from just a few words of prompting, have captured the attention of both consumers and investors.


OpenAI has evolved significantly as a company since its founding. Late last year, it briefly ousted its Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman. Today, only a handful of the original founding team remains, and the company has taken steps to overhaul its board of directors and add to its executive ranks. 

 


In a memo to employees last month, OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said the financing will support the need for computing power and other operating expenses, Bloomberg reported. She also said in the memo that the startup is aiming to allow employees to sell some of their shares in a tender offer later this year. 

 


–With assistance from Katie Roof.

 


(Adds context on financing starting in the sixth paragraph.)

 


©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

First Published: Sep 12 2024 | 11:31 PM IST



Source link

Cloud-based productivity software suite recovering after outage: Microsoft

Cloud-based productivity software suite recovering after outage: Microsoft


Microsoft (Photo: Shutterstock)


Microsoft said its cloud-based software suite was recovering after an outage impacted thousands of its users on Thursday.

 


“We’ve worked with the third-party internet service provider (ISP) and confirmed that a change within their managed-environment resulted in impact. The ISP has reverted the change and we’re now seeing signs of recovery,” Microsoft’s service dashboard said.


The Microsoft 365 productivity software suite includes Word and Excel, among other widely used tools.

 


The outage comes nearly two months after a faulty software update from cybersecurity services provider CrowdStrike affected nearly 8.5 million Windows devices, crippling operations across industries ranging from airlines and banks to healthcare.

 

 


Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform had said on X it was probing customer reports of a potential issue connecting Microsoft’s services from AT&T networks.

 


The telecom operator did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the outage.

 


Incident reports for Microsoft 365 fell to about 1,700, as of 9:53 A.M. ET, after having peaked at around 23,000.

 


Downdetector said it had seen more than 90,000 user reports come in within the U.S. for Microsoft 365 since about 7:45 A.M.

 


ET, with Azure, Teams, Xbox, Bing and all Microsoft entities seeing elevated cases.

 


The platform, which tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources, including user-submitted errors on its platform, said the outage appeared to be affecting other companies as well.

 


(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sep 12 2024 | 9:25 PM IST



Source link

Cloud-based productivity software suite recovering after outage: Microsoft

Cloud-based productivity software suite recovering after outage: Microsoft


Microsoft (Photo: Shutterstock)


Microsoft said its cloud-based software suite was recovering after an outage impacted thousands of its users on Thursday.

 


“We’ve worked with the third-party internet service provider (ISP) and confirmed that a change within their managed-environment resulted in impact. The ISP has reverted the change and we’re now seeing signs of recovery,” Microsoft’s service dashboard said.


The Microsoft 365 productivity software suite includes Word and Excel, among other widely used tools.

 


The outage comes nearly two months after a faulty software update from cybersecurity services provider CrowdStrike affected nearly 8.5 million Windows devices, crippling operations across industries ranging from airlines and banks to healthcare.

 

 


Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform had said on X it was probing customer reports of a potential issue connecting Microsoft’s services from AT&T networks.

 


The telecom operator did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the outage.

 


Incident reports for Microsoft 365 fell to about 1,700, as of 9:53 A.M. ET, after having peaked at around 23,000.

 


Downdetector said it had seen more than 90,000 user reports come in within the U.S. for Microsoft 365 since about 7:45 A.M.

 


ET, with Azure, Teams, Xbox, Bing and all Microsoft entities seeing elevated cases.

 


The platform, which tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources, including user-submitted errors on its platform, said the outage appeared to be affecting other companies as well.

 


(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sep 12 2024 | 9:25 PM IST



Source link

Tech wrap Sep 12: Vivo T3 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy M05, iPhone 16 series, more

Tech wrap Sep 12: Vivo T3 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy M05, iPhone 16 series, more



Vivo has launched the T3 Ultra 5G smartphone in India. The T3 Ultra 5G, part of its T-series, is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ processor and includes a 5,500mAh battery. It has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. The phone is built with SCHOTT Xensation Glass for shock absorption and drop protection.


