DeepMind's newest AI system has found ways to speed up calculations that stumped mathematicians since 1969. The tool is already saving money in Google's data centers - and might reshape how we write computer code. Its first real-world results point to an unexpected shift in algorithm design.
OpenAI just added a specialized coding model to ChatGPT, but that's not the whole story. The company also opened up about its safety testing - a move that could reshape how AI firms handle transparency. Here's what changed and why it matters.
OpenAI just pulled a dramatic U-turn. The AI powerhouse scrapped its plan to hand control to investors. Instead, it's keeping the nonprofit in charge - with a twist. They'll run the for-profit arm as a public benefit corp. 🎯
Elon Musk's lawyer isn't buying it. "A transparent dodge," snapped Marc Toberoff. He claims it's just another way for Sam Altman and friends to cash in on charitable assets. 💰
The move follows Musk's failed $97.4 billion takeover bid and mounting pressure from critics. OpenAI calls this new setup a win for charity. Musk's team calls it betrayal. 🎭
Stay curious,
Marcus Schuler
Musk's Attorney Dismisses OpenAI's Corporate Shakeup as a 'Dodge'
OpenAI will stay under nonprofit control after abandoning plans to shift power to its investors. The company announced Monday it's restructuring its for-profit arm as a public benefit corporation while keeping the nonprofit in charge - a significant pivot from its earlier strategy.
Elon Musk's attorney blasted the move. "This changes nothing," said Marc Toberoff, Musk's lead counsel. He called it a "transparent dodge" that still lets private investors and CEO Sam Altman profit from charitable assets.
The decision follows pressure from multiple fronts. Critics included academics, former employees, and Musk himself - who previously tried to block the restructuring in court and made a failed $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI's nonprofit assets.
OpenAI says the new setup will make it "one of the largest and best-capitalized charities in the world." But Musk's camp remains unconvinced. Toberoff's stark assessment? "The founding mission remains betrayed."
Why this matters:
OpenAI's retreat shows even tech's most powerful players can't ignore mounting concerns about AI oversight and control
The drama exposes a key tension in AI development: Should companies prioritize rapid innovation or careful oversight? This restructuring suggests you might need both
Prompt: A dreamlike avant-garde portrait of an albino woman with porcelain skin and pale platinum hair styled in soft, gravity-defying waves. Her eyes, a pale icy blue, gaze forward with an ethereal calm. She wears a sculptural neckpiece made of layered mauve orchid petals and translucent pink foliage, giving the impression of a living collar blooming from her shoulders. Iridescent insects—turquoise jewel beetles, violet damselflies, and soft magenta butterflies—rest delicately along her cheekbones and temples, as if naturally drawn to her stillness. Her lips shimmer with a soft mauve gloss, and subtle holographic pigments accent her cheekbones and eyelids. Her avant-garde gown is composed of flowing, semi-transparent fabric that shifts colors with the light—mauve, pink, and turquoise gliding over each fold like liquid silk. The background is a fluid gradient of deep purple and soft pink mist, with hints of glowing turquoise, creating a soft vignette around her figure. The grainy texture and diffused lighting give the image a retro-futuristic, surreal atmosphere.
OpenAI to Buy Coding Assistant Windsurf for $3 Billion
OpenAI plans to buy AI coding assistant Windsurf for $3 billion, marking its biggest acquisition yet. The deal would boost OpenAI's position in the growing market for AI-powered programming tools.
Windsurf, which helps developers write and review code more efficiently, recently sought funding at the same valuation. The company, formerly called Codeium, built its reputation on features like real-time collaboration and enterprise-grade codebase management.
The move puts pressure on rivals like Microsoft's GitHub Copilot and Anthropic's Claude. It also follows OpenAI's recent $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, which valued the company at $300 billion.
The deal isn't final yet. Both companies declined to comment on the potential transaction, which leaked just as OpenAI announced it would keep its nonprofit structure rather than reorganize as a conventional business.
Why this matters:
The acquisition shows AI companies are willing to pay big money for specialized tools - Windsurf's $3 billion price tag matches what investors thought it was worth
OpenAI clearly wants to own more of the AI development stack, not just provide the underlying technology
Meta's new AI assistant has shot to #2 on iPhone downloads. But its impressive climb comes with a privacy catch: it remembers everything you tell it, scans your social media history, and keeps detailed notes about your life.
The AI connects to your Facebook and Instagram accounts, giving it instant access to years of personal data. It stores every conversation and builds detailed profiles about users, including a "Memory file" tracking interests and personal details.
During testing, the AI logged sensitive conversations about fertility treatments, divorces, and tax matters. These details get stored in its memory banks - likely for future advertising use.
Meta made deleting this data deliberately hard. You must remove both the memory entry and find the original conversation. Miss either piece, and your information stays put.
The company plans to monetize these personal chats through ads. "The disclosures and consumer choices around privacy settings are laughably bad," says Ben Winters from the Consumer Federation of America.
