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The Creative Artists Agency on Thursday slammed OpenAI’s new video creation app Sora for posing “significant risks” to their clients and intellectual property.

The talent agency, which represents artists including Doja Cat, Scarlett Johanson, and Tom Hanks, questioned whether OpenAI believed that “humans, writers, artists, actors, directors, producers, musicians, and athletes deserve to be compensated and credited for the work they create.”

“Or does Open AI believe they can just steal it, disregarding global copyright principles and blatantly dismissing creators’ rights, as well as the many people and companies who fund the production, creation, and publication of these humans’ work? In our opinion, the answer to this question is obvious,” the CAA wrote.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The CAA said that it was “open to hearing” solutions from OpenAI and is working with IP leaders, unions, legislators and global policymakers on the matter.

“Control, permission for use, and compensation is a fundamental right of these workers,” the CAA wrote. “Anything less than the protection of creators and their rights is unacceptable.”

Sora, which launched last week and has quickly reached 1 million downloads, allows users to create AI-generated clips often featuring popular characters and brands.

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OpenAI launched with an “opt-out” system, which allowed the use of copyrighted material unless studios or agencies requested that their IP not be used.

CEO Sam Altman later said in a blog post that they would give rightsholders “more granular control over generation of characters.”

Talent agency WME sent a memo to agents on Wednesday that it has “notified OpenAI that all WME clients be opted out of the latest Sora AI update, regardless of whether IP rights holders have opted out IP our clients are associated with,” the LA Times reported.

United Talent Agency also criticized Sora’s use of copyrighted property as “exploitation, not innovation,” in a statement on Thursday.

“There is no substitute for human talent in our business, and we will continue to fight tirelessly for our clients to ensure that they are protected,” UTA wrote. “When it comes to OpenAI’s Sora or any other platform that seeks to profit from our clients’ intellectual property and likeness, we stand with artists.”

In a letter written to OpenAI last week, Disney said it did not authorize OpenAI and Sora to copy, distribute, publicly display or perform any image or video that features its copyrighted works and characters, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Disney also wrote that it did not have an obligation to “opt-out” of appearing in Sora or any OpenAI system to preserve its rights under copyright law, the person said.

The Motion Picture Association issued a statement on Tuesday, urging OpenAI to take “immediate and decisive action” against videos using Sora to produce content infringing on its copyrighted material.

Entertainment companies have expressed numerous copyright concerns as generative AI has surged.

Universal and Disney sued creator Midjourney in June, alleging that the company used and distributed AI-generated characters from their movies despite requests to stop. Disney also sent a cease-and-desist letter to AI startup Character.AI in September, warning the company to stop using its copyrighted characters without authorization.

Hollywood backlash grows against OpenAI's new Sora video model

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Shaq, Sam Altman-backed college startup Campus taps former Meta AI head as CTO

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Shaq, Sam Altman-backed college startup Campus taps former Meta AI head as CTO

Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI Inc., during a media tour of the Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025.

Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Campus, a college startup backed by Sam Altman, has hired Meta‘s former AI Vice President Jerome Pesenti as its technology head, the company announced Friday.

As part of the deal, Campus will buy Pesenti’s artificial intelligence learning platform Sizzle AI for an undisclosed amount and integrate its personalized AI-generated educational content already used by 1.7 million people.

The acquisition advances the company’s “roadmap” by two to three years and helps the platform cater learning toward individual student needs, said Tade Oyerinde, Campus founder and chancellor.

“This is a game changer,” he told CNBC.

Campus was founded to disrupt the community college system by “maximizing access to world-class education,” according to its website. It offers accredited associate degrees taught by adjunct professors from the likes of Stanford, Princeton and New York University.

The platform has over 3,000 enrolled students, charges $7,320 per academic year and accepts Pell Grants, according to its website. It also provides attendees with a laptop, mobile Wi-Fi pack, personal success coach and 24/7 tutoring access. Professors make upwards of $8,000 per course.

Campus has raised over $100 million from the likes of Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, General Catalyst, NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, venture capitalist and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale and Figma CEO Dylan Field.

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Singapore police probe Nvidia customer Megaspeed over alleged China export violations

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Singapore police probe Nvidia customer Megaspeed over alleged China export violations

Singapore authorities are investigating artificial intelligence computing firm Megaspeed, a customer of American AI chipmaker Nvidia, for allegedly helping Chinese companies evade curbs on U.S. chip exports.

“The Singapore Police Force confirms that investigations are ongoing into Megaspeed for suspected breaches of our domestic laws,” the police told CNBC in an email.

