Microsoft’s Advocacy for OpenAI’s Nonprofit Model Amidst Talent Recruitment
In a recent panel discussion at the Paris Peace Forum, Microsoft President Brad Smith passionately defended OpenAI’s nonprofit structure, just ten days before announcing a major recruitment move. Smith highlighted the significance of OpenAI’s unique nonprofit ownership in contrast to Meta’s shareholder-driven model. This emphasis on OpenAI’s ethical foundation underscores Microsoft’s commitment to supporting innovative, mission-driven organizations.
The Strategic Timing of Microsoft’s Recruitment and Advocacy
Smith’s remarks at the forum illustrate Microsoft’s strategic approach to both promoting OpenAI’s nonprofit model and expanding its own talent pool. By spotlighting OpenAI’s dedication to its nonprofit mission, Microsoft not only reinforces the value of ethical AI development but also positions itself as a leading advocate for responsible technology. This dual focus on ethical principles and talent acquisition reflects a broader trend of aligning corporate values with strategic growth initiatives.
Volta Trucks, the Swedish-based startup that developed a bespoke all-electric urban truck, has filed for bankruptcy in its home country, citing the significant impact caused by the recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy of its battery supplier, US-based Proterra.
Volta revealed its first model, the 16-tonne Zero, back in 2020 and said that production would begin in the United Kingdom two years later with an initial target of 500 units annually and a ramp-up to 5,000 units by 2025.
The second-generation “Production Verification” prototypes went into production at contract manufacturer Steyr Automotive’s plant in Austria in 2022, and earlier this year, Volta showed one of its later “Design Verification” prototypes in the US for the first time during the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Anaheim, California.
The plan was to sell no fewer than three versions of the electric truck here, including Class-5, Class-6, and Class-7 medium-duty rigs, with the last two versions being based on their European 16-tonne counterpart. These could be ordered with either an ambient or refrigerated cargo box and could travel between 95-125 miles on a full charge depending on the battery setup.
A pilot fleet of 26,000-pound Class-6 and Class-7 trucks was supposed to go into operation toward the end of this year, with US-spec production units scheduled to follow next year, while the smaller, 19,500 lbs Class-5 model was expected to reach US shores in 2026.
The Volta Zero uses an e-Axle that embodies the electric motor, transmission, and axle in a single unit supplied by Michigan-based Accelera, which is a division of Cummins, and the chassis-mounted high-voltage batteries were sourced from California-based Proterra, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August citing “various market and macroeconomic headwinds” that impacted its ability to scale efficiently.
Volta also pitched the so-called Truck as a Service (TaaS) proposition, which effectively meant that the vehicles would not be owned by its users but rather operated for a monthly fee that includes all the servicing, maintenance, finance, insurance, and training requirements. In other words, a subscription service for trucks.
With sliding doors on both sides of the cab, a wraparound windshield, and a central driving position, the Volta Zero was touted as having very good visibility, while the sliding doors allowed the driver to get out on the sidewalk without potentially hitting cyclists or pedestrians.
More than 100 people gathered Wednesday to celebrate businesses and individuals the community voted ‘Best of the Best’ in dozens of categories.
LocaliQ and The Times Herald held the third Best of the Blue Water Area Awards Gala on Wednesday evening at the Blue Water Convention Center, located at 800 Harker St. The community was given the opportunity to nominate their favorite businesses in 108 categories for the award ceremony. Each category saw two finalists and one winner. LocaliQ Regional Director of Sales Lori Gougeon said the gala aims to recognize all of the finalists and celebrate the winners.
“The annual Community Choice Awards are 100% reader driven and this year there were over 67,000 votes cast by over 4,000 readers,” she said.
The winners will be announced in a special section in the Sunday edition of The Times Herald. They will also be posted online on Monday at https://thetimesherald.gannettcontests.com/2023-Best-of-the-Best-Greater-Blue-Water-Winners/.
Gougeon said the gala is an exciting event that gives the community a voice in recognizing local businesses. She said a total of 324 businesses are recognized across the 108 categories. She said the awards make a proud moment for local businesses.
“It scales across multiple categories and shines a spotlight on local business in our area,” she said. “It carries with it a lot of excitement from both consumers and the businesses that are recognized for their importance to our community and the consumers that help to stand up these businesses each day.”
