
'I know what our models are capable of': OpenAI's Sarah Friar on security fears; AI bubbles and its IPO
The Business Post Connected PodcastShow Notes
Fresh off the announcement of a further 200 jobs in OpenAI's Dublin offices, Sarah Friar, chief financial officer, joins Charlie Taylor to discuss the future of the company in Ireland.
Friar speaks candidly about choosing Ireland as the company's European HQ, citing government support and chip development as key reasons for the company's trust in Ireland.
Friar elaborates on OpenAI's education programmes at the University of Limerick and plans to broaden the scheme across the country in hopes of creating their own workforce of the future.
Her conversation with Charlie covers the importance of balancing the development of frontier models with the need to keep "adversaries" within scope of western AI models and her beliefs that, for now, an AI bubble does not exist.
Lastly, Charlie and Friar chat about OpenAI's delayed IPO. Friar explains OpenAI's healthy balance sheet and the work that would go into an IPO for an already very busy company.
The podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or right here on our site.
Presented by Charlie Taylor Sound by Larry Mockus Editing by Carolyn Goulden and Tim O'Donovan Produced by Tara McGivern Artwork by Garrett Allen.
More from The Business Post Connected Podcast
This week on the Podcast, Charlie talks to Guillaume Princen head of EMEA for Anthropic at the International AI summit in Dublin.
Since its foundation in 2022, Dublin-based employee benefits platform Kota has scaled rapidly not only in size, but also in recognition. The firm has been repeatedly identified by Sifted, the Financial Times-backed tech publication, as the one of the fastest-growing firms in Ireland and the UK and was last week named as the 12th fastest-growing start-up in Europe. Kota's chief executive Luke Mackey joins Alice O'Leary to discuss how the company has gotten to where it is today and how it plans to top the Sifted 250 in the years to come. Alice also sat down with Peter O'Dwyer to discuss the biggest tech stories of the last week, including more stark warnings on AI annihilation and the latest on Anthropic's IPO.
Listen back to Connected Live - a panel discussion with some of Ireland's foremost AI experts recorded at the Business Post's AI 2030 event last week. Our tech editor Charlie Taylor sat down with Emma Redmond head of OpenAI Ireland, Graham Abell, VP of software engineering and Ireland site lead at Workday and Eoin Hinchy, founder and chief executive of Irish unicorn Tines for a fascinating discussion on how AI could transform Ireland in the coming years. The panel spoke frankly on the need to handle the technology with care, how AI could alter the workforce and the importance of public trust to fully reap its rewards. Meanwhile, Peter O'Dwyer and Alice O'Leary bring you the latest developments in tech across the globe.
Last week saw 50,000 people descend on San Francisco to attend Dreamforce - Salesforce's flagship tech conference. Movie stars, AI executives and our very own Charlie Taylor were among those in attendance. Charlie sat down with Business Post reporter Alice O'Leary to discuss some key takeaways from the event, including debate on the pace at which AI is evolving and Irish unicorn Fin officially joining the Salesforce family. Charlie was also joined by Mike O'Mahony, an investment analyst at MyWallSt to discuss to what extent the so-called SaaSpocalypse has hurt Big Tech and what is in store for AI stocks at this juncture for the technology.
Last week saw Apple finally announce the launch of its first folding phone - seven years on rival Samsung's heels. With a hefty price tag starting at $2,000 and alternatives flooding the market, has Apple missed the boat on the flip phone revival? And what does it signal for the firm's position as a market leader? Charlie is joined by Alice O'Leary to discuss. Charlie also sat down with Paul Rellis, formerly head of Microsoft Ireland and the reigning chief executive of Viatel Technology Group, the Irish digital service's provider, to discuss the company's recent flurry of expansion and how cybersecurity threats are weighing on indigenous businesses.