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(Reuters) -Following a surprise ouster, OpenAI co-founder and former CEO Sam Altman joined Microsoft as the head of artificial intelligence research along with the ChatGPT maker’s former President Greg Brockman and other staff.

The developments come less than a year after OpenAI kicked off the generative AI frenzy with the launch of viral chatbot ChatGPT and bagged Microsoft as an investor, among other big names.

Nearly all of OpenAI staff have threatened to quit unless the board resigns and appoints two new lead independent directors apart from reinstating Altman and Brockman, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Date Event

Nov. 17 OpenAI board fires CEO, co-founder Sam Altman

and President Greg Brockman quits after being

removed from the board. Company names Mira

Murati as interim CEO

Nov. 18 Altman’s firing was over a “breakdown in

communication between Sam and the board,” and

not “malfeasance”, COO Brad Lightcap says in

an internal memo

Nov. 18 Early investor Khosla Ventures says it wants

Altman back at OpenAI, “but will back him in

whatever he does next”

Nov. 18 Some employees contemplated quitting if Altman

was not restored as CEO by the end of the

weekend, while others expressed support for

joining his new venture, people familiar with

the matter said

Nov. 19 Altman discusses a possible return to the

company, considers launching new AI startup,

source tells Reuters

Nov. 20 Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says the Windows

maker has hired Altman, Brockman and their

colleagues to lead a new advanced AI research

team

Nov. 20 OpenAI appoints former Twitch boss Emmett

Shear as interim CEO. Shear pledges probe into

Altman’s exit. OpenAI board approaches rival

Anthropic’s CEO on merger, for taking top job,

sources say

Nov. 20 Nearly all OpenAI staff threaten to quit and

join Altman at Microsoft if board doesn’t

resign, according to a letter seen by Reuters

Nov. 20 Some investors in OpenAI explore legal

recourse against the company’s board, sources

familiar with the matter told Reuters

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

By Florence Tan and Alex Lawler

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil fell on Tuesday, reversing steep gains made in the past two sessions, as investors turned cautious ahead of a meeting of OPEC+ this Sunday when the producer group may discuss deepening supply cuts due to slowing global growth.

Both contracts had climbed about 2% on Monday after three OPEC+ sources told Reuters that the group, made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, was set to consider whether to make additional oil supply cuts when it meets on Nov. 26.

Brent crude futures fell 80 cents, or 1%, to $81.52 a barrel by 1017 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures also dropped by 80 cents, or 1%, to $77.03.

“No doubt that the upcoming meeting of OPEC+ energy ministers will be one of the most pivotal of recent times as investors are searching for clues whether the hints and rumours will be backed up by action,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.

Short-term speculators took profit on WTI after several indicators were overbought on technical charts, Singapore-based OANDA analyst Kelvin Wong said.

OPEC+ is likely to extend or even deepen oil supply cuts into next year, eight analysts have predicted.

RBC Capital analyst Helima Croft said: “We see some scope for the group to do a deeper reduction, but we would anticipate that Saudi Arabia would seek additional barrels from other members to share the burden of the adjustment.”

Oil has dropped about 16% since late September as crude output in the U.S., the world’s top producer, held at record highs, while the market was concerned about demand growth and economic slowdown.

The latest U.S. inventory reports are forecast to show crude and gasoline stockpiles rose last week, according to a Reuters poll on Monday. This week’s first report from the American Petroleum Institute is out later on Tuesday.

(Additional reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore and Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON (Reuters) -Oil prices climbed more than 2% on Monday as further supply cuts in OPEC+ production are expected to be announced following a meeting of member countries early next week.

Brent crude futures settled up $1.71, or 2.1%, at $82.32 a barrel.

The front-month December West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) expired at $77.60, up $1.71, or 2.3%. The more active January futures gained $2.39 to $77.83, up 1.8%.

Both benchmarks have plunged for four straight weeks, but started to rebound on Friday, settling 4% higher on profit-taking and after three OPEC+ sources told Reuters that the producer group, comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia, is set to consider whether to make additional supply cuts when it meets on Nov. 26.

“The OPEC commentary signalling further cuts came right on cue,” said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital LLC. “I would expect any cut would be modest. The Saudis have cut so much production, I don’t know how much more they can do.”

Goldman Sachs said that based on its statistical model of OPEC decisions, deeper cuts should not be ruled out given the fall in speculative positioning and in timespreads, and higher-than-expected inventories.

Oil prices have dropped almost 20% since late September as crude output in the U.S., the world’s top producer, held at record highs, while the market was concerned about demand growth, especially from China, the No. 1 importer of oil.

