OpenAI Valuation Soars to $500 Billion

 OpenAI has completed a deal to help employees sell shares in the company at a $500 billion valuation, propelling the ChatGPT owner past Elon Musk’s SpaceX to become the world’s largest startup.

Current and former OpenAI employees sold about $6.6 billion of stock to investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank Group Corp., Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi’s MGX and T. Rowe Price, a person familiar with the transaction said. That boosted the US company’s price tag well past its previous $300 billion level during a SoftBank-led financing round earlier this year.

That rapid rise underscores the investment frenzy surrounding the leaders of a technology with the potential to transform industries and economies. Sam Altman’s OpenAI is one of several companies including Nvidia Corp. now leading a global push to build data centers and develop artificial intelligence services, an undertaking that’s expected to cost trillions of dollars. Though it has yet to turn a profit, the US startup is helping fuel that infrastructure boom by inking mega-sized deals with the likes of Oracle Corp. and SK Hynix Inc.

Representatives for Thrive Capital and Dragoneer didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. OpenAI, SoftBank and T. Rowe Price spokespeople declined to comment. A spokesperson for MGX said the firm is “pleased to be a core partner to OpenAI and to continue building on our strong relationship as a significant investor across multiple funding rounds.”

The deal vaults OpenAI past SpaceX’s $400 billion valuation. That milestone coincides with a pivotal time for Altman’s company, which is in negotiations with Microsoft Corp. to convert into a more traditional for-profit company. OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to advancing digital intelligence “in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole.” Planned changes will give the existing OpenAI nonprofit entity control over a new public benefit corporation.

Both Altman and Musk, who were OpenAI co-founders, have spoken about the potential existential risk to humans posed by AI. Yet they’ve since fallen out: Musk has sued to try and stop the overhaul, accusing OpenAI of forsaking promises to him when he helped to create the nonprofit. He claims it abandoned its founding purpose when it accepted billions of dollars in backing from Microsoft starting in 2019, the year after he left OpenAI’s board.

When it comes to the business itself, OpenAI faces an increasingly competitive market for AI talent as big tech firms jockey for the resources they need. Meta Platforms Inc., for one, has recruited researchers aggressively from OpenAI and other top labs for its new “superintelligence” team, offering pay packages in the nine-figure range.

A secondary sale could help OpenAI incentivize staff to stay at the company and turn down those lavish compensation offers.

Major US startups often negotiate share sales for their employees as a way to reward and retain staff, and also attract external investors. OpenAI is looking to leverage investor demand to provide employees with liquidity that reflects the company’s growth. The value of a company tied to a secondary share sale is separate from the traditional private market valuation set when a startup completes a new round of funding.

The total amount of eligible units sold in the secondary fell short of the $10 billion-plus worth of stock that the company allowed for sale, the person familiar said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information is private. That could mean current and former employees are demonstrating confidence in the long-term viability of the business, the person added.

In the long run, OpenAI faces mounting competitive pressure from rivals such as Google and Anthropic, which is also raising capital at a rapid clip. In response, OpenAI has embarked on a spate of recent technology product launches.

Those include a pair of open and freely available artificial intelligence models that can mimic the human process of reasoning, months after China’s DeepSeek gained global attention with its own open software. OpenAI released its most powerful GPT-5 model in August, aimed at shoring up its lead in an increasingly crowded sphere.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/openai-completes-share-sale-record-043148719.html

US to add consular staff for World Cup visas

 The US State Department will increase staffing at embassies and consulates to handle a surge in visa applications ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, AP reported Thursday citing direct sources. Officials said they will "send hundreds of additional consular officers to 'designated countries' to handle the demand for visa interviews," though the specific countries are not yet confirmed.

The department emphasized it "is prepared to meet the demand while maintaining rigorous vetting requirements," noting that in most countries interview appointments can be scheduled within two months.

Fans from nations in the Visa Waiver Program, including most of Europe, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and others, will generally not require interviews. Supporters from outside the program must apply in person. However, questions remain over how the US will manage the expanded staffing plan amid the government shutdown that began on Wednesday.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/US-to-add-consular-staff-for-World-Cup-visas/64919110

Egypt trying to pursue Hamas to accept US Gaza plan

 Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Thursday his country is working alongside Qatar and Turkey to convince Hamas to accept the 20-point plan for peace in Gaza put forth by United States President Donald Trump.

