OpenAI Releases GPTs 🤖 Ransomware Attack on China's Biggest Bank 🏦 WeWork Files for Bankruptcy ☠️ Newsletter #31
OpenAI last week released “GPTs” to subscribers of ChatGPT. These GPTs allow users to customize their own version of ChatGPT for a specific purpose - think of it as a tailored version of ChatGPT.
OpenAI Releases GPTs 🤖
Ransomware Attack on China’s Biggest Bank 🏦
WeWork Files for Bankruptcy
Disney Earnings
OpenAI Releases GPTs 🤖
OpenAI last week released “GPTs” to subscribers of ChatGPT.
These GPTs allow a user to customize their own version of ChatGPT for a specific purpose - think of it as a tailored version of ChatGPT. Users will then be able to share the GPT with others.
In a blog post, OpenAI also said that the GPT Store will open later this month allowing verified builders to release GPTs to the public and earn money based on their popularity.
OpenAI says that the chat log between and user and a GPT will not be shared with its creator and that they’ve already put processes in place to prevent people from sharing harmful GPTs.
Developers can also upload external data to a GPT, such as databases or email, and allow them to learn from it.
“GPTs will continue to get more useful and smarter, and you’ll eventually be able to let them take on real tasks in the real world. In the field of AI, these systems are often discussed as “agents”. We think it’s important to move incrementally towards this future, as it will require careful technical and safety work—and time for society to adapt. We have been thinking deeply about the societal implications and will have more analysis to share soon.” - Open AI Blog.
The information cut-off for ChatGPT subscribers has now been updated to April 2023 from its previous cut-off of September 2021.
Ransomware Attack on China’s Biggest Bank
A ransomware attack on the New York arm of ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) last Thursday hit trading in the $25 trillion US treasuries market.
The attack prevented the ICBC from settling treasury trades for other market participants and may have contributed to a sudden sell-off of Treasuries on Thursday.
US Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said she’s spoken to China about the impact of the potential impact of the hack, but as yet had not seen an impact on the Treasuries market.
The SEC said it’s continuing to monitor the situation and the Chinese foreign ministry said ICBC has done a good job of handling the attack on its US services arm.
Lockbit, a cybercriminal group first observed in 2019 and thought to be from Russia or Holland, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Ransomware attacks have skyrocketed since Covid, largely because remote working has left businesses more vulnerable and the growing digitization of our lives.
WeWork Files for Bankruptcy
Once valued at nearly $50 billion, WeWork last week filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The company successfully went public in October 2021 after an attempt in 2019 failed spectacularly, but its aggressive expansion in its early years ultimately caused problems later down the line.
Adam Neumann, the founder and former CEO, left in late 2019 and despite efforts to turn the company’s fortunes around since his departure, WeWork has struggled in the changing commercial real estate market and the rising number of people now working remotely.
Softbank, a Japanese conglomerate, stepped in to keep WeWork afloat in 2019 and owned nearly 80% of the company. Softbank posted an unexpected loss of $6.2 billion (vs expectations of a $1.2 billion profit) last week after WeWork announced it was filing for bankruptcy.
It’s not clear how many WeWork locations will remain open. In the company’s most recent filing it said it had 777 locations in 39 countries and just over half a million members.
Disney Earnings
Disney reported better than expected earnings on Thursday with the company adding more streaming subscribers than forecast and raising its targeted cost cuts for 2023 to $7.5 billion, up from the $5.5 billion target set in February.
Revenue:
Earnings per Share: $0.82 vs $0.70 expected.
Disney said it has already cut about 8,000 jobs and is expected to create around $8 billion of free cash flow in 2024, part of which it will use to buy a 33% stake in Hulu and reinstate a small dividend.
The Disney+ streaming service added nearly 7 million subscribers during the quarter.
Bog Iger also said he was optimistic about ESPN’s prospects. He said that eventually, a full-service ESPN would be included in a bundle with Disney+ and Hulu.
“If you think about the portfolio of streaming assets that we will have, Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN, that’s a very, very strong hand.”