🤖 OpenAI Acquires $6.5B AI Startup ‘io’"

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Hey Waivly Crew! 🌊 In today’s edition, we’ve got a variety of topics to explore.

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Here’s what’s on the horizon today:

• OpenAI Is Buying Jony Ive's AI Firm for $6.5 Billion

• Signal Says No to Windows 11’s Recall Screenshots

• Google Is Putting More Ads in AI Search

• US Lawmakers Introduce Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act

• Sam Altman's World Raises $135 Million in Token Sale

Let’s dive in!

STORIES MAKING A SPLASH

^_BUSINESS
OpenAI Is Buying Jony Ive's AI Firm for $6.5 Billion

OpenAI is acquiring Jony Ive’s startup, io, for $6.5 billion in an all-equity deal, first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by the company. While Ive and his design firm LoveFrom will remain independent, co-founders Scott Cannon, Evans Hankey, and Tang Tan—along with about 50 io team members—will join OpenAI to build hardware that brings its AI tools closer to consumers.

Though OpenAI hasn’t turned a profit and owes Microsoft 20% of its revenue through 2030, CEO Sam Altman isn’t worried, saying, “We’ll be fine.” The partnership aims to create “amazing products that elevate humanity,” according to Altman and Ive—marking a major step toward OpenAI’s push into consumer tech. The deal is pending regulatory approval.

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^_AI
Signal Says No to Windows 11’s Recall Screenshots

Signal’s latest Windows 11 update blocks Microsoft’s Recall feature from screenshotting private chats by enabling screen security by default. It uses the same tech that stops screen grabs on Netflix. While users can turn it off in Settings > Privacy, Signal says it shouldn’t have come to this.

Developer Joshua Lund calls out Microsoft for not giving apps a way to block Recall’s access to sensitive content. Despite two delays, Recall still lacks an opt-out API—raising major privacy concerns as it can index even encrypted chats based on vague prompts or visual cues.

^_AI
Google Is Putting More Ads in AI Search

Google is adding more ads to its AI-powered search feature, AI Mode. Starting May 21st, the company began testing sponsored content within this chatbot-style search experience, which recently rolled out to all U.S. users.

AI Mode offers summaries and links tailored to your search, but now may include product suggestions and labeled ads. For example, asking how to build a website might trigger a step-by-step guide—plus a “sponsored” ad for a site builder like Wix. The tests are running on both desktop and mobile.

WEB3 SPECIAL

^_POLICY
US Lawmakers Introduce Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act

Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres and Republican Rep. Tom Emmer are teaming up to reintroduce the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act, aiming to clarify that developers and service providers not holding user funds aren’t money transmitters. The move stands out as bipartisan, while many Democrats remain cautious about crypto amid concerns tied to Donald Trump.

Torres says the revamped bill is a smarter, more balanced version of last year’s failed attempt. It has support from major crypto advocacy groups, though its path through the House remains uncertain.

^_FINANCE
Sam Altman's World Raises $135 Million in Token Sale

Sam Altman’s digital ID project, World, has raised $135 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Crypto. The funding will help expand its iris-scanning orb network in the U.S. and globally, as the company pushes forward with its biometric “proof of personhood” system.

World says over 12.5 million people across 160+ regions have received a World ID. But the project continues to face regulatory pushback and bans, with critics warning that financial incentives for biometric data raise serious ethical and privacy concerns.

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