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OpenAI’s Sam Altman Hints at Possible Ads in New ChatGPT “Pulse” Feature, Calls It His Favorite Launch Yet

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Monday described the company’s newly launched ChatGPT Pulse as his “favorite feature we’ve launched in a long time,” adding that while there are currently no firm plans to introduce advertising within the tool, the company is open to exploring that possibility in the future.

Altman made the remarks during a Q&A session with reporters at OpenAI’s DevDay event in San Francisco, where he discussed the company’s growing focus on personalization and the ways Pulse could transform ChatGPT from a reactive assistant into a proactive digital companion.

Pulse, which quietly rolled out to ChatGPT Pro users, represents OpenAI’s latest push into personalized AI. The feature enables the chatbot to learn about a user through their past chat transcripts and connected apps — such as calendars, emails, or productivity tools — and then perform autonomous overnight research to deliver a tailored daily briefing each morning.

The “daily pulse,” as OpenAI calls it, can include anything from news summaries and language-learning routines to custom workout plans or even restaurant recommendations based on a user’s schedule. The idea, Altman explained, is to create a daily ritual where users begin their day with ChatGPT as a sort of “AI morning companion.”

“The degree to which we can find cool things to do that actually seem helpful to users … maybe there’s something to do there,” Altman said, when asked about the possibility of introducing ads into Pulse. “But as has been clear, we approach ads with great caution.”

During the session, OpenAI executives confirmed that the company had discussed advertising opportunities within Pulse, but no final decision had been made. Altman noted that he personally enjoys Instagram’s style of relevant advertising, hinting that OpenAI might eventually explore contextual, non-intrusive ads if they add value to users.

“When we were building Pulse, we originally planned to roll it out to everyone,” Altman added. “But its compute-heavy nature meant we could only roll it out to Pro users for now.”

The comments come as OpenAI continues to expand the capabilities of ChatGPT into a multi-modal, always-on AI assistant capable of managing schedules, generating insights, and anticipating user needs. The company has been experimenting with personalization features for over a year, including memory systems that let ChatGPT recall user preferences over time.

However, the mention of potential advertising has sparked debate within the tech community about whether OpenAI — which has largely positioned itself as a productivity and enterprise tool — might eventually adopt a consumer-facing ad business model similar to Google or Meta.

For now, though, Altman insists that any future move into advertising would be handled carefully. “We want to make sure anything we do feels additive and respectful,” he said.

The feature’s selective launch also underscores OpenAI’s ongoing computational cost challenges, particularly as demand for AI models continues to surge. The company is both testing user engagement and balancing server strain by restricting Pulse to Pro subscribers — who pay a monthly fee for premium access.

Analysts say Pulse could be a critical step in OpenAI’s broader plan to embed ChatGPT into daily life, moving it closer to becoming a true digital assistant capable of proactive learning and tailored service delivery. But if advertising eventually becomes part of that experience, OpenAI will need to strike a delicate balance between personalization and privacy — a line the company has repeatedly pledged to tread carefully.

African Startups Raise $140 Million in September, Bringing 2025 Funding Total to $2.2 Billion

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The latest update of the monthly African startup deals database revealed that September was quite a busy month for fundraising for the continent’s innovation ecosystem.

This is compared to August 2025, which was a relatively quiet month on the fundraising front for start-ups in Africa.

According to a report by Africa: The Big Deal, in September this year, 58 startups raised $140 million (excluding exits), marking a slightly below-average month in terms of funding volume. However, the figure is nearly identical to September 2024’s $146 million and higher than the $124 million raised in September 2023.

What stood out most was the number of ventures securing at least $100,000, the second-highest count in the past year, trailing only behind July’s record.

Of the total funds raised, $105 million (75%) came from equity investments, while $32 million was debt financing and $3 million was grant funding. The grants included 16 match-funding awards from DEG Impulse as part of its new develoPPP Ventures cohort in East Africa.

The five largest transactions in September were all equity-based. Nigerian fintech Kredete led the way with a $22 million Series A, to expand its credit-building and stablecoin-powered financial infrastructure for African immigrants and families across more than 40 African countries.

This was followed by Pura Beverage, which raised $15 million in a Series B round, to accelerate global expansion. This investment according to the startup, will be leveraged to accelerate its Soda’s market penetration, brand building, and marketing across the globe, and will provide the funds required to increase and support product listings across major retailers predominantly in the US, but also other international territories.