Jonathon and Jessica Anderson were at the gala because their business, Sarenity Tattoo, was nominated for Best Tattoo Shop. They said they were nominated at the 2021 gala and won in their category. However, this was their first time attending a gala because the 2021 ceremony was virtual due to COVID-19.
“It’s nice to dress up and get out,” Jessica Anderson said.
Nora Arnold, Kathy Baker and Lisa Beedon were representing Sanborn Gratiot Memorial Home. Arnold said it was something new and exciting that she has not done before. All three agreed the gala is a great way for the community to get together.
“It’s great for our staff to get recognition in this way,” Beedon said. “I believe they work very hard, so to be recognized by the community and Best of the Blue Water Area has made a huge, positive impact on the employees.”
Brandon Clarkson and Mike Cataldo represented St. Clair Chrysler, which was nominated for Best New Car Dealership, Best Used Car Dealership and Best Service Department. Clarkson was also nominated for Best Salesman.
“This is an awesome event,” Clarkson said. “It’s my first time being here, and first time being nominated, so it’s an honor.”
Cataldo said it was the second time he has been to the gala. He won in the Best Service Department category last year and he said he was hoping to win again this year.
“I’m having a blast,” he said.
John Mowinski was supporting two salespeople from Moran Chevrolet. He said the gala allows the community to give back and recognizes local businesses. He said it’s nice to see the community show its immense support.
1. Very confusing day. Quarterly releases from Tesla (TSLA) and Netflix (NFLX) were both very good but the market is overbought. Megacaps stumble. Just a breather. Getting defensive and giving the Dow a chance to shine. The 30-stock average on Wednesday completed an eight-session winning streak for the first time since September 2019. However, the Dow’s year-to-date gains still lag way behind the S&P 500 and the star of 2023, the Nasdaq.
2. Tesla shares down nearly 4%. Wall Street nitpicking on margins. Production is fabulous. Best selling car in Europe. More aggressive ramp for Cybertruck. Ready to roll with full self-driving. Cars won’t depreciate. Tesla will have to use Club name Nvidia (NVDA) tech because more computing power is needed. Can’t believe Musk has so much free cash flow despite all of that. Long-term Tesla shareholders must hold on. Short termers will take profits.
3.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) is NOT a reflection on Nvidia even as everyone thinks so. I say that because the weakness at TSMC is because of lower-end Chinese CPUs, not the high-end GPUs that Nvidia is known for. China’s weakness is the issue with Taiwan Semi, and it is surprising.
4. Elon Musk says Nvidia has all the GPUs that everyone needs. I know it will be tough to believe in AI after the TSMC chief’s “frenzy” comment and how it is not sustainable. It’s pretty easy to see that the demand is picking up but not as fast as CPUs are falling down.
5. Netflix shares down more than 5%. The video streaming giant has not worked out ad tier yet but an ad subscriber is worth much more than a usual sub. Revenue per user is that great. Advertisers love it., Can handle the Hollywood strike better than others. Bears fixated on how is it possible that there isn’t more growth in U.S., but everyone has it who wants it and now the question is will they pay more. Netflix can raise the price and it will drive people to ad tier, which is perfect for them. Long-termers will hold it. Short-termer will sell it.
6.IBM (IBM) tells a good story as always, but I think that its hybrid strategy goes only so far. Much better to own Oracle (ORCL). IBM still not growing but growing faster than it was. The stock down modestly.
7. Club name Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reports better-than-expected quarterly earnings-per-share (EPS) and revenue. Boosts full-year guidance on adjusted EPS to $10.70 to $10.80 and revenue to $99.3 billion to $100.3 billion. Is it that talc litigation is what really matters? J&J has been ordered to pay $18.8 million in a California case. Does that put the company’s $8.9 billion settlement offer in jeopardy?
8. Mizuho raises price target on Club holding Salesforce (CRM) to $260 per share from $250. Keeps buy rating. Cites rollout to most CRM customers new GPT artificial intelligence capabilities. We wrote about it Wednesday in story that also looked at what Club names Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) are doing.
9. Kenvue (KVUE), formerly Johnson and Johnson’s consumer health division, beat estimates in its first quarterly report since its IPO in May. J&J still owns a largo part of Kenvue.
10.American Airlines (AAL) beat on quarter EPS and revenue. Boosts outlook. United Airlines (UAL) beat on both top and bottom lines in the second quarter. Forecasts strong Q3.
