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By Krystal Hu (Reuters) -OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reached a valuation of $500 billion, following a deal in which current and former employees sold roughly $6.6 billion worth of shares, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. This represents a bump-up from its current valuation of $300 billion, underscoring OpenAI's rapid gains in both users and revenue. Reuters reported details of the stock sale earlier in August. As part of the deal, OpenAI employees sold shares to a consortium of investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi's MGX and T. Rowe Price, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media. The company had authorized sales of $10-billion-plus worth of stock on the secondary market, the source added. Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer, MGX and T. Rowe Price did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The share sale adds to SoftBank's earlier investment in OpenAI's $40 billion primary funding round. The company generated around $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025, about 16% more than it generated all of last year, the Information reported earlier this week. The sale comes at a time when tech giants are competing aggressively for AI talent with lucrative compensation packages. Meta is notably investing billions in Scale AI and poached its 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead its new super intelligence unit. (Reporting by Krystal Hu in San Francisco and Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Janane Venkatraman)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan is considering forming a high-tech strategic partnership with the U.S., which wants increased Taiwanese investment, the island's top tariff negotiator said on Thursday, giving an update on talks with Washington. Taiwan, home to the world's biggest contract chipmaker TSMC, runs a large trade surplus with the United States. The island's exports to the U.S. are currently subject to a 20% tariff, a figure Taipei's government is seeking to cut. Taiwan Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun, who is leading the tariff talks with Washington, told reporters in Taipei she was hopeful both sides could reach a consensus on expanding investment in the United States through a "Taiwan model". This would not involve relocating supply chains but rather extending and expanding U.S. production capacity, said Cheng, who returned this week from the latest round of talks. Neither the U.S. Commerce Department nor the Office of the United States Trade Representative has responded to requests for comment on the talks. The U.S. government went into shutdown on Wednesday. TSMC, whose business is surging on strong demand for artificial intelligence applications, is investing $165 billion to build chip factories in the U.S. state of Arizona, though the bulk of its production will remain in Taiwan. Cheng, who said TSMC did not take part in the latest talks, repeated that a proposal floated in U.S. media by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick for a 50-50 split in making chips is not something Taiwan would agree to and was not brought up. "We can clearly say that we understand that the U.S. side's hope is to increase domestic production capability to satisfy U.S. domestic demand," she added. The aim of Taiwan's industry is to "remain rooted in Taiwan and deploy around the world, and then have bilateral strategic cooperation," Cheng said. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Jeanny Kao; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan is considering forming a high-tech strategic partnership with the U.S., which wants increased Taiwanese investment, the island's top tariff negotiator said on Thursday, giving an update on talks with Washington. Taiwan, home to the world's biggest contract chipmaker TSMC, runs a large trade surplus with the United States. The island's exports to the U.S. are currently subject to a 20% tariff, a figure Taipei's government is seeking to cut. Taiwan Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun, who is leading the tariff talks with Washington, told reporters in Taipei she was hopeful both sides could reach a consensus on expanding investment in the United States through a "Taiwan model". This would not involve relocating supply chains but rather extending and expanding U.S. production capacity, said Cheng, who returned this week from the latest round of talks. The government views the model for investing in the country as "industrial investment planning" coupled with government support measures such as export credit guarantees and joint Taiwan-U.S. development of industrial clusters, she added. "The current negotiation focus is that the United States expects us to expand investments and engage in supply chain cooperation," Cheng said. Neither the U.S. Commerce Department nor the Office of the United States Trade Representative has responded to requests for comment on the talks. The U.S. government went into shutdown on Wednesday. TSMC, whose business is surging on strong demand for artificial intelligence applications, is investing $165 billion to build chip factories in the U.S. state of Arizona, though the bulk of its production will remain in Taiwan. Cheng, who said TSMC did not take part in the latest talks, repeated that a proposal floated in U.S. media by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick for a 50-50 split in making chips is not something Taiwan would agree to and was not brought up. "We can clearly say that we understand that the U.S. side's hope is to increase domestic production capability to satisfy U.S. domestic demand," she added. The aim of Taiwan's industry is to "remain rooted in Taiwan and deploy around the world, and then have bilateral strategic cooperation," Cheng said. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Jeanny Kao; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Krystal Hu (Reuters) -OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reached a valuation of $500 billion, following a deal in which current and former employees sold roughly $6.6 billion worth of shares, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. This represents a bump-up from its current valuation of $300 billion, underscoring OpenAI's rapid gains in both users and revenue. Reuters reported details of the stock sale earlier in August. As part of the deal, OpenAI employees sold shares to a consortium of investors including Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group, Abu Dhabi's MGX and T. Rowe Price, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media. The company had authorized sales of $10-billion-plus worth of stock on the secondary market, the source added. Thrive Capital, SoftBank, Dragoneer, MGX and T. Rowe Price did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The share sale adds to SoftBank's earlier investment in OpenAI's $40 billion primary funding round. The company generated around $4.3 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025, about 16% more than it generated all of last year, the Information reported earlier this week. The sale comes at a time when tech giants are competing aggressively for AI talent with lucrative compensation packages. Meta is notably investing billions in Scale AI and poached its 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang, to lead its new super intelligence unit. (Reporting by Krystal Hu in San Francisco and Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Janane Venkatraman)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Universal Music and Warner Music are nearing landmark artificial intelligence licensing deals, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.  Universal and Warner could each strike deals with AI companies within weeks, the newspaper said. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. (Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Citigroup raised its year-end price target for ether to $4,500 from $4,300, citing strong flows from ETFs and digital asset treasuries. The brokerage trimmed its bitcoin forecast to $133,000 from $135,000, pointing to offsetting macro factors, including a stronger dollar and weaker gold prices. (Reporting by Rashika Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reached a valuation of $500 billion following a deal in which current and former employees sold roughly $6.6 billion worth of shares, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. (Reporting by Krystal Hu and Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reached a valuation of $500 billion following a deal in which current and former employees sold roughly $6.6 billion worth of shares, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. (Reporting by Krystal Hu and Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Alibaba's mapping app Amap recorded more than 360 million daily active users on the first day of China's eight-day National Day holiday on Wednesday, setting an all-time high for the platform, the company said in a statement. Alibaba and rival Meituan have been locked in a bitter battle for market share, with Amap moving away from its traditional focus on navigation and encroaching on Meituan's local-lifestyle territory by launching its own ranking of restaurants, hotels and tourist destinations.  In Thursday trade in Hong Kong, index heavyweight Alibaba jumped 4% after JPMorgan raised the tech giant's target share price to HK$240 ($30.85) from a previous HK$165. Coinciding with the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, the National Day holiday this year has been extended from one week to eight days, fuelling a surge in travel. The holiday period, which ends this year on October 8, is traditionally one of the busiest in China. In September, Amap announced a new function known as "Street Stars," which uses artificial intelligence algorithms to rank destinations for its daily active users. The app was offering users 1 billion yuan ($140.43 million) in subsidies for coupons for ride-hailing or in-store services as part of the new service's launch. Chinese consumers have long relied on apps such as Meituan's Dazhong Dianping to research restaurant recommendations, make bookings and more. China's national railway recorded 23.13 million trips on the first day of the National Day holiday, up nearly 8% from a year earlier and setting a single-day record, state media CCTV reported. ($1 = 7.7800 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Kate Mayberry)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Universal Music and Warner Music are nearing landmark artificial intelligence licensing deals, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.  Universal and Warner could each strike deals with AI companies within weeks, the newspaper said. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. (Reporting by Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)