OPENAI: AMERICA’S NEW TECH GIANT IS HERE. Move over, Silicon Valley legends. OpenAI just slammed the accelerator, locking in a $40 billion funding round that catapults it to a $300 billion valuation. That’s SpaceX-level territory. In less than a decade, Sam Altman’s AI juggernaut has joined the ranks of Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon — companies that reshaped the world.
—> FROM STARTUP TO SUPERPOWER: Let’s put this in perspective. It took Apple 20 years to hit a $300B valuation. Microsoft? 25 years. OpenAI did it in under 10. And unlike past tech titans that built their dominance with devices or software, OpenAI is doing it with intelligence — the kind that powers chatbots, rewrites code, and maybe one day drives your car.
—> THE AI LAND GRAB: This isn’t just a big raise — it’s a declaration of dominance. With SoftBank and Microsoft pouring billions into the company, OpenAI is now a critical player in the AI infrastructure race. 500 million weekly users are chatting with ChatGPT, and companies across industries are racing to integrate AI into everything. Think Amazon Web Services for intelligence.
—> WHY IT MATTERS: AI is no longer just a buzzword. It’s reshaping how businesses operate and how people interact with tech. OpenAI’s funding ensures it can stay ahead, build faster models, and own the next decade of innovation. Every software giant — Google, Meta, Amazon — now has OpenAI in its crosshairs.
—> THE ALTITUDE AND THE RISK: But with sky-high valuations come sky-high expectations. Elon Musk’s lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny threaten OpenAI’s next moves. Plus, the funding deal has a major catch: $10 billion disappears if OpenAI can’t shift to a for-profit structure by year-end. No pressure, right?
SIGN OF THE TIMES: Woman Alarmed When Date Uses ChatGPT to Psychologically Profile Her, via Financial Times. “I was a bit taken aback.” (H/T Futurism.)
hello, future. it’s me, kev.
…and this is a dispatch from the digital frontier. It’s time to meet the future NOW — with the latest on markets, tech, and freedom. The day is 90. The year is 2025. The planet is Earth.
The planet has complete 24.38 percent its annual orbit around the sun star. Today is the last day of Women’s History Month, so we caught up with GWEN YOUNG, CEO OF WOMEN BUSINESS COLLABORATIVE:
Women founded business are 39% of all businesses and generate $2.7 billion in revenue.
My name is Kevin Cirilli —> LinkedIn. Spotify. Sign-up to receive the future in your inbox here.
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Back to the future…
SMART TAKE: The Loosening of American News Anchors, via New York Times: “Don Lemon, Joy Reid and Jim Acosta, exiled or extricated from their networks, are now on Substack, trading sleek studios and “pancake makeup” for their living rooms.”
SMUGLY TAKE, via Bloomberg’s Jessica Karl: Everyone Has a Substack. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
WEIRD TAKE, via Bloomberg’s Jessica Karl: Strawberries are Secretly Evil. KEV TAKE: Jessica, we stand with the strawberries…
FUTURES // CRYPTO // GOLD RUSH!
MARKET JITTERS: LIBERATION DAY LOOMS: Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs hit on Wednesday, and markets are feeling it. After an early dip, the S&P 500 clawed back gains to finish up 0.6%. The Dow popped 417 points, but Big Tech struggled, dragging the Nasdaq down 0.1%. Wall Street is bracing for the fallout, with fears of a trade war spooking investors.
—> GOLD REACTION: SAFE HAVEN SHINES: When uncertainty strikes, gold gets glitzy. Spot gold smashed records, hitting $3,122.80 per troy ounce — a 40% surge from last year. Futures jumped even higher at $3,157.40. With inflation worries mounting and tariffs threatening global trade, gold’s safe-haven glow is pulling in anxious investors.
—> CRYPTO REACTION: BITCOIN BUCKLES: Bitcoin is teetering, with analysts warning it could slide below $80K this week. Rising inflation data and Trump’s tariff threats are dampening the crypto market. 10x Research flags economic uncertainty and protectionist fears as key culprits behind the sell-off. Risk-on assets like crypto are in the hot seat — and investors are taking note.
Source: AP, Crypto News, AP
ONE MORE THING
TINY ROBOTS TAKE FLIGHT — ARE YOU READY? Bumblebees? Old news. Berkeley’s bug-bots are here. Engineers just unleashed the world’s smallest wireless flying robot, a 1-centimeter marvel that’s buzzing its way into the future. Inspired by nature and powered by magnets, this mini-drone is redefining what’s possible.
—> WHY CARE? Imagine swarms of these tiny bots pollinating crops or inspecting pipelines too dangerous for humans. Need to squeeze into a crevice on Mars? Deploy a bumblebot. Want to explore your clogged kitchen sink? They’re on it.
—> HOW IT WORKS: No batteries. No clunky sensors. Instead, external magnetic fields power the robot, spinning its propellers to keep it airborne. Precision control means scientists can direct it to exact targets — like a bee locking onto pollen. 🐝
—> NEXT STOP: THE BODY. The future? Microscopic bots even smaller than this one. Picture a gnat-sized swarm injected into the body for minimally invasive surgery — forming stents, dissolving clots, or patching tissue like sci-fi nanobots.
And guess what? Berkeley’s also working on cockroach-inspired robots that survive being stomped. Creepy? Sure. Revolutionary? Absolutely.
Source: Tech Xplore
With gratitude,
Kev
ABOUT mtf.tv’s meet the future: mtf.tv’s meet the future is a cutting-edge platform focused on addressing key challenges at the intersection of national security, technology, and business. With a mission to embrace freedom to meet the future’s challenges and opportunities, mtf.tv offers forward-thinking media offerings and forums.
