OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is co-founding Merge Labs, a new brain-computer interface startup aiming to compete directly with Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Valued at around $850 million and seeking $250 million in funding, Merge Labs focuses on less invasive brain implants enhanced with AI to improve human-machine connections beyond medical uses. The project could be funded by OpenAI’s ventures arm and involves Alex Blania, known for biometric ID innovations. The rivalry between Altman and Musk, former OpenAI co-founders turned competitors, extends from AI into brain-computer technology, marking a dramatic chapter in Silicon Valley’s tech battles.
Apple has announced a significant increase in its investment commitment to the United States, raising its total planned spending to $600 billion over the next four years. This announcement, made in collaboration with President Donald Trump, highlights Apple’s dedication to strengthening its American manufacturing and innovation footprint. Originally, Apple had pledged $500 billion earlier this year, but with the new $100 billion boost, the company aims to expand its advanced manufacturing capabilities and supply chain within the US.
A major part of this investment is focused on advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies. Apple plans to open a new state-of-the-art factory in Houston, Texas, dedicated to producing AI servers that power its cutting-edge Apple Intelligence system. The company is also doubling its U.S. Advanced Manufacturing Fund from $5 billion to $10 billion to support skilled manufacturing jobs and innovation. Additionally, Apple is collaborating with key American companies such as Corning, Texas Instruments, and Broadcom to expand domestic production of critical components like glass for iPhones and lasers for facial recognition technology.
This investment also aligns with governmental policies aimed at encouraging domestic manufacturing, particularly in response to potential tariffs on imported semiconductors and other components. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook noted that many parts of their products, including semiconductors and glass, are already made in the US, and the company’s goal is to increase this further. An expansion of research and development activities is included, focusing on silicon engineering and AI.
Apple’s increased commitment is expected to create thousands of high-tech jobs across the country, foster innovation, and solidify its position as one of the largest contributors to U.S. economic growth in the technology sector. The move has been positively received by investors and industry watchers as a strategic step towards reinforcing Apple’s manufacturing base domestically while reinforcing American technological leadership.
The AI world is buzzing with excitement as OpenAI gears up for the imminent release of GPT-5, its most advanced language model yet. After months of speculation, OpenAI has confirmed via social media and a scheduled livestream event on August 7, 2025, that GPT-5 is right around the corner.
What makes GPT-5 stand out? For starters, it’s expected to be a massive leap forward in reasoning, coding, and multimodal capabilities. Unlike previous models, GPT-5 will combine text, image, audio, and soon even video inputs, creating a seamless and more natural user experience. Developers can look forward to a model that can manage far larger contexts—a context window that could handle up to one million tokens—which means it can understand and work with entire books, lengthy research, or massive codebases without losing track.
CEO Sam Altman himself teased that GPT-5’s intelligence is impressive, even surpassing some human problem-solving abilities, describing a moment where GPT-5 answered a tricky question he couldn’t solve. This highlights the model’s advanced multi-step reasoning skills and potential for autonomous task execution.
Alongside enhanced natural language processing, GPT-5 aims to better automate workflows, from debugging code to creating documentation, making it a powerful tool for developers and businesses alike. OpenAI is also releasing lighter versions, such as GPT-5 mini and nano, to cater to different computational needs.
While OpenAI has not officially announced the rollout details beyond the live event, expectations are high for GPT-5 to redefine AI interaction, boosting efficiency, creativity, and problem-solving across diverse sectors.
Thinking of venting to ChatGPT like it’s your therapist? Maybe hold up. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just admitted there’s zero doctor-patient confidentiality with AI right now. On a podcast, he said users — especially young people — often share deep emotional stuff with ChatGPT, but unlike real therapists or doctors, AI chats aren’t legally protected. That means your convo could be used in court if needed. Altman called it “screwed up” and says AI laws badly need to catch up. Until then, maybe don’t spill your heart out to a bot.