South African digital identity startup Contractable secured $13.5 million, to drive the platform’s growth and enhance its digital identity offerings on the continent. Egyptian AI firm Intella closed $12.5 million in an oversubscribed Series A round to accelerate its mission to build AI models and tools tailored to Arabic dialects, deepen its enterprise capabilities, and accelerate MENA expansion.

The company noted that the funding will accelerate its mission to power a digital AI workforce across the Arabic-speaking world. With this new funding, Intella is doubling down on R&D, product expansion, and regional hiring to bring its vision to life.

Also, South African edtech The Invigilator completed an $11 million round to scale internationally. Invigilator co-founder and CEO Nicholas Riemer said the investment gives the startup the ability to ramp up AI development, allowing greater access to education while maintaining assessment credibility.

In addition to funding rounds, five exits were announced in September. Three of these occurred in South Africa, where a consortium led by Twofold Capital acquired fintech TaxTim, edtech Rekindle purchased EpiTek, and fintech Street Wallet acquired Digitip. In North Africa, Morocco’s logistics startup Cathedis was acquired by super app Ora Technologies, while Egyptian healthtech Duayatook over EXMGO.

From a broader perspective, African startups raised $785 million in Q3 2025, down from $963 million in Q2 but significantly above Q1’s $461 million. This makes for a robust third quarter, surpassing the same period in 2024 ($649 million), 2023 ($496 million), and 2022 ($612 million).

Outlook

So far in 2025, startups across the African continent have collectively raised $2.2 billion (excluding exits) just $40 million shy of the total amount raised throughout 2024. This trajectory positions 2025 as a potentially record-breaking year for African startup funding.

Here’s How Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) Turns Verifiers Into Earners – Whitelist Coming Soon

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In the maturing landscape of crypto protocols, one question often goes unasked: what if knowledge itself became a currency? Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP), an upcoming blockchain project, proposes exactly that, a paradigm where users can stake, verify, or challenge claims, and where truth becomes a valuable on-chain asset.

Unlike traditional proof-of-stake or Layer 1 chains that prioritize speed and throughput, Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) shifts the conversation to credibility. As the whitelist opens soon, early participants are being offered the chance to join a protocol that doesn’t just move value, it defines it, rewards it, and anchors it transparently on-chain.

A Blockchain Where Knowledge Is the Native Asset

At the heart of Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) lies a radical yet elegant model: credibility auctions. These are not auctions for tokens or NFTs, they are auctions for truth. Users can stake ZKP crypto tokens to make factual claims about any domain. These claims are not judged by a centralized oracle or AI but by verifiers, other users who also stake ZKP crypto tokens to validate or challenge the claim.

Each interaction builds an immutable record of accuracy, rewarding those who tell the truth and penalizing misinformation. This creates a self-reinforcing incentive loop: the more accurate your track record, the more weight your claims carry, and the more you can earn. It’s a decentralized reputation layer, governed by staking and evidence, not influence or speculation.

The Structure: Auctioneer, Verifier, Challenger

The Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) protocol organizes its ecosystem into three key roles:

  • Claimants initiate the process by staking tokens and making a specific claim.
  • Verifiers assess that claim, offering support by also staking their tokens.
  • Challengers, if they disagree, can stake tokens to dispute the claim and initiate an on-chain challenge.

All participants are incentivized through smart contract-enforced redistribution. Accurate claims and validations receive token rewards. Dishonest attempts are penalized. And since all interactions are recorded on the zero knowledge proof blockchain, transparency and auditability are built into the foundation.

This mechanism not only promotes truth, it economically scales it. Over time, the protocol builds a decentralized archive of verified facts, governed not by institutions but by incentives.

Why the Upcoming Whitelist Matters

The upcoming whitelist is not just a gateway to token access. It’s an invitation to help define a new market for knowledge. Early participants won’t just hold a coin, they’ll be among the first to shape how truth gets verified on-chain.

This opportunity is especially relevant in an era of rampant misinformation and centralized moderation. Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) offers a public, tokenized credibility infrastructure that cannot be gamed, censored, or rewritten. By staking tokens, users express conviction in a claim, and by doing so, build a record of trust that transcends speculation.

Whitelist participants can position themselves to serve in any of the system’s core roles: as claimants, verifiers, or challengers. They’ll be the early architects of how evidence is valued in the blockchain age.