Last week, inter-month spreads for Brent and WTI slipped into contango, where prompt barrels are cheaper than those in future months, signalling ample supply.

Traders were also watching for signs of demand destruction from a possible U.S. recession in 2024 and also considering last week’s warning about possible deflation from Walmart, the largest U.S. retailer.

But most of all, traders were waiting for the OPEC+ meeting set for Sunday.

Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, said members will be focused on supply and demand and not using crude as a weapon against the U.S., which is supporting Israel in its seven-week-old war against Hamas.

“Some of the countries are concerned about the war spreading to a regional conflict,” Lipow said. “They want to see their oil continue to flow.”

(Reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston; additional reporting by Paul Carsten, Florence Tan and Emily Chow, Editing by Marguerita Choy and Cynthia Osterman)

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The dollar index fell to its lowest in more than two months on Monday, continuing a drop from the prior week, as investors largely believe the U.S. Federal Reserve has completed its interest rate hike cycle and look towards when the central bank may start to cut rates.

The dollar index hit a low of 103.37, its weakest level since Sept. 1, after a tumble of nearly 2% last week, which marked the biggest weekly percentage drop since mid-July.

Markets have priced out any additional Fed rate hikes, as recent data has shown a slowing of the economy and inflation pressures – but not enough to increase fears a sharp recession is looming.

On Monday, the Conference Board’s October leading economic indicator showed a decline of 0.8%, slightly below the estimate calling for a 0.7% decrease and its 19th straight monthly fall.

The economic calendar is relatively light due to the shortened work week in the U.S. with the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.

Markets are now attempting to determine when the Fed may begin to cut rates and are currently pricing in a greater than 50% chance of a cut of at least 25 basis points by May, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.

“The market is convinced, both credit, equities and currencies that the Fed has finished raising rates, but the Fed is not willing to say so. We all know this, we’ve seen this before, we’ve heard it before,” said Joseph Trevisani, senior analyst at FXStreet.com.

“So you’re getting a gradual weakening in the dollar, simply because the Fed is doing its best to prop up rates, not necessarily the dollar, but to prop up rates.”

Recent comments from some Fed officials have not ruled out the possibility more rate hikes could be needed should a change in economic data require it.

On Monday, Richmond Federal Reserve president Thomas Barkin said inflation is likely to remain “stubborn” and force the central bank to keep interest rates higher for longer than investors currently anticipate.

In addition, minutes from the Fed’s latest meeting are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, and investors will parse comments for any signals on the central bank’s policy path.

Against the softer greenback, the euro hit its highest since Aug. 15 at $1.0952, while the yen firmed to a 6-1/2 week high of 148.09 per dollar. Against the yen the dollar was last traded at 148.36 yen , down 0.84%.

The euro has been strengthening on expectations the European Central Bank (ECB) is operating with a lag to the Fed, and will keep its rate hike cycle intact after the Fed has finished.

In addition, Moody’s unexpectedly upgraded the outlook on Italy’s ‘Baa3’ sovereign rating to stable from negative and upgraded Portugal’s rating by two notches to ‘A3’.

Sterling traded at $1.251, up 0.36% on the day, after reaching a two-month high of $1.2518.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Chizu Nomiyama)

By Erwin Seba

HOUSTON (Reuters) -Brent and U.S. crude futures climbed more than 2.5%, gaining $2 a barrel on Monday, as further supply cuts in OPEC+ production are expected in the coming weeks.

Brent crude futures were up $2.19 to $82.80 a barrel by 10:32 a.m. CT (1632 GMT).

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.98, or 2.6% at $77.87.

The front-month December WTI contract expires later on Monday. The more active January futures gained $2.12 to $78.16, up 2.79%.

Both contracts settled 4% higher on Friday after three OPEC+ sources told Reuters that the producer group, comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies including Russia, is set to consider whether to make additional supply cuts when it meets on Nov. 26.

Oil prices have dropped almost 20% since late September, while prompt inter-month spreads for Brent and WTI slipped into contango last week. In a contango market, prompt prices are lower than those in future months, signalling sufficient supply.

“In light of last week’s obliteration of oil bulls, some kind of response was forthcoming from the (OPEC) producer group,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.

“If additional cuts are agreed, a short-term price boost is expected, but its longer-term price impact seems dubious as enforcement and adherence will be the salient issue.”

Investors are also keeping an eye on Russian crude oil trade after Washington imposed sanctions on three ships that have sent Sokol crude to India.

