Good morning. Google is going Hollywood in an effort to sell more of its own products and to portray tech, in general, more positively on screen. The company, according to Business Insider, has a new initiative with production company Range Media Partners that it hopes will lead to TV and film projects that meet its goals.
With Apple products featured in so many shows, you can understand why Google may want to make sure its devices get some screen time. It’s also no secret that studios love green lighting scripts about tech run amok.
Now if only Hollywood would create films about robot do-gooders and superheroes using Android phones to save the world. —Verne Kopytoff
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OpenAI backtracks on restructuring
OpenAI has abandoned plans to revamp its structure into that of a more typical business, leaving a nonprofit in control of the artificial intelligence giant.
The decision, announced Monday, is a major reversal for OpenAI, which, over the past year, had pushed the switch as a way to make OpenAI more appealing to investors. It’s also a victory for critics, including cofounder Elon Musk, who sued to block OpenAI from what he said is a betrayal of its early mission to benefit humanity.
OpenAI’s about-face is just its latest drama since becoming one the tech industry’s most influential companies after debuting chatbot ChatGPT in 2022. A year later, for example, its nonprofit board briefly fired CEO Sam Altman for not being “consistently candid” and then rehired him.
In its announcement on Monday, OpenAI said it will, instead of pursing the initial restructuring plan, make its for-profit arm a public benefit corporation. While such companies can still pursue profits, they also need to push for public good.
“I think it just sets us up to be a more understandable structure,” Altman said Monday during a press conference, according to the Wall Street Journal.
OpenAI’s nonprofit arm will continue to oversee the business side, and also own an undisclosed stake in the for-profit operation, OpenAI said. Founded as a nonprofit a decade ago, OpenAI in 2019 added a “capped profit” arm, but kept the nonprofit in control.
OpenAI said it made the U-turn in its plans after hearing from civic leaders along with the attorneys general of California and Delaware, who would have had to approve the shakeup.
Hanging up on Skype
Skype, the once popular online video calling service, shut down on Monday after 22 years of connecting people worldwide. Microsoft, Skype’s owner, announced the planned closure in February, advising users to shift over the Microsoft’s other communications service, Teams.
Skype’s demise wasn’t exactly surprising. The service, founded by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis in 2003, had gradually lost momentum over the years to WhatsApp and Zoom.
Still, in its era, Skype was a powerhouse with hundreds of millions of users monthly. EBay acquired the service in 2005 for $2.6 billion, then sold it in 2009 to investors, who then sold it again to Microsoft in 2011 for $8.5 billion.
Elon Musk’s unhappy neighbors
Chain link fences, security cameras, and fleets of Teslas arriving around the clock.
Elon Musk’s neighbors near Austin are complaining about living next to the world’s wealthiest person and the many disruptions that come with it. And they’ve taken their fight against the Tesla CEO to the city of West Lake Hills, where the Musk mansion is located.
The zoning and planning commission held a meeting last month about the matter. A city council hearing is scheduled on May 14.
It turns out Musk, who owns the house through a limited liability company, failed to get permits “for a metal gate and the fence built around his property,” the New York Times reported, adding that the city has found, in total, six violations of its ordinances at the residence.
Like many minor neighborhood disputes, this one has escalated into a major incident that now includes reports of drone surveillance, accusations of public nudity, and calls to the police.
More tech
—Palantir’s selloff. Stock falls 9% on Q1 earnings in line with Wall Street expectations, and raised full-year financial forecast.
—eToro’s IPO valuation. The investing service is targeting a $4 billion valuation in planned initial public offering.
—Apple appeals. The tech giant has challenged last week’s ruling requiring it open App Store to outside payment services.
—TeleMessage hacking. A service that may archive Signal messages for some top U.S. government officials has been hacked.
—Waymo’s Jaguars. An inside look at the robotaxi service’s business and its Arizona factory.
—Robotaxi expansion. Uber and WeRide plan to add 15 more cities to their robotaxi service, including in Europe.