The probe comes as the New York Times reported Thursday that the U.S. Commerce Department was also investigating whether Megaspeed skirted American export controls, citing anonymous officials and other people familiar with the matter.

The twin investigations into Megaspeed could raise questions about Nvidia’s ability to track its chip exports effectively and to comply with U.S. restrictions on the sale of its most advanced AI chips to China. 

According to an Nvidia spokesperson, the company had engaged the U.S. government on the matter and performed its own inquiry, without identifying “any reason to believe products have been diverted.” 

 “NVIDIA visited multiple Megaspeed sites yet again earlier this week and confirmed what we previously observed—Megaspeed is running a small commercial cloud, like many other companies throughout the world, as allowed by U.S. export control rules,” they said in a statement shared with CNBC Friday. 

Megaspeed didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the U.S. Commerce Department. 

The Times reported that Megaspeed, which spun off from a Chinese gaming company in 2023, bought nearly $2 billion worth of Nvidia’s most advanced products through its subsidiary in Malaysia.

Export loophole concerns 

The case surrounding Megaspeed highlights broader concerns about the effectiveness of U.S. export restrictions on advanced technologies, such as Nvidia’s AI processors. 

The U.S. government has, for years, restricted sales of advanced AI chips to China, citing concerns they could strengthen Beijing’s military and give it an edge in broader AI development, among others. 

But experts and lawmakers in Washington have long warned about loopholes in Washington’s export controls, while reports indicate that a massive black market for smuggled Nvidia chips has also emerged. 

The House Select Committee on China in April questioned Nvidia’s shipment of chips to China and Southeast Asia after reports that Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek used the company’s chips to train a groundbreaking AI model.

Just a few months prior, Singapore had launched a separate probe into the alleged smuggling of restricted Nvidia chips, which were declared bound for Malaysia but may have been diverted elsewhere, including China.

In response to such cases and mounting U.S. pressure, Malaysia announced in July that it would begin requiring permits for all exports and transfers of Nvidia chips.

Outsourcing to Southeast Asia?

Chinese companies have also exploited a legal gray area by tapping into computing power from data centers in Southeast Asia equipped with restricted Nvidia chips, according to recent reports.

For example, Megaspeed was using its Nvidia chips for data centers in Malaysia and Indonesia, which appeared to be remotely serving customers in China, according to the Times.

Nvidia didn’t directly address this claim, but said in its statement that the Trump administration’s recent AI Action plan “rightfully encourages businesses worldwide to embrace U.S. standards and U.S. leadership, benefiting national and economic security.”

Malaysia checking with data center companies if chips have 'gone to the right parties': Minister

The Trump administration has recently signaled interest in ensuring Nvidia maintains its global market dominance — even in China — though its AI Action plan also called for strengthening enforcement of export controls globally.

Lawmakers in Washington have also proposed bills that could see Nvidia required to outfit its chips with tracking systems.

Such proposals have received pushback from Beijing, which froze imports of Nvidia’s chips after the Trump administration said it would roll back restrictions on some of the firm’s chips made specifically for China.

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Qualcomm shares fall after China opens antitrust probe into the U.S. chip giant

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Qualcomm shares fall after China opens antitrust probe into the U.S. chip giant

Microchip and Qualcomm logo displayed on a phone screen are seen in this multiple exposure illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on April 10, 2023.

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Qualcomm shares fell on Friday after Chinese regulators said it would investigate the American tech giant’s acquisition of chip firm Autotalks, ramping up tensions between the U.S. and China ahead of key meetings between the country’s leaders this month.

Shares were last around 3% lower in premarket trading.

China’s State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) said that Qualcomm is suspected of violating the country’s anti-monopoly law in regards to its acquisition of Israeli firm Autotalks. The acquisition officially closed in June, just over two years after it was first announced.

In a short statement, the SAMR said it would initiate an investigation into Qualcomm.

Qualcomm was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC. The company sells its smartphone chips to some of the biggest players in China such as Xiaomi.

U.S. tech companies have recently been in the crosshairs of Chinese regulators ramping up tensions between Beijing and Washington ahead of key talks.

In September, the SAMR alleged that Nvidia had violated the country’s anti-monopoly law in relation to its acquisition of Mellanox and some agreements made during the acquisition. Meanwhile, Beijing has reportedly been discouraging local firms from buying Nvidia chips.

This week, China also tightened export controls on rare earths and related technologies. Rare earths are critical to high-tech industries, including automobiles, defense and semiconductors.

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to meet in person on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum during the last week of October in Gyeongju, South Korea.

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