On Friday, Moscow lifted a ban on gasoline exports which could add to global supplies of the motor fuel. That came after Russia scrapped most restrictions on exports of diesel last month.

The number of oil and gas rigs operated by U.S. companies rose last week, the first gain in three weeks, energy services business Baker Hughes said on Friday. The oil and gas rig count serves as an early indicator of future output.

Meanwhile, U.S. oil refiners are on course to boost production by 559,000 barrels per day (bpd) this week as they come out of fall planned maintenance leaving just 264,000 bpd of capacity offline, research company IIR Energy said on Monday.

In the Middle East, U.S. and Israeli officials said a deal to free some of the hostages held in the besieged Gaza enclave was edging closer despite fierce fighting.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba in Houston; additional reporting by Paul Carsten, Florence Tan and Emily Chow, Editing by David Goodman, Ed Osmond and Bill Berkrot)

By Aditya Soni

(Reuters) – Microsoft emerged on Monday as the big winner of the upheaval at OpenAI, hiring ousted CEO Sam Altman and other key staff of the startup to avert a potential flight to rivals and help deepen its lead in the artificial intelligence race.

The turmoil at OpenAI since Friday had raised fears about the fallout for Microsoft, which has pumped in billions of dollars and uses the pioneer’s technology for most of its AI offerings such as its Copilot AI assistant.

The move ensured “the golden child of AI” will stay with Microsoft, analysts said, as the company competes with Alphabet-owned Google to dominate the nascent industry.

Microsoft’s shares rose as much as 2% to a record high before paring some of the gains. The company was on track to add nearly $30 billion to its market value at current levels. That was close to the valuation OpenAI commanded in its last fundraise.

Altman will lead a new research team at the software giant following his surprise ouster that shocked the tech industry. He will be joined by Greg Brockman, another OpenAI cofounder, as well as other researchers including Szymon Sidor.

“Microsoft has been able to turn a crisis into an opportunity with the hiring of Sam Altman and Greg Brockman,” said Gil Luria, senior software analyst at D.A. Davidson.

“Assuming they will be able to hire many more from the OpenAI team, they will have taken over the key development path for artificial intelligence.”

About 500 employees of the startup also threatened to leave unless the board stepped down and reinstated Altman, as well as Brockman, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters.

“Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI,” the employees said on Monday in the letter, adding, “Microsoft has assured us there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join.”

Microsoft and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the letter.

Analysts said an employee exodus was expected due to concerns over governance and the potential impact on what was expected to be a share sale at an $86 billion valuation, potentially affecting staff payouts at OpenAI.

“The OpenAI for-profit subsidiary was about to conduct a secondary at a $80 billion+ valuation. These ‘Profit Participation Units’ were going to be worth $10 million+ for key employees. Suffice it to say this is not going to happen now,” chip industry newsletter SemiAnalysis said.

At Microsoft, the Altman-led team will also likely have more access to the computing power necessary as the company is the second-biggest U.S. cloud player and has committed to spending billions to expand its datacenter capacity.

“If the team went down the startup path, they would have had to spend significant time rebuilding GPT-4. Instead, at Microsoft they will have access to much of the IP they require for future products,” SemiAnalysis said.

(Reporting by Aditya Soni and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The dollar index fell to its lowest in more than two months on Monday, extending a slide from the prior week as investors held to the belief that the U.S. Federal Reserve has finished its interest rate hike cycle and assess when the central bank may start to cut rates.

The dollar index hit a low of 103.46, its weakest level since Sept. 1, after a tumble of nearly 2% last week, which marked the biggest weekly percentage drop since mid-July.

Markets have priced out any additional Fed rate hikes, as recent data has showed a slowing of the economy and inflation pressures – but not enough to increase fears a sharp recession is looming.

On Monday, the Conference Board’s October leading economic indicator showed a decline of 0.8%, slightly below the estimate calling for a 0.7% decrease.

The economic calendar is relatively light due to the shortened work week in the U.S. with the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday.

Markets are now attempting to determine when the Fed may begin to cut rates and are currently pricing in a greater than 50% chance of a cut of at least 25 basis points by May, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.

“The market is convinced, both credit, equities and currencies that the Fed has finished raising rates, but the Fed is not willing to say so. We all know this, we’ve seen this before, we’ve heard it before,” said Joseph Trevisani, senior analyst at FXStreet.com.

“So you’re getting a gradual weakening in the dollar, simply because the Fed is doing its best to prop up rates, not necessarily the dollar, but to prop up rates.”

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin is scheduled to speak later on Monday.

In addition, minutes from the Fed’s latest meeting are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, and investors will parse comments for any signals on the central bank’s policy path.