Why this matters:
Meta's move signals a darker turn for AI privacy - it's not just collecting data anymore, it's remembering your secrets
While other AI companies offer privacy controls, Meta built invasion into its core design, treating personal information as raw material to exploit
Microsoft killed Skype today after 21 years of pixelated faces and "Can you hear me?" moments. The service that once boasted 300 million users stumbled during the pandemic, when users fled to Zoom and other rivals that actually worked during important calls.
Apple Takes Epic Battle to Appeals Court
Apple sprinted to the Ninth Circuit after a judge accused its VP of lying under oath and slapped the company for blocking App Store alternatives. The tech giant hopes to dodge last week's ruling that would stop it from cashing in on outside purchases - but with a federal prosecutor now sniffing around, Apple's legal headaches just got a lot more epic.
AI Startup Recraft Grabs $30M After Beating OpenAI at Its Own Game
A quiet AI startup called Recraft just snagged $30 million after its image generator outperformed industry titans DALL-E and Midjourney on a key benchmark test. Founded by a mathematician-turned-model-turned-CEO, the company has already racked up 4 million users and $5 million in revenue by solving a surprisingly basic problem: helping brands put their logos exactly where they want them.
Maritime AI Startup Sails Away With $72.5M
Orca AI just grabbed $72.5 million to help ships drive themselves, with an unexpected boost from military contracts and Starlink's internet coverage. The London-based startup has made waves with its AI navigation system that's already saved ships $100,000 per year in fuel costs - though perhaps the real savings come from not crashing into things in the first place.
Nvidia's Free AI Can Transcribe an Hour of Audio in One Second
Nvidia just released a free AI model that transcribes speech faster than you can say "disruptive technology." Their new Parakeet model tackles an hour of audio in a single second, hitting accuracy levels that make commercial alternatives sweat - and yes, they're giving it away for free.
Money Machine: Palantir Rides AI Wave to Record Numbers
Palantir's AI software is selling like hotcakes made of gold. The company just reported an eye-popping $884 million in quarterly revenue, prompting them to jack up their 2025 forecast to $3.9 billion – apparently, even they didn't see this coming.
Shein and Temu Chase European Shoppers as US Goes Pricey
Shein and Temu are abandoning their American shopping spree for a European vacation, cranking up ad spending in the UK and France by up to 40% after Trump's new tariffs crushed their $12 dress dreams. The fast-fashion juggernauts, famous for selling clothes cheaper than a sandwich, must now convince Europeans to swipe right on their apps.
🚀 AI Profiles: The Companies Defining Tomorrow
Windsurf (formerly Codeium) puts AI in the driver's seat of software development, creating the first truly "agentic" IDE where AI and humans code together in real time. The startup's meteoric rise caught OpenAI's attention, triggering a $3B acquisition deal that validates its disruptive approach to programming.
FOUNDERS 👨💻👨💻
MIT grads Varun Mohan and Douglas Chen launched in 2021 as Exafunction, pivoting to AI coding in 2022
Team blends academic AI chops with industry experience—Mohan from self-driving startup Nuro, Chen from Meta's Oculus
HQ in Mountain View, California with nearly 200 employees today
Mission: reduce programming drudgery, help devs "dream bigger"
PRODUCT 💻
Windsurf Editor: first "agentic" IDE built from ground up with AI at its center
Cascade AI engine analyzes entire codebases—tens of millions of lines—for context-aware suggestions
Refactors across multiple files, runs tests, debugs autonomously while keeping humans in control
Supports 70+ programming languages with natural language search and inline documentation
Enterprise-friendly: on-premises deployment keeps sensitive code on company servers
COMPETITION 🥊
Battles GitHub Copilot (Microsoft's 1.8M-user juggernaut) by offering full-IDE experience vs. just a plugin
Cursor (Anysphere) rejected acquisition offers, reportedly raising at $10B valuation
Differentiated through enterprise compatibility, self-hosting options, and privacy focus
Magic, Poolside, Amazon CodeWhisperer, and Google all fighting for dev mindshare
FINANCING 💰
Total funding: $243M across seed, Series A ($25M), Series B ($65M), and Series C ($150M)
Unicorn status achieved in under two years, hitting $1.25B valuation by August 2024
Backers include General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins, Greenoaks Capital, and Founders Fund
$40M annual recurring revenue by early 2025
OpenAI's $3B acquisition bid came as Windsurf explored another funding round
THE FUTURE ⭐⭐⭐⭐
OpenAI's takeover creates both opportunity and complexity. The deal should supercharge Windsurf by pairing its intuitive interface with OpenAI's advanced models—crucial as competition in the coding AI space intensifies. But questions loom about the product's independence and relationship with Microsoft's GitHub Copilot. For now, Windsurf's innovative approach to human-AI collaboration keeps it sailing with favorable winds. 🌊
