AI Update: The Great Ghiblification

Welcome to the newest edition of ID Tech’s AI update. Here’s the latest big news on the shifting landscape of AI and identity technology

OpenAI has integrated image generation into its flagship 4o chatbot model. The feature not only offers more accurate images (with respect to prompts, such as “recreate this image in the style of Studio Ghibli anime”), but also allows the chatbot to dynamically alter images through conversational inputs from the user. OpenAI has also relaxed its censorship guidelines in a bid to give users more creative control.

The AI titan is close to finalizing a new $40 billion funding round led by SoftBank, which would be the largest venture capital round in history and nearly double its valuation, bringing it to about $300 billion. As for its actual business, OpenAI is now expecting to triple its revenues to $12.7 billion this year. But it doesn’t expect to be cash flow positive until 2029.

The European Commission will invest 1.3 billion euros (about $1.4 billion) in AI, cybersecurity, digital skills, and its EU Digital Identity Wallet over the next couple of years. The funding was announced today as part of the EU’s Digital Europe Programme for 2025-2027. Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s digital head, framed the effort as crucial to “ensuring Europe’s technological independence.”

China will invest more in chipmaking equipment than any other nation this year, according to a new analysis from international industry association SEMI. China is expected to invest $38 billion in chipmaking tools this year, which would actually be a 24 percent decline from 2024—but still more than any other region.

Synthesia is offering shares to the actors used for its synthetic digital avatars, which are used in professional videos across a range of industries. Some actors’ digital deepfakes have become uniquely popular, and Synthesia wants to get them even more involved in its platform and reward their contributions to its success.

DeepSeek dropped another open source surprise this week, updating its V3 AI model, the predecessor to its R1 model that stunned the AI market earlier this year. V3 briefly became the top-performing non-reasoning model, only to be eclipsed by OpenAI’s upgraded 4o model a couple of days later.

The Bot Company has reached a valuation of $2 billion thanks to a $150 million funding round led by Greenoaks. Co-founded by former Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt last year, The Bot Company is working on AI-powered robots for household chores. It hasn’t yet released a prototype or generated any revenues.

The chatbot’s take: This week, we’re testing 4o’s new image generation skills.

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March 28, 2025 – by Alex Perala