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☆ Tesla cofounder says humanity is underperforming and could stand to 'crank up the intensity' like Elon Musk
▼ + stars: | 2024-12-02 | by ( Lauren Edmonds | Ana Altchek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Straubel's company, Redwood Materials, is on track to make $200 million in revenue this year. Tesla cofounder JB Straubel said he learned "a huge amount" from Elon Musk — and we could all benefit from the billionaire's work ethic. The CEO disclosed Redwood Materials' estimated revenue with The Wall Street Journal, saying his company will bring in about $200 million. AdvertisementStraubel launched Redwood Materials in 2017 to create a "remanufacturing economy," which refers to extracting raw materials from used batteries and returning them to production after processing them. Representatives for Redwood Materials did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Persons: JB Straubel, Elon Musk, Tesla, Straubel, Musk, Automobility, Joe Biden, Donald Trump's Organizations: Wall Street, Elon, Redwood, Materials, Journal's Tech, Straubel, Redwood Materials, Business, Tristar Media, McKinsey & Company Locations: Northern Nevada, United States, China

☆ Amazon's cloud unit records highest profit margin in at least a decade
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon said revenue in its cloud unit increased 19% in third quarter, just missing analyst estimates. AWS leads the cloud infrastructure market over Google and Microsoft and is an important source of profit for Amazon. On Tuesday Alphabet said revenue from Google Cloud, which includes cloud applications as well as infrastructure, totaled $11.35 billion, up 35%. Microsoft said Wednesday that revenue from Azure and other cloud services grew 33%. Google Cloud reported an operating margin of 17%.

Persons: Matt Garman, Oracle, Garman, Databricks, Naveen Rao Organizations: Amazon Web Services, Tech, Amazon, Revenue, Google, Microsoft, AWS, CNBC, TechCrunch Locations: Laguna Beach , California

☆ The CEO of Perplexity said the AI-powered search engine isn't trying to replace the news
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-23 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas addressed the lawsuits the company is facing from news publishers. At a WSJ conference appearance, Srinivas said Perplexity was previously in conversations with Dow Jones. "Let's talk about the elephant in the room," Aravind Srinivas, cofounder and CEO of Perplexity, opened his interview at Wall Street Journal's Tech Live conference. People are directly going to [The] New York Times, The Wall Street Journal," Srinivas said. So, for example, a user can ask Perplexity about a shoe company that has just gone public on Wall Street.

Persons: Aravind Srinivas, Srinivas, Perplexity, Dow Jones, —, Rupert Murdoch's Dow Jones, Mark Penn, Deepa Seetharaman, Anthropic, Claude, It's, OpenAI Organizations: Service, Tech, New York Post, Journalism, New York Times, Street, Microsoft Locations: New York

☆ Amazon Web Services CEO doubles down on RTO mandate saying it's far better for 'innovation' and 'speed of execution'
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-22 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman defended the company's return-to-office mandate for January. AdvertisementAmazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman reiterated on Monday night why the recently announced return-to-office mandate is right for the company. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced last month that most corporate employees would be required to return to the office five days a week starting in January. When BI reached out about Garman's comments last week, an Amazon spokesperson declined to comment but pointed to Jassy's RTO announcement in September. BI's Ashley Stewart viewed internal messages after the policy was announced, showing that some Amazon employees were unhappy with the change.

Persons: Matt Garman, Garman, —, Andy Jassy, BI's Ashley Stewart Organizations: Amazon Web, Service, Web, Amazon, Business, BI

☆ Reddit CEO says the platform is in an 'arms race' for AI training
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-22 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said the company is working to find its place in the AI "arms race." The platform has become a power player in the race to train AI models. Huffman hinted at large companies that are taking advantage of Reddit's content. AdvertisementReddit CEO Steve Huffman said the platform's content is among the world's best training data for artificial intelligence — and an increasingly valuable commodity as the company aims to find its place in the AI "arms race." "We've invested a lot in the last couple of years in locking that down, but it is an arms race."

Persons: Steve Huffman, Huffman, —, he's, Reddit, We've Organizations: Service, Tech, Google, Microsoft

☆ Sam Altman is joining forces with design guru Jony Ive and Steve Jobs' widow to build a new AI device company
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-23 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewOpenAI CEO Sam Altman is working on a new AI device startup with former Apple design chief Jony Ive and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of the late Apple founder Steve Jobs. Marc Newson, who cofounded LoveFrom with Ive, told The Times that they were still figuring out the product and its release date. Advertisement"I'm interested in this topic, I think it is possible," Altman told The Journal's tech columnist Joanna Stern at the event. Notably, Altman told Stern in October 2023 that he didn't think AI devices would eclipse smartphones. Related storiesFormer Apple employees Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno cofounded their own AI startup, Humane in 2019 and launched their first product, the Ai Pin in November.

