TECH

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The San Francisco-based fintech firm, which provides banking services to startups and early-stage businesses, has raised $200 million in a Series D funding round at a $5.2 billion valuation, CNBC has learned exclusively. That figure represents a 49% jump from its previous round just 14 months ago, a striking leap at a time when much of the fintech sector remains in a prolonged slump.

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The growing influence of artificial intelligence in digital media has introduced new risks, as demonstrated by the experience of Kathy Hilton, who recently revealed she was misled by an AI generated diet advertisement.

Appearing on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Hilton recounted how she followed a so called "Jell O diet" that she believed had been endorsed by prominent figures including Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama.

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Google is returning to the smart glasses market this autumn, more than a decade after the failure of Google Glass. The new wearable features a camera integrated into the frames and speakers in the arms, allowing users to interact directly with Google’s ChatGPT artificial intelligence. The device is designed to provide a hands-free interface for AI-driven tasks and environment-based interactions.

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The escalating legal battle between Elon Musk and Sam Altman is beginning to peel back the layers of tension that shaped OpenAI, with internal documents and testimony offering a rare look inside one of the world's most influential AI firms.

At the center of the dispute is Musk's claim that OpenAI abandoned its founding nonprofit mission in favor of profit and scale. The company, now backed by Microsoft, denies wrongdoing and argues that Musk was involved in early discussions around its structural shift.

Early courtroom disclosures point to friction dating back years. Private notes and messages suggest disagreements over leadership, control, and the company's long-term direction, with some insiders questioning Musk's influence even as OpenAI was still in its formative stages.

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified on Monday in the ongoing legal battle over the control of OpenAI. Nadella is the third high-profile figure to take the stand in three weeks, following testimony from Elon Musk and OpenAI President Greg Brockman. The lawsuit, initiated by Musk, alleges that the creators of ChatGPT abandoned their original non-profit mission in favor of self-enrichment, a claim that OpenAI's leadership denies.

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OpenAI on Thursday announced GPT-5.5, its newest artificial intelligence model, as the company continues a rapid cadence of releases aimed at expanding what AI systems can accomplish with minimal human direction.

The update arrives just weeks after its previous iteration, signaling how quickly capabilities in the sector are evolving. Company executives described the model as a step toward more intuitive computing, where systems can interpret ambiguous tasks and independently determine next actions.

"What stands out is the model's ability to reason through unclear problems," OpenAI President Greg Brockman said during a media briefing. He added that such improvements hint at a broader shift in how users may interact with software in the future.

OpenAI said GPT-5.5 shows stronger performance in analyzing data, writing and debugging code, conducting online research, and generating documents. The company also emphasized improvements in efficiency, noting the model can deliver higher-quality outputs while using fewer computational resources.

The release comes amid heightened competition across the AI industry, particularly from companies developing models with specialized strengths, including cybersecurity and advanced reasoning. OpenAI acknowledged those developments while stressing its own focus on balancing capability with safety.

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SpaceX and Anthropic announced a partnership on Wednesday that provides the AI startup with access to the "Colossus 1" data center in Memphis, Tennessee. Under the agreement, Anthropic will utilize SpaceX’s massive computing infrastructure to increase capacity for its Claude Pro and Claude Max assistants. The deal is expected to result in higher usage limits for Anthropic’s current subscribers.

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Vast Data announced Wednesday that it has raised $1 billion in a new funding round, tripling its valuation to $30 billion as investor appetite for artificial intelligence infrastructure accelerates.