Benjamin Hall, Author at Cactus three

OpenAI Completes Deal That Values the Company at Billion

17

Feb

Science and Technology

OpenAI Completes Deal That Values the Company at $80 Billion

OpenAI has completed a deal that values the San Francisco artificial intelligence company at $80 billion or more, nearly tripling its valuation in less than 10 months, according to three people with knowledge of the deal.The company would sell existing shares in a so-called tender offer led by the venture firm Thrive Capital, the people said. The deal lets employees cash out their shares in the company, rather than a traditional funding round that would raise money for business operations.OpenAI, which declined to comment, is now one of the world’s most valuable tech start-ups, behind ByteDance and SpaceX, according to…

The Great Compression – The New York Times

17

Feb

By Benjamin Hall

Investments and Business

The Great Compression – The New York Times

Robert Lanter lives in a 600-square-foot house that can be traversed in five seconds and vacuumed from a single outlet. He doesn’t have a coffee table in the living room because it would obstruct the front door. When relatives come to visit, Mr. Lanter says jokingly, but only partly, they have to tour one at time.Each of these details amounts to something bigger, for Mr. Lanter’s life and the U.S. housing market: a house under $300,000, something increasingly hard to find. That price allowed Mr. Lanter, a 63-year-old retired nurse, to buy a new single-family home in a subdivision in…

Venezuela Expels U.N. Human Rights Agency

16

Feb

By Benjamin Hall

New miscellaneous

Venezuela Expels U.N. Human Rights Agency

A United Nations agency that monitors and defends human rights was ordered on Thursday to leave Venezuela by the government of President Nicolás Maduro, an extraordinary move that will further strip the country of foreign oversight at a time when its government stands accused of intensifying repression.The announcement by Yván Gil, the foreign minister, comes just days after the detention and disappearance of Rocío San Miguel, a prominent security expert and human rights advocate.Following her detention, several U.N. entities issued online statements expressing concern about the arrest, some calling it part of a pattern in which the government tries to…

16

Feb

By Benjamin Hall

Health

Did You Go Through Fertility Treatment?

As women have begun having babies later in life, the number of patients going through in vitro fertilization treatment has increased significantly.The medical treatment can be life-changing, but it also comes at a price, as some couples go deeply into debt to pay for medical care that health insurance does not always cover. Some research has questioned the effectiveness of newer aspects of fertility treatment, like genetic screenings, and some patients have filed lawsuits claiming that faulty chemicals destroyed their embryos. Private equity companies, seeing the industry’s rapid growth, have been buying up some of the country’s largest fertility clinics.The…

Bay FC sign Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF for world-record fee

16

Feb

By Benjamin Hall

New miscellaneous

Bay FC sign Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF for world-record fee

National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) side Bay FC have signed Zambia forward Racheal Kundananji from Madrid CFF for a world-record fee. A source with knowledge of negotiations, who is granted anonymity to protect relationships, confirmed to The Athletic that the fee for the 23-year-old is €735,000 ($785,000).She has signed a contract until 2027 with the option of a further year. Bay FC general manager, Lucy Rushton, said: “We are delighted to add Racheal to our group. She is a tremendous talent with dynamic attacking qualities and an incredible physical profile who has produced for both club and country. “Racheal has a composure…

The Antitrust Enforcers Aimed at Big Tech. Then Came the Backlash.

16

Feb

By Benjamin Hall

Science and Technology

The Antitrust Enforcers Aimed at Big Tech. Then Came the Backlash.

The South Korean government unleashed a wave of panic across the internet industry: The country’s antitrust regulator said it would enact the toughest competition law outside Europe, curbing the influence of major technology companies.The Korea Fair Trade Commission, with the backing of President Yoon Suk Yeol, said in December that it planned to make a proposal modeled after the 2022 Digital Markets Act, the European Union’s landmark law to rein in American tech giants. This bill also seemed to target South Korea’s own internet conglomerates just as much as the Alphabets, Apples and Metas of the world.The commission said the…