Top stories today:

1. GPT-5 released, only slightly ahead of Grok 4, o3
2. Intel CEO says company engaging with Trump admin
3. Trump signs order to allow crypto, PE in 401(k)s
4. Meta said to have acquired AI audio startup WaveForms
5. Pinterest Q2 revenue +17% YoY to $998M, EPS misses at $0.33

0. Data and calendar

Listen to our AI-generated podcast summarizing today’s newsletter (beware of hallucinations):

1. GPT-5 released, only slightly ahead of Grok 4, o3

GPT-5 has slightly outperformed all major LLMs across benchmarks, per Artificial Analysis:

• xAI’s Grok 4 Heavy still leads on Humanity’s Last Exam with a 44.4% score, compared to GPT-5 Pro’s 42.0% (Python + search, with blocklist).

• Available to all ChatGPT users, but with an undisclosed prompt cap for free users.

  • GPT-5 pro has exclusively been released for ChatGPT Pro subscribers.

• GPT-5, GPT-5 mini, and GPT-5 nano are the 3 variants available via OpenAI’s API.

GPT-5 uses 23× more tokens at high reasoning, with gains tapering beyond medium effort, per Artificial Analysis

• OpenAI tested GPT-5 for “over five thousand hours” to understand its safety risks.

• “[M]aking sure the model doesn’t lie to users,” GPT-5’s safety research lead Alex Beutel said.

• GPT-5 doesn’t feel like a dramatic leap over other LLMs, early testers said.

• GPT-5 costs $1.25/$10 per M tokens vs. GPT-4o’s $2.5/$10, Gemini’s $2.5/$15, and Claude’s $15/$75.

OpenAI has reclaimed the top spot in AI intelligence after spending a month second to xAI, per Artificial Analysis

• Relatedly, OpenAI is paying millions of dollars in bonuses to ~1K employees, including researchers and engineers.

2. Intel CEO says company engaging with Trump admin to address concerns about him

• “[A] lot of misinformation circulating about my past roles at Walden International and Cadence Design Systems,” Lip-Bu Tan said in a note to Intel’s staff.

• Thu.: Trump urged Tan to resign over what he called conflicts of interest.

• Tan and some Intel directors have reportedly disagreed over strategy early in his tenure.

• Whether Intel should stay in chip manufacturing sparked an early clash between Tan and board chair Yeary, sources said.

• 100+ investments were made in China by Tan’s VC firm Walden International, including SMIC (China’s largest chipmaker).

Intel shares +13% the day Tan was named CEO in Mar., but have fallen since

• -3% for Intel on Thu. after Trump’s response.

4. Trump signs order to allow crypto, private equity in 401(k)s