AI’s Breakneck Leap: Olympiad Wins, Autonomous Agents, and Billion-Dollar Bets

Ollie Carter

Alright, welcome back to The AI Intelligence Podcast, folks! Ollie here, and I’m joined as always by the one and only Llew Jury. This week in AI—honestly, I don’t even know where to start. But I reckon we’ve gotta kick off with OpenAI’s latest stunt. Five out of six International Math Olympiad problems solved by an AI model. That’s not just a flex, that’s like, “Hey, humans, move over, we’re doing maths now.”

Llew Jury

Yeah, g’day everyone. Look, I’ve been in tech for a long time, and I’ve seen some wild stuff, but this? This is next level. The Math Olympiad isn’t just a school test—it’s the absolute Olympics of maths. And for an AI to knock off five out of six problems, under contest conditions, that’s not just brute force, that’s creative reasoning. That’s the bit that gets me. It’s not just crunching numbers, it’s actually thinking in a way that, well, we used to think only humans could.

Ollie Carter

Yeah, and I mean, I remember back when I was younger, cramming for those maths comps—like, you’d be up all night, smashing Red Bulls, trying to wrap your head around some geometry proof. And now, you’ve got an AI that doesn’t even need to sleep, just quietly solving Olympiad problems while we’re all snoozing. It’s a bit humbling, honestly.

Llew Jury

It is, Ollie. And it’s not just about the maths, right? It’s what this means for the future. If an AI can do creative reasoning in maths, what’s next? Are we talking AGI—artificial general intelligence—sooner than we thought? I mean, Demis Hassabis from DeepMind reckons we could hit human-level problem-solving in five years. That’s not some random Twitter hot take, that’s coming from an expert who’s usually pretty conservative with his predictions.

Ollie Carter

Yeah, and it’s not even GPT-5 doing this, apparently. The word is, OpenAI’s working on a whole new approach—specialised models with some kind of smart router, not just one big monolithic thing. So, we’re not just getting smarter AIs, we’re getting more specialised, more creative ones. It’s wild.

Llew Jury

And it’s not just OpenAI, either. NVIDIA’s out there with this DiffusionRenderer thing—AI dragons in real videos, looking so real you’d swear they were actually there. The creative side of AI is just exploding. But back to the maths—do you reckon we’re ready for a world where the best mathematician in the room is, well, not even in the room? It’s a server somewhere in the cloud?

Ollie Carter

Honestly, I dunno. I mean, I love the idea of collaborating with an AI that can do the heavy lifting, but it’s a bit daunting too. Like, what’s left for us to do? Maybe just come up with the questions, not the answers. Or maybe we just get better at asking the right questions. Anyway, where was I going with this? Oh right—if you’d told me back in high school I’d be competing against an AI at the Olympiad, I’d have laughed you out of the room. Now, it’s just reality.

Llew Jury

And speaking of reality, let’s talk about these digital agents. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Agent mode—launched just this week—has gone from chatbot to, well, actual digital assistant. It can browse the web, make bookings, do your shopping, all on its own. That’s a massive leap. I remember back in my startup days, just getting a calendar to sync with a booking system felt like magic. Now, you’ve got agents that can handle your entire to-do list while you’re at the beach.

Ollie Carter

Yeah, and it’s not just OpenAI. Moonshot AI out of Beijing dropped Kimi K2, and it’s gone absolutely bonkers on Hugging Face—most downloaded model in a day, apparently. And it’s open-weight, so anyone can tinker with it. But what’s wild is, it’s not even trying to be a reasoning model like the Olympiad one. It’s an “agentic” LLM—so it’s built to do stuff, not just chat. Multi-step tasks, coding, integrating with other systems. It’s like, suddenly, the global AI race isn’t just US versus China, it’s everyone, everywhere, building these digital workers.

