And here’s our main profile:
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04.02.2026 17:35
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On fatherhood, Altman said he used to write letters to his baby son, telling him about his challenges at work, so he could read them when he’s older. But Altman stopped after realizing they could be discoverable in a lawsuit.
I also thought this bit was particularly interesting:
For our cover story on Sam Altman, we sat down with him for two wide-ranging interviews. We couldn’t fit everything into the final profile. Here’s some of what we discussed, from Elon and Trump to robotics and vaccines. w/ Anna Tong
www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
One fascinating moment in our reporting: Altman at one point said, "We basically have built AGI." We told Satya Nadella about the assertion and he quickly pushed back.
Altman talked to us about several things: Working with Trump, feuding with Musk, and building OpenAI’s consumer devices, describing it as a “little friendly companion” that could sit on your desk, watch where your eyes go, and help you complete tasks.
Altman also shared with us that he and his husband are expecting another baby later this year. “People say, ‘Oh, I’m glad you have a kid because now you won’t do something to destroy the world,’ ” Altman says. “I was really set on not doing that before. Didn’t need the kid.”
NEW: We profiled Sam Altman for the cover of Forbes Magazine. For the story, we talked to Bob Iger, Masa Son, Satya Nadella, Brian Chesky, Paul Graham and more. Graham’s take was resonant: “He’s good at getting people to do what he wants.” w/ Anna Tong
www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
New: OpenAI wanted GPT-5 to be less warm and agreeable than its predecessor GPT-4o, but a group of users says the change was disruptive, particularly for people with autism, ADHD and special needs. www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
I chatted with Anthropic’s Mike Krieger about the company’s enterprise strategy. He said Claude usage is sticky: 60% of business customers are using more than one Claude product. www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
Scoop from @iainmartin.bsky.social, @rashis.bsky.social and me: Swedish vibe-coding startup Lovable is in talks to raise at a $6 billion valuation. www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...
Some tidbits from the story: Taylor said he pored over the decision to join OpenAI as chairman, worried it would take time away from building Sierra. But he felt “indebted” to OpenAI for what ChatGPT did for the AI market.
And here’s Zuckerberg on not trying to poach Taylor:
New: I profiled Sierra, the $10B AI customer service startup from Bret Taylor and Clay Bavor, which wants to make AI agents the primary way businesses interact with customers. For the piece, I talked to their old bosses, Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
New: With Mercor’s new fundraise and $10 billion valuation, its founders become the world’s youngest self-made billionaires at age 22, younger than Mark Zuckerberg was when he hit that status at age 23 two decades ago. www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
New from me: TikTok ignored repeated questions about whether and how they share data with ICE. Also, earlier this year, they quietly updated their policies about what happens when law enforcement asks for your data. 1/
www.forbes.com/sites/emilyb...
New: We interviewed elderly people who are chatting with AI bots in nursing homes and at home to combat loneliness. “[The calls are] not about anything that's really important, but it gives me something to do,” one senior said. With @rashis.bsky.social
www.forbes.com/sites/rashis...
I chatted with AMD’s senior vice president of AI about the company’s massive deal with OpenAI, and how AMD’s software efforts played a part in scoring the agreement.
www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
This was all found in hundreds of emails obtained via public records requests for comms between various police departments and Amazon's law enforcement and school safety lead, an ex-cop himself.
Yes, Amazon has also been pushing AI surveillance at schools.
New: Grafana Labs, which helps companies monitor their data and internal systems, has hit $400 million in ARR and closed a tender offer of up to $150 million.
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My TikTok book is out in stores today!
Why should you read it? Because 1 in 5 Americans now get their news from this thing. We should all understand how it works.
It was inevitable that strongmen would seek to control a tool this powerful. The book is the story of what happened when they did.
Just checkin in about the fate of CapCut and a bunch of other apps that millions of Americans use
www.forbes.com/sites/emilyb...
We chatted with European startup founders who think Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee could be a boon for the region: “We almost say thank you to Trump, in a way. He’s really helping us keep our talent.” With @rashis.bsky.social
www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
New: Databricks is launching a startup accelerator for seed and pre-seed companies, offering up to $250,000 to startups in the form of funding and credits
www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
Friends, let me introduce you to a new, truly wild genre of YouTube vids
www.forbes.com/sites/emilyb...
I profiled Mercor, which is gunning to make a move in AI data training, especially after Meta’s deal with Scale AI. “It just doesn't happen too often in startups where your biggest competitor gets torpedoed overnight,” Mercor’s cofounder says. www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
For our 10th annual Cloud 100, AI is unsurprisingly dominant. OpenAI and Anthropic took the top two spots, and Cursor parent Anysphere made a strong debut in the top 10. www.forbes.com/lists/cloud1...
Intel has been touting partnerships with sanctioned Chinese surveillance firms as Trump announces that the USG is taking a stake in the company:
www.forbes.com/sites/emilyb...
New: Anthropic is making its first foray into government social work, partnering with a Founders Fund-backed startup called Binti to provide social workers with AI tools for paperwork. www.forbes.com/sites/richar...
NEW: For nearly a decade Elon Musk has claimed Teslas can truly drive themselves. They can’t. Now California regulators, a Miami jury and a new class action suit are calling him on it #autonomousvehicles #tesla www.forbes.com/sites/alanoh...
China Daily is out with a scathing editorial gloating about the Trump Admin joining TikTok — and saying the CCP isn't gonna let ByteDance sell the For You algorithm go anytime soon.
www.forbes.com/sites/emilyb...
Google is working with longtime pollster Scott Rasmussen and his Napolitan Institute on a project to use AI to survey Americans from every congressional district. It could be “revolutionary” for political polling, Rasmussen says. www.forbes.com/sites/richar...