💰Is OpenAI Worth $100 Billion? Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft think so.
Plus: California Assembly Passes AI Bill.
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Friday is here, kicking off a long weekend for many of us—plenty of time to recover from the rollercoaster Nvidia’s earnings brought to the markets and the industry. Meanwhile, OpenAI is raising more funds, and all the tech giants, including Nvidia, are ready to chip in. California is also on the brink of passing a crucial AI bill, and we’re excited to share a new "Building in Public" project we've started. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
📰 AI News and Trends
Is OpenAI Worth $100 Billion? Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft think so.
Should OpenAI Go Public?
California Assembly Passes AI Bill.
Building in Public - Day 1.
🧰 AI Tools (Sales IV)
📰 AI News and Trends
OpenAI and Anthropic will share their models with the US government (TheVerge)
Midjourney says it’s ‘getting into hardware’ (TC)
Google rolling out Gems and Imagen 3, with people generation, to Gemini Advanced (9to5)
Cohere paper proves - code improves intelligence (Paper)
Midjourney is now on the web + free tier (Midjourney)
Alibaba releases new AI model Qwen2-VL that can analyze videos more than 20 minutes long (VB)
🌐 Other Tech news
When EV startups shut down, will their cars still work? (RofW)
SEC has its aims on NFT marketplace OpenSea (TC)
According to Horowitz Research, 66% of U.S. viewers are using free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms like Tubi, Pluto TV, and Roku monthly (BTN)
Roblox generated $1.2 billion in the U.S. creator economy between 2017 and 2023 (TubeFilter)
Global South Fights Back as Companies Profit from Unpaid Use of Genetic Data in 'Biopiracy' Dispute (Guardian)
Sony Block Solutions Labs has developed the Soneium blockchain to accelerate Web3 innovation, advancing Sony's move into blockchain technology (THR)
Meta considers new mixed reality glasses as headsets alternative (Reuters)
Trump Accuses Mark Zuckerberg of Plotting Against Him in 2020 Election (Politico)
Is OpenAI Worth $100 Billion?
Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft think so.
OpenAI is discussing raising several billion dollars in a new funding round, potentially valuing the company at over $100 billion. Thrive Capital is leading the round with a $1 billion investment, and Microsoft, Nvidia and Apple are reportedly in discussions to join a new funding round for OpenAI to help the company cover its rising costsis also expected to participate.
This funding would be the largest since Microsoft's $10 billion investment in January 2023. OpenAI was last valued at $86 billion, and recent private stock sales suggest around $103 billion. The company faces a lot of competition today and the industry is not what it was just a few months ago, Claude, Microsoft itself, Goole, Apple, and Xai are all competing for market share and chips are getting harder to snatch. The capital is essential for OpenAI's goal of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI), which requires significant investment in data processing and supercomputers. Despite fierce competition, OpenAI's ChatGPT now has 200M+ weekly active users, 2x from Nov. 2023, and it remains the market leader with hundreds of millions of users. However, the AI industry is still speculative, with OpenAI generating $3.4 billion in annualized revenue earlier this year. Microsoft's ongoing investment indicates a strong, albeit competitive, relationship with OpenAI.
Should OpenAI Go Public?
The world's most valuable private companies, like Stripe and ByteDance, have delayed going public by leveraging profitability and private capital. However, OpenAI, despite its high valuation, may face pressure to go public sooner, potentially by 2026, due to its high capital needs and lower profitability. Unlike its peers, OpenAI may struggle to sustain its funding through private sources alone. The company might need to restructure from its current nonprofit status before an IPO, and its recent hire of experienced CFO Sarah Friar signals a possible preparation for going public. An IPO could be necessary to secure the cash OpenAI needs for its future operations.
California Assembly Passes AI Bill.
The California State Assembly passed a bill with a 41-9 vote that could make AI companies liable if their technology causes harm. The bill mandates that companies developing large AI models must test for severe risks, such as enabling cyberattacks, before releasing their products. If they fail to do so, the California Attorney General could sue them. The bill, now headed to Governor Gavin Newsom, has sparked a heated debate. Supporters argue it's necessary for safety, while opponents, including major tech firms, warn it could stifle innovation and overstep state boundaries. Newsom’s decision could set a national precedent for AI regulation.
Building in Public - Day 1.
I'm starting a new section to share my journey in building AI and computer vision applications. For this, I've partnered with OpenCV.org, a leading open-source library originally developed by Intel for real-time computer vision. With cross-platform support and GPU acceleration, it's a powerful tool for developers.
I'll be working on and sharing a range of apps, from applying filters to images to tracking objects in live video feeds. My first project is a simple image manipulation tool that lets users upload an image, which the program reads and applies a vintage filter to. I tweaked and simplified this code to I build it on my Mac using Python for the backend and HTML for the front end. To make it accessible, I deployed it on a $4/month Digital Ocean droplet.
The app is functional, but I'm still troubleshooting an issue where the processed image (they are save in this folder) points to the wrong folder.
Below is the above image processed. The filter settings can improve with easy tweks to the code, and Ill get to that when is fully functional which is the challege.
Despite its simplicity, this is just the beginning. I'll be sharing more complex projects as I progress in my computer vision journey. I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas—let’s build together!
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