Five Things, Vc Deals, Thwarted Corporate Gifts And Judging Chubby Grizzlies

Joel Saget/Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BIThis is an excerpt from the Insider Today newsletter. You can sign up for Business Insider's daily newsletter here. OpenAI is viewed as one of the most important startups in Silicon Valley. It now has a price tag to match. The high-profile startup announced the closing of a $6.6 billion funding round that valued it at $157 billion.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Rostin BehnamREUTERS/Elizabeth FrantzAmericans can bet on the outcome of US elections following a legal fight. Last month, Kalshi briefly listed bets on congressional election outcomes before the CFTC shut them down. An appeals court just lifted the order. The CFTC says betting poses threats to election integrity.

Meta has expanded its Fraud Intelligence Reciprocal Exchange, or FIRE, which lets banks communicate more directly with the company about scams. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesMeta is partnering with banks to identify scam accounts. Meta's new system allows banks to share data with the company directly. Meta says the collaboration led to the removal of 20,000 scam accounts in the UK alone.

Cinque Terre is a collection of five beautiful Italian towns. Sina Ettmer Photography/ShutterstockI'm a travel planner, and there are five European destinations I think everyone should visit. If you're planning a trip to the UK, make sure to stop in Liverpool. Cinque Terre in Italy is one of my favorite spots in the whole world.

SoftBank's boss, Masayoshi Son. Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty ImagesOpenAI raised $6.6 billion in a deal that values the company at more than $150 billion. Investors include Nvidia, Thrive Capital, and an investment firm backed by the United Arab Emirates. Also among the backers are SoftBank, Tiger, and Ark, which have a record of investing at the top.

Guy Raz co-hosts "Wow in the World," which is launching a toy line with Wondery. Guy RazAmazon's Wondery is launching a "Wow in the World" toy line, expanding beyond audio content. The toys, priced from $14.95 to $29.95, will be sold in stores like Barnes & Noble and Nordstrom. Wondery aims to build franchises from podcasts, following success with "Dr.