Takeaway

Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) isn’t just launching a token, it’s launching a trust economy. By aligning incentives with honesty, it offers a solution to one of crypto’s most elusive problems: credible information at scale. With its whitelist now approaching, early adopters have the chance to define not only their position in the network but the architecture of truth itself.

For those looking for a new kind of crypto utility, one that’s anchored in provable value, not speculation, Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP) represents one of the most promising entries in the top presale crypto landscape.

OpenAI Takes 10% Stake in AMD in Landmark Chip Partnership Worth Billions

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OpenAI has struck a sweeping deal with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) that could see Sam Altman’s company acquire up to a 10% ownership stake in the chipmaker, marking one of the most significant GPU supply and equity partnerships in the artificial intelligence industry to date.

AMD shares soared more than 30% on Monday following the announcement, underscoring investor enthusiasm over the agreement’s potential to reshape the competitive landscape in AI hardware.

Under the deal, OpenAI will deploy 6 gigawatts of AMD’s Instinct graphics processing units (GPUs) over multiple years and across successive hardware generations. The rollout will begin with an initial 1-gigawatt phase in the second half of 2026.

“We have to do this,” OpenAI President Greg Brockman told CNBC’s Squawk on the Street. “This is so core to our mission if we really want to be able to scale to reach all of humanity, this is what we have to do.”

Brockman added that OpenAI’s product roadmap is already constrained by limited computing capacity, saying the shortage has delayed the release of revenue-generating features in ChatGPT and other offerings.

The Structure of the Deal

As part of the partnership, AMD has issued OpenAI a warrant for up to 160 million shares of AMD common stock, with vesting milestones tied to deployment volumes and AMD’s share price. The first tranche will vest once the initial 1-gigawatt deployment is complete, with subsequent tranches unlocking as OpenAI scales up to 6 gigawatts and achieves defined technical and commercial milestones.

If fully exercised, the warrant would give OpenAI roughly a 10% stake in AMD, based on the company’s current number of outstanding shares. While OpenAI described the deal as being worth “billions,” it declined to disclose the exact value.

AMD CEO Lisa Su told CNBC that the agreement reflects AI’s long-term growth trajectory, adding that “at the end of the day, you need the foundational compute to do that.” She said the partnership would bring together key players in the ecosystem “to ensure that we can really get the best technologies out there.”

Broader AI Infrastructure Push

The deal strengthens AMD’s standing in the high-performance GPU market, where it has long trailed Nvidia. For AMD, winning OpenAI as a flagship customer represents a major validation of its Instinct chip architecture and an entry into the most ambitious AI infrastructure buildout underway anywhere in the world.

The move comes less than two weeks after OpenAI unveiled a separate $100 billion equity-and-supply deal with Nvidia, under which the chipmaker took a stake in OpenAI while agreeing to supply a dedicated 10-gigawatt portion of the company’s 23-gigawatt infrastructure roadmap. Together, the Nvidia and AMD arrangements represent an estimated $1 trillion in new buildout spending commitments by OpenAI.

Shares of Nvidia slipped about 1% on Monday following the AMD announcement, as investors weighed the competitive implications.

OpenAI is also in active talks with Broadcom to develop custom chips for its next generation of models, further diversifying its hardware supply chain and reducing reliance on a single vendor. Oracle, meanwhile, continues to play a central role in building out OpenAI’s data center sites.

A Circular AI Economy

The OpenAI-AMD partnership adds to what analysts describe as the increasingly circular nature of the AI economy — where capital, compute, and equity are intertwined among a handful of dominant players. Nvidia is supplying chips and capital. Oracle is building sites. AMD and Broadcom are providing an alternative supply. And OpenAI, through its massive infrastructure projects, anchors the demand.

This closed-loop structure, while efficient, also raises systemic risks. Analysts warn that disruptions in any part of the chain — from chip production delays to financing bottlenecks — could trigger ripple effects across the broader AI ecosystem.

For AMD, the partnership signals a major commercial milestone after years of lagging behind Nvidia in the AI accelerator race. The deal places AMD squarely in the center of AI’s next wave of data infrastructure expansion and gives the company a clear validation from one of the sector’s most influential players.

“This creates a true win-win — enabling the world’s most ambitious AI buildout and advancing the entire AI ecosystem,” Su said.

