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Economic Times
4 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Who is Mira Murati, the AI expert who rejected Mark Zuckerberg's ₹83,00,00,00,000 Meta offer to build world's most powerful AI?
Mira Murati, 36, isn't just another name in Silicon Valley. She's the woman who looked a $1 billion offer from Meta straight in the face — and turned it down. Every single member of her team at Thinking Machines Lab did the an exclusive report by Wired, Murati confirmed, 'So far at Thinking Machines Lab, not a single person has taken the offer.'Meta had approached her newly founded AI startup with compensation packages ranging from $200,000 to as high as $1 billion. The goal: to lure talent into its newly launched Superintelligence her team wasn't swayed. According to the reason was simple, they believe in the long-term value of their equity and in Murati's vision more than any short-term has pushed back. As quoted by Wired, Meta's communications director Andy Stone said, 'We made offers only to a handful of people at TML and while there was one sizeable offer, the details are off. At the end of the day, this all begs the question who is spinning this narrative and why.' Still, Murati's account stands. She says Meta tried to acquire Thinking Machines, just as it had attempted with ScaleAI before. The attempt in 1988 in Vlorë, Albania, Murati's early life was shaped by a changing political landscape. At 16, she won a scholarship to Pearson College UWC in British Columbia, Canada, a school known for promoting global citizenship and critical experience laid the foundation for her future. After finishing the International Baccalaureate programme, she pursued a dual academic path: a Bachelor of Arts at Colby College in 2011 and a Bachelor of Engineering from Dartmouth's Thayer School in blend of liberal arts and engineering proved essential in shaping how she thinks about technology, people and the started her career at Zodiac Aerospace, then moved to Tesla where she worked on the Model X as a senior product manager. From there, she joined Leap Motion (now Ultraleap), where she explored gesture-based computing and augmented reality. But her defining chapter began in 2018 when she joined OpenAI as Vice President of Applied AI and Partnerships. By 2022, she was promoted to Chief Technology Officer. Under her leadership, OpenAI launched groundbreaking tools like ChatGPT, DALL·E, Codex and Sora. In November 2023, during a leadership crisis at OpenAI, Murati briefly stepped in as interim CEO after Sam Altman was removed. She was one of the senior leaders who questioned his management. Although Altman returned within days, Murati eventually left the company in September 2024 to start her own in February 2025, Thinking Machines Lab is an AI public benefit startup that aims to build general-purpose, accessible and ethical AI systems. It raised $2 billion in seed funding by July — the largest seed round in tech history — at a $12 billion valuation. The startup is backed by names like Nvidia, AMD, Accel, Cisco, ServiceNow and the Albanian government. The company has hired talent from OpenAI, Meta and French AI firm Mistral. Although it hasn't released a product yet, industry insiders are watching closely.A source told Wired the company is developing AI systems that could help tackle major global problems such as disease, climate change and inequality. And unlike many other players, Murati's approach includes bringing experts from outside the AI world — scientists, policymakers and researchers — into the conversation makes this story even more unusual is that, in the high-stakes world of AI, talent often follows money. But not in Murati's per the team values independence and sees the mission of Thinking Machines Lab as larger than any corporate want to build AI from the ground up, in a way that reflects their values — not someone else's influence hasn't gone unnoticed. She was named in Time's 100 Most Influential People in AI in 2024 and in Fortune's Most Powerful Women in Business in 2023. Her company's funding success is also rare in a sector where female-led startups still receive only a fraction of venture capital. According to Female Founders Fund, just 2.1% of VC money last year went to startups founded solely by women. And yet Murati secured $2 billion. Her startup has no product, but a clear vision, an elite team, and the trust of heavyweight isn't just about turning down money. It's about who gets to shape the future of has made it clear that she's not just building tools. She's building a framework for how AI should work — inclusive, transparent and accountable. In her own story, there's a message to young technologists, especially women: that you don't need to follow the usual path to lead the next when Zuckerberg came knocking with ₹8,300 crore, she had an answer ready. No. Because some visions aren't for sale.
