OpenAI's CTO suddenly resigned, and the non-profit board may be "seized"
On Wednesday, September 25, OpenAI's CTO, Mira Murati, suddenly announced her resignation in a post on social media X. In her resignation letter to the OpenAI team, she wrote that she felt honored to be on the OpenAI team for six and a half years, leaving OpenAI because she wanted to free up time and space to do her own research.
Murati's departure shows that the turmoil at OpenAI's top management continues. Of the 11 members of the founding team, only two remain at OpenAI.
OpenAI CTO Mira Murati｜图片来源：CNBC
And after Murati announced his departure, OpenAI was exposed to the news of its transformation into a for-profit company. According to foreign media, OpenAI is developing a plan to restructure its core business into a for-profit company, which is no longer controlled by OpenAI's non-profit board of directors, which will make the company more attractive to investors.
Earlier, OpenAI was revealed to be in the latest round of $6.5 billion in funding, and the new financing attracted the participation of three tech giants, Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia, which could help OpenAI's valuation reach $150 billion before the fundraising. (Source: Wall Street News)
Google filed a lawsuit in the European Union, accusing Microsoft of anti-competitive practices in the cloud computing market
On September 25, Google officially filed a lawsuit with the European Commission on September 25 local time, accusing Microsoft of anti-competitive behavior in the cloud computing market.
Google alleges that Microsoft has used unfair licensing terms to make it difficult for a large number of customers to use anything other than Azure cloud infrastructure products through its dominant Windows Server and Microsoft Office products.
For example, Microsoft requires customers to pay a premium of up to 400% to continue using Windows Server on other cloud platforms, and no additional fees if they choose Microsoft's own Azure cloud platform. In addition, Microsoft offers late and limited security updates for customers using other cloud platforms.
Microsoft also bundles its collaboration app, Teams, with a cloud platform, limiting user options. Google is urging the European Commission to intervene, claiming regulatory action is needed to end Microsoft's market dominance and restore the balance of competition. (Source: IT House)
After Apple's Vision Pro did not fly the headset industry, Samsung was revealed to have delayed the production and sale of its XR headset by 6 months
On September 25, it was reported that South Korean media ETNews released a blog post on September 23, reporting that in view of the poor sales of Apple's Vision Pro headset, Samsung has decided to postpone the launch of its own XR headset for about 6 months.
Samsung originally planned to start production at the end of this year and go on sale early next year, but now plans have been postponed to the second quarter of next year.
According to sources, an important reason for Samsung's postponement of the launch of the XR headset is that Apple's Vision Pro headset has been cold and has not led to a boom in the AR/VR headset market, so Samsung has taken a wait-and-see attitude and adjusted its production and release plans. (Source: IT House)
WeRide has reached a strategic cooperation with Uber, and the first batch of self-driving cars will be launched on Uber in the U.A.E.
On September 25, 2024, WeRide, the world's leading autonomous driving technology company, and Uber Technologies, Inc., the world's largest mobility and delivery technology company, announced a strategic partnership to jointly promote WeRide's autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform, which will first start operations in the U.A.E..
The cooperation between the two sides will first be officially launched in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the U.A.E., at the end of this year. A batch of WeRide autonomous vehicles will be launched on the Uber app to provide services to consumers. After the cooperation is implemented, local passengers can use the Uber app to get a taxi with a new travel option, that is, choose to take WeRide's self-driving vehicles to complete their journeys. The cooperation between the two parties does not involve the United States and Chinese markets. (Source: Node Finance)
Alimama Tree Sheep: At the end of September, Taobao will be fully connected to WeChat payment
On September 25, it was reported that the 2024 Alimama Double 11 press conference was held today, at which Shu Yang, general manager of Alimama Commercial Operation Center, revealed that Taobao will be fully connected to WeChat payment at the end of September to prepare for the pre-sale stage of this year's Double 11 in October.
According to the on-site introduction, this year's Double 11, Taobao will invest 30 billion consumption coupons and red envelopes. (Source: Bullwhip)
WeChat refutes rumors: Swipe palm payment has no franchise and no agent, don't be misled
On September 25, it was reported that the official WeChat payment smart life recently issued a solemn warning, revealing a new type of fraud.
It is reported that some criminals impersonate the names of "WeChat Pay Palm Joining" and "WeChat Pay Palm Exclusive Agent" to collect agency and franchise fees from the public. In this regard, WeChat Pay made it clear that such behaviors are frauds. (Source: ITBEAR)
Baidu Intelligent Cloud upgraded two major AI infrastructures, and the Wenxin large model was called more than 700 million times per day
On September 25, at the 2024 Baidu Cloud Intelligence Conference, Baidu Intelligent Cloud comprehensively upgraded the two AI infrastructures of Baige AI Heterogeneous Computing Platform 4.0 and Qianfan Large Model Platform 3.0, and upgraded the three AI native application products of Code Assistant, Intelligent Customer Service, and Digital Human to help enterprises use large models faster, better, and more economically.
