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“VCs think this is the new internet,” a generative AI founder in the United States told Reuters. While the closure of Silicon Valley Bank may hamper debt financing, venture capitalists said interest in funding AI startups remains high, especially for top early-stage founders. Investors sense opportunity, even for a sale if not an initial public offering; some are betting that AI startups might outpace bigger rivals, encumbered by their size. You.com, a search engine company founded in 2020 and backed by Salesforce’s CEO Marc Benioff, has found new life from incorporating generative AI technology. It has attracted more attention from users and investors, handling millions of searches per day, the company told Reuters.

March 23 (Reuters) - Character.AI has raised $150 million in a new funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz that valued the AI chatbot startup at $1 billion, and it's in talks with cloud providers for more strategic investment, the company told Reuters. The billion-dollar valuation for a company with zero revenue is another example of the continued AI funding boom since OpenAI's ChatGPT became a widely recognized name. AI investment in 2023 to date has surpassed the full-year amount in 2020 of $1.5 billion, according to PitchBook data. While not currently generating any revenue, Character.AI plans to launch a paid subscription "in the not distant future", while keeping the current free version available, Shazeer said. Founded in 2021 by former Google researchers Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, Character.AI had attracted backers including former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman.

☆ Ex-Google employees' A.I. chatbot startup valued at $1 billion after Andreessen Horowitz funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Character.AI, an artificial intelligence start-up founded by two former Google employees, is capitalizing on venture capitalists' unquenchable thirst for deals in technology's hottest space. The two-year-old company said on Thursday that it raised $150 million at a $1 billion valuation in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Andreessen Horowitz has been a significant player in driving up prices in both markets. The firm announced a $4.5 billion crypto fund in mid-2022 as the digital currency market was in freefall. A year earlier, it added to its investment in audio app Clubhouse, valuing the early-stage startup at $4 billion.

☆ Google's new Bard chatbot told an AI expert it was trained using Gmail data. The company says that's inaccurate and Bard 'will make mistakes.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Google Bard started rolling out this week, and it's off to a bit of a rocky start. The AI chatbot told one user that it was trained on data from Gmail, among other sources. AI expert Kate Crawford posted an exchange she had with the new AI chatbot in which she asks where Bard's training dataset comes from. "Anyone a little concerned that Bard is saying its training dataset includes... Gmail? It is not trained on Gmail data," the company said in a tweet.

☆ Morgan Stanley's case for six Club names, including Alphabet and Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Paulina Likos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In a research note Tuesday, Morgan Stanley identified its "best long-term picks" for 2025, in line with our approach for assessing companies. Six names on Morgan Stanley's list were Club holdings, all of which the firm rated a buy. Alphabet (GOOGL): Morgan Stanley analysts think artificial intelligence (AI) will create a new growth opportunities at Google parent Alphabet in its core products, including its search engine, YouTube and cloud offerings. Morgan Stanley has price target of of $135 per share on the stock. Eli Lilly (LLY): The pharmaceuticals giant is well-positioned within the U.S. due to its strong pipeline of drugs and "robust new product cycles," Morgan Stanley analysts argued.

☆ Amazon just asked its software engineers to start using a new in-house AI tool, rather than ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees last month that generative AI is a "significant area of focus" for the company. Amazon wants its engineers to start using its own ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence tool at work, as it looks to catch up in the AI chatbot space, Insider has learned. "Amazon CodeWhisperer is an AI-powered coding assistant that provides real-time recommendations in your IDE based on your existing code and comments," the email, titled "Start using Amazon CodeWhisperer today," said. The move signals Amazon's behind-the-scenes efforts to join the AI chatbot race, where it has been noticeably absent in the public space. He also said Amazon's investment in this space will only increase, highlighting the maturation of generative AI, which powers many of the AI chatbots.

The court also allowed testimony from an expert who said Meta owes Neural Magic as much as $766 million in royalties. Representatives for Meta and Neural Magic did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the decision. Meta asked the court to throw out the case last year, arguing Neural Magic had failed to identify any protectable trade secrets and that Zlateski had not acquired the information improperly. But the court on Monday allowed Neural Magic's case to continue for all but one of the 41 secrets it accused Meta of misappropriating. The case is Neural Magic Inc v. Meta Platforms Inc, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, No.

☆ Developers are turning to GitHub Copilot, a ChatGPT-like tool that helps them write code. One startup VP says it helped him save 10% of the time he'd spend coding.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

GitHub Copilot, launched in 2021, uses generative AI to help programmers write code. Codex is the basis for GitHub Copilot, a tool that functions as a sort of autocomplete for software engineers. At a recent event in San Francisco, he compared using Copilot to a lottery experience. In other words, if developers don't already understand what they're looking for, they'll quickly get stuck using Copilot. "Sure, you could create a basic iOS app with Copilot," Ghazanfar said.

