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AI is Becoming A Major Focus For Venture Capital Investors

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AI is Becoming A Major Focus For Venture Capital Investors

Silicon Valley investors have gone crazy with artificial intelligence after ChatGPT’s seismic breakthrough a year ago. They’re constantly searching for the next big thing amid a sea of hype and overpromising.

With ChatGPT, which can develop computer code, write stories, draw drawings, and more with simple text inputs, OpenAI ignited a generative AI frenzy.

Venture investors have immediately doubled down on artificial intelligence (AI), a new promised land in the never-ending chase for massive tech riches, after being hurt by the failures of cryptocurrencies and other failed Silicon Valley fads in recent years.

After meeting with a number of investment fund directors, Denis Barrier, co-founder of the venture capital firm Cathay Innovation, told AFP that for the large investors, “if it’s not AI, it’s not worth it.”

“Funds are looking to make big moves,” Barrier said.

“And that’s pretty unlikely outside AI in the next few years.”

While budget cuts and layoffs became commonplace at internet companies last year, according to market tracker Crunchbase, startups in the AI space attracted close to $50 billion from investors.

During the initial phase of the AI boom, a lot of capital was allocated to businesses creating the massive language models that enable generative AI capabilities.

PitchBook reports that a record $29 billion was invested in generative AI in 2023.

“Cost lives”

However, the computational requirements of creating foundational models from scratch are quite high, and the majority of funding for this kind of work can only come from the wealthiest investors, like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Nvidia, and goes to select groups like Anthropic and OpenAI.

This week, Microsoft announced that Mistral, a burgeoning French startup creating its own models, had raised further funding from some of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest investors, including Nvidia and Andreessen Horowitz, one of the industry’s most assertive companies.

“We believe that any slowdown in AI will cost lives,” wrote the rock star venture capitalist Marc Andreessen last year in his “Techno-Optimist Manifesto.”

However, many venture capitalists have shifted their focus to more narrowly focused AI businesses that have the potential to disrupt the banking, healthcare, energy, and other industries because they are intimidated by the cost of entry.

Recently, Bioptimus, a French biotech startup using AI to develop novel medications, received funding from Cathay.

Barrier indicated in his downtown office with a view of San Francisco Bay that Cathay looked at engineering skill, data access, cost restrictions, and a goal to alter a sector while searching for promising startups.

Barrier stated, “You have to have a little faith.”

‘For real’

Last week, Loora, an Israeli firm that teaches English through generative AI, raised $12 million.

With a price tag that is comparable to a Netflix membership, over 15,000 users have downloaded Loora’s mobile applications, which teach English through conversation.

From his Tel Aviv headquarters, Loora co-founder Roy Mor told AFP that simply embracing AI is not going to attract investors.

According to him, what businesses really need is more of the appropriate data to enhance the app and user experience.

“I think the use cases where AI really brings value, where it solves problems, are not yet widespread,” he stated.

As of right now, the business sector holds the greatest promise for returns on investment, which is why a lot of startups are concentrating there.

The leader in large-scale data analysis, or the core of artificial intelligence, Alembic, recently raised $14 million.

The startup assesses marketing campaign efficacy using methods initially created to analyze health data during the coronavirus outbreak.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, the co-founder of DreamWorks and former chairman of Walt Disney Studios, founded WndrCo, a venture capital firm that is supporting Alembic.

“AI is real,” the former high-ranking Hollywood official told AFP.

“It’s not an evolution, but a revolution, a positive revolution.”

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Apple has revealed a revamped Mac Mini with an M4 chip

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A smaller but no less powerful Mac Mini was recently unveiled by Apple as part of the company’s week of Mac-focused announcements. It now has Apple’s most recent M4 silicon, enables ray tracing for the first time, and comes pre-installed with 16GB of RAM, which seems to be the new standard in the age of Apple Intelligence. While the more potent M4 Pro model starts at $1,399, the machine still starts at $599 with the standard M4 CPU. The Mac Mini is available for preorder right now and will be in stores on November 8th, just like the updated iMac that was revealed yesterday.

The new design will be the first thing you notice. The Mini has reportedly been significantly reduced in size, although it was already a comparatively small desktop computer. It is now incredibly small, with dimensions of five inches for both length and width. Apple claims that “an innovative thermal architecture, which guides air to different levels of the system, while all venting is done through the foot” and the M4’s efficiency are the reasons it keeps things cool.

Nevertheless, Apple has packed this device with a ton of input/output, including a 3.5mm audio jack and two USB-C connections on the front. Three USB-C/Thunderbolt ports, Ethernet, and HDMI are located around the back. Although the USB-A ports are outdated, it’s important to remember that the base M2 Mini only featured two USB-A connectors and two Thunderbolt 4 ports. You get a total of five ports with the M4. You get an additional Thunderbolt port but lose native USB-A.

