9 November 2026 · 5 slides
Photo: Business Insider
2 · What happened
Three safety researchers out. One had posted a warning.
On 1 October OpenAI said it “parted ways” with three researchers for mishandling sensitive information. Weeks earlier one had posted that AI is “>10% likely to kill all humans”. A fourth quit, calling the culture broken.
Photo: AP
3 · The number
US$11 billion raised, of the US$30 billion OpenAI set out to raise
Bloomberg reported the round closed at a US$1.25 trillion valuation on 6 November. Its president called the first half of 2026 “pretty rough” for the enterprise business.
Photo: bloomberg.com
4 · Quote
“i am at OpenAI and i think AI is >10% likely to kill all humans”
Mikita Balesni, then an OpenAI researcher, post on X, 10 September 2026 (via AFP)
Photo: via Instagram
5 · Bottom line
Keep a second model wired in.
The most-used AI company faces a safety probe and a funding squeeze at once. Tools built to switch models with one setting, not a rebuild, are the ones that survive a change in price or policy.
Photo: theverge.com