Llew Jury

Spot on. And the competition’s heating up. Google DeepMind’s CEO saying human-level AI in five years, Apple quietly updating their on-device models for privacy, Microsoft making their models ten times faster. It’s not just about who’s got the smartest AI, it’s about who’s got the most useful, the fastest, the most secure. And, mate, the implications for daily life are huge. Imagine your agent handling your emails, booking your travel, even negotiating your phone bill. That’s not sci-fi anymore.

Ollie Carter

Yeah, and it’s not just work stuff. I saw a stat—ChatGPT’s mobile app has hit 900 million downloads. That’s not just techies, that’s everyone. And then you’ve got teenagers using AI companions for, like, relationship advice and emotional support. It’s a whole new way of interacting with technology. I mean, I’m not sure I’d trust an AI to pick my next date, but hey, maybe I’m just old-fashioned.

Llew Jury

Ha! Well, mate, I reckon the real shift is in how these agents are changing power dynamics. It’s not just about convenience, it’s about who controls the best agents, who’s got the best data, who can move fastest. Governments are getting in on it too—big contracts, new partnerships, even the Pentagon’s throwing hundreds of millions at AI tools. It’s a global arms race, but with digital agents instead of missiles.

Ollie Carter

And it’s not just the big end of town. Even little startups are getting in on the action. I mean, Llew, you remember when automating a simple scheduling task felt like a win? Now, you’ve got agents that can run your whole business backend. It’s a bit mind-blowing. And honestly, I think we’re only just scratching the surface of what these things can do.

Ollie Carter

Alright, let’s talk about the money, because, wow, it’s just pouring in. US startup funding is up 75%—over $160 billion in the first half of 2025, and nearly two-thirds of that is going to AI companies. That’s not just a trend, that’s a tidal wave. Thinking Machines, Perplexity AI, xAI—they’re all pulling in billions. It’s like every VC in the world has decided AI is the only game in town.

Llew Jury

Yeah, and it’s not just the size of the rounds, it’s who’s getting them. Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines—$2 billion seed round, $12 billion valuation, and she’s only just left OpenAI. That’s a blank cheque if I’ve ever seen one. And then you’ve got Perplexity AI, taking on Google in search, raising $100 million at an $18 billion valuation. Even Elon’s xAI is getting a $2 billion boost from SpaceX. It’s not just about building cool tech, it’s about building the future, and everyone wants a piece.

Ollie Carter

And it’s not just the big names. There’s a wave of acquisitions—Meta buying PlayAI for voice infrastructure, Qualcomm dropping $2.4 billion on Alphawave for data centre AI. It’s a scramble for talent and tech. I’ll tell you what, Llew, my VC firm almost missed out on one of these AI hits a while back. We thought, “Ah, it’s just another chatbot.” Next thing you know, it’s everywhere—on phones, in cars, even in the fridge. Lesson learned: don’t sleep on AI, ever.

Llew Jury

It’s not just about the money, either. It’s about where AI is popping up. Netflix using AI to cut production costs, historians using it to scan centuries of documents, even floating robots cleaning up waterways. It’s not just tech for tech’s sake—it’s solving real problems, sometimes in ways you’d never expect. And, honestly, that’s what excites me most. It’s not just about the billion-dollar bets, it’s about the everyday impact.

Ollie Carter

Yeah, and I reckon that’s the big takeaway. AI’s not just for the boardroom or the lab anymore—it’s everywhere. From the Olympiad to your local river cleanup, it’s changing how we live, work, and even play. And with the pace things are moving, if you’re not paying attention, you’re gonna get left behind.

Llew Jury

Couldn’t agree more, Ollie. And look, that’s all we’ve got time for this week. But trust me, there’s plenty more coming down the pipeline. So, if you want to stay ahead of the curve, keep tuning in. Ollie, always a pleasure, mate.

Ollie Carter

Cheers, Llew. Thanks everyone for listening. We’ll be back next week with more AI madness. Until then, keep your agents handy and your maths sharp. Catch ya next time!

Llew Jury

See ya, folks. Stay curious!