Speaking at the French Institute of International Relations, Abdelatty warned that Egypt will not allow the Palestinian people to be displaced from the Gaza Strip. "Displacement will not happen. It will not happen because displacement means the end of the Palestinian cause. We will not allow this to happen under any circumstances," he pointed out.

Previously, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Egyptian authorities of "imprisoning against their will residents in Gaza who want to leave a war zone" after Egypt said it will not become "a gateway for displacement."

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Egypt-trying-to-pursue-Hamas-to-accept-US-Gaza-plan/64918914

FAA, NTSB probing Amazon over drone collision

 The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating Amazon's Prime Air after two of its delivery drones struck a construction crane in Arizona. During the investigations, Amazon is temporarily stopping deliveries in the area.

Two MK30 drones collided with the boom of a stationary construction crane in a commercial area of Tolleson, Arizona, a city west of Phoenix, on Wednesday, just a few miles from an Amazon warehouse. There were no reported injuries.

The company resumed deliveries in March after briefly stopping drone deliveries due to two crashes at its Pendleton, Oregon, test site, also investigated by the FAA and NTSB.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/FAA-NTSB-probing-Amazon-over-drone-collision/64919033

KMD Rip Curl closing 35 stores after trans scandal

 Surfers have a reputation for being chill and accepting.

That, however, may not entirely be true. KMD Brands, the parent of Rip Curl, has lost money for the year and has blamed some of its woes on blowback from its decision to use a transgender surfer in a digital promotion.

Rip Curl, much like what happened with Bud Light before it, probably did not think that using a transgender surfer in a social media post would rattle its customer base. 

But it did, according to a report from TheIntertia.com. 

The controversy started when Sasha Jane Lowerson, a transgender surfer, was featured in an Instagram post on the Rip Curl Women Instagram account as part of its Meet The Local Heroes of Western Australia campaign. Almost immediately, the post was flooded with negative comments and replies. Many fans and several activists even called for a Bud Light-esque boycott of the brand. Soon after, the post featuring Lowerson was quietly removed.

Rip Curl, as with Bud Light maker Anheuser-Busch, angered both its intended audience and right-wing activists by first making the post, then removing it and not standing by its transgender marketing partner. 

“Our recent post has landed us in the divisive space around transgender participation in competitive sport,” a Rip Curl spokesperson shared with Surfer.com. 

“We want to promote surfing for everyone in a respectful way, but recognize we upset a lot of people with our post and for that, we are sorry. To clarify, the surfer featured has not replaced anyone on the Rip Curl team and is not a sponsored athlete.”

KMD Group numbers dropped

KMD Brands has not publicly attributed its 2025 financial challenges directly to the transgender surfer controversy involving Rip Curl. In fact, new CEO Brent Scrimshaw has been very careful to not address it at all. 

He has, however, been harsh in his assessment of the company.

“Since joining KMD Brands what I’ve seen is clear; the potential of our brands is far greater than what we are delivering today. We are investing in product innovation that continues to ground our brands in technical performance whilst delivering improved speed-to-market, design, and style," Scrimshaw said in the fiscal 2025 earnings report.

KMD Group fiscal year 2025

• Group sales up 1.0% to $989 million
• Gross margin down 1.9% of sales to 56.5%
• Underlying operating expenses up 3.9% to $541.6 million

• Underlying EBITDA $17.7 million, down 64.7% YoY

• Statutory NPAT loss of $93.6 million; underlying NPAT loss of $28.3 million

• Net working capital $157.7 million, $40.6 million lower YoY

• Net debt $52.8 million, with significant funding headroom of approximately $235 million

• No final dividend declared as a result of FY25 operating performance

• Source: KMD Brands

https://www.thestreet.com/retail/transgender-scandal-hurts-lifestyle-retailer-35-stores-closing

FTC and 19 States Act to Stop a Deceptive Cancer Charity Fundraising Scheme Kars-R-Us

 The Federal Trade Commission, along with 22 agencies from 19 states, stopped a deceptive charity fundraising scheme and its operators who made false or deceptive claims to U.S. donors.