Persons: —, Sam Altman, Jony, Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs, Brian Chesky, Altman, Airbnb, Emerson, Powell Jobs, Marc Newson, Joanna Stern, Stern, Imran Chaudhri, Bethany Bongiorno, Zoz Organizations: Service, Apple, The, The New York Times, The Times, Business, Apple Watch, Times, Bloomberg, Humane, Emerson, Business Insider Locations: OpenAI

☆ Microsoft temporarily blocked staff from using ChatGPT over security concerns, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft temporarily blocked employees from using ChatGPT on Thursday, CNBC reported. Staff were warned OpenAI's chatbot is an "external service" that posed privacy and security risks. AdvertisementAdvertisementMicrosoft temporarily blocked its employees from using ChatGPT, according to CNBC reported . Several big tech companies, including Amazon and Apple , have issued bans on using ChatGPT internally over fears that using it could lead to leaks of confidential data. Microsoft and OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: OpenAI's chatbot, —, chatbot, it's, ChatGPT, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Altman Organizations: Microsoft, CNBC, Staff, Service, Amazon, Apple Locations: OpenAI

☆ I asked Meta's Kendall Jenner-inspired AI and ChatGPT for relationship advice. Only one actually responded like a friend.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementAdvertisementI sought out relationship advice from two artificial intelligence chatbots, and their answers delivered similar messages in totally different styles. I asked OpenAI's ChatGPT and Meta's Billie chatbot if I should move in with my boyfriend of three years. AdvertisementAdvertisementShe even asked me to "spill the tea" when I told her I needed relationship advice. I told the chatbot I needed relationship advice, and it answered with 11 general tips for navigating a partnership. ChatGPTUnlike Billie's, ChatGPT's advice felt researched and impartial about my boyfriend's preference for video games over household chores.

Persons: Kendall Jenner, Billie, OpenAI's, chatbots, —, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Billie chatbot, chatbot, Instagram Meta, celebs, Sam Altman, Altman, OpenAI, Chris Cox, there's Organizations: Service

☆ Sam Altman says he has 'no interest in trying to compete with a smartphone,' following rumors of a collaboration with Jony Ive
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

During an event run by The Wall Street Journal, Sam Altman said he had many ideas for an AI device. The Information and FT reported that OpenAI was in talks with the iPhone designer Jony Ive. It followed speculation that OpenAI may be in talks to build an AI device in collaboration with other tech titans. AdvertisementAdvertisement"I'm interested in this topic, I think it is possible," Altman told The Wall Street Journal tech columnist Joanna Stern at the event. At the Journal's event, Altman said, "Smartphones are great.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Jony, —, he's, Altman, Masayoshi, Joanna Stern Organizations: Wall Street, Service, Financial Times, Apple, Wall Street Journal

☆ Sam Altman says he can't rule out OpenAI making its own chips, as AI firms around the world scramble to get enough processors
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Altman said OpenAI would "never rule out" building its own AI chips. The company is dealing with a global shortage in microprocessors vital for training AI. Reuters reported that OpenAI was considering developing its own chips in a break from Microsoft. AdvertisementAdvertisementSam Altman has said that OpenAI will "never rule out" building its own AI chips as it grapples with a global shortage of vital processors. AdvertisementAdvertisementReuters reported earlier this month that OpenAI was exploring making its own chips to power ChatGPT.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, —, Altman, I'd Organizations: Reuters, Microsoft, Service, Nvidia

☆ X has been slower to act on the misinformation that's swamped the platform after Elon Musk cut hundreds of trust and safety workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

False and misleading posts remain on the site, and many don't have Community Notes attached. It comes after Elon Musk cut its trust and safety team from around 230 to 20 full-time employees. "Neither fact-checkers nor Community Notes can keep up with this." "Only 8% had community notes, 26% had unpublished notes, and 66% had neither," he wrote. It added that Community Notes "appear within minutes" of content being shared and are a "critical tool" to help it combat misinformation.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Shayan Sardarizadeh, Sardarizadeh, Ben Goggin, Insider's Kali Hays, Kali Hays, Linda Yaccarino, X, Linda, didn't Organizations: Service, Hamas, Hamas Terrorists, Twitter, Sunday, NBC News, Tech Locations: Israel, Gaza, paragliders, Egypt, Algeria