Shen Dou, executive vice president of Baidu Group and president of Baidu Intelligent Cloud Business Group, said that large models and supporting computing power management platforms, models and application development platforms are rapidly becoming a new infrastructure.
He said, "In 2024, the industrial implementation of large models is accelerating, and at present, the average daily call volume of Wenxin large models on the Qianfan large model platform has exceeded 700 million, and a total of 30,000 large models have been fine-tuned by users, and more than 700,000 enterprise-level applications have been developed. In the past year, the price of Wenxin's flagship large model has been reduced by more than 90%, and the main model is free of charge, which minimizes the cost of enterprise innovation trial and error." (Source: Geek Park)
Catching up with Teng Youmang? iQIYI will launch a micro-short drama theater
On September 25, at the 2024 iQIYI iJOY Autumn Enjoyment Conference, Gong Yu, founder and CEO of iQIYI, announced that iQIYI will launch two theaters: "Micro Theater" and "Short Theater".
According to the on-site demonstration materials, the content of the "Micro Theater" is about 1-5 minutes long, mainly on the vertical screen, and the content types include female frequency, male frequency, silver hair, etc.; The duration of a single episode of "Short Theater" is about 5-20 minutes, horizontal, and the content types include ancient sayings, modern couples, suspense, and others. Both theaters are free for members.
Wang Xiaohui, chief content officer of iQIYI, believes that short dramas have produced the second fusion of long and short videos. "It's still a professional storyteller, but the way storytelling is different. The first fusion was known to be slicing and publicity, but this time everyone really did the fusion in creation." (Source: Shell Finance)
The first report after Musk's takeover came out: Platform X banned more than 5 million accounts in half a year
On September 25, it was reported that the social media giant X platform recently announced the first comprehensive transparency report after Elon · Musk took over, revealing in depth the platform's initiatives and effectiveness in content management. This report provides a new perspective on how X tackles the challenge of bad content and retains advertisers.
According to the report, in the first half of 2024, the number of accounts banned on Platform X surged to nearly 5.3 million, more than doubling from 1.6 million in the same period in 2022. This remarkable move reflects X's commitment to maintaining a healthy environment on the platform. (Source: ITBEAR)
Meta released blockbuster new products: a $299 Quest 3S headset, AR glasses prototype, and a multimodal AI model
On September 25, local time, at Meta Connect, an annual developer conference, Meta announced its latest virtual reality (VR) headset, the Quest 3S, with a starting price of $299. The headset will be available on October 15 and can be used to watch movies and run VR fitness apps and games.
In addition, Meta has released a multimodal large language model and a prototype of AR glasses. Following the announcement, Meta shares moved higher in the short term and hit new all-time highs.
According to reports, the augmented reality (AR) glasses Orion is only a prototype product for the time being and will not be sold to consumers in the short term, but Meta said that as the company continues to work hard, Orion will eventually meet consumers.
Zuckerberg also described Meta's progress in AI, with the company's latest release of LLAMA 3.2, a multimodal AI model that will allow people to interact through speech rather than just written text. (Source: Finance Associated Press)
Meizu launches a new series of brands "STAR"
On September 25th, at the Meizu AI Ecosystem Conference, Meizu replanned its brand matrix, formed a new brand matrix, and officially launched a new product series "STAR".
According to Meizu's plan, "Flyme AIOS" is used as the technical base to create global intelligent ecological products. AI is used to empower "smartphones", "XR smart glasses", and "cars". And the main brand is divided into two, namely: "STAR" and "Meizu".
"STAR" brand is in charge of smart glasses and smart cars; The "Meizu" brand is in charge of familiar AI phones and AI devices. (Source: Whale News)
Apple has been awarded a new patent for a headset that adjusts content based on user focus to relieve pain and other discomfort
Recently, the United States Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO) published a new patent for Apple's Vision Pro (MR) headset. According to the patent, the Vision Pro headset is designed to help users relieve pain and other discomfort using mixed reality technology, which opens up new possibilities for healthcare. (Source: Pacific Technology)
Zuckerberg's fortune exceeded $200 billion, second only to Musk and Bezos
On September 25, it was reported that Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of social media giant Meta, recently became one of only three billionaires in the world worth more than $200 billion (currently about 1.4 trillion yuan), alongside Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Image source: Visual China
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zuckerberg's wealth has grown by a staggering $72.2 billion this year, bringing his total net worth to $200 billion. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has the second-highest wealth growth this year, adding $58 billion, and Musk remains at the top of the list with a net worth of $268 billion, followed by Bezos with a fortune of $216 billion. (Source: IT House)