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Mira Murati education qualifications: How UWC roots and Dartmouth training shaped the visionary behind ChatGPT and Sora
Mira Murati, founder, Thinking Machines Lab When Mira Murati boarded a flight from Albania to Canada at the age of 16, she wasn't just leaving behind her home country, but she was stepping into a world of possibility. Armed with a scholarship to Pearson College UWC in British Columbia, she joined a community of students from across the globe who were taught not just to excel academically, but to think critically about the world they would soon shape. Two decades later, Murati is doing just that, shaping the world through artificial intelligence. As the former Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI , she helped lead the development of ChatGPT, DALL·E, Codex, and Sora, some of the most transformative AI tools of our time. Today, she's the founder of Thinking Machines Lab, a $12 billion AI startup that's already being called one of the most ambitious new ventures in tech. But behind that staggering resume lies a lesser-known story; one of carefully built educational choices, driven curiosity, and a deeply global perspective. An early start in global thinking B by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like When the Camera Clicked at the Worst Possible Time Read More Undo orn in Vlorë, Albania, in 1988, Murati grew up during a time of political and economic change. At 16, she was awarded a place at Pearson College UWC, part of the United World Colleges movement. Located on Vancouver Island, the school brings together students from over 80 countries to study under the International Baccalaureate curriculum while promoting intercultural understanding and social responsibility. At UWC, Murati was introduced to a classroom that extended far beyond textbooks. It was a place where students were encouraged to connect science with ethics, innovation with impact. That exposure to global issues, cultures, and values would stay with her long after she left. Engineering meets liberal arts After graduating from Pearson in 2005, Murati pursued a unique academic route, one that bridged the analytical and the abstract. She enrolled in a dual-degree program in the United States, completing a Bachelor of Arts from Colby College in 2011 and a Bachelor of Engineering from Dartmouth College's Thayer School of Engineering in 2012. The combination may seem unusual in the tech world, but for Murati, it was essential. Colby honed her ability to think critically and communicate ideas, while Dartmouth gave her the engineering muscle to bring those ideas to life. In a field increasingly shaped by questions of ethics, responsibility, and human impact, that blend of skills proved invaluable. Building the future, step by step Murati's professional journey began with a brief stint at Zodiac Aerospace, but her career truly took off at Tesla, where she worked as a product manager on the Model X. From there, she moved to Leap Motion (now Ultraleap), a company exploring augmented reality and gesture-based computing. These experiences laid the groundwork for her next move, joining OpenAI in 2018. Initially brought on as the Vice President of Applied AI and Partnerships, she rose to the role of Chief Technology Officer in 2022. At OpenAI, Murati wasn't just managing teams, she was steering the creation of tools that would redefine how humans interact with machines. Under her leadership, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, Codex, DALL·E, and the groundbreaking video model Sora. She also played a key role in aligning technical advancement with ethical considerations, pushing for safety and accountability in the use of large language models. The startup turning heads in Silicon Valley In September 2024, Murati stepped down as CTO of OpenAI, announcing that she wanted to pursue her own exploration. By February 2025, she had unveiled Thinking Machines Lab, a public benefit AI startup with a mission to build AI systems that are more general-purpose, customisable, and understandable to the public. Backed by investors like Nvidia, Accel, ServiceNow, AMD, and even the government of Albania, the startup closed a record-breaking seed round of $2 billion by July, one of the largest in tech history. With talent from OpenAI, Meta, and Mistral joining her team, Murati's lab is already being positioned as a serious contender in the next wave of AI innovation. Education is more than just degrees Mira Murati's journey is more than a story of success, it's a case study in the power of interdisciplinary, global education. From her early scholarship at UWC to her dual academic path in the U.S., every chapter of her learning shaped the thinker and leader she became. For students wondering whether a liberal arts class is worth taking alongside engineering, or whether studying abroad can open up new opportunities, Murati's path offers an answer: yes, and yes. She is proof that education doesn't just teach you what to think—it teaches you how to think, and more importantly, why. In a world rapidly being transformed by AI, those are the skills that will matter most. TOI Education is on WhatsApp now. Follow us here . Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
