🗞️In this edition

• New Microsoft agreement strengthens OpenAI’s IPO plans

• Workflow Wednesday #36 ‘Competitive Edge’

• China unveils AI to track hidden submarines

• In other AI news –

  • OpenAI launches mentorship program for early-stage tech founders

  • Amazon tests AI voices to replace product reviews

  • Nvidia and OpenAI plan big UK AI infrastructure push

  • Rolling Stone’s parent sues Google over AI Overviews

• 4 must-try AI tools

New Microsoft deal could ease OpenAI’s road to IPO

♨️News – OpenAI and Microsoft have taken a key step toward redefining their partnership as OpenAI pushes ahead with its restructuring and long-term goal of going public. The two announced a new memorandum of understanding that lays the groundwork for a more formal deal.

👨‍💻Fast facts –

• OpenAI is valued at $500 billion and is preparing for an eventual IPO.

• The new MOU outlines the next phase of its partnership with Microsoft.

• Microsoft has invested $13 billion since 2019 and shares revenue from ChatGPT and its API.

• OpenAI’s nonprofit parent will keep authority over the for-profit entity, with an equity stake exceeding $100 billion.

• Regulators in California and Delaware are reviewing OpenAI’s governance amid pushback from other nonprofits.

🤓OpenTools POV –  This agreement could give OpenAI the clarity it needs to move closer to an IPO. The real test will be how it balances nonprofit control with Microsoft’s growing push to expand its own AI efforts.

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This Week in Workflow Wednesday #36: Competitive Edge

This Week in Workflow Wednesday: Competitive Edge

 Workflow 1: Out-Research Your Competition with Perplexity
Why waste hours Googling when Perplexity can hand you a competitive intel brief in minutes?

Step 1: Name your rival
Type in the company you want to track — pricing, features, customer praise and complaints all come back in a clean digest.

Step 2: Dig for weakness
Follow up with prompts that surface user frustrations from G2, Reddit, and X so you know exactly where to outshine them.

And here’s the kicker: we share the exact prompts and a simple template to flip this research into a strategy that…We break it all down in this week’s issue, along with 2 other AI workflows.

New Chinese study says AI could end submarine stealth in warfare

☕News – A new defence study from China suggests submarines may no longer be the hidden giants of naval warfare. Researchers have developed an AI-driven anti-submarine system that reportedly tracks even the quietest vessels with remarkable accuracy, raising questions about the future of undersea deterrence.

• Published in Electronics Optics & Control and led by engineer Meng Hao.

• Uses sonar, radar, underwater sensors and environmental data to build a live ocean map.

• AI predicts submarine evasive moves and adapts in real time.

• Simulations showed a 95 percent success rate in detection and tracking.

• Submarine survival chances could drop from 85 percent to only 5 percent.

🤓OpenTools POV –  If this technology proves practical outside simulations, it could fundamentally weaken the role of submarines in global defence strategy. The bigger picture is clear: AI is moving beyond support roles and starting to shape how wars might be fought.

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📢 What else is happening?

• OpenAI announces new mentorship program for budding tech founders // The program is aimed toward individuals in the pre-idea to pre-seed stage

• Can an Amazon AI voice guide you better than customer product reviews? It's starting to try // From five-star raves to one-star eviscerations, Amazon product reviews can provide shoppers with valuable information, but also easily send readers down another rabbit hole of internet era user-generated opinion

• Nvidia and OpenAI to back major investment in UK AI infrastructure // Nvidia and OpenAI are discussing a sizable deal to support data center development in the U.K., familiar with the matter

• Rolling Stone’s parent company sues Google over AI Overviews // Penske Media Corporation says AI summaries are driving down traffic and revenue, threatening its business

👩🏼‍🚒Discover mind-blowing AI tools

1. PitchPower - A software service that helps consultants and agencies create powerful proposals quickly

2. Flowrite - A Chrome extension that helps users write emails and messages 5x faster

3. MapsGPT - Helps users quickly find and explore interesting places near them using AI

4. Smodin - A suite of tools designed to help students and writers save time and improve their work