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4 min read

Week 52, 2024

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Overview

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  1. Google, OpenAI reveal reasoning models
  2. OpenAI GPT-5 delayed
  3. OpenAI makes ChatGPT search free
  4. Perplexity value soars
  5. Apple nears $4T market cap
  6. TikTok fights US ban
  7. Meta adds AI to smart glasses
  8. Amazon faces pre-holiday strikes
  9. Waymo expands to Tokyo
  10. US forms defense tech alliance

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Key developments

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  1. Google and OpenAI are going head-to-head in a race for advanced AI. Google launched Gemini 2.0 FTE to compete with OpenAI's o1. Just one day later, OpenAI fired back with its advanced reasoning model o3 (they skipped o2 to avoid confusion with a British telecom brand).

    Google calls their model a "first step," while OpenAI boldly claims o3 is "approaching AGI" (artificial general intelligence).

  1. OpenAI is hitting some serious roadblocks. GPT-5's development has been significantly delayed, and a key researcher behind the GPT series has left the company.

    Despite more than 18 months of extensive training, they're struggling to achieve a significant performance gap over their previous models. The departing researcher, Alec Radford, was the lead author of the GPT-2 paper, which laid the foundation for ChatGPT.

  1. OpenAI-Google competition is expanding to search and video AI. OpenAI made a bold move by making ChatGPT Search completely free, directly challenging Google's dominance in the search market. On the same day, Google countered by unveiling its new video generation model, 'Veo 2,' claiming it produces more realistic and higher-quality outputs than OpenAI's 'Sora.'

  1. Perplexity AI has raised $500 million in new funding, with its valuation soaring to $9 billion - a remarkable tripling in just six months. The company also made its first acquisition, buying startup 'Carbon,' which specializes in connecting external data with AI systems. Perplexity's CEO announced plans to expand their search capabilities to enterprise applications like Google Docs, Notion, and Slack by early 2025.

  1. Apple is approaching a $4 trillion market cap, a milestone no company has ever reached. Its stock has surged 37% this year alone, largely driven by investor optimism about AI integration in iPhones. The company is also negotiating with Tencent and ByteDance to bring AI features to iPhones in China, where ChatGPT is unavailable.

  1. TikTok is fighting for its survival. The U.S. Supreme Court has taken the unusual step of agreeing to hear TikTok's emergency appeal against its impending ban next month. While the Court hasn't made a decision, it's willing to consider TikTok's arguments. In addition, President-elect Trump recently met privately with TikTok's CEO saying he has a "warm spot" in his "heart for TikTok."

  1. Meta is enhancing its hardware lineup with advanced AI features. Its Ray-Ban smart glasses now include 'Live AI' capabilities, including real-time translation. Users can ask questions about videos they're watching and identify music they're hearing. The company has also expanded its Meta Quest mixed reality headset's capabilities to run full Windows 11.

  1. Amazon faces worker strike ahead of holiday season. Thousands of workers across seven Amazon warehouses have joined what's become the company's largest worker strike to date. However, industry experts believe the strike is unlikely to significantly disrupt Amazon's delivery operations. The unionized workforce of 10,000 represents less than 1% of Amazon's total employees.

  1. Waymo selects Japan for first international expansion. Waymo will launch its robotaxi service in Tokyo next year, partnering with a local taxi company. The move is a strategic decision to gather driving data in a left-hand traffic environment with right-hand drive vehicles. Meanwhile, Tesla is preparing to launch its own robotaxi service in Texas.

  1. Tech giants are forming a defense sector "Dream Team." A new consortium of tech companies - including Palantir, Anduril, SpaceX, and OpenAI - is preparing to bid on U.S. defense contracts. The group is targeting the $850 billion defense budget traditionally dominated by conventional contractors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing.

    Palantir has already demonstrated the tech sector's growing influence in defense, with its market value tripling in the past year to surpass Lockheed Martin.

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Other notable updates

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AI — Tech

Google drops Veo 2, its latest video AI.
Google launches Gemini 2.0 FTE for reasoning tasks.
OpenAI fires back with o3 reasoning model.
OpenAI opens o1 model to developers.
OpenAI hits roadblock with GPT-5.
OpenAI makes ChatGPT Search free.

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AI — Business

Perplexity secures $500M funding.
OpenAI key devs jump ship.
Google eases AI restrictions.
Microsoft reveals AI Skill Navigator.
Salesforce ramps up AI sales hiring.
Apple's AI news summaries draw criticism.
Apple negotiates w/ Chinese AI partners.
Alibaba splits AI teams.

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Chips / Infrastructure

Microsoft bought 500K GPUs this year.
Qualcomm wins Arm license dispute.
Broadcom dismisses Intel buyout rumors.
TSMC chair meets with Musk.
Amazon invests $10B in Ohio data centers.
US approves Samsung, SK Hynix subsidies.

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Devices / Hardware

Meta adds live AI to smart glasses.
Nvidia launches new Jetson AI computer.
Huawei tops Apple in smartwatch sales.
Apple plans Watch Ultra 3 for next year.

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Social Media

TikTok meets Trump, rescue hopes rise.
TikTok faces one-year Albania ban.
Threads hits 300M monthly users.
Threads tests post scheduling.
Instagram generates half of Meta's ad revenue.

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EV / Autonomous

Tesla stock soars 73% post-election.
Tesla recalls 700K cars over tire issues.
Tesla clashes with German union.
Tesla Shanghai factory chief resigns.

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Space

Blue Origin nears reusable rocket launch.
China challenges SpaceX's Starlink.

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Regulatory

Google proposes plan to avoid breakup.
Meta hit with $263M fine in Europe.

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Etc

TSMC staff's children make up 1.8% of Taiwan births.
Elizabeth Warren calls for ethical guidelines to check Elon Musk's growing influence.

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