DBS, OCBC, UOB Q2 results likely to be weighed down by lower interest rates
[SINGAPORE] The trio of local banks will likely post weaker results for the second quarter of 2025, weighed down by lower net interest income from falling interest rates, analysts said. They are expected to post their Q2 financials next month, beginning with OCBC on Aug 1 and followed by DBS and UOB on Aug 7. Net interest margins (NIMs) will probably be 'materially lower' in Q2, said Thilan Wickramasinghe, head of research and regional financials at Maybank Securities Singapore. He noted that the Singapore Overnight Rate Average (Sora) was down 50 basis points – due to 'massive' domestic liquidity, partly because of safe haven inflows – while the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (Hibor) was at its lowest since 2022. The Sora decline provided only partial relief in funding costs, as banks 'weigh off preserving market share', he said. DBS Group Research analyst Lim Rui Wen also expects NIMs to fall quarter on quarter by a high single digit, due to the lower Sora and Hibor. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The rates' impact will likely be more pronounced as more loans get repriced against reduced benchmark rates throughout Q2, she added. However, she noted that OCBC's and UOB's repricing of their fixed-deposit and flagship deposit account interest rates should buffer falling asset yields in subsequent quarters. Wickramasinghe also pointed out that loan growth was better than expected in Q2, probably due to front-loading demand ahead of the expiry of US President Donald Trump's tariff moratorium. While this may partially offset downsides in net interest income, it is unlikely to arrest sequential decline, the researcher said. Trump impact Analysts also said that Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs in April likely weighed on market sentiment, impacting wealth management fees in turn. Tay Wee Kuang, an analyst at CGS International, said that macroeconomic uncertainty could continue to dampen fee income in the second half of the year, despite equity market sentiment having slowly recovered. Nevertheless, Lim of DBS expects wealth management income to remain a tailwind for Singapore banks in the medium term, as wealth management activity began recovering in May. This is also supported by ongoing growth in assets under management (AUM), she said. 'The investible portion of AUM is expected, as clients reallocated funds from fixed-deposit rates and (treasury-bill) rates, which continue to see declining rates through Q2.' Wickramasinghe likewise expects sequential improvements in wealth management fees, given falling domestic benchmark rates and risk-on market conditions. He added that significant volatility around foreign exchange, trade and interest rates would likely have supported trading income in Q2, which could surprise on the upside, especially for DBS and UOB. Higher credit costs Meanwhile, the three banks' credit costs could trend towards the higher end of their respective 2025 guidance, due to weakness across Asean economies such as Thailand and Indonesia , said Tay. 'However, we do not expect total credit costs to change drastically quarter on quarter, as we believe the pre-emptive general provisions recognised by the Singapore banks in Q1 should remain sufficient amid the current credit cycle,' he added. Ongoing reviews of second-order impacts from the US tariffs may also lead the banks to maintain or increase their general provision buffers, said Lim. Therefore, general provisions write-backs are unlikely this year, she noted. CGS International and Maybank Securities kept their 'neutral' call on the Singapore banking sector, with Tay noting that the lenders lack growth catalysts in an uncertain economic outlook. The analysts expect UOB to restore its guidance for 2025, which it had suspended in Q1. They are also awaiting more clarity from OCBC on its strategy, following its failed bid to privatise its insurance arm, Great Eastern . Clarity around returns may also take longer to resolve due to the lender's 'unexpected leadership change ', Wickramasinghe said. But Lim, who has 'hold' calls on OCBC and UOB, expects the banks' dividend yields of up to 6.5 per cent to continue supporting share prices. 'As asset quality remains largely benign, and dividend yields stay attractive, comparable to Singapore real estate investment trusts, we expect share prices to remain well-supported in a low interest-rate environment and due to the safe haven appeal of the Singapore dollar,' she said.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Watch out for videos of ginormous anacondas in Amazon River
