Edition #19: One More Thing in AI

Date: 27-Mar-2024

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Specially curated for Startup founders and Business Leaders like you who want to get smarter on AI in less than 5 minutes.

In this Edition

1. Microsoft steals Mustafa

2. Blackwell: Nvidia's 30x Leap in GPU Technology

3. The Rise of Devin, the AI Powered developer

4. AI's Role in Whiskey Innovation

5. AI Startup Funding: Fundguard

6. Learn AI: Claude's Prompt library

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Microsoft steals Mustafa

Microsoft has ushered in a new chapter in its AI odyssey by appointing Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind and Inflection, to lead its freshly minted AI division. This strategic play signals Microsoft’s assertive push into AI and stirs the pot of industry dynamics and ethical debates.

A Strategic Coup or a Calculated Risk?

Mustafa Suleyman, along with his colleague Karén Simonyan, has embarked on a journey from Inflection's entrepreneurial offices to Microsoft's corporate citadels. Under Suleyman’s leadership, the newly formed Microsoft AI division is poised to propel consumer AI products; starting with Copilot, Bing, and Edge.

The Inflection Point and Beyond

With Sean White stepping in as the new CEO, Inflection is navigating its journey independently, continuing to harness the power of AI through its Inflection-2.5 model on platforms like Microsoft Azure. How will its existing investors be rewarded? It is a tricky time where the investment is going into AI startups, and the startup talent can just walk out anytime! It has been reported that Microsoft will make Inflection’s investors whole, though details are unclear.

Unraveling the Threads of Controversy

Suleyman’s appointment has reignited discussions around his past conduct at Google DeepMind, where allegations of bullying had previously surfaced. Satya Nadella risks a negative impact on his company’s culture, one that he has transformed positively over the last few years.

Takeaway:

Nadella has proven to be a consumate AI deal maker by hedging his bets with multiple AI investments (Open AI, Mistral and now by setting up this in-house AI team). Is this the age of AI centralization, and will Microsoft become too powerful?

Blackwell: Nvidia's 30x Leap in GPU Technology

Nvidia, led by CEO Jensen Huang, has boldly introduced the Blackwell GPU. It’s not just a leap; it’s a quantum jump in processing power, promising a 30x performance increase that challenges the very boundaries of physics.

The Dawn of a New Era

Jensen Huang's keynote at the Nvidia GTC developers conference was more than a product launch; it declared a new industrial revolution powered by generative AI. Wearing a black leather jacket with a hint of rock star flair, Huang didn't need to boast about Nvidia's soaring stock prices or its dominance in the GPU market; the focus was on Blackwell.

Blackwell is not just any chip; it's a titan in the realm of GPUs, engineered to catapult large language model (LLM) inference workloads into a new dimension of speed and efficiency. Huang's analogy was cinematic and telling: just as Chief Brody in Jaws realized the need for a bigger boat, today's generative AI landscape demands larger, faster GPUs to navigate its vast oceans of data.

A Glimpse into Nvidia's Soul

Yet, amid the technological grandeur, Huang’s narrative steered clear of broader societal implications, focusing instead on the sheer potential of accelerated computing. From healthcare to robotics, Blackwell's impact is poised to be vast and varied, spearheading a "new industrial revolution" that Nvidia envisions will be powered by its technological prowess.

Takeaway:

While the industry focused on Blackwell, NVIDIA insisted that it has the software ecosystem and the developers that will continue to protect its lead in the AI space. 

Ben Thompson of Stratechery (link here >>) recently wrote that NVIDIA’s Inference model, also released during this conference, is NVIDIA’s way of creating a moat around Blackwell and other GPUs. The cost of hardware will keep coming down, but the software ecosystem is what will keep NVIDIA’s strategic advantage for many more years.

The Rise of Devin, the AI Powered developer

Imagine having a developer teammate who never tires, one that’s always ready to take on new challenges, and whose potential for growth is limitless. Enter Devin from Cognition Labs, an AI model that's breaking new ground as a fully autonomous software engineer capable of tackling complex engineering tasks from start to finish.

But what sets Devin apart? It’s not just another tool in the developer’s kit. Devin is a collaborative AI agent that can autonomously debug, deploy, and develop, transforming ideas into reality with precision and efficiency.

The potential of this new era is vast. As many commentators have said, tomorrow's startups will need fewer engineers and less capital to start (Devin does not need a salary!). Will this mean fewer developer jobs or will it mean we will have more 10x and 100x developers (powered by models like Devin)?

Here is the link below to a YouTube video showcasing Devin’s capabilities.

AI's Role in Whiskey Innovation

🥃 Introduction: A Taste of Innovation

Recently, a Scottish distillery embarked on a groundbreaking journey, blending centuries-old craftsmanship with AI-assisted innovation to redefine the aging process of whisky. This distillery is part of the Diageo group that has invested almost $44 million in investigating the aging of whisky using SmokeDNAi technology.

🤖 AI in Whisky Aging: The Science Behind the Spirit

In this experiment, AI algorithms analyze factors influencing whisky maturation, such as temperature, humidity, and cask composition. By processing vast amounts of data in real-time, the idea is to fine-tune the aging conditions to optimize flavor development, unlocking new variants of taste and aroma.
This harmonious blend of nature and nurture results in whiskies that resonate with depth and complexity, captivating connoisseurs and novices alike.

🥃 Conclusion: A Toast to Innovation

In a world where tradition meets technology, where craftsmanship dances with algorithms, the future of whisky aging shines bright with promise.

AI Startup Funding: Fundguard

Artificial intelligence threatens to disrupt most industries, and financial services are no exception.

To that point, New York-based FundGuard, an AI-powered investment accounting platform for asset managers, raised a fresh $100 million round led by Key1 Capital and new investors, including Euclidean Capital and funds managed by Hamilton Lane.The round also included participation from existing strategic investors and previous investors such as Blumberg Capital and Team8.

The company did not disclose a valuation, but it has been reported the round was raised at a valuation of up to $400 million. Founded in 2018, FundGuard has raised more than $150 million, per the company. Makes me wonder if they got the additional funding because of the “AI” tag?

Why do I cover funding news? So that founders who are reading this can identify VCs who are active in the AI space.

Learn AI: Claude's Prompt library

The good folks at Claude recently released a list of prompts. Don’t tell me that you are not using Claude! I have covered Claude multiple times in this newsletter (Link here >>).

I have selected the top 3 prompts that grabbed my attention. I encourage you to go through the entire list. There are several good ones that entrepreneurs and individual operators can use to power up their businesses.