• Reid Hoffman said he uses OpenAI's Deep Research every day to have a "lens" on AI's future.
• He said using "chain-of-thought" models offered an insight into how these products could be "workers in the future."
• He added that "a bunch of folks" were in the race to develop the best agentic AI.

Reid Hoffman has said he uses a specific tool daily to gain insight into how AI products could be "workers in the future."

The LinkedIn cofounder and investor said he did "at least" one prompt daily with OpenAI's Deep Research tool, an agentic tool for automating complex multi-step internet research. He also said there was many companies building "strong" offerings in the race to make AI agents.

Hoffman, who stood down as an OpenAI director in 2023, citing potential conflicts of interest with his other AI investments, was asked about the startup during an interview on Bloomberg Television on Friday.

He said he was using Deep Research once a day, and that it "gives you the lens to the amplification we're going to get with these products as workers in the future."

The rise of agentic AI, which can independently act on a person's behalf and make decisions without human intervention, has fuelled speculation about how and when AI might replace human workers.

A group of Carnegie Mellon researchers ran a virtual simulation designed to test how AI agents fare in real-world professional scenarios. They found that the top-performing model finished less than one-quarter of all tasks.

"While agents may be used to accelerate some portion of the tasks that human workers are doing, they are likely not a replacement for all tasks at the moment," Graham Neubig, a computer science professor at CMU and one of the researchers, previously told BI.

Hoffman, who cofounded Manas AI, said he saw no clear leader in the race to develop agentic AI, saying there was "a bunch of folks who are doing very strong things," and "not just OpenAI, Anthropic, Microsoft, Google."

Bloomberg interviewer Ed Ludlow told Hoffman he was increasingly talking to AI in voice mode, which he called "a psychological thing that, as a consumer, you kind of have to get over."

• Trump and Zelenskyy met at the Vatican before Pope Francis' funeral.
• This was their first meeting since a heated exchange at the White House in February.
• "Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic," Zelenskyy later wrote on X.

Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met on Saturday — their first encounter since a heated exchange at the White House two months ago.

The two leaders held a discussion inside St. Peter's Basilica, ahead of the Pope's funeral, with French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer present during the initial moments.

Zelenskyy and Trump had not met since their heated exchange in the Oval Office on February 28, in which Trump said of Ukraine's war against Russia, "You're either going to make a deal or we're out."

Four days later, Trump announced a pause in US military aid, and the EU declared "an era of rearmament," as it unveiled a defense funding boost.

The Oval Office meeting was in the glare of the world's press, but photos of the Rome meeting show Trump and Zelenskyy seated close together, without aides or interpreters.

Andrii Yermak, a senior aide to Zelenskyy, shared a photo of the leaders in St. Peter's Basilica on Telegram. "Constructive," he wrote.

Steven Cheung, White House communications director, called it a "very productive discussion."

Posting X, Zelenskyy said the encounter had been a "good meeting."

"We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out. Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results," he said.

The Rome meeting comes after Steve Witkoff, Trump's designated peace envoy, travelled to Moscow for discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Kremlin advisor Yuri Ushakov said the talks centered on "the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine."

Following Witkoff's return, Trump said on Truth Social that "most of the major points are agreed to" and that a cease-fire deal between Kyiv and Moscow was "very close."

As he prepared to leave for Rome on Friday, Trump told reporters that the talks were "very fragile." He has also warned that the US might halt its mediation efforts if a deal isn't reached soon.

After the meeting on Saturday, Zelenskyy was greeted with applause when he walked out of St Peter's Basilica after paying his respects in front of the pontiff's coffin.

Trump later wrote a long post on Truth Social, in which he called the war in Ukraine "Sleepy Joe Biden's War, not mine. It was a loser from day one."

The long post ended, "There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want to stop the war, he's just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through "Banking" or "Secondary Sanctions?" Too many people are dying!!!"

The FBI's arrest of a Wisconsin judge shocked the establishment. But it's exactly the kind of escalation the MAGA base has been agitating for.

• "This is not the time for summer soldiers or sunshine patriots," MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec told Axios, invoking founding father Thomas Paine.

Why it matters: Friday's arrest of Milwaukee County judge Hannah Dugan, on charges of obstructing an immigration arrest, is a stunning escalation of President Trump's battles with political opponents.

But listen to the reaction from influential voices in MAGAworld, and you can see why you can expect more moves like it.

• "I wouldn't necessarily say that what we've seen out of the DOJ so far rises to the level of full wrath when you're talking about accountability for people who waged lawfare," Natalie Winters, a correspondent for Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast, said Friday after the arrest. "We haven't had any names released."