Claim: A series of videos shows massive, real-life anacondas swimming through the Amazon River. Rating: In July 2025, several videos began circulating across social media platforms, allegedly showing aerial footage of gigantic anacondas slithering through the Amazon River. These videos, some of which received millions of views, appeared to show unnaturally large snakes moving through dense jungle waterways. One TikTok post (archived) with the footage gained over 36 million views on TikTok. Similar videos spread across platforms including Instagram, Facebook, X and Reddit. However, these videos did not depict real-life events. They were created using AI video generation tools, most likely Sora, a text-to-video model developed by OpenAI. Many of the clips included a subtle watermark in the bottom-right corner indicating the use of such a tool. Additionally, no reputable news agencies or wildlife organizations reported any recent sightings of extraordinarily large anacondas in the Amazon River. While green anacondas (Eunectes murinus) are indeed among the largest snakes in the world and inhabit the region, the ones shown in these videos are far larger than any known specimen, and clearly fabricated. As such, we have rated these videos as fake. Wave of AI anaconda videos spreads online The TikTok profile (archived) @ which had over 387,300 followers as of this writing, featured dozens of AI-generated videos, many of which depicted surreal wildlife scenes, such as giant anacondas in the Amazon rain forest (see screenshot below). (TikTok user @ One of the user's TikTok videos (archived) reached over 12 million views, with a caption reading: During a routine surveillance mission over the Amazon River, a military helicopter crew spotted something unbelievable — a massive black anaconda gliding through the jungle waters. The size and speed of the serpent stunned the crew, and the footage is sending chills across the internet!Was this just a freak encounter… or is something colossal lurking in the Amazon depths? The description further stated 📍Location: Amazon River Basin 🎥 Type: AI-generated concept" and featured "#AIConcept" hashtag, among other ones. While this video at least included the disclosure that it was AI-generated, many viewers seemed to take it at face value, expressing shock and belief in the video's authenticity. Most other viral versions of the footage, however, lacked any disclaimer or context indicating they were AI-generated. Additionally, the clips featured a subtle OpenAI Blossom logo watermark in the bottom-right corner, indicating they were created using the AI video generator Sora (see image below). (TikTok use @ Illustration) The TikTok user confirmed personally creating all the videos using the AI tool Sora, consistent with the watermarks visible in the clips. The videos also displayed several telltale signs of being artificially created. For example, the massive snakes appeared to float on the surface of the water without interacting realistically with their surroundings. What's more, the textures of the snakes' skin and the water looked unnatural and overly smooth, lacking the detail and complexity seen in real footage. Finally, no reputable media outlets reported any verified sightings of such creatures, and the snakes depicted in the videos were of a size far beyond anything known to science. While real green anacondas are among the biggest snakes on Earth, the exaggerated scale shown in these AI-generated clips indicated they were entirely fabricated. (Don't) do it yourself To test how easily such viral snake videos could be created, we used Sora. With just a simple prompt, reading: " "generate a video, a view from above, pretty high, showing multiple anacondas in amazon river," we were able to produce a video that closely resembled the viral videos circulating online. (Sora) The videos were created in under a minute, with no need for editing software or wildlife knowledge. Notably, this was done with a very basic, first-try prompt. With just a little more effort, such as specifying camera movement, lighting, environmental effects, or more natural snake behavior, the results could be made even more realistic and harder to distinguish from genuine footage. For reference, here's a video of a real anaconda: We regularly debunk AI-generated content, including a recent rumor claiming that "The Simpsons" predicted a July 2025 scandal in which a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert allegedly caught a tech CEO cheating with the company's chief people officer. - YouTube. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025. AI Generated Content Articles | Accessed 23 Jul. 2025. Esposito, Joey. "Did 'The Simpsons' Predict Coldplay Kiss Cam Scandal?" Snopes, 21 Jul. 2025, "Green Anaconda, Facts and Information." Animals, 13 Jun. 2025, OpenAI. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025. Sora: Creating Video from Text. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