On September 12, Samsung expanded its M-series smartphone lineup in India with the launch of the Galaxy M05. This smartphone has a dual-camera system, a large display, a 5,000mAh battery, and a dedicated microSD slot for additional storage. Priced at Rs 7,999, the Galaxy M05 comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. It will be available in mint green through Amazon India, Samsung’s online store, and select retail outlets.

 


Apple has released a build of iOS 18.1 beta specifically for the iPhone 16 series, reports 9to5Mac. Previously, the absence of an iOS 18.1 build for these devices raised concerns about difficulties in restoring backups from devices running iOS 18.1 beta.


Acer has introduced the Aspire 7 gaming laptop in India, powered by a 13th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and offering options for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 or RTX 3050 GPUs. The Aspire 7 runs on Windows 11, has 512GB SSD storage, and 16GB RAM.


Samsung’s India unit has announced limited-time offers for the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Initially priced at Rs 1,29,999, the smartphone is now available for Rs 1,09,999, including Rs 8,000 instant cashback and a Rs 12,000 upgrade bonus for trade-ins. Consumers can also avail Rs 12,000 cashback on select bank cards and opt for no-cost EMI for up to 24 months.


Dyson will launch its OnTrac headphones in India on September 23. Ahead of the release, demonstrations are available at its stores, and pre-booking has opened. Dyson has also named Indian artist Badshah as the brand ambassador for the OnTrac headphones in India.


With the launch of the iPhone 16 series, Apple has introduced a new camera control button. While camera shutter buttons have been present on smartphones for years, Apple’s announcement has renewed interest in this feature, which may prompt other companies to follow suit.


Google previewed Android 15 at Google I/O 2024, and the update is now available for developers. The stable version will roll out to Google Pixel devices first, followed by Samsung and other selected devices. Features may vary based on the phone model.


According to Android Authority, Google has updated its Play Integrity API to help developers prevent app sideloading. The Play Integrity API verifies that interactions and requests are coming from a genuine app binary on an authentic Android device, checking for tampering, unreliable environments, or Google Play Protect activation.


Union Home Minister Amit Shah has launched an online ‘suspect registry’ with data on 1.4 million cybercriminals involved in financial fraud and other cybercrimes. The registry, developed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), will be accessible to states, Union Territories, and central agencies.


Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has introduced new features for small businesses, including Meta Verified badges, as part of a recent update.


Google has added a new feature to its AI note-taking app NotebookLM, enabling it to convert research into AI-generated podcasts.


The European Union is investigating one of Google’s AI models over concerns regarding compliance with the bloc’s data privacy regulations.


Eight years ago, Google considered lowering its ad exchange fees after websites found ways to increase revenue while bypassing Google’s tools, according to former executives testifying in a US Justice Department antitrust trial.


AST SpaceMobile’s stock has surged approximately 1,300% since hitting a record low in April, making it the best performer in the small-cap Russell 2000 Index over the past six months.


Tech companies have long benefited from favourable treatment by authorities. Apple, for instance, paid minimal taxes in the European Union by exploiting loopholes in Ireland. Similarly, Google maintained its dominance in search by prioritising its own services over competitors.

First Published: Sep 12 2024 | 8:03 PM IST



Source link

Microsoft 365 services down for thousands of users, shows Downdetector

Microsoft 365 services down for thousands of users, shows Downdetector


Nearly 4,000 users also reported issues related to Microsoft Teams. | Photo: Shutterstock


Microsoft’s suite of productivity software was down for thousands of users on Thursday, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com.

 


“We’re investigating an issue where users may be unable to access multiple Microsoft 365 services,” the Windows parent said in a post on X.

 


Microsoft did not immediately respond to queries on the nature and cause of the outage and when it expects a recovery.

 


There were more than 20,000 incidents of people reporting issues with Microsoft 365, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources, including user-submitted errors on its platform.

 

 

Nearly 4,000 users also reported issues related to Microsoft Teams.


(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Sep 12 2024 | 6:41 PM IST



Source link

YouTube
Instagram
WhatsApp