GPT has 5M paying business users

👋 Good morning/evening (wherever you are). It’s Friday.

OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap confirmed on X that ChatGPT now has 5 million paying business users, up from 3 million in June.

The company also closed an $8.3 billion funding round valuing it at $300 billion.

OK let’s keep going ↓

🔥 Creative pulse

In case you missed them: two popular LinkedIn posts this week.

1. Watch AI switch POVs (3rd-person to 1st-person)

2. 12 new creative tools and features in Runway Aleph

Also, here’s a 46‑minute AI in Hollywood roundtable hosted by Roger Cheng, Managing Editor of Business & PRO at TheWrap, on how AI is transforming entertainment from production and post to VFX and storytelling.

PS: I’m launching an AI creative community next Monday. It’s going to be fun and you’ll feel right at home. Thanks again for being patient! I’ll share the link here first. Keep an eye out.

💡 Here’s what you should know

• Google launches Gemini 2.5 Deep Think

  Google’s new multi‑agent AI brings step‑by‑step reasoning to tough math and coding challenges, achieving IMO‑level performance.

• SEC announces AI task force

  The SEC has formed a new AI task force and appointed Valerie Szczepanik as its first Chief AI Officer, signaling plans to integrate AI into regulatory work.

• NTT unveils “Expert Visualization” AI

  The tool converts expert discussions into step‑by‑step workflows with ~90% accuracy, helping industries like security and customer service capture tacit knowledge.

• Fujitsu launches a 10,000-qubit quantum AI project

  Fujitsu aims to build a superconducting quantum computer by 2030 to advance cryptography, industrial optimization, and large‑scale AI training with Japan’s NEDO, AIST, and RIKEN.

• Meta lists $2B of data center assets for sale to offset AI costs

  Meta is moving $2 billion in land and construction to “held‑for‑sale” to bring in outside partners and ease rising AI infrastructure costs.

• McDonald’s to double down on AI by 2027

  AI voice ordering now runs in 100+ drive‑thrus to speed service and reduce labor costs.

• Delta says it won’t use AI for personalized fares

  Facing pressure from U.S. lawmakers over “surveillance pricing,” Delta confirmed it has never set ticket prices per individual and will only use AI for market-level adjustments.

💰 The numbers

• Vast Data is in talks to raise up to $1B from CapitalG and Nvidia, valuing the company at up to $30B.

• Mistral is seeking $1B at a $10B valuation, prepping to scale its Le Chat chatbot and next-gen LLMs.

• Fundamental Research Labs raised a $33M Series A led by Prosus to build AI agents across verticals including the Fairies consumer assistant and the Shortcut spreadsheet agent.

🧠 Thought starters

I’m seeing what Gokul is seeing. Hungry builders with no track record are emerging everywhere and winning.

AI is their perfect storm, the biggest talent shift in decades.

😂 Meme of the day

Thanks for reading,

Eddie

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