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OpenAI reaches new agreement with Microsoft to change its corporate structure

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OpenAI reaches new agreement with Microsoft to change its corporate structure


Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

OpenAI has reached a new tentative agreement with Microsoft and said its nonprofit, which technically controls its business, will now be given a $100 billion equity stake in its for-profit corporation.

The maker of ChatGPT said it had reached a new nonbinding with Microsoft, its longtime partner, “for the next phase of our partnership.”

The announcements on Thursday include a few details about these new arrangements. OpenAI’s proposed changes to its corporate structure have drawn the scrutiny of regulators, competitors and advocates concerned about the impacts of artificial intelligence.

OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit in 2015 and its nonprofit board has continued to control the for-profit subsidiary that now develops and sells its AI products. It’s not clear whether the $100 billion the nonprofit will get as part of this announcement represents a controlling stake in the business.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said last week that his office was investigating OpenAI’s proposed restructuring of its finances and governance. His office said they could not comment on the new announcements but said they are “committed to protecting charitable assets for their intended purpose.”

Bonta and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings also sent the company a letter expressing concerns about the safety of ChatGPT after meeting with OpenAI’s legal team earlier last week in Delaware, where OpenAI is incorporated.

“Together, we are particularly concerned with ensuring that the stated safety mission of OpenAI as a non-profit remains front and center,” Bonta said in a statement last week.

Microsoft invested its first $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019 and the two companies later formed an agreement that made Microsoft the exclusive provider of the computing power needed to build OpenAI’s technology. In turn, Microsoft heavily used the technology behind ChatGPT to enhance its own AI products.

The two companies announced on Jan. 21 that they were altering that agreement, enabling the smaller company to build its own computing capacity, “primarily for research and training of models.” That coincided with OpenAI’s announcements of a partnership with Oracle to build a massive new data center in Abilene, Texas.

But other parts of its agreements with Microsoft remained up in the air as the two companies appeared to veer further apart. Their Thursday joint statement said they were still “actively working to finalize contractual terms in a definitive agreement.” Both companies declined further comment.

OpenAI had given its nonprofit board of directors—whose members now include a former U.S. Treasury secretary—the responsibility of deciding when its AI systems have reached the point at which they “outperform humans at most economically valuable work,” a concept known as artificial general intelligence, or AGI.

Such an achievement, per its earlier agreements, would cut off Microsoft from the rights to commercialize such a system, since the terms “only apply to pre-AGI technology.”

OpenAI’s corporate structure and nonprofit mission are also the subject of a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk, who helped found the nonprofit research lab and provided initial funding. Musk’s suit seeks to stop OpenAI from taking control of the company away from its nonprofit and alleges it has betrayed its promise to develop AI for the benefit of humanity.

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Rainfall Buries a Mega-Airport in Mexico

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Rainfall Buries a Mega-Airport in Mexico


The story of the park begins in 2014, when Enrique Peña Nieto, the president of Mexico at the time, announced plans for a new transport hub for Mexico City. It would be built on the largely dry bed of Lake Texcoco, the body of water that had once surrounded Mexico City’s ancient ancestor, Tenochtitlán, the center of the Aztec empire. The marketing promise was that NAICM would be one of the greenest airports in the world. The terminal, designed by Norman Foster—winner of the Pritzker Prize in 1999 and the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts in 2009—was going to be the first to obtain LEED platinum certification, the highest international recognition for energy efficiency and sustainable design.

Its site, Lake Texcoco, had already lost more than 95 percent of its original surface area, and in 2015 plans were made to drain it completely to build the airport. However, when Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office as Mexico’s president in 2018, he canceled the plan. It would end up costing more than $13 billion and would leave behind serious environmental damage: The incomplete project destroyed a key refuge for migratory birds; carved up mountains in the State of Mexico (the federal region that surrounds Mexico City); razed agricultural land; and altered the landscape of the cultural capital of the Nahua, an indigenous people that includes the Mexica (or Aztecs).

Echeverría, who says he has been obsessed with the area for nearly three decades, was appointed by the new government to restore the local ecosystem. “It felt like I was stepping onto Mars,” says the architect, reflecting on being placed at the helm of the project. The park covers an area equivalent to 21 times the area of Mexico City’s enormous Bosque de Chapultepec park. Echeverría offers his own comparisons: “This place is three times the size of the city of Oaxaca and, as a reference for those outside Mexico, it’s roughly three times the size of Manhattan.”

The restoration project wasn’t a mere whim of Mexico’s new president, but the culmination of a century of visions and plans. “We’ve been skating around this for 75 years,” Echeverría says, citing restoration projects that were proposed as early as 1913, including ones by Miguel Ángel de Quevedo (a celebrated early environmentalist) in the 1930s and agronomist Gonzalo Blanco Macías in the 1950s. What was missing, Echeverría says, “wasn’t a lack of ideas, but of political will.”



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Top NordVPN Coupons: 77% Off, Plus 3 Months Free

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Top NordVPN Coupons: 77% Off, Plus 3 Months Free


Whether you’re worried about the open network at your local coffee shop or want to get around geo-restrictions when you’re traveling, NordVPN can help. A virtual private network (VPN) is like a protective tunnel, keeping your data safe from prying eyes. VPNs aren’t perfect protection (you need to trust your VPN provider), but they’re always going to be better than nothing when you’re using a public hotspot. They also make it easy to continue to watch your favorite shows even when you’re on vacation. If you want to learn more about how to protect yourself online, see our guide to The Best VPNs.