Depending on the M4 processor you select, those Thunderbolt connectors will have varying speeds. While the M4 Pro offers the most recent Thunderbolt 5 throughput, the standard M4 processor comes with Thunderbolt 4.

With its 14 CPU and 20 GPU cores, the M4 Pro Mac Mini also offers better overall performance. The standard M4 can have up to 32GB of RAM, while the M4 Pro can have up to 64GB. The maximum storage capacity is an astounding 8TB. Therefore, even though the Mini is rather little, if you have the money, you can make it really powerful. For those who desire it, 10 gigabit Ethernet is still an optional upgrade.

Apple has a big week ahead of it. On Monday, the company released the M4 iMac and its first Apple Intelligence software features for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. (More AI functionality will be available in December, such as ChatGPT integration and image production.) As Apple completes its new hardware, those updated MacBook Pros might make their appearance tomorrow. The business will undoubtedly highlight its newest fleet of Macs when it releases its quarterly profits on Thursday.

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Apple Intelligence may face competition from a new Qualcomm processor

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The new chip from Qualcomm (QCOM) may increase competition between Apple’s (AAPL) iOS and Android.

During its Snapdragon Summit on Monday, the firm unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform, which includes a new, second-generation Oryon CPU that it claims is the “fastest mobile CPU in the world.” According to Qualcomm, multimodal generative artificial intelligence characteristics can be supported by the upcoming Snapdragon platform.

Qualcomm, which primarily creates chips for mobile devices running Android, claims that the new Oryon CPU is 44% more power efficient and 45% faster. As the iPhone manufacturer releases its Apple Intelligence capabilities, the new Snapdragon 8 platform may allow smartphone firms compete with Apple on the AI frontier. Additionally, Apple has an agreement with OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, to incorporate ChatGPT-4o into the upcoming iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.

According to a September Wall Street Journal (NWSA) story, Qualcomm is apparently interested in purchasing Intel (INTC) in a deal that could be valued up to $90 billion. According to Bloomberg, Apollo Global Management (APO), an alternative asset manager, had also proposed an equity-like investment in Intel with a potential value of up to $5 billion.

According to reports, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the situation, Qualcomm may postpone its decision to acquire Intel until after the U.S. presidential election next month. According to the persons who spoke with Bloomberg, Qualcomm is waiting to make a decision on the transaction because of the possible effects on antitrust laws and tensions with China after the election results.

According to a report from analysts at Bank of America Global Research (BAC), Qualcomm could expand, take the lead in the market for core processor units, or CPUs, for servers, PCs, and mobile devices, and get access to Intel’s extensive chip fabrication facilities by acquiring Intel. They went on to say that Qualcomm would become the world’s largest semiconductor company if its $33 billion in chip revenue were combined with Intel’s $52 billion.

The experts claimed that those advantages would be outweighed by the financial and regulatory obstacles posed by a possible transaction. They are dubious about a prospective takeover and think that Intel’s competitors may gain from the ambiguity surrounding the agreement.

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iPhone 16 Pro Users Report Screen Responsiveness Issues, Hope for Software Fix

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Many iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max users are experiencing significant touchscreen responsiveness problems. Complaints about lagging screens and unresponsive taps and swipes are particularly frustrating for customers who have invested $999 and up in these devices.

The good news is that initial assessments suggest the issue may be software-related rather than a hardware defect. This means that Apple likely won’t need to issue recalls or replacement units; instead, a simple software update could resolve the problem.

The root of the issue might lie in the iOS touch rejection algorithm, which is designed to prevent accidental touches. If this feature is overly sensitive, it could ignore intentional inputs, especially when users’ fingers are near the new Camera Control on the right side of the display. Some users have reported that their intended touches are being dismissed, particularly when their fingers are close to this area.

Additionally, the new, thinner bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro compared to the iPhone 15 Pro could contribute to the problem. With less protection against accidental touches, the device may misinterpret valid taps as mistakes, leading to ignored inputs.

This isn’t the first time Apple has faced challenges with new iPhone models. For instance, the iPhone 4 experienced “Antennagate,” where signal loss occurred depending on how the device was held, prompting Steve Jobs to famously suggest users hold their phones differently. Apple eventually provided free rubber bumpers to mitigate the issue.

To alleviate the touchscreen problem, using a case might help by covering parts of the display and reducing the chances of accidental touches triggering the rejection algorithm. The issue appears on devices running iOS 18 and the iOS 18.1 beta and does not occur when the phone is locked. Users may notice difficulties when swiping through home screens and apps.

Many are hopeful that an upcoming iOS 18 update will address these issues, restoring responsiveness to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max displays.

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