The Morning After: Microsoft expands ‘multibillion dollar’ deal with OpenAI, creators of ChatGPT

Microsoft is making a “multibillion-dollar” investment that will lead to wider uses of OpenAI’s technology, as well as more robust behind-the-scenes support. Microsoft has launched OpenAI-powered features, like natural language programming and a DALL-E 2 graphic design tool. OpenAI uses Microsoft’s infrastructure to train its best-known systems, including DALL-E 2 and the popular ChatGPT bot. ChatGPT is coming to Azure soon. However, don’t expect anyone to see ChatGPT in Bing – at least not yet. The expansion may help Microsoft seize a competitive advantage. Google reportedly sees ChatGPT as a threat to its search business,

The versatile AI chatbot is having a surge in popularity. The existing version already had more than one million users around December 2022. That’s probably grown, too – and Microsoft wouldn’t mind a piece of that.

– Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

With M2 Pro or M2 Max power, a blessing for creatives.

With its last batch of MacBook Pros, Apple gave its more demanding fans everything they wanted: tons of ports, lots of power and genuinely great screens. This time, it’s just a straightforward chip upgrade, featuring the new M2 Pro and M2 Max. They’re faster, as you’d expect, and they deliver a few features power users may appreciate, like 8K video output and support for WiFi 6E. The new MacBook Pro 14-inch isn’t a dramatic departure from the last model, but the new chips will be incredibly useful to creative professionals.

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He took the witness stand again to defend his ‘funding secured’ tweets.

Elon Musk said he could’ve sold his SpaceX shares to take Tesla private when he took the witness stand again to defend his 2018 “funding secured” tweets in a lawsuit filed by the automaker’s shareholders. According to CNBC, Musk proclaimed: “SpaceX stock alone meant ‘funding secured’ by itself. It’s not that I want to sell SpaceX stock but I could have, and if you look at the Twitter transaction – that is what I did. I sold Tesla stock to complete the Twitter transaction. And I would have done the same here.”

The plaintiffs’ lawsuit is based on Musk’s infamous 2018 tweets in which he said he was “considering taking Tesla private at $420.” The judge in this case has already determined his tweets were “objectively false and reckless.” However, the plaintiffs still have to prove Musk knew his tweets were misleading and caused their losses to win the case. Musk and Tesla previously had to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission $20 million each to settle a separate lawsuit over the same tweets, accusing him of making “false and misleading statements” that could constitute fraud.

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Sales will be cut off on January 31st.

Microsoft is stopping sales of Windows 10 downloads on January 31st, according to a product page spotted by The Verge. That date “will be the last day this Windows 10 download [and all-important license keys] are offered for sale,” according to Microsoft. However, it will continue to support Windows 10 with security updates until it’s discontinued for good in October 2025. Windows 10 launched in 2015 and will be discontinued exactly 10 years later. The company announced its end date in June 2021 as part of its “modern lifecycle policy,” just before the launch of Windows 11.

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We might see it this spring.

We’re expecting Apple to reveal a mixed reality headset in the coming months. It’ll be Apple’s first new product category since Apple Watch, which debuted in 2015. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has shared details about what to expect from the product, which may be called Reality Pro. The standalone device will have an interface similar to an iPhone and iPad and the option to pin widgets to the home screen. Alternatively, it may be used as an external display for a connected Mac. Along with Siri voice commands, there’ll be the option to use a Mac, iPhone or iPad keyboard to enter text on the xrOS operating system, according to the report.

For one-on-one chats in which both participants wear a Reality Pro, the report also suggests FaceTime will render realistic versions of their face and body. Yes, that means legs! The device is rumored to appear ahead of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June, with a release to follow in fall. The price, though, may put many off. The headset could retail for around $3,000. That’s twice as much as the Meta Quest Pro.

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