AI Briefing Room

EP-116 Openai’s Cto Departure 🚀, Meta’s Ar Innovations 🎮, Global Chip Shortage Warning ⚠️

i'm wall-e, welcoming you to today's tech briefing for thursday, september 26th. here's a breakdown of today's top tech stories:
openai’s cto departure: cto mira murati announces her exit from openai after more than six years. ceo sam altman shares his gratitude in a tweet. this comes just before openai’s annual developer conference, devday.
meta connect 2024 highlights: ceo mark zuckerberg unveils advanced ar glasses, orion, and the budget-friendly quest 3 vr headset. meta ai receives significant updates, including interactions with celebrity voices and the introduction of the llama 3.2 ai model with multimodal capabilities.
global chip shortage warning: bain & co. report indicates a potential global chip shortage due to rising demand for ai-focused semiconductors, such as nvidia gpus and qualcomm chips, which could disrupt the supply chain.
google’s antitrust complaint against microsoft: google files a complaint with the european commission accusing microsoft of stifling competition in the cloud computing market through unfair licensing contracts, potentially costing european businesses up to 1 billion euros annually.
that's all for today. we'll see you back here tomorrow.

EP-115 Salesforce’s Zoomin Acquisition 🚀, Tiktok Music Shutdown 🎵, Openai’s Voice Mode Expansion 🗣️

welcome to wall-e's tech briefing for wednesday, september 25th! dive into today's top tech stories:
salesforce acquires zoomin: bolstering its data cloud platform with enhanced automation for customer service interactions. deal expected to close by q4 fiscal year 2025.
bytedance shuts down tiktok music: service to be discontinued globally by november 28, 2024, amidst legal challenges and a strategic shift to boost tiktok’s influence.
openai's advanced voice mode (avm) rollout: new voices and language support for chatgpt in the plus and teams tiers, with customization features improving user interaction.
blackstone & vista equity acquire smartsheet: an $8.4 billion all-cash deal to close by january 2025, pending shareholder approval. stockholders to receive $56.50 per share.
caroline ellison sentenced: former ceo of ftx affiliate alameda research receives 2 years in prison for her role in ftx's fraud scheme, significantly lighter than sam bankman-fried's sentence due to her cooperation with law enforcement.
stay tuned for tomorrow's tech updates!

EP-114 Sam Altman’s Ai Vision 😇, California’s Ai Laws 🏛️, Tesla Superchargers Expand 🚗

i'm wall-e, welcoming you to today's tech briefing for tuesday, september 24.
sam altman’s ai vision: ceo of openai asserts ai will revolutionize humanity's progress, generating mixed reactions from optimism to skepticism about the potential overhype.
california’s new ai laws: governor gavin newsom enacts nine new ai-related laws addressing risks and benefits, including regulations on ai-generated content and combating election deepfakes.
tesla supercharger network: expansion to include gm, ford, and rivian, enabling their ev owners to access tesla's extensive charging infrastructure, marking a significant development in ev infrastructure.
meta connect 2024: kicks off with presentations on vr, ar platforms, the metaverse, and llama (meta’s generative ai platform), with potential new hardware announcements like meta quest 4.
google tv updates: new features ahead of the new streaming box launch, including enhanced home panel for smart home control, ai-powered screensavers, and a revamped sports page.
that's all for today. we'll be back here tomorrow with more updates.

EP-113 Intel-qualcomm Merger Talks 💼, Apple Unveils Iphone 16 📱, Alibaba’s Ai Push 💡

welcome to wall-e's tech briefing for monday, september 23rd! dive into today's top tech stories:
qualcomm-intel merger talks: qualcomm approaches intel for potential takeover, with intel shares surging and qualcomm shares dipping. the deal could face antitrust and national security challenges.
apple product releases: introduction of iphone 16, apple watch series 10, and airpods 4, accompanied by a light show at the fifth avenue store. initial lukewarm demand observed.
alibaba's ai advancements: over 100 new open-source ai models, labeled qwen 2.5, released. new text-to-video tool unveiled, competing with openai's sora.
elon musk's sec troubles: musk faces potential sec sanctions for missing a court-ordered appearance related to his twitter takeover probe.
battery tech startup funding: federal government allocates $3 billion to startups under the inflation reduction act, with south carolina companies receiving the largest share.
stay tuned for tomorrow's tech updates!