Against the softer greenback, the euro hit its highest since Aug. 30 at $1.0945, while the yen firmed to a 6-1/2-week high of 148.09 per dollar. Against the yen the dollar was traded at 148.40 yen, down 0.81%.

The euro has been strengthening on expectations the European Central Bank (ECB) is operating with a lag to the Fed, and will keep its rate hike cycle intact after the Fed has finished.

In addition, Moody’s unexpectedly upgraded the outlook on Italy’s ‘Baa3’ sovereign rating to stable from negative and upgraded Portugal’s rating by two notches to ‘A3’.

Sterling traded at $1.2485, up 0.18% so far on the day, after reaching a two-month high of $1.2511.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

By Paul Carsten

LONDON (Reuters) -Oil futures rose more than $1 on Monday, extending gains on the prospect of OPEC+ deepening supply cuts to shore up prices after four weeks of decline on demand worries.

Brent crude futures rose $1.78 to $82.39 a barrel by 1350 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.71 at $77.60.

The front-month December WTI contract expires later on Monday. The more active January futures gained $1.79 to $77.83.

Both contracts settled 4% higher on Friday after three OPEC+ sources told Reuters that the producer group, comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) and allies including Russia, is set to consider whether to make additional supply cuts when it meets on Nov. 26.

Oil prices have dropped by almost 20% since late September while prompt inter-month spreads for Brent and WTI slipped into contango last week. In a contango market prompt prices are lower than those in future months, signalling sufficient supply.

“In light of last week’s obliteration of oil bulls, some kind of response was forthcoming from the (OPEC) producer group,” said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM.

“If additional cuts are agreed, a short-term price boost is expected, but its longer-term price impact seems dubious as enforcement and adherence will be the salient issue.”

Investors are also keeping an eye on Russian crude oil trade after Washington imposed sanctions on three ships that have sent Sokol crude to India.

On Friday Moscow lifted a ban on gasoline exports which could add to global supplies of the motor fuel. That came after Russia scrapped most restrictions on exports of diesel last month.

U.S. energy companies last week added oil and gas rigs for the first time in three weeks, energy services business Baker Hughes said on Friday. The oil and gas rig count serves as an early indicator of future output.

Meanwhile, U.S. oil refiners are expected to have 264,000 barrels per day (bpd) of capacity offline for the week ending Nov. 24, increasing available refining capacity by 559,000 bpd, research company IIR Energy said on Monday.

In the Middle East, U.S. and Israeli officials said a deal to free some of the hostages held in the besieged Gaza enclave was edging closer despite fierce fighting.

(Reporting by Paul Carsten in London and Florence Tan and Emily ChowEditing by David Goodman)

(Reuters) -Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT are complicating governments’ efforts to agree laws governing the use of the technology.

Here are the latest steps national and international governing bodies are taking to regulate AI tools:

AUSTRALIA

* Planning regulations

Australia will make search engines draft new codes to prevent the sharing of child sexual abuse material created by AI and the production of deepfake versions of the same material.

BRITAIN

* Planning regulations

Leading AI developers agreed on Nov. 2, at the first global AI Safety Summit in Britain, to work with governments to test new frontier models before they are released to help manage the risks of the developing technology.

More than 25 countries present at the summit, including the U.S. and China, as well as the EU, on Nov. 1 signed a “Bletchley Declaration” to work together and establish a common approach on oversight.

Britain said at the summit it would triple to 300 million pounds ($364 million) its funding for the “AI Research Resource”, comprising two supercomputers which will support research into making advanced AI models safe, a week after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had said Britain would set up the world’s first AI safety institute.

Britain’s data watchdog said in October it had issued Snap Inc’s Snapchat with a preliminary enforcement notice over a possible failure to properly assess the privacy risks of its generative AI chatbot to users, particularly children.

CHINA

* Implemented temporary regulations

Wu Zhaohui, China’s vice minister of science and technology, told the opening session of the AI Safety Summit in Britain on Nov. 1 that Beijing was ready to increase collaboration on AI safety to help build an international “governance framework”.

China published proposed security requirements for firms offering services powered by generative AI in October, including a blacklist of sources that cannot be used to train AI models.

The country issued a set of temporary measures in August, requiring service providers to submit security assessments and receive clearance before releasing mass-market AI products.

EUROPEAN UNION

* Planning regulations

France, Germany and Italy have reached an agreement on how AI should be regulated, according to a joint paper seen by Reuters on Nov. 18. The paper explains that developers of foundation models would have to define model cards, which are used to provide information about a machine learning model.