☆ Forget ChatGPT, the AI Revolution Is Coming to Fix Your Email Inbox
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Shubham Agarwal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Like any tech, AI tools can run into bugs. On many occasions, Shortwave's summary tool refused to produce more than a sentence or two, leaving it no more useful than the subject line. A more-pressing concern for me, however, is what the presence of AI in email would mean for privacy. Because tech like ChatGPT collects and processes far more data than previous AI tools, Conitzer expects it to be regulated for not only privacy but also systemic biases. And if Shortwave's AI tool is any indication, I'm convinced it's our future.

☆ Microsoft is the market's top software stock because OpenAI offerings like ChatGPT will juice profits over the next 5-plus years, Credit Suisse says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft is the market's top software stock, thanks to its investment in ChatGPT, Credit Suisse said. That could add $40 billion in revenue and $2 in EPS over the next 5-plus years, analysts predicted. The expanded partnership spurred a steep rally in Microsoft stock last month, with the company's market capitalization jumping back to $2 trillion. Credit Suisse analysts predicted Microsoft could gain $40 billion in revenue and $2 in earnings per share over the next five-plus years. Microsoft poured $10 billion in its investment earlier this year, on top of an existing $1 billion.

☆ Programmers are pumped by the rise of ChatGPT, because it makes their jobs easier and helps people to find a lucrative career in tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Emilia David | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

People worry about their jobs, as ChatGPT and AI slowly become powerful enough to replace workers. But one group of workers sees ChatGPT as good for their industry: Programmers. Programmers said AI makes their work faster and opens up new job opportunities. There are still places for human programmers to shine, says Armory's Frank. But changes to the tech industry are on their way.

☆ A laid-off Twitter exec who went viral for sleeping on the office floor says people who are afraid of being 'dunked on' should stay 'small and invisible'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A laid-off Twitter exec said people who are afraid of criticism should stay "small and invisible." Esther Crawford had become known for her commitment to Elon Musk's "Twitter 2.0." During her time at Twitter, Crawford was seen as an embodiment of Musk's "hardcore" work culture. "If you can't take being publicly dunked on then be sure to avoid taking any risks and stay away from all leadership roles," Crawford tweeted. Stay small and invisible and most of all, be silent and afraid of what others think."

☆ Open-source software braces for trade war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

HONG KONG, Feb 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The open-source software movement has been an unprecedented driver of global innovation and productivity growth. As with most Chinese handset makers, founder Ren Zhengfei relied on Android’s open-source code to run his company’s smartphones. Beijing has reciprocated, per a Nikkei report, by instructing its own tech companies not to incorporate ChatGPT into their platforms - a rare example of a mutual firewall. Dividing the world into competing open-source camps would mark another reverse for free trade. Follow @petesweeneypro on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSRegulators have told major Chinese tech companies not to offer ChatGPT services, the Nikkei news service reported on Feb. 22 citing sources with direct knowledge, causing shares in Chinese companies building chatbots to fall.

☆ How the Supreme Court could re-shape the internet as you know it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Nearly 30 years of protectionsA view of the U.S. Supreme Court on February 21, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court isn't the only one reviewing Section 230; Congress and the White House have also proposed changes to the law, though legislation to update Section 230 has consistently stalled. For skeptics of the tech industry, and critics of social media platforms, more lawsuits would imply more opportunities to hold tech companies accountable. Allowing the courts to scrutinize the tech industry more would bring it in line with other industries, some have argued. Even a 'like' could trigger a lawsuitLiability could also extend to individual internet users.

☆ Generative AI Helping Boost Productivity of Some Software Developers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

The technology, known as generative AI, has been pioneered by OpenAI, the lab behind the ChatGPT writing system and the Dall-E visual illustration generator. Copilot, as well as other tools from Amazon.com Inc., International Business Machines Corp. , and startups like Tabnine Inc. and Magic AI Inc., have quickly found a receptive audience among developers seeking a productivity boost. The AI model behind Copilot is trained on data from GitHub, which houses a popular open-source community where developers contribute and share code. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. And, with a tightening economy in mind, Hyland Software is holding back on spending for any new tools or technologies.

☆ Inside the self-proclaimed first generative AI conference, executives explain why the hot new technology behind ChatGPT is 'not just hype, but something real'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

AI startup Jasper hosted what it claims was the first conference dedicated to generative AI. The mood was reminiscent of the hype around crypto, but attendees say generative AI is here to stay. Thomas Maxwell/InsiderInsiders say generative AI is not just a fadGenerative AI has already run into some road bumps. Anthropic's Amodei said that consumers, businesses, and developers alike are moving at "record speeds" to adopt generative AI. Thomas Maxwell/InsiderWhat's different with generative AI is that large language models have been quietly in development for some time, , executives said.

☆ Investor Brianne Kimmel is doubling down on AI with a new bootcamp and $20 million pledge to back hot, new startups in the space
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Worklife Ventures founder Brianne Kimmel is launching a bootcamp for AI startups. Her firm has pledged $20 million to invest in those AI companies that complete the bootcamp. As part of the AI bootcamp, her firm is committing $20 million to invest into companies that complete the program. "I grew up in northeast Ohio, and a lot of friends from my high school are using this technology," Kimmel said. Formerly a grant program, AI Grant now makes $250,000 investments in AI companies.