☆ X CEO Linda Yaccarino bails on a Wall Street Journal conference after her trainwreck Code interview
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Linda Yaccarino has canceled a conference appearance after a trainwreck interview last month. The CEO of X, formerly Twitter, was mocked after seeming unprepared at Code Conference. AdvertisementAdvertisementLinda Yaccarino has pulled off the schedule of an upcoming conference following her disastrous interview at Vox's Code Conference last month. The CEO of X, formerly known as Twitter, will no longer be speaking at The Wall Street Journal's Tech Live conference next week. "Linda Yaccarino is now unable to attend the WSJ Tech conference next week," an X executive told Insider.

Persons: Linda Yaccarino, —, Linda, Yaccarino, Julia Boorstin, Elon Musk, Insider's Ben Bergman, Yoel Roth, Roth, Kara Swisher . Roth, Musk, Swisher Organizations: Twitter, Conference, Service, Vox's, Tech, WSJ Tech, Street Locations: Israel, Meta

☆ People who were whisked away in golf carts to try out Apple's $3,500 headset are calling it 'magic' that is 'still searching for a purpose'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Following the announcement of Apple's Vision Pro headset at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, some attendees were whisked away in golf carts to a location on the company's campus to try out the new headset. Many noted the device's display screens were impressive (each have a more-than 4K resolution) and its hand-eye scrolling and tapping functions were responsive and worked mostly smoothly. YouTuber Brownlee said the most impressive thing about the headset was the device's internal eye-tracking technology, calling the experience "telepathic." The Verge's Patel was impressed by the device's display, which he said was "easily the highest-resolution VR display I have ever seen," and its "video passthrough" technology — the device's display adjusting to show a person who is talking to you in-person or your surroundings. "The most perfect headset demo reel of all time is still just a headset demo reel — whether Apple's famed developer community can generate a killer app for the Vision Pro is still up in the air," The Verge's Patel wrote.

Persons: YouTuber Marques Brownlee, Nilay Patel, —, YouTuber Brownlee, Brownlee, I've, Patel, Robin Roberts, Roberts, Joanna Stern, Stern Organizations: Apple, Developers, Apple's, Developers Conference, Vision

☆ India joins EU in mandating USB-C charging port on smartphones, as Americans still have to deal with 3 different types of ports and cables
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

India will require mobile devices sold in the country to have the USB-C charging port by March 2025. The government will find two types of charging ports for mobile devices and wearable electronics. It's following the European Union which will require USB-C charging ports by December 28, 2024. But the company confirmed that it will make iPhones with a USB-C port to comply with EU laws. Samsung is next, with 30% of the market share in the same quarter, and Lenovo is third with 9% of the market share.

☆ The clock is ticking for Apple. It officially has 24 months to release a USB-C iPhone under new EU rules.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The European Union set an official deadline for when smartphones sold there must have a USB-C port. Apple previously confirmed it will comply with EU rule, but doesn't seem happy about the requirement. A port-free iPhone that only charges wirelessly may also technically follow the new EU rule, but would represent a bigger shift. EU lawmakers agreed in June to legislation that requires all phones, tablets, and cameras sold in the EU that use wired charging to have the USB-C port. Apple iPhones use the Lightning charging port now for wired charging, and the European market is an important one for Apple that it can't ignore.

☆ Disney is in an animation slump after 'Strange World' and 'Lightyear' flopped. Bob Iger may have the magic touch to turn it around.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Disney's "Lightyear" and "Strange World" have flopped at the box office this year. Its latest animated movie, "Strange World," opened over the Thanksgiving weekend with $18 million over the five-day holiday in the US. This year was the first real test of the pandemic era to see if Disney's animated films could attract large swaths of consumers to theaters. In 2020 and 2021, Disney's animated movies either went straight to Disney+ or received a hybrid release on streaming and in theaters. But this year, Disney's movies have typically been released in theaters for 45 days before debuting on the streaming service.

☆ Xbox boss says that the current metaverse is a 'poorly built video game' and is 'not how I want to spend my time'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Xbox chief Phil Spencer compared the metaverse to a "poorly built video game" and a "living room." Spencer compared the metaverse to a "poorly built video game" during The Wall Street Journal's Tech Live conference on Wednesday, but admitted that it would "evolve." "Today it's a poorly built video game," Spencer said. What I see in the metaverse world is that we're at the early stage and this will evolve." Microsoft, which owns Xbox, has struggled to enter the metaverse, according to a Wall Street Journal report published on Wednesday.