European lawmakers agreed on Oct. 24 on a critical part of new AI rules outlining the types of systems that will be designated “high risk”, inching closer to a broader agreement on the landmark AI Act which is expected in December, according to five people familiar with the matter.

FRANCE

* Investigating possible breaches

France’s privacy watchdog said in April it was investigating complaints about ChatGPT.

G7

* Seeking input on regulations

The Group of Seven countries agreed on Oct. 30 to an 11-point code of conduct for firms developing advanced AI systems, which “aims to promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI worldwide”.

ITALY

* Investigating possible breaches

Italy’s data protection authority plans to review AI platforms and hire experts in the field, a top official said in May. ChatGPT was temporarily banned in the country in March, but it was made available again in April.

JAPAN

* Investigating possible breaches

Japan expects to introduce by the end of 2023 regulations that are likely closer to the U.S. attitude than the stringent ones planned in the EU, an official close to deliberations said in July.

The country’s privacy watchdog has warned OpenAI not to collect sensitive data without people’s permission.

POLAND

* Investigating possible breaches

Poland’s Personal Data Protection Office said in September it was investigating OpenAI over a complaint that ChatGPT breaks EU data protection laws.

SPAIN

* Investigating possible breaches

Spain’s data protection agency in April launched a preliminary investigation into potential data breaches by ChatGPT.

UNITED NATIONS

* Planning regulations

The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Oct. 26 announced the creation of a 39-member advisory body, composed of tech company executives, government officials and academics, to address issues in the international governance of AI.

The U.N. Security Council held its first formal discussion on AI in July, addressing military and non-military applications of AI that “could have very serious consequences for global peace and security”, Guterres said at the time.

UNITED STATES

* Seeking input on regulations

The United States will launch an AI safety institute to evaluate known and emerging risks of so-called “frontier” AI models, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said on Nov. 1 during the AI Safety Summit in Britain.

President Joe Biden issued a new executive order on Oct. 30 to require developers of AI systems that pose risks to U.S. national security, the economy, public health or safety to share the results of safety tests with the government.

The U.S. Congress in September held hearings on AI and an AI forum featuring Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. More than 60 senators took part in the talks, during which Musk called for a U.S. “referee” for AI.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission opened in July an investigation into OpenAI on claims that it has run afoul of consumer protection laws.

(Compiled by Alessandro Parodi and Amir Orusov in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

By Aditya Soni

(Reuters) – Microsoft emerged on Monday as the big winner of the upheaval at OpenAI, hiring ousted CEO Sam Altman and other key staff of the startup to avert a potential flight to rivals and help deepen its lead in the artificial intelligence race.

The turmoil at OpenAI since Friday had raised fears about the fallout for Microsoft, which has pumped in billions of dollars and uses the pioneer’s technology for most of its AI offerings.

The move ensured “the golden child of AI” will stay with Microsoft, analysts said, as the company competes with Alphabet-owned Google to dominate the nascent industry.

Microsoft’s shares rose about 1.5%, with the company on track to add nearly $30 billion to its market value at current levels. That was nearly equal to the valuation OpenAI commanded in its last fundraise.

“If Microsoft lost Altman, he could have gone to Amazon, Google, Apple, or a host of other tech companies,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives.

“Instead he is safely in Microsoft’s HQ now. We view Microsoft now even in a stronger position with Altman and Brockman at Microsoft running AI.

Altman will lead a new research team at the software giant following his surprise ouster by OpenAI that shocked the tech industry. He will be joined by Greg Brockman, another OpenAI cofounder, as well as other researchers including Szymon Sidor.

Analysts also said more employees could jump ship to Microsoft as the turmoil could impact what was expected to be a share sale at an $86 billion valuation by the startup, potentially affecting staff payouts at OpenAI.

“The OpenAI for-profit subsidiary was about to conduct a secondary at a $80 billion+ valuation. These ‘Profit Participation Units’ were going to be worth $10 million+ for key employees. Suffice it to say this is not going to happen now,” chip industry newsletter SemiAnalysis said.

Several employees of the startup, including former interim CEO Mira Murati, said in posts on the X social media platform on Monday that “OpenAI is nothing without its people”.

At Microsoft, the Altman-led team will also likely have more access to the computing power necessary as the company is the second-biggest U.S. cloud player and has committed to spending billions to expand its datacenter capacity.

“If the team went down the startup path, they would have had to spend significant time rebuilding GPT-4. Instead, at Microsoft they will have access to much of the IP they require for future products,” SemiAnalysis said.

(Reporting by Aditya Soni and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)