OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024.
Image: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Wake up to the shifts shaping the future.
From boardroom shakeups and billion-dollar bets to the latest tech breakthroughs rewriting the rules, The Company Brief is your front-row seat to the stories moving markets and mindsets.
We cut through the noise so you can stay ahead of the curve, one bold business move at a time.
OpenAI declares 'huge focus' on enterprise growth with an array of partnerships
OpenAI touted new partnerships to incorporate its AI products across diverse industries at its developer conference on Monday, aiming to drive the strong momentum it has enjoyed among consumers to its enterprise business. "You should expect a huge focus from us on really leaning into enterprise," CEO Sam Altman told journalists. The company revealed a flurry of collaborations with companies including Spotify, Zillow and Mattel while debuting a set of fresh tools to help developers build new applications. That included a way for other apps to plug into ChatGPT and allow a user to ask questions or perform tasks in the app. One engineer gave a live demo showing how someone could use ChatGPT to generate a readymade playlist in Spotify, or ask Zillow to narrow down a list of properties to just show those with three bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Bari Weiss named editor-in-chief of CBS News under Free Press-Paramount deal
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison has named Bari Weiss editor-in-chief of CBS News, the news division of U.S. broadcaster CBS, as part of a deal to acquire the online news site she founded, The Free Press. The appointment is seen as Ellison's bet that Weiss, a successful entrepreneur and outsider with billionaire connections, can modernise and turn around the powerful but third-placed broadcast news network. The companies did not disclose the deal value in Monday's announcement. A source familiar with the matter said it was for $150 million. In an essay announcing the transaction on Monday, Weiss, 41, said the deal provides "a chance to help reshape a storied media organisation—to help guide CBS News into a future that honours those great values that underpin The Free Press and the best of American journalism."
South Africa is running out of fiscal room to manoeuvre
South Africa’s government is hitting a financial wall. After years of borrowing to fund public spending, the state can no longer simply tap debt markets to keep the engine running. Government debt has surged to 78% of GDP, reaching R5.8 trillion by the end of June 2025, according to the Reserve Bank. Servicing this debt is now growing faster than the economy itself, a dangerous imbalance that’s making the country’s fiscal position increasingly unsustainable. If this trajectory continues, the burden could eventually trigger a financial crisis, with the local economy unable to carry the weight of government debt. In the near term, the squeeze on public finances is already limiting the state’s ability to invest in critical infrastructure and stimulate growth. With its balance sheet stretched, the government is being pushed toward deeper partnerships with the private sector to drive economic development.
Inefficiencies plague Durban's port
The latest World Bank report on the efficiency of container ports worldwide has again painted a troubling picture of the Port of Durban’s performance. The fifth edition of the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) for 2024 ranks Durban as the 403rd busiest port globally, placing it among the worst performers in the world. So grim is the picture, South Africa could not take advantage of the shipping crises in other parts of the world because of the inefficiencies in its port. Despite this dismal ranking, the report indicates that investments have been made to improve the situation, with some positive signs emerging.