☆ Meta's successive quarters of dismal earnings show just how much of a chokehold Apple has on Facebook. All signs suggest it's going to keep squeezing harder.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Apple this week updated its terms to require Meta cede 30% of the sales of some ads to the iPhone maker. The company posted its second successive quarter of revenue decline and again pointed to Apple as a major culprit. And just this week, Apple revised its App Store Review Guidelines. "Apple previously said it didn't take a share of developer advertising revenue, and now apparently changed its mind." To be sure, Apple's ad revenue is currently largely derived from search ads within its App Store, which don't necessarily directly compete with Meta's social ads.

☆ Why is Mark Zuckerberg so obsessed with building the metaverse? It has a lot to do with Apple.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

It proved a huge blow to ad-dependant social platforms, Facebook top among them, which said it lost $10 billion because of the change. Zuckerberg insisted that "fortifying" Facebook's business against the likes of Apple is not the only reason he's investing heavily in building the metaverse. Zuckerberg sees four platforms in Facebook's futureRight now, the metaverse stack as Zuckerberg envisions it is based on "four major platforms" being developed. The first is Horizon Worlds, with user avatars making it more akin to a "social metaverse platform," he said. Zuckerberg seems keen to give Apple a taste of its own medicineBeyond trying to give his company a path away from being hit by the decisions of Apple, Zuckerberg also seems keen to give Apple a taste of its own medicine.

☆ Apple confirms a major change: The iPhone is switching to USB-C — but it's not happy about being forced to ditch its Lightning port
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Currently, the law says all mobile phones and tablets have to have a USB-C port by autumn 2024. "We have no choice," Joswiak said in response to Stern's question about when USB-C iPhones are coming. He did not say if iPhones and other Apple products sold outside the EU will also have the USB-C port. The law mandates that "all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU," have to include a USB-C port by autumn 2024. One example, he said, was when the US government made a regulation for mobile phones to satisfy a hearing aid compatibility, which he argued didn't work.

☆ FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried points to Coinbase as potential acquisition target for his company
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The crypto trading platform has already made several investments and acquisitions this year. Sam Bankman-Fried is hunting for more acquisitions for his crypto trading platform FTX, and Coinbase could be a target. Bankman-Fried went on to bring up Coinbase when asked about future acquisitions, noting that trading platform has 20 times the number of users of FTX. He said while FTX has a higher number of hyper-involved crypto traders, Coinbase has some broader appeal that FTX could use. "We don't see much point to get more highly engaged crypto traders," Bankman-Fried said.

☆ LeBron James, Kevin Durant and other big names invest in Fanatics lifestyle brand Mitchell & Ness
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Jessica Golden | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment are investing in Fanatics' lifestyle clothing brand, Mitchell & Ness. The new owners said they plan to make Mitchell & Ness "the most diverse and culturally relevant consumer brand" through their influence and status as tastemakers. Mitchell & Ness is a true classic," he said in February. "I'm proud to play a small role in bringing it back, and in some cases, introducing the authenticity and quality of the Mitchell & Ness brand to a new generation," he added. In June, Mitchell & Ness signed a rights deal to manufacture products for all 32 NHL teams.

☆ Why teens are giving up their smartphones and joining the 'Luddite Club'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They're giving up social media and relying on face-to-face conversations in an effort to free themselves from the attention-hogging tyranny of smartphones. Download Insider's app here. Shub is now part of the Luddite Club, a group of New York City teens who meet at their local library. Decade-old Tesla Roadsters are selling for over $100,000. Why Tesla Roadsters are becoming hot collectibles.

☆ Christopher Mims — Technology Columnist at The Wall Street Journal
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Christopher Mims | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Christopher MimsChristopher Mims is a columnist who writes about technology for The Wall Street Journal's tech bureau in San Francisco. The subjects of his columns vary widely from one week to the next. He has written about bidets, brain implants, the cult of the founder, the history of technology, innovation, venture capital, robotics, batteries, energy, materials science, wireless communications, AI, data science, telepresence, microchips, logistics, IT, 3D printing and autonomous boats, trucks, cars, drones and flying taxis. Christopher joined the Journal from Quartz, where he also covered technology. He has won a SABEW award for commentary, and has written a book, “Arriving Today” on how supply chains work.

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