Krystal Hu

TikTok's parent company ByteDance is offering to buy back shares at a higher valuation than six months ago as it launches a new share repurchase program for U.S. employees this week, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

A consortium led by Elon Musk said it has offered $97.4 billion to buy the nonprofit that controls OpenAI, another salvo in the billionaire's fight to block the artificial intelligence startup from transitioning to a for-profit firm.

U.S. businessman Frank McCourt is open to teaming up with other buyers on a bid to take over the U.S. operations of TikTok as long as he can maintain control of the asset, he told Reuters at the Davos event on Thursday.

Microsoft on Tuesday said it has changed some key terms of a deal with OpenAI after the ChatGPT creator announced a joint venture with Oracle and Japan's SoftBank Group to build up to $500 billion of new AI data centers in the United States.

Artificial intelligence startups have contributed significantly to the recovery of U.S. venture capital funding from market lows, with the total capital raised in 2024 nearly 30% higher year-on-year, according to PitchBook data released on Tuesday.

SandboxAQ said on Wednesday it has raised more than $300 million in funding, valuing the startup spun off from Alphabet at $5.6 billion, as it aims to fast-track the development of advanced artificial intelligence systems for computation.

Databricks said on Tuesday it had secured a valuation of $62 billion after a $10 billion funding round led by Thrive Capital, highlighting the robust demand for artificial intelligence-focused startups.

OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar played down on Tuesday public threats to the ChatGPT maker from Elon Musk, one of President-elect Donald Trump’s closest advisors.

Canadian AI startup Cohere, last valued at $5.5 billion, will focus on building tailored models for enterprise users over larger foundation models, the company told Reuters.

AI cloud startup CoreWeave said on Wednesday it has closed a $650 million minority investment led by Jane Street, Magnetar, Fidelity Management and Macquarie Capital, as investors look to capitalize on the generative AI boom.