X Corp Cuts Ad Prices to Win Back Brands; Google, Microsoft Partner to Regulate AI

In today's ExchangeWire news digest: Elon Musk's X Corp. offers special discounts to woo advertisers; Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic launch a new initiative to regulate the development of AI; and Amazon proposes new measures to appease the UK's CMA.

X Corp offers discounts to win back advertisers

X Corp (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter) is reportedly reducing the prices of ads. The company has lost almost half of its ad revenue in recent months, with owner Elon Musk reporting a negative cash flow earlier in July. In an attempt to win back advertisers, X is reportedly offering some advertisers discounts on video ads that accompany trending topics in X’s “Explore” tab, some as high as 50%. X has also warned some brands in the UK and US that they will lose their verified status on the site unless they meet spending thresholds for ads.

Frontier Model Forum announced for "safe and responsible" AI

Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic have announced a joint initiative to regulate artificial intelligence. The Frontier Model Forum will ensure the “safe and responsible” development of AI models, with Microsoft chief Brad Smith stating the group’s formation is “vital” to ensure the emerging technology “benefits all of humanity.” The announcement comes as regulators around the world scramble to get ahead of AI’s development, which has sparked a range of ethical concerns.

Amazon offers concessions to appease CMA

Amazon has offered to change how it treats third-party sellers in the UK in an effort to appease regulators. The proposed concessions, which were submitted to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), will ensure “third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplace can compete on a level-playing field against Amazon’s own retail business”. The commitment comes more than a year after the CMA launched a probe into whether Amazon has abused its position as the UK’s leading online retailer.

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Fact of the Day

USD$13bn (~£10bn) – Microsoft's total investment in OpenAI to date.

Source: CNBC