Get 77% Off Plans With Exclusive NordVPN Discount Code

NordVPN is pretty much always having a sale, but some of the deals are better than others and this is one of the best we’ve seen. Right now, NordVPN is offering 77% off its regular price, plus an Amazon gift card valued up to $50 when you sign up for a 2-year Prime plan. It’s valid for the first 15 months of the subscription, with threat protection, high-speed VPN, and more. Follow the link above and use our exclusive coupon code at checkout to get the deal.

Save More With a NordVPN Subscription Plan

The two-year Plus plan is the most popular, and our recommendation. For a limited time, their more comprehensive Prime 2-year subscriptions qualify for up to 77% off, and you’ll receive 3 free months with select 2-year plans, starting with the Plus option.

NordVPN offers different plans for different needs, including one-year and one-month plans. Plans’ pricing varies greatly, with short-term, one-month plans starting at $13. The plans get cheaper the longer you commit to a plan, to reward loyal VPN customers. One-year plans start at $5 and go to $10, depending on which package you choose. Two-year plans are even cheaper, starting at $3 and going up to $7 for the top-tier plans with all of the bells and whistles. It makes a lot more sense to invest in a longer protection plan to keep your information and devices safe, for less.

Score a NordVPN Discount Code for 15% Off

The coupons aren’t the only deals to be had. You can wait for a sale (see above) or if you qualify, there are discounts for students, graduates, teachers, healthcare, military, and first responders. Once verified with Student Beans, you can unlock a NordVPN promo code for 15% off plans.

NordVPN Friend Referral Discount

If you like NordVPN, you can save yourself even more with the refer-a-friend promotion. You’ll receive 3 months free for every friend who buys NordVPN through your referral link. The more friends you refer, the more rewards you’ll earn. Your friends will get the same deal you did, 3 extra months if they choose the 1- or 2-year plans or 1 free month if they opt for the monthly plan.

Get the latest NordVPN Plans in 2025

NordVPN has four tiers of plans fit for every type of need. Each gets you a secure VPN, but with each level you’ll get even more perks, like an ad tracker and blocker and 1 TB of Cloud storage. Right now, you can get up to 77% off each plan, including three months free. Check out which plan (and price) is the best fit for you here.



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US Ralph Lauren partners with Microsoft for AI shopping experience

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US Ralph Lauren partners with Microsoft for AI shopping experience



Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) today introduced Ask Ralph, a new AI-powered conversational shopping experience that invites consumers to engage with, and be inspired by, Ralph Lauren’s unique and iconic take on style. Blending advanced AI technology with Ralph Lauren’s timeless brand, Ask Ralph provides styling inspiration by serving up multiple, shoppable visual laydowns of complete outfits, personalized to a user’s prompts, from across available inventory within the Men’s and Women’s Polo Ralph Lauren brand. Ask Ralph begins rolling out today to Ralph Lauren app users in the United States.

Continuing a decades-long partnership, Ask Ralph was developed with Microsoft on its Azure OpenAI platform and uses advanced conversational AI technology and natural language processing to understand open-ended prompts, interpret context and provide tailored recommendations to closely mimic the experience of speaking with an in-store stylist.

Ralph Lauren has launched Ask Ralph, an AI-powered conversational shopping tool built with Microsoft on Azure OpenAI.
The feature offers personalised, shoppable Polo Ralph Lauren outfits in response to user prompts, simulating an in-store stylist experience.
Available first to US app users, it provides styling inspiration and tailored recommendations to enhance discovery and brand engagement.

“Twenty-five years ago, we partnered with Microsoft to launch one of the fashion industry’s first e-commerce platforms, and today, we are once again redefining the shopping experience for the next generation,” said David Lauren, Chief Branding and Innovation Officer, Ralph Lauren Corporation. “Whether getting ready for a first day of a new job, or creating the perfect look for a night out, Ask Ralph is about more than just discovery – it is about engaging consumers with what they love most about Ralph Lauren: our iconic, unique take on style, providing timeless head-to-toe looks that inspire them to step into our world.”

Shoppers can interact with Ask Ralph just as they would with a stylist in a Ralph Lauren store, through simple, conversational prompts. From “What should I wear to a concert?” to “Show me some women’s Polo Bear sweaters,” or styling queries like, “How can I style my navy-blue men’s blazer?” Ask Ralph responds, surfacing visually laid out, complete Polo Ralph Lauren looks with styling tips, integrating content from across Ralph Lauren’s digital channels. Users can ask clarifying questions and refine the recommendations to align with their own sense of style. Ask Ralph makes it easy to add individual elements of a look to shopping carts or purchase the head-to-toe recommendation.

“AI is transforming the way consumers get inspired, educated and purchase from fashion brands around the world,” said Shelley Bransten, Corporate Vice President of Global Industry Solutions, Microsoft. “We’re proud to bring the combination of our trusted generative AI capabilities through Azure OpenAI together with Ralph Lauren’s iconic brand to pave the way for an entirely new conversational commerce experience.”

Informed by how users initially use and engage with Ask Ralph, the tool will continue to develop, including releasing new features and increased personalized experiences, expanding to additional Ralph Lauren brands and launching across more platforms in markets around the world.

Ask Ralph is the latest milestone in Ralph Lauren’s rich history of innovation and in leading the industry in creating immersive and cinematic retail experiences that transport consumers into the World of Ralph Lauren. Twenty-five years ago, the Company was one of the first luxury brands to pioneer e-commerce, setting a new industry standard. Always pushing boundaries to surprise, delight and inspire consumers, the Company has long experimented with cutting-edge ideas that were years ahead of their time – from interactive and virtual shopping technology to holograms, 4D projections and CGI animations.

The Company also continues to invest in AI and other technologies to enhance the consumer experience, like more personalized marketing and engaging digital experiences, as well as to optimize its operations, including predictive inventory management and product demand forecasting.

Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RM)



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