OpenAI reverses its for-profit transition

Today’s Highlights:

📰 News: OpenAI reverses for-profit transition, creates new Public Benefit Corporation structure + Apple Partners with Anthropic for new AI coding tool

💰 Funding: Anthropic launches first employee share buyback + AI coding assistant Cursor raises $900M

⚡️ Top News Stories:

1. OpenAI has reversed its for-profit transition, opting to remain under nonprofit control via a new public benefit corporation structure, following public pressure, legal challenges, and warnings that the shift could undermine its founding mission.

2. Apple is reportedly partnering with Anthropic to build an AI-powered coding tool, internally described as a “vibe-coding” platform, that integrates with Xcode and leverages Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet model, featuring generative writing and testing of code.

3. Anthropic has launched a new 'AI for Science' program to offer selected researchers up to $20,000 in Claude model credits, targeting high-impact work in biology and drug discovery as it seeks to prove AI’s scientific value amid broader industry skepticism.

4. Over 250 CEOs, including leaders from Microsoft, Etsy, and Uber, signed an open letter urging U.S. policymakers to make AI and computer science core subjects in K–12 education to maintain global competitiveness, warning that the nation risks falling behind countries like China and Korea without urgent education reform.

5. Google has launched a sweeping plan to address America’s AI-driven power infrastructure demands by training 130,000 electricians and proposing 15 national energy policy reforms, marking energy and skilled labor as vital assets in the global AI race.

6. Google will soon allow children under 13 to access its Gemini chatbot via parent-managed accounts, sparking fresh debate over AI safety and youth protections amid broader efforts to reach younger users.

7. Pinterest is upgrading its visual search with new AI-powered tools that use generative visual language models to help users better articulate and refine their aesthetic preferences, while also addressing concerns about AI-generated content overwhelming the platform.

💰 Top Funding News:

1. Anthropic is launching its first employee share buyback, allowing eligible employees to sell up to 20% of their vested shares, following a $3.5Bn funding round that values the AI startup at $61.5Bn.

2. Cloud monitoring giant Datadog has acquired Eppo, a feature-flagging and experimentation startup, in a move to expand its capabilities in product analytics and AI-driven experimentation; the deal is reportedly valued at $220M.

3. Anysphere, which builds the AI coding assistant Cursor, reportedly raised a $900M round led by Thrive Capital, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, Index Ventures, and Benchmark.

4. Recraft, which builds proprietary AI image generation models optimized for brand-specific content, raised a $30M Series B led by Accel, with participation from Khosla Ventures and Madrona.

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