Kars-R-Us.com, Inc. (Kars) and its operators, Michael Irwin and Lisa Frank, solicited charitable donations nationwide on behalf of United Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. (UBCF), a charity that claims to assist individuals affected by breast cancer, according to a complaint filed by the FTC and states. Kars claimed that vehicle donations would allow UBCF to “save lives” by providing free and low-cost breast cancer screenings. But, in reality, only $126,815 or 0.28% of the more than $45 million that Kars raised was used to provide breast cancer screenings, the complaint alleges.

Under a proposed settlement order reached with the FTC and its state partners, Kars and its operators face restrictions on future fundraising activities and Irwin, Kars’s President and co-owner until 2022, will be permanently banned from fundraising.

“This case should send a strong message to fundraisers that the FTC will take action if they misrepresent the truth and exploit the kindness of generous donors for their own gain,” said Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We are grateful to our state partners for joining this effort to protect the public from fundraising schemes like this one.”

Kars solicited vehicle donations through national and local TV, radio and online ads in English and Spanish, claiming the donations would allow UBCF to “save lives” by providing free and low-cost breast cancer screenings. Kars tugged at donors’ heartstrings to maximize contributions with little regard for truthfulness or accuracy of the claims it made on behalf of UBCF, the complaint alleges. More than 84,000 well-intentioned people donated their vehicles to Kars.
 

Kars-R-Us.com, Inc. commercial 

Between 2017 to 2022 Kars raised more than $45.5 million on behalf of UBCF. The complaint alleges that $34.9 million of those raised funds went to pay Kars, its operators, and its vendors. Of the fraction of funds left to UBCF, most were largely used for other purposes, including generous compensation to UBCF’s CEO.

Kars, Irwin, and Frank knew or should have known that the breast cancer-related claims they drafted and made on behalf of UBCF were deceptive or lacked substantiation, the complaint alleges.

The proposed settlement order imposes restrictions on Kars, Irwin, and Frank, including:

• permanently banning Irwin from fundraising or providing fundraising services to any person, directly or indirectly. He is also prohibited from making misrepresentations in connection with the marketing or sale of any product or service;
• prohibiting Frank, Kars’s current president and sole owner, from making misrepresentations associated with fundraising, or in the marketing or sale of any other product or service;
• prohibiting Kars, its employees, and anyone actively working for or engaged with the company from making misrepresentations associated with fundraising, or in the marketing or sale of any other product or service; and
• requiring Kars and Frank to substantiate fundraising claims.

Irwin, Frank, and Kars also face a total monetary judgment of $3,882,091, which is partially suspended based on their inability to pay the full amount. If Kars, Frank, and Irwin are found to have lied to the FTC and state partners about their financial status, the full judgment will be immediately payable.

The state agencies joining the FTC in this case include the attorneys general of Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin as well as the secretaries of state of Maryland, North Carolina, and South Carolina; and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint and stipulated final orders was 3-0. The FTC filed the complaint and final orders in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Consumers looking for more information about how to donate safely and avoid charity scams can find it on the FTC’s website. 

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/09/ftc-19-states-act-stop-deceptive-cancer-charity-fundraising-scheme

AbbVie (ABBV) Kidney Disease Therapy Garners FDA Fast Track

 

• AbbVie (ABBV, Financial) has received Fast Track Designation from the U.S. FDA for its kidney disease treatment, ABBV-CLS-628, in collaboration with Calico Life Sciences.
• The treatment targets autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) and is currently in Phase 2 trials across 95 international sites.
• Fast Track status facilitates an accelerated development and review process, potentially expediting the drug's market entry.

Calico Life Sciences, in collaboration with AbbVie (ABBV), has secured Fast Track Designation from the U.S. FDA for their kidney disease treatment, ABBV-CLS-628. This therapy targets autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), a genetically linked condition responsible for kidney cysts and potential failure. Currently, ABBV-CLS-628 is in a Phase 2 trial, actively engaging around 95 international sites. 

https://www.gurufocus.com/news/3129360/abbvie-abbv-kidney-disease-therapy-garners-fda-fast-track-status