The backstory: When Trump took office, his diehard fans were craving a pedal-to-the-metal offensive against the "deep state." Trump delivered a shock-and-awe series of first-100-day actions and executive orders.

• But MAGA podcasts and social-media posts showed the true believers wanted more: arrests of political foes.

On Day 1, supporters got a dose of Trump maximalism when he blanket-pardoned most of those charged over the Jan. 6 riot — including those accused of violence.

• The movement then expected a wave of arrests of bureaucrats. It never came.
• "I don't know about you, but I'm still waiting for prosecutions," Judicial Watch head Tom Fitton said earlier this month.

Behind the scenes: Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have urged patience, insisting to the base that they're hard at work targeting "deep state" provocateurs and other enemies of MAGA. Friday's arrest took some pressure off.

• Patel has "been taking a little heat from our base, actually," Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said on Charlie Kirk's podcast. "Kash and Pam both — [Trump faithful] want to know: What are they doing? They need to get started. This just shows you they do a lot of stuff behind closed doors and they can't do it in public, but they're acting fast on it."
• "Just because you're not seeing something in the news does not mean that it's not happening," Mike Davis of the Article III Project, and a top Trump ally, added on Steve Bannon's "War Room" podcast. "There's a lot going on. There's a lot more that's coming. I can assure you … we're firing on all cylinders in the Trump administration."

Catch up quick: Dugan was arrested Friday for allegedly obstructing the arrest of a man who was in the country illegally, but was appearing in her courtroom on different charges. Dugan allegedly told FBI agents they needed to go see the court's chief judge before ushering the defendant out through a side door.

• The defendant was ultimately apprehended after a brief foot chase.

Duggan's arrest came after a former judge in New Mexico was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Thursday on evidence-tampering charges.

• Jose Cano, a former Doña Ana County magistrate judge, and his wife were allegedly allowing alleged Venezuelan gang members to stay on their property. Their arrest similarly sent MAGA into an uproar, combining immigration, crime and the "deep state" into one rallying cry.

Go deeper: Congress erupts over FBI arrest of Wisconsin judge

American retailers are growing worried that President Trump's trade war and increased volatility will lead to empty shelves, higher prices and store closures as Chinese imports screech to a halt.

Why it matters: Many retailers stocked up on inventory in the first months of 2025, realizing that a storm was coming — but their inventories are poised to dwindle quickly.

• The National Retail Federation expects U.S. imports to plunge by at least 20% in the second half of 2025 if increased tariffs remain in place.
• "Shortages are a real possibility," Coresight Research analyst John Harmon tells Axios.

The big picture: Trump's trade war has sent the nation's retailers into scramble mode.

• The CEOs of three of the nation's biggest retailers — Walmart, Target and Home Depot — privately warned Trump in a meeting Monday that his trade policy could trigger massive product shortages and price spikes.
• The largest companies are reportedly pressuring suppliers to absorb extra costs. "We have decades of experience" with buyers, plus longstanding supplier relationships, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told reporters earlier this month.
• Smaller retailers have fewer options: "We're not eager to raise prices," Skechers USA CFO John Vandemore said Thursday. "We would not be doing so were it not for" the tariffs.
• Businesses that were already teetering are in serious trouble: "If they can't get goods, or their consumers revolt and don't want to pay the tariffs and their sales plummet, it seriously could push some retailers over the edge," Harmon said.

What we're watching: How fears of shortages affect consumer behavior. Several sectors have shown signs of people stocking up on products in anticipation of price increases.

• "Starting in a couple of weeks, we are just going to start running out of stuff, and if the administration waits to resolve the problem until we have shortages and hoarding, that is just too late," Sean Stein, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, told NBC News.
• The White House did not comment.

Follow the money: With higher duties and fewer supplies, prices are set to spike.

• A slew of companies have warned of higher prices or have already increased them, including Procter & Gamble, Best Buy, Unilever, Ford, Shein, Temu, AutoZone and Hermès.
• The Halloween and Costume Association warned that tariffs are threatening to "wipe out Halloween and severely disrupt Christmas unless urgent action is taken."
• "Our members are reporting a wave of order cancellations, and it's creating serious concern about whether shelves will be stocked in time for Halloween," Michele Boylstein, the association's executive director, told Axios.

Threat level: It's only April, but back-to-school season is already at risk, Coresight's Harmon said.

• Retailers will look to alternatives for product sourcing to avoid the steepest duties but "it's not like you can flip a switch and pivot to another supplier," Harmon said.