OpenAI May Be ClosedAI Shortly

It’s been a crazy weekend for ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and its largest shareholder, Microsoft. TechCrunch has a solid recap of the timeline and events, but it can be summarized like this. 📝

  1. OpenAI’s board fires CEO Sam Altman unexpectedly.
  2. Other OpenAI executives and employees begin to quit.
  3. Investors and other stakeholders push back.
  4. OpenAI board starts talks with Altman to return.
  5. The two sides are unable to reach an agreement.
  6. Altman & others join Microsoft to lead a new AI research team.
  7. The vast majority of OpenAI’s 770 employees threaten to resign.

It’s reported that Sam Altman could still return to OpenAI if the board resigns, among other things. That said, the situation is developing quickly as everyone chases the next headline. 😵‍💫

Despite the chaos, Microsoft’s stock hit a new all-time high today. As did Nvidia, ahead of its earnings report after the bell tomorrow. 

As for Microsoft investors, they’re trying to understand whether the company’s AI ambitions are better off if Sam Altman and his colleagues join Microsoft or if they go back to OpenAI with a new board. 🤔

As always, we’ll keep you updated as the story develops. For now, mega-cap tech stocks continue to party on. 🤷

JetBlue Jumps As Icahn Accumulates

It’s been a rough few months for JetBlue shareholders after the airline’s merger with Spirit Airlines was blocked by U.S. regulators. However, the stock is popping after hours on news that a billionaire hedge fund manager is dumpster diving and sees value in the stock. 💸

Activist investor Carl Icahn reported a nearly 10% stake, which he’s accumulated on the belief that the stock is undervalued following its recent selloff. He’s already had discussions with the company regarding possibly attaining board representation.

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PayPal Pops Ahead Of Key Event

It’s been a rough few years for payment giant PayPal, with shares falling 85% peak-to-trough. Recently, the stock has begun to rebound with other beaten-down tech names but remains about 80% below all-time highs. In other words, it would need to nearly 5x its share price to reach those levels again. 📈

While that may seem a ways off, investors have recently pushed shares to their best three-day run since the end of 2022. That’s because the company promised to roll out new “customer-backed innovation” at an event next Thursday, with its new CEO Alex Chriss saying, “It is very clear what we need to do.”

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Biotech Buyout Spree Continues

It may be the last week of the year, but many companies are rushing to get deals done before year-end. Two significant transactions in the biotech space were announced today, so let’s dive in. 👇

The first deal involves RayzeBio, which raised $358 million via an initial public offering (IPO) just three months ago. However, its time as a public company is being cut short by Bristol Myers Squibb, which is acquiring the radiopharmaceutical therapeutics company for $62.50 per share in cash. 💰

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Peloton’s New Partnership

With Peloton’s turnaround strategy not yet bearing the fruit it had anticipated, the company continues to lean on partnerships to grow market share. For example, in September, the company entered a 5-year strategic partnership with Lulemon to bring its content to the athleisure brand’s exercise app. It also made Lululemon Peloton’s primary athletic apparel partner. 👟

It’s still too early to tell whether or not that cooperative effort is working, but management seems to think further initiatives like it will help boost revenues. As a result, it’s partnering with TikTok to bring short-form fitness videos and other content to the social media platform.

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