NEW YORK 亗

‎Two young founders who met in high school in Michigan declined a multimillion-dollar offer from Elon Musk after building an experimental AI model that caught the attention of researchers across leading U.S. universities. Their early work on a small large-language model named OpenChat set the stage for what would become a new brain-inspired AI architecture capable of outperforming systems from OpenAI, Anthropic, and DeepSeek on reasoning benchmarks. ‎ ‎Two Gen Z founders built a brain-inspired AI that beat OpenAI and Anthropic on key reasoning tests after turning down a multimillion-dollar offer from Elon Musk. ‎Fortune Brainstorm AI, Singapore ‎ ‎William Chen and Guan Wang created OpenChat using a limited set of high-quality conversations instead of the massive internet-scale datasets used by most large-language models. They paired this data strategy with reinforcement learning, enabling the model to refine its behavior through rewards and penalties. Their work stood out a...

‎A catastrophic fire at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district has killed at least 94 people, with hundreds still unaccounted for as rescue operations continue. The blaze has become one of the city’s most severe residential fires, affecting seven towers within the densely populated housing estate. ‎ ‎Hong Kong’s Wang Fuk Court fire has killed at least 94, with hundreds missing as investigators probe scaffolding materials and renovation safety failures. ‎Leung Man Hei/Bloomberg via Getty Images ‎ ‎The fire began at approximately 3 p.m. on Nov. 26, quickly spreading through multiple buildings undergoing renovation. Crews worked through the night, bringing most of the blaze under control by about 2 a.m., though flames continued in several units hours later. A red fire-risk warning had been active due to local weather conditions, and investigators are examining renovation materials, including bamboo scaffolding, mesh, and plastic coverings. ‎ ‎How t...

‎Companies across the United States are using hiring freezes, attrition and emerging AI tools to manage headcounts as the labor market enters what the Federal Reserve describes as a “low-hire, low-fire” phase. The latest Beige Book indicates that organizations are actively avoiding mass layoffs by relying on quieter labor strategies. ‎ Fed’s Beige Book shows a low-hire, low-fire labor market as companies use hiring freezes, attrition and AI to manage headcounts without mass layoffs. ‎Sophie Park/Bloomberg via Getty Images ‎ ‎Businesses are slowing growth by halting new recruitment and choosing not to replace departing employees. Some employers are using artificial intelligence to perform tasks that previously required additional staff, reducing the need to expand headcount. ‎ ‎Consumers are sensing the shift. According to the Conference Board’s newest Consumer Confidence survey, 27.6% of respondents said jobs were plentiful, compared with 28.6% a month earlier. The share of...

‎JPMorgan Chase & Co. has revealed plans for a major new headquarters tower in Canary Wharf, marking a multibillion-pound investment in London’s position as a global financial hub one day after the UK budget. The project reflects the bank’s intention to expand its UK footprint following a fiscal announcement that left bank levies unchanged. ‎ ‎JPMorgan unveils plans for a three-million-square-foot Canary Wharf headquarters, signaling confidence in London’s financial sector after the UK budget. ‎Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg via Getty Images ‎ ‎The proposed tower would span three million square feet, making it the largest office building in London and capable of accommodating up to 12,000 employees. The investment bank stated that construction is expected to take six years once approvals are secured. ‎ ‎The development will be co-created with Canary Wharf Group and designed by Foster + Partners, the architecture firm behind JPMorgan’s recently opened global headquarters ...

‎A packed gathering at a downtown Boston library brought policymakers, experts and community leaders together to discuss the rising unemployment rate among Black women. Rep. Ayanna Pressley opened the roundtable by questioning why Black women, who consistently maintain some of the nation’s highest labor force participation rates, are experiencing faster unemployment growth than most other demographic groups. ‎ ‎Black female unemployment rose to 7.5%. Boston experts analyze economic pressures, policy impacts, and potential solutions to support Black women workers. ‎Getty Images ‎ ‎The unemployment rate for Black women increased from 6.7% to 7.5% between August and September, based on the most recent federal data available before the government shutdown. The same period showed an increase from 3.2% to 3.4% for white women. Attendees said the numbers reflect a trend that has persisted for a year during broader economic uncertainty. ‎ ‎Many participants described the data as a ...

‎The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that 776 air traffic controllers and technicians will receive $10,000 bonuses for maintaining perfect attendance through the 43-day government shutdown. ‎ ‎FAA confirms 776 workers will receive Trump’s $10,000 bonus, as aviation unions say thousands who worked unpaid during the shutdown were excluded. ‎Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images ‎ ‎The bonuses must be issued by Dec. 9, according to an FAA announcement. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the employees “never missed a beat” and continued safeguarding the flying public during the shutdown. ‎ ‎The National Air Traffic Controller Association (NATCA), which represents more than 20,000 aviation workers, reported that it was notified that 311 of its members will be included in the bonus group. NATCA stated that thousands of controllers who reported for duty without pay throughout the shutdown were not included in the recognition. ‎ ‎The Professional Aviation Safety Speci...