Business Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
S-Reits earnings season kicks off, with 37 trusts scheduled to report their results in coming weeks
THE latest earnings season for Singapore-listed real estate investment trusts (S-Reits) has commenced, with seven trusts reporting their latest financial results or business updates last week. Another 30 S-Reits have also announced that their latest earnings will be scheduled for release between Jul 28 and Aug 14. Among the 37 S-Reits, 31 are reporting quarterly or half-year financial results, four will provide quarterly business updates, and two will provide full-year financial results. Sabana Industrial Reit , Digital Core Reit , Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) and OUE Reit kicked off the current earnings season last Wednesday (Jul 23), followed by Suntec Reit and Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) on Thursday (Jul 24), as well as Keppel DC Reit on Friday. Of the Reits that have announced their earnings so far, most have reported stable operating performances, with some improvements in distributions per unit (DPU) observed in the latest reporting period. Reit managers, however, remain watchful over the impact of trade tensions and tariffs going forward and are focused on portfolio and capital management efforts while eyeing opportunities. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up Sabana Reit's DPU rose 26.9 per cent year on year to S$0.017 in H1 2025, on the back of higher gross revenue and net property income (NPI). The manager said that the strong performance was supported by improved occupancy at certain properties and positive rental reversions across the portfolio. However, it noted that rising geopolitical tensions, the uncertain trade outlook, and cost pressures are headwinds, and its priority is to optimise portfolio occupancy rate while mitigating operational costs to attract and retain cost conscious tenants. Elsewhere, Digital Core Reit reported stable DPU of US$0.018 in the first half of 2025, amid higher gross revenue and NPI. The Reit manager noted that data centre fundamentals continue to tighten across core global markets, and it remains focused on capitalising on the favourable industry backdrop to create durable value for unitholders. In the first half of 2025, Digital Core Reit repurchased a total of 1.8 million units at an average price of US$0.565, generating DPU accretion of approximately 0.1 per cent. The units were held as treasury units and were subsequently cancelled. OUE Reit reported a 5.4 per cent improvement in DPU for the first half of 2025, following a significant decline in finance costs, which fell 17.3 per cent on year. The Reit's revenue and NPI fell slightly during the period on a like-for-like basis as its resilient Singapore commercial portfolio partially offset lower hospitality contributions. OUE Reit's manager noted that its disciplined capital management, coupled with the decline in the Singapore Overnight Rate Average (Sora), has enabled the lower financing costs, supporting DPU growth. Other S-Reits with Singapore assets have also noted improvements in their financing costs. Suntec Reit reported a 3.7 per cent improvement in DPU for H1, with its Singapore office, retail and convention portfolios continuing to deliver strong operating performances. The manager also noted that financing costs for Suntec Reit declined amid refinancing efforts, as well as the paring down of debt with divestment proceeds from Suntec strata office units. Similarly, FCT said that its cost of debt was improving, declining to 3.7 per cent in Q3 2025, down from 4.1 per cent a year earlier. The Reit's committed occupancy remained stable and high, at 99.9 per cent, with shopper traffic and tenants' sales improving 2.1 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively, compared to the prior-year period. Its manager also noted that limited supply and healthy demand continue to underpin the Singapore suburban retail market. Elsewhere, MLT reported stable operating metrics with 95.7 per cent occupancy and 2.1 per cent positive rental reversions. Revenue and NPI fell 2.4 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively, on year, mainly due to foreign exchange impact and loss of contribution from 12 divested properties. On a constant currency basis, the portfolio's operational performance was stable. Excluding divestment gains, DPU from operations rose 0.5 per cent quarter on quarter, reflecting stable operational performance. However, its DPU was lower year on year, amid weaker regional currencies and the absence of a one-off divestment gain. SGX RESEARCH The writer is a research analyst at SGX. For more research and information on Singapore's Reit sector, visit for the monthly S-Reits & Property Trusts Chartbook.