☆ Google is warning its employees not to help its Bard AI chatbot trick users into thinking it's human
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

When Bard provides a response that is considered bad, employees can "fix" the response by rewriting it. In the "Do's" section, it told employees that Bard's responses should be in the first-person, maintaining an "unopinionated, neutral tone." 5 steps for teaching Bard Step 1: Pick a use case Step 2: Try out a prompt Enter a prompt. Step 3: Evaluate Bard's response Check Bard's response and give it a thumbs up or down - Did it follow instructions as you expected - Was the response factually correct? Make sure you refer to recommended formatting for different types of responses Step 5: Submit and confirm Before submitting.

☆ Microsoft pushing you to set Bing and Edge as your defaults to get its new OpenAI-powered search engine faster is giving off big 1990s energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | Shona Ghosh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft was once king of computing, with more than 90% market share. Microsoft has integrated some OpenAI deep-learning technology into Bing, its ailing competitor to Google, so that the search engine can answer questions in a more nuanced way. And rather than just returning a list of results, Bing will present the information in a more useful way. What is less futuristic is Microsoft's maneuvering to juice its own market share as much as possible. Microsoft is juicing Bing's market share right now Shona Ghosh/InsiderAt present, Bing's share of the search market is a mere 3%, according to data firm Stat Counter.

☆ Joshua Kushner's $3 billion Thrive Capital VC fund has lost 31% in the past year, according to a major endowment backer
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Thrive announced at the beginning of last year it closed a massive $3 billion fund. By the end of the year, one of the fund's major investors marked down its stake by 31%. Thrive Capital, the New York-based venture firm founded in 2009 by Joshua Kushner, announced at the beginning of last year it closed a massive $3 billion fund, with $500 million earmarked for early-stage startups and another $2.5 billion devoted later-stage companies. Thrive is also in talks to make another $1 billion investment in Stripe, Bloomberg recently reported. And Thrive is also in talks to invest in OpenAI through a tender offer, the Wall Street Journal reported.

☆ Microsoft is even cutting cloud and AI workers in its plan to lay off 10,000 employees, internal email shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft just did another wave of layoffs this week in its plan to cut 10,000 people from its workforce, and affected units include the company's cloud and artificial intelligence organization, an internal email viewed by Insider shows. In Janauary, Microsoft publicly announced a plan to lay off 10,000 employees through March. An email that was not shared with the public, but viewed by Insider, confirms cuts came to Executive Vice President Scott Guthrie's Cloud+AI organization. The company this week recirculated a guide directing managers on how to communicate with employees, according to an internal email viewed by Insider. In the guide, Microsoft calls for managers to "show empathy and compassion" and to "keep a pulse on team morale."

☆ GitLab to cut 7% of workforce, or about 130 employees, sending shares down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

GitLab CEO Sid Sijbrandij said in a message to employees Thursday that the company is reducing headcount by 11%, or about 130 positions. Shares of GitLab fell about 9% on the news. GitLab had 1,860 employees according to PitchBook data. Unfortunately, we need to take further steps and match our pace of spending with our commitment to responsible growth," the CEO told employees. GitLab joins the ranks of tech companies, large and small, that have laid off staff in recent months, including Alphabet , Meta , Amazon , and Microsoft .

☆ How Moonhub, an AI recruiting platform, raised $4.4 million from OpenAI-backer Khosla Ventures and Google Ventures without a pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Moonhub is an AI startup aiming to make the recruiting process more automated and less biased. The company scrapes billions of public data points and makes them easily searchable for recruiters. The startup recently raised $4.4 million in seed funding from Khosla Ventures and Google Ventures. OpenAI-backer Khosla Ventures and Google Ventures were equally enthusiastic about Moonhub's mission, recently providing the startup with $4.4 million in seed funding. Luckily, she was able to leverage her network to raise the round in less than two weeks, she said.

☆ OpenAI makes a ChatGPT-like tool called Codex that can write software. Here's why Codex won't replace developers and will instead create more demand for their skills.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The same company is also behind Codex, a tool that automates the writing of software code. Codex is similar, except that instead of writing English sentences, it writes software code. Tell Codex what type of software problem you're trying to solve, and Codex will suggest a solution with a string of code. Similarly, Codex further simplifies certain software engineering tasks. "Then we'll have more engineers, and more software engineering.

☆ Google is making a change to its earnings report next quarter that shows just how important AI has become
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Alphabet said in its Q4 earnings press release that it will begin disclosing investments in AI. The move signals the increasing importance of AI to the search giant. "As AI is critical to delivering our mission of bringing our breakthrough innovations into the real world, beginning in January 2023, we will update our segment reporting relating to certain of Alphabet's AI activities," the press release states. It will also incorporate the technology into its Azure cloud offerings so developers can take advantage of the AI technology. Alphabet revealed Google Cloud and YouTube's financial performance for the first time in 2020, for instance.

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