xAI co-founder Igor Babuschkin just announced he is leaving the Elon Musk-backed startup to launch Babuschkin Ventures, a venture firm focused on AI safety research. Babuschkin previously led engineering at xAI after stints at DeepMind and OpenAI. His exit follows a turbulent stretch of Grok-related controversies over erratic answers and deepfakes.
Sam Altman and OpenAI are reportedly backing Merge Labs, a new startup developing brain implants to directly rival Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Altman has openly explored the idea of human-machine "merges" since 2017, framing it as a best-case future. Now, his high-profile rivalry with Musk is officially heading straight into the brain.
Sam Altman just shared new ChatGPT updates, introducing Auto, Fast, and Thinking speed controls for GPT-5. Paid users also get GPT-4o back by default, alongside a weekly limit of 3,000 messages on Thinking mode (196k context) and a toggle for legacy models like o3.
OpenAI just sent a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom urging the state to harmonize local AI rules with national and global standards. The company argues that a fragmented patchwork of state regulations could stifle innovation and crush early-stage startups, proposing that compliance with federal frameworks like CAISI or the EU AI Code of Practice should automatically satisfy state requirements.
OpenAI just announced that its reasoning system scored at a gold medal level in the 2025 International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) online contest. The model finished #1 among all AI participants and ranked 6th overall against top human coders, continuing a run that recently saw IMO gold-level scores and an AtCoder podium.
OpenAI just significantly increased reasoning rate limits for ChatGPT Plus subscribers, noting that caps across all model classes will soon exceed pre-GPT-5 levels. The team is also rolling out a UI update to clearly show which model is answering each query. The adjustments follow a bumpy GPT-5 rollout plagued by model autoswitcher issues.
OpenAI just restored GPT-4o as an option for paid ChatGPT Plus subscribers, only a day after replacing it with GPT-5. The abrupt switch and removal of the model picker sparked widespread complaints from users who missed 4o's warmer tone or had built specific workflows around it. CEO Sam Altman said the team will monitor usage to decide how long legacy models stick around.
Apple just confirmed that ChatGPT integration in Apple Intelligence will upgrade to OpenAI's newly announced GPT-5 model. The change is set to roll out next month alongside iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26, replacing the current GPT-4o backend.
Microsoft just integrated OpenAI’s new GPT-5 across consumer, developer, and enterprise platforms, upgrading Microsoft Copilot, GitHub Copilot, and Azure AI Foundry. The models bring sharper reasoning and stronger coding performance handled through an automatic real-time router, and free users can try it right away in Copilot's new Smart mode.
OpenAI just launched GPT-5 on its API platform, designed specifically for heavy coding and autonomous agent tasks. It sets fresh benchmark records including 74.9% on SWE-bench Verified while slashing tool errors, introduces plaintext tool calling, and arrives in three distinct sizes to balance cost and speed.
OpenAI just released GPT-5, combining fast responses and deep reasoning through a real-time router that cuts hallucinations by up to 80%. It is rolling out to all ChatGPT users, with extended reasoning reserved for Pro subscribers.
OpenAI just teased a Thursday livestream with a not-so-subtle hint: replacing the 's' in livestream with a '5'. CEO Sam Altman had already posted a screenshot showing 'ChatGPT 5', and OpenAI's applied research lead teased its public debut. Why it matters: After months of anticipation, the next-gen flagship model looks finally ready to drop.
Microsoft just introduced CLIO, a runtime optimization framework that enables base LLMs to self-adapt their reasoning without reinforcement learning post-training. On Humanity's Last Exam biology and medicine questions, it pushed GPT-4.1's accuracy from 8.55% to 22.37%, outperforming OpenAI's o3. Why it matters: scientists get real control knobs to flag uncertainty and correct thought paths mid-stream.
OpenAI just partnered with the U.S. General Services Administration to offer ChatGPT Enterprise to the entire federal executive workforce for just $1 per agency for the next year. Participating agencies also get 60 days of unlimited access to features like Deep Research, with enterprise-grade data privacy that excludes government inputs from model training.
Microsoft just rolled out GPU-optimized variants of OpenAI's gpt-oss-20B model for Windows devices, enabling local reasoning on the edge. Windows developers can fire it up in minutes using Foundry Local or the AI Toolkit for VS Code to test prompts and hook it directly into local workflows.
OpenAI just released gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b, its new open-weight reasoning models under the Apache 2.0 license. Both support full chain-of-thought and tool use, with the 20b model running locally on just 16 GB of memory. Why it matters: developers can now run top-tier reasoning systems entirely on their own consumer hardware.
Apple is quietly working on a "ChatGPT-like search experience" to generate instant answers from the web, according to Bloomberg. Spearheaded by its internal AKI team, the answer engine could eventually power Siri, Safari, and Spotlight, or even launch as a standalone app. Why it matters: With its massive Google search deal facing antitrust pressure, Apple is preparing to take search into its own hands.
OpenAI just shifted its core metrics for ChatGPT, moving away from screentime and clicks toward whether users actually solved their problems and moved on. The chatbot is rolling out gentle break reminders for long sessions, adding safeguards against emotional dependency with input from over 90 physicians, and refusing to make high-stakes life decisions for you.
Anthropic just partially blocked OpenAI's developer API access to Claude, accusing its rival's engineers of misusing the Claude Code tool ahead of the GPT-5 launch. Anthropic stated its terms strictly forbid reverse-engineering or training competing models, though benchmark access remains open. OpenAI called the cutoff disappointing, arguing that comparative safety evaluations are standard practice across the industry.
Apple CEO Tim Cook just confirmed the company is "open" to M&A deals as it significantly ramps up AI spending and reallocates internal talent. While Apple Intelligence and an upgraded Siri face delays, reports suggest Apple may tap outside giants or pursue acquisitions like Perplexity to catch up.
