🤑 OpenAI is selling shares

What’s going on here?

OpenAI’s planning a share sale that could value the startup at roughly $90 billion.

What does this mean?

OpenAI isn’t just on track to fling the world toward a dystopian future. ChatGPT's creator is also set to rake in around $1 billion in revenue this year, a result of licensing out brainy language models to businesses and charging individuals for access to a souped-up version of its all-star chatbot. Still, shaping the way the world works is costly business, so OpenAI’s planning to raise cash by selling a bunch of existing shares to deep-pocketed Silicon Valley investors. If all goes to plan, OpenAI could end up valued at $90 billion or more, enough to land it in the major leagues alongside Elon Musk's SpaceX and the TikTok overlords at ByteDance.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: Microsoft’s mega shares.

Microsoft owns almost half of OpenAI, having tossed a ton of cash into it earlier this year when the startup was worth around $30 billion. This stock sale, then, could triple the value of OpenAI on Microsoft’s books. Mind you, there’s no guarantee that Microsoft can maintain its lead over fellow tech titans. While Google and Meta tinker away on their own AI competitors, Microsoft will have to contend with a minority stake in the startup: OpenAI’s boss has ruled out going public or selling to the highest bidder in an effort to cap Microsoft’s share below half.

The bigger picture: There’s no free lunch in Silicon Valley.

OpenAI’s sudden success is a clear sign of the buzz around AI. And with businesses, industries, and governments around the world all het up about the tech’s possibilities, any firm that brings new silicon smarts to the market could enter the billion-dollar club in a matter of mere months – a feat that usually takes many years. But remember: any opportunity that booms quickly can go bust just as fast, so you’ll need to prepare for some serious ups and downs if you’re invested in tech these days.

What’s going on here?

Target announced plans to shut down nine stores on Tuesday, blaming scaled-up crime for rendering them completely unsustainable.

What does this mean?

Target’s shelves have been wobbling under the weight of unsold higher-priced stock, which the retailer can’t seem to shift despite the help of a few discount stickers. But it’s not that nobody wants Target’s products, it’s just the issue of paying for them. The company first admitted over a year ago that stealing – known as “shrinkage” in retail circles – has been eating into profit. Then in May, it slapped a $500 million price tag on the annual cost of crime on its bottom line. Target’s head honchos aren’t willing to swallow that every year, so they’re shutting down their most crime-ridden locations across the country.

Why should I care?

Zooming in: The plot thickens.

Now, Target isn’t calling out regular folk pinched by the cost of living, because this amount of missing stock is at the level of organized crime. And sure, a missing pallet or two has never been worth kicking up a fuss about, but this is a lot of missing stuff. And since Target will have already paid for all of it, every stolen sale will eat away at the firm’s profit. Without proper intervention, then, the retailer’s stock could end up swimming with the fishes.

The bigger picture: Handle with care.

Target’s sticking to its line that missing stock is an industry-wide problem, which could well be true. But so far, other major retailers seem to be coping without bolting down store doors in so-called “dangerous” areas. Maybe, then, Target’s especially fragile right now and can’t take on any more risks than absolutely necessary. And if that’s the case, investors needn’t tar the whole industry with Target’s brush.