For OpenAI, the agreement reinforces its transition from a software and model developer into a full-scale infrastructure player. Under its “Stargate” initiative, the company is building massive computing facilities across the United States. Its first site in Abilene, Texas, is already operational with Nvidia chips, while new sites in New Mexico, Ohio, and the Midwest will include AMD hardware as part of the supply mix.

GENIUS Act Poised to Undermine Traditional Banking Profits as Stablecoins Gain Ground

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The GENIUS Act, enacted in July 2025, is emerging as a potential game-changer for the U.S. financial system, one that could upend traditional banking models and accelerate the shift toward digital assets.

By driving demand for U.S. Treasuries, the Act aligns State and Federal stablecoin frameworks, which will play a crucial role in ensuring the continued global dominance of the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Also, it is poised to play a key role in attracting more digital asset activity to the country by providing clear rules and promoting responsible innovation in the stablecoin market.

Designed to regulate stablecoin issuers, the legislation has inadvertently opened new competitive frontiers between banks, fintechs, and Big Tech giants. Co-founder and managing partner of Multicoin Capital Tushar Jain, noted that the recently enacted GENIUS Act, is expected to accelerate the migration of funds from traditional bank accounts into high-yield stablecoins.

In a post on X, he wrote,

“The Genius Bill is the beginning of the end for banks’ ability to rip off their retail depositors with minimal interest. Post Genius Bill I expect the big tech giants with mega distribution (Meta, Google, Apple, etc) to start competing with banks for retail deposits. The tech giants will offer stablecoins with better yields and better UX (instant settlement, 24/7 payments, free transfers). These stablecoins will be embedded into the most widely distributed apps and operating systems in the world.

“Banks are going to have to pay more interest to depositors and their earnings will significantly suffer as a result. The banking lobby tried to protect their profits with the Genius Act’s prohibition on passing interest to stablecoin holders but that is easily circumvented as you can see by Coinbase’s yield sharing with customers.”

The U.S. Department of the Treasury estimated earlier this year that mass adoption of stablecoins could cause as much as $6.6 trillion to flow out of the banking system. While the GENIUS Act bans stablecoin issuers themselves from offering interest or yields to token holders, it does not explicitly extend the restriction to crypto exchanges or affiliated businesses, leaving room for potential workarounds.

The development has raised alarm within the banking sector, as U.S. banking associations warn that widespread adoption of yield-bearing stablecoins could destabilize the traditional financial system, which depends heavily on deposits to fund lending.

Industry leaders warn that the Act could spark a mass migration of deposits from low-interest bank accounts to high-yield stablecoins, threatening to erode bank profits and reshape how consumers store and grow their money.

While traditional savings accounts currently offer meager returns, averaging 0.40% in the U.S. and 0.25% in Europe, Stripe CEO Patrick Collison noted that stablecoins present a striking contrast. On lending platforms like Aave, Tether (USDT) and Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) offer yields of 4.02% and 3.69%, respectively, making them up to ten times more rewarding than conventional bank deposits.

This outlook aligns with reports from Fortune in June, which revealed that several major tech companies, including Visa, Apple, Stripe, Google, Airbnb, among others, were exploring the issuance of their own stablecoins to reduce transaction fees and streamline cross-border payments.

Last month, Global payments leader Visa unveiled a new pilot program to test stablecoins for cross-border transfers. This will give businesses a faster and more flexible way to move money internationally. The initiative will allow banks, remittance providers, and financial institutions to pre-fund Visa Direct with stablecoins instead of traditional fiat currencies.

By treating stablecoins as money in the bank or available balances for payouts, Visa aims to eliminate businesses needing to lock up large sums of cash days in advance.

Also, earlier this month, Stripe, a multinational financial services and software as a service company, rolled out Open Issuance, a new platform that enables businesses to create, launch, and manage their own stablecoins. The platform gives companies full control over their digital currency strategy removing reliance on third-party issuers, reducing fees, and unlocking new revenue opportunities through reserve rewards.

By connecting every issuer into a shared liquidity network, Open Issuance makes it faster and easier for businesses across industries to bring stablecoins to market and scale globally.

Outlook

As the stablecoin market currently boasts a $308.3 billion capitalization, led by USDT at $177 billionand USDC at $75.2 billion, the U.S. Treasury projects the market will expand by 566%, reaching $2 trillion by 2028.

This is an indication that the GENIUS Act may be just the catalyst needed to accelerate the shift from traditional banking to a stablecoin-driven financial future.