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Welcome back to the Neural Net! Weekend’s almost here, but first, a quick download on what the bots have been building.
In today’s edition: OpenAI’s unique struggle between investor returns and purpose-driven past, Albania appoints its first AI minister, Oracle rides the AI wave, create professional how-to guides with AI, and more.
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The Street
note: stock data as of last market close
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💰With Billions on the Line, OpenAI Must Choose Between Mission or Money
OpenAI started in 2015 with big “save the world” energy as a nonprofit promising safe AI for humanity. Fast forward to 2019, and reality hit—building the future costs money, so it spun up a for-profit side.
Now the company behind ChatGPT is dealing with some drama from trying to turn that arm into a normal, investor-friendly business while claiming the nonprofit will still call the shots to keep the mission pure.
Why now? Building the next generation of AI requires staggering sums—giant data centers, custom chips, and armies of researchers. Investors have tied $19B in new funding to this corporate makeover, and OpenAI risks losing it all if the conversion doesn’t happen this year.
To add to the controversy, OpenAI is the odd one out as almost every other major AI lab (Anthropic, xAI, Meta, Google’s DeepMind) is fully for-profit. That’s why the debate feels so unusual: critics want OpenAI to keep its mission-first roots even as it competes in an industry built entirely around profits.
Four things to know about the OpenAI drama:
Regulators Push Back – Attorneys general in California are investigating whether the plan violates charitable trust laws. Labor unions, philanthropies, and of course rivals like Meta and Elon Musk’s xAI are urging regulators to block the deal. OpenAI even mentioned the possibility of leaving California if the state blocks the move.
Nonprofit Promises – Facing criticism, OpenAI already scrapped a plan to fully separate the nonprofit. It pledges the nonprofit will keep control and hold a $100B+ stake in the new for-profit company, aiming to stay mission-first on paper and in practice.
Microsoft’s Role – A new partnership deal cleared one major hurdle after months of tense negotiations with its biggest partner (read: frenemy) over AI models, cloud access, and who ultimately controls the tech.
The Clock Is Ticking – Without the restructuring, OpenAI risks losing billions in funding, delaying new AI systems, and falling behind rivals like Anthropic and xAI in the AI arms race.
The big question: Can a company chasing billions in funding really keep its founding mission front and center, or is this the moment OpenAI trades its halo for a Wall Street playbook?
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Heard in the Server Room
An unlikely AI story is coming out of Albania this week. The country just appointed its first AI minister, Diella, to run all public procurement and finally kick corruption to the curb. PM Edi Rama says the bot will keep government tenders bribe-free, a big win for a country chasing EU membership by 2030 but weighed down by graft scandals. We’ll see if Diella’s first patch update adds ‘Accept Bribe’ functionality.
OpenAI is teaming up with London’s Vertigo Films and LA’s Native Foreign to make “Critterz,” a feature-length animated movie built with AI. Using GPT-5 and other tools, the team wants to cut production time from 3 years to nine months on a budget of a mere $30M. Targeting a May premiere at Cannes, the project aims to show how AI can lower costs, speed up production, and open the door for indie creators to hit the big screen. And spoiler: the Critterz might just steal the show with how cute they are.
Oracle shares jumped nearly 36% after blowout earnings fueled by soaring demand for AI infrastructure. The CEO said Oracle signed four huge cloud deals, including a $300B, five-year contract with OpenAI to build U.S. data centers. Investors are betting this AI-driven expansion could give Oracle’s cloud business a major boost and cement its spot in the AI infrastructure race. The stock surge even briefly made co-founder Larry Ellison the world’s richest person, passing Elon Musk.
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💡 How To AI: Stop Explaining the Same Thing Over and Over
Whether it’s “how to reset the Wi-Fi” or “why isn’t the printer working” you probably have one tech question on repeat in your family group chat. Here’s how to fix it once and for all:
Find the Usual Suspects – That one process you keep explaining? That’s your first video.
Hit Record – Use Guidde’s free browser extension to capture your screen while you click through the steps.
Let AI Do the Work – Guidde auto-generates a clear, step-by-step video with voiceover and visuals so you don’t have to narrate it every time.
Send the Link – Share it in the family group chat. Next time someone asks, just say “see video.”
One and done. Your family learns, you keep your sanity.
Create How-to Videos in Seconds with AI
Stop wasting time on repetitive explanations. Guidde’s AI creates stunning video guides in seconds—11x faster.
Turn boring docs into visual masterpieces
Save hours with AI-powered automation
Share or embed your guide anywhere
How it works: Click capture on the browser extension, and Guidde auto-generates step-by-step video guides with visuals, voiceover, and a call to action.
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That’s it for today! Here’s to an illuminating weekend, and we’ll catch you Tuesday with more neural nuggets.