BMW to Test ONE's Advanced Battery in its iX Electric SUV

An electric-powered BMW iX is displayed at the 43rd Bangkok International Motor Show, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 22, 2022. (Reuters)
An electric-powered BMW iX is displayed at the 43rd Bangkok International Motor Show, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 22, 2022. (Reuters)
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BMW to Test ONE's Advanced Battery in its iX Electric SUV

An electric-powered BMW iX is displayed at the 43rd Bangkok International Motor Show, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 22, 2022. (Reuters)
An electric-powered BMW iX is displayed at the 43rd Bangkok International Motor Show, in Bangkok, Thailand, March 22, 2022. (Reuters)

BMW will install and test a long-range battery developed by Michigan-based startup Our Next Energy (ONE) in the German automaker's iX electric SUV, the companies said on Tuesday.

ONE's Gemini battery will incorporate two types of battery cells, including one with advanced chemistry that can store more energy and enable vehicle range of 600 miles (965 km) or more between charges, the battery maker said. The prototype vehicle is expected to be completed by year-end, ONE said.

The Gemini battery aims to reduce the use of such traditional EV battery materials as cobalt, nickel, graphite and lithium, according to Mujeeb Ijaz, ONE founder and chief executive.

Ijaz said ONE is testing different electrode chemistries in Gemini, while evaluating the potential tradeoffs in cost, energy and sustainability.

ONE might offer a production version of the battery in three different sizes and prices, Ijaz said, including a low-end version that would cost the same as today's conventional nickel- and cobalt-based batteries, "if not a little lower."

Ijaz said ONE is discussing similar prototype testing of its Gemini battery with other companies.

In March, BMW's corporate venture arm led a $65 million funding round in ONE. Other investors in that round included Coatue Management, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Assembly Ventures, Flex and Volta Energy Technologies.

In December, ONE said an early prototype of the Gemini battery, retrofitted in a Tesla Model S sedan, delivered more than 750 miles (1,200 km) of range, well in excess of the best production electric vehicles on the market.

Since its founding in 2020, ONE has focused development on a long-range battery that uses safer and more sustainable materials, while packing more energy into a smaller, less expensive package.

In a statement, BMW executive Juergen Hildinger said the automaker is exploring opportunities "to integrate ONE's battery technologies into models of our future BEV (battery electric vehicle) product lineup."



OpenAI Abandons Plan to Become For-profit Company

'OpenAI is not a normal company and never will be,' OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in an email to staff posted on the company's website. JOEL SAGET / AFP
'OpenAI is not a normal company and never will be,' OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in an email to staff posted on the company's website. JOEL SAGET / AFP
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OpenAI Abandons Plan to Become For-profit Company

'OpenAI is not a normal company and never will be,' OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in an email to staff posted on the company's website. JOEL SAGET / AFP
'OpenAI is not a normal company and never will be,' OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in an email to staff posted on the company's website. JOEL SAGET / AFP

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced Monday that the company behind ChatGPT will continue to be run as a nonprofit, abandoning a contested plan to convert into a for-profit organization.

The structural issue had become a significant point of contention for the artificial intelligence (AI) pioneer, with major investors pushing for the change to better secure their returns, AFP said.

AI safety advocates had expressed concerns about pursuing substantial profits from such powerful technology without the oversight of a nonprofit board of directors acting in society's interest rather than for shareholder profits.

"OpenAI is not a normal company and never will be," Altman wrote in an email to staff posted on the company's website.

"We made the decision for the nonprofit to stay in control after hearing from civic leaders and having discussions with the offices of the Attorneys General of California and Delaware," he added.

OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit in 2015 and later created a "capped" for-profit entity allowing limited profit-making to attract investors, with cloud computing giant Microsoft becoming the largest early backer.

This arrangement nearly collapsed in 2023 when the board unexpectedly fired Altman. Staff revolted, leading to Altman's reinstatement while those responsible for his dismissal departed.

Alarmed by the instability, investors demanded OpenAI transition to a more traditional for-profit structure within two years.

Under its initial reform plan revealed last year, OpenAI would have become an outright for-profit public benefit corporation (PBC), reassuring investors considering the tens of billions of dollars necessary to fulfill the company's ambitions.

Any status change, however, requires approval from state governments in California and Delaware, where the company is headquartered and registered, respectively.

The plan faced strong criticism from AI safety activists and co-founder Elon Musk, who sued the company he left in 2018, claiming the proposal violated its founding philosophy.

In the revised plan, OpenAI's money-making arm will now be fully open to generate profits but, crucially, will remain under the nonprofit board's supervision.

"We believe this sets us up to continue to make rapid, safe progress and to put great AI in the hands of everyone," Altman said.

SoftBank sign-off

OpenAI's major investors will likely have a say in this proposal, with Japanese investment giant SoftBank having made the change to being a for-profit a condition for their massive $30 billion investment announced on March 31.

In an official document, SoftBank stated its total investment could be reduced to $20 billion if OpenAI does not restructure into a for-profit entity by year-end.

The substantial cash injections are needed to cover OpenAI's colossal computing requirements to build increasingly energy-intensive and complex AI models.

The company's original vision did not contemplate "the needs for hundreds of billions of dollars of compute to train models and serve users," Altman said.

SoftBank's contribution in March represented the majority of the $40 billion raised in a funding round that valued the ChatGPT maker at $300 billion, marking the largest capital-raising event ever for a startup.

The company, led by Altman, has become one of Silicon Valley's most successful startups, propelled to prominence in 2022 with the release of ChatGPT, its generative AI chatbot.