GTA Now

Rockstar has announced the pricing and release date for Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA VI), setting the standard edition at $79.99 and the ultimate edition at $99.99. Pre-orders will start at midnight, with options for digital and physical copies, although physical copies will only include a download code rather than a disk. The launch window is set for November 19, with pre-loads available from November 12. Buyers will receive bonuses like the vintage Vice City Pack, and digital pre-orders will include a month of GTA Plus. The game’s release marks a significant moment in gaming, coming more than a decade after GTA V, with a major push towards digital sales and a move away from physical media.

OpenAI and Broadcom have unveiled Jalapeño, a custom inference chip designed specifically for large language models. Developed rapidly from design to tape-out in nine months, Jalapeño demonstrates a 50% cost reduction over traditional AI GPUs, aiming to improve performance and energy efficiency. The chip is intended for deployment in data centers supporting OpenAI’s models, with future versions planned for 2028 and beyond. OpenAI's strategic hardware development aims to enhance AI capabilities while reducing operational costs, and the company may consider open industry use in future iterations.

Meta is building an internal standalone app called Arena, which will simulate prediction markets similar to Polymarket and CalShi. Unlike existing platforms, Arena is expected to use a video game-like point system instead of real money, though there is potential for eventual real-money betting. It will function independently from Meta’s main social apps and aims to harness Meta’s large user base to experiment with new social tools. The project reflects Meta’s broader interest in emerging online social behaviors and prediction markets, which have seen significant growth and cultural impact.

Productivity company Superhuman has acquired GPTZero, an AI detection startup founded by Edward Tian, which gained popularity with its ability to identify AI-generated content. Valued at over $88 million, GPTZero boasts over 19 million users and $30 million in annual recurring revenue. The acquisition will strengthen Superhuman’s focus on authenticity and AI-content verification across its suite of productivity tools. GPTZero’s team and technology will integrate into Superhuman, supporting efforts to detect AI-created content across education, journalism, recruiting, and professional sectors.

The podcast discusses how companies are actively seeking ways to cut AI costs. Many are switching to cheaper models from providers like Anthropic and OpenAI, developing or utilizing open-source models, and deploying software tools called routers to automatically select lower-cost models. Examples include Ensemble Health Partners, which saves nearly $700,000 annually by switching to less expensive models. Large corporations like Salesforce are also exploring cost-cutting strategies, emphasizing that finding affordable yet capable AI models is crucial, especially in light of recent US restrictions on certain foreign AI sources and the rising costs of state-of-the-art AI services.