Welcome back to Daily Zaps, your regularly-scheduled dose of AI news ⚡️ 

Here’s what we got for ya today:

• OpenAI’s future owners revealed

• AI models becoming too smart for human trainers

• Nvidia to invest $5B in rival Intel

• $799 Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses

Let’s get right into it!

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BIG TECH

OpenAI’s future owners revealed

OpenAI’s planned restructuring would transform its capped-profit model into a traditional equity structure, giving investors unlimited upside and valuing the for-profit arm at $500 billion. Microsoft, the largest outside backer, would own about 28% (worth ~$140B), while OpenAI’s nonprofit parent would hold ~27% (worth $135B). Employees and alumni would control 25% ($125B), and a group led by SoftBank, Founders Fund, Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, and Dragoneer would own 13% ($65B).

Early backers like Khosla Ventures, the University of Michigan, Reid Hoffman’s foundation, Paul Buchheit, and Y Combinator would collectively hold about 1% ($5B). Shareholders of Io, Jony Ive’s AI hardware startup acquired for $5B in stock, would own 1.6% ($7.75B). The restructuring, still pending Microsoft and state attorney general approval, would not only boost returns for investors but also secure Microsoft’s long-term access to OpenAI’s IP, while offering SoftBank and others a way to recoup value that would have been limited under the old profit-sharing model.

BIG TECH

AI models becoming too smart for human trainers

Anthropic and OpenAI are advancing AI training by using simulated environments (“gyms”) and leveraging human experts, but experts say it’s becoming harder to find tasks that models like GPT-5 can’t already handle. One linguistics expert noted he used to generate three to four unsolved tasks per week for OpenAI’s o3 model, but with GPT-5 he struggles to find more than one or two, reflecting how quickly the models are closing knowledge gaps.

While this doesn’t mean AGI has been reached, it highlights rapid progress—especially since fields like biology, chemistry, and medicine still offer more opportunities for experts to expand model knowledge. For example, OpenAI models can now handle complex chemistry research requests, such as locating publications on molecular rearrangements, reformatting computational data into XYZ file formats, and linking to DOI records, demonstrating their growing ability to tackle highly specialized scientific queries.

FINANCE

Nvidia to invest $5B in rival Intel

Nvidia announced it is buying a $5 billion stake in struggling rival Intel and partnering with the company to develop chips for PCs and data centers, marking a major boost for Intel after years of decline. The move follows recent investments in Intel by the U.S. government ($9 billion for a 10% stake) and SoftBank ($2 billion), sending Intel shares up more than 25% and making this a pivotal moment for the company.

Analysts called the deal a “game changer” that puts Intel back in the AI race and strengthens the U.S. position against China in the global chip competition. The developments come as Nvidia, valued at over $4.2 trillion, continues global AI investments, including $14 billion in U.K. infrastructure, while its CEO Jensen Huang maintains high visibility on the world stage.

BIG TECH

$799 Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses

Mark Zuckerberg unveiled Meta’s first consumer-ready smart glasses with a built-in display, the $799 Ray-Ban Display glasses, which feature a high-resolution screen controlled through hand gestures using the Meta Neural Band wristband. Positioned between the audio-only Ray-Ban Meta and the experimental Orion AR glasses, the new device allows users to watch videos, view and respond to texts, and integrates seamlessly with classic Ray-Ban styling, with sales starting Sept. 30.

Meta also introduced the $499 Oakley Meta Vanguard sports glasses, designed for athletes with features like 3K video recording, nine-hour battery life, and Garmin fitness watch integration, launching Oct. 21, as well as the $379 Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2, which offers double the battery life and improved 3K Ultra HD video capture. Alongside these products, Meta announced Horizon TV, a Quest VR app for watching shows, movies, and sports with content from partners like Disney and Universal.