Tech5: OpenAI valued at $157 billion in new funding; Samsung to lay off thousands; Microsoft ends HoloLens 2
Forbes India's daily tech news bulletin with five headlines that caught our attention
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI
Image: Reuters/Carlos Barri
OpenAI raises $6.6 billion at a valuation of $157 billion
OpenAI has secured $6.6 billion in new funding, elevating its valuation to $157 billion and enhancing its efforts in generative AI technology, the company said in a statement on October 2. The funding round was led by Thrive Capital, which had committed to investing $1.2 billion, with the option of investing another $1 billion next year, according to Reuters.Other big contributions came from Microsoft, which is said to have reported a little less than $1 billion, according to reports citing the Wall Street Journal, and SoftBank, which has invested $500 million.
Additional notable investors included Khosla Ventures, Fidelity Management, Tiger Global Management, Ark Investment Management and Nvidia. Reuters reports that the company is on track to generate $3.6 billion in revenue this year while losses rise to over $5 billion. OpenAI is projecting revenue of $11.6 billion next year.
Samsung laying off thousands across India, Southeast Asia, ANZ: Reports
Samsung Electronics is firing staff in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a broader reduction in its global workforce by thousands, Bloomberg reported on September 1. Reuters had reported exclusively three weeks ago that Samsung had instructed its subsidiaries around the world to cut sales and marketing positions by 15 percent and admin staff by 30 percent.The South Korean tech giant had 267,800 employees at the end of 2023, and 147,000 were based overseas, according to its latest sustainability report, Reuters noted on September 11. Manufacturing and development accounted for most of them, sales and marketing staff was around 25,100, and 27,800 people worked in other areas.
