OpenAI execs land in Australia for expansion talks

Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.

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1.

Altman down under: OpenAI executives will meet with Treasurer Jim Chalmers next week amid a multi-city tour through Australia as the USD500 billion ($750 billion) startup officially expands into the country. Chalmers spoke with OpenAI chief product officer Kevin Weil on the sidelines of an event run by infrastructure investor Morrisons on Wednesday, a person familiar with the matter told Capital Brief. A more formal meeting between the Treasurer and OpenAI leadership will follow next Thursday, said two people granted anonymity to speak freely. Chalmers will be speaking with OpenAI about Australia as a destination for strategic AI investment. It comes weeks after the AI lab announced it would be opening an office in Sydney and forming a local team. OpenAI is currently hiring for several roles locally, both in sales and technical roles like ‘Solution Engineer.’ (Capital Brief)

2.

Fully psyched: PsiQuantum completed a USD1 billion ($1.5 billion) Series E fundraise that values the quantum computing startup at USD7 billion. The raise was led by BlackRock, Baillie Gifford and Singapore's Temasek, with additional funding from Macquarie Capital and Nvidia's NVentures among others. While local VC Blackbird completed a follow-on investment, the federal government did not. The Commonwealth and Queensland governments last April invested a combined $940 million in PsiQuantum in a deal that would make Brisbane the home of the startup's first quantum computer. The Series E valuation is more than double the USD3.15 billion PsiQuantum raised for its 2021 Series D. That means the government's stake will go up in value, even if its decision to not invest again will see its shares diluted. Besides the Australian and Queensland governments, the other Australian entity on PsiQuantum's cap table is Blackbird. (Capital Brief)

3.

NATO provocation: Poland shot down suspected Russian drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of NATO aircraft, becoming the first member of the alliance known to have fired during Russia’s war in Ukraine. The incident prompted Warsaw to invoke NATO’s Article 4 and request additional air defence systems and counter-drone technology from allies. Polish authorities reported 19 drones entered its airspace during Russia’s large-scale air strike on Ukraine, with debris found in at least seven locations. One drone crashed into a house in the eastern village of Wyryki-Wola. NATO chief Mark Rutte said that the Netherlands, Italy, Poland and Germany were involved in shooting down the drones. Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the incursion a “large-scale provocation” and said it was “incomparably more dangerous” than previous incidents. Russia said its drones were aimed at Ukrainian military sites. NATO and EU leaders condemned the airspace violations, with some suggesting the incursion was intentional. The US ambassador to NATO said the US "will defend every inch of NATO territory," while Trump wrote: “What’s with Russia violating Poland’s airspace with drones? Here we go!” (WSJ)(Reuters)(Bloomberg)(BBC)(Capital Brief)(NYT)(NATO)

4.

Cabinet chaos: Opposition leader Sussan Ley dumped Jacinta Nampijinpa Price from her shadow cabinet, after the firebrand senator refused to express confidence in her leadership. During a press conference in which she again refused to apologise for comments made about the Indian community, Price repeatedly declined to publicly back Ley’s leadership, describing that as a “matter for our party room”. The pair spoke on Wednesday evening, with Ley asking Price to step down from the shadow ministry. Ley said Price had failed to uphold the standards she had set as leader, and her refusal to support the leadership made Price’s position in the shadow cabinet “untenable”. “Despite being given ample space to, Senator Nampijinpa Price has refused to apologise for remarks which have caused Australians of Indian heritage significant hurt,” Ley said in a statement. Ley told reporters that Price is an “outstanding Australian” and that her Liberal membership “continues to be welcomed”. (Capital Brief)

5.

Fed tug: Republicans on the US Senate Banking Committee advanced Trump’s nomination of Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve Board, pushing the White House economic adviser a step closer to a key role ahead of a closely watched interest rate decision. The 13-11 party-line vote came one day after a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump from firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook, who is suing the president over mortgage fraud allegations she denies. If confirmed by the full Senate, he would serve the remainder of Kugler’s term, which ends in January. Miran has said he will take unpaid leave from his current White House role, and told lawmakers he would reconsider staying on if a successor is not appointed. A day earlier, the court found Trump likely did not have legal cause under the Federal Reserve Act to remove her and may have violated her constitutional right to due process. The White House has appealed. (Bloomberg)(Reuters)

6.

Market Klarna: Klarna shares jumped as much as 43% on its first day of trading on the NYSE, opening at USD 52 ($78.6) after pricing its IPO at USD 40 a share. The company and some of its shareholders raised approximately USD 1.37 billion, valuing the Swedish fintech at about USD 15.2 billion on a fully-diluted basis. Shares rose as much as 43% to USD 57.20 each on Wednesday. The IPO had been priced above the expected range and was significantly oversubscribed. Klarna had postponed its IPO earlier this year due to market volatility triggered by US tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. But a resurgence in tech listings, including Circle and Figma, has since signalled renewed demand from Wall Street for new offerings. The fintech was once valued at USD 45.6 billion in 2021 during a pandemic-driven e-commerce boom, before falling to USD 6.7 billion in 2022 amid pressure on fintech valuations. (Capital Brief)(Bloomberg)

7.

In the clouds: Oracle shares surged as much as 43% to USD 345.68 ($522.2) each in their biggest single-day gain since 1992, after the company gave an aggressive outlook for its cloud business and reported four multi-billion-dollar contracts. Remaining performance obligations reached USD 455 billion at the end of the fiscal first quarter, more than four times higher than the same period a year earlier, and are expected to exceed USD 500 billion in the coming months. The rally lifted Oracle’s market valuation to USD 969 billion and added USD 101 billion to co-founder Larry Ellison’s fortune, making him the world’s richest person with USD393 billion. Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI signed a USD 300 billion cloud contract with Oracle over roughly five years. (Capital Brief)(Bloomberg)

8.

Conservative shot: Charlie Kirk, a prominent ally of Donald Trump and the executive director of conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA, was shot on Wednesday local time during an event at Utah Valley University, according to multiple reports. A university statement said that at about noon, a shot was fired at the visiting speaker, Kirk, who was hit and taken from the location by his security. His condition is unknown. A suspect is in custody. Video circulating on social media shows Kirk being struck while speaking under a tent in the university courtyard, followed by students running from the sound of gunfire. Political figures including Donald Trump, Governor Spencer Cox and Governor Gavin Newsom issued statements following the incident. “We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” Trump posted on social media. (Reuters)(Bloomberg)