EP-112 Tesla & Nvidia Surge 🚀, Apple Intelligence Beta 🌟, Ftc’s Data Crackdown 📊

i'm wall-e, welcoming you to today's tech briefing for friday, september 20th.
blockbuster day for tech stocks: tesla and nvidia lead the charge as the federal reserve's first rate cut since 2020 propels nasdaq to its highest level since july.
macos sequoia update issues: apple's latest macos 15 release disrupts cybersecurity tools from crowdstrike, sentinelone, and microsoft, leaving users and developers frustrated.
apple intelligence beta launch: apple releases its generative ai-fueled platform in public beta, featuring new ai writing tools, an overhauled siri interface, and a photo cleanup tool.
ftc report on data-hoarding: new report highlights predatory data practices by social media and streaming companies, setting the stage for potential regulations.
elon musk's x and starlink in brazil: facing daily fines for circumventing a service ban, accused of not complying with local regulations and failing to remove harmful content.
that's all for today. we'll see you back here tomorrow.

EP-111 Youtube’s Ai Tools for Creators 🎥, Amazon’s Wage Hike 💸, Linkedin Privacy Concerns 🔐

i'm wall-e, welcoming you to today's tech briefing for thursday, september 19th. delve into today's top tech stories:
youtube ai features for shorts: new tools powered by google's deepmind, enabling ai-generated backgrounds and six-second clips to streamline creative processes.
amazon wage increase: amazon to raise hourly wages for warehouse workers to over $22 per hour, and offer free prime subscriptions as employee benefits.
linkedin privacy update: linkedin quietly opts accounts into training generative ai models, with a new opt-out form for this setting. previous data usage cannot be undone.
google's eu antitrust fine annulled: the european union’s second-highest court annulled a $1.7 billion fine on google related to its adsense for search product.
openai's generative model o1: new "reasoning" model excels in physics and math, raising questions about ai regulation and safety metrics.
that’s all for today. we’ll see you back here tomorrow. i’m wall-e, and this has been your tech briefing.

EP-110 Title: Microsoft Acquires Activision Blizzard 🎮, Google Launches Pixel 6 📱, Amazon Expands Telehealth 🌐

welcome to wall-e's tech briefing for wednesday, september 18! dive into today's top tech stories:
microsoft acquires activision blizzard: microsoft has officially acquired activision blizzard in a monumental $68.7 billion deal, incorporating franchises like call of duty and world of warcraft into xbox game studios.
google introduces pixel 6 with custom tensor chip: google's new pixel 6 and pixel 6 pro, featuring a custom-built tensor chip, promise groundbreaking ai and machine learning capabilities.
amazon expands into telehealth services: amazon care telehealth services are now available nationwide, providing virtual care, in-home visits, and prescription delivery, challenging established healthcare players.
tesla announces ai day innovations: during tesla's ai day, elon musk unveiled the tesla bot, a humanoid robot prototype designed to handle dangerous, repetitive, or boring tasks for humans.
stay tuned for tomorrow's tech updates!

EP-109 Intel’s Aws Partnership ⚙️, Openai’s Safety Measures 🦺, Apple’s Health Innovations 🌙

i'm wall-e, welcoming you to today's tech briefing for tuesday, september 17th.
intel's foundry business moves: intel transitions its foundry to an independent subsidiary and partners with aws to co-develop an ai chip using its 18a fabrication process. ceo patrick gelsinger highlights these alongside a new $3.5 billion pentagon contract.
openai's safety measures: openai forms an independent board oversight committee for enhanced security, transparency, and oversight amid concerns about its growth pace and safety protocols. the company is valued at over $150 billion in a new funding round.
slack as ai agent hub: under denise dresser’s leadership, slack integrates ai applications from salesforce, adobe, and anthropic, including ai-generated huddle summaries. this comes with a focus on transforming slack into a comprehensive work operating system.
apple watch fda approval: apple receives fda approval for sleep apnea detection on latest watch series, using 10 nights of sleep tracking to assess risks. this health monitoring feature will be part of the upcoming watchos 11.
ios 18 rollout: apple’s ios 18 offers new personalization features, redesigned photos app, rcs support, and a new passwords app. heavily hyped ai features will arrive with ios 18.1 later in the u.s.
that’s all for today. we’ll see you back here tomorrow.

EP-108 Openai’s $150b Valuation 💰, World Labs’ 3d Models 🌐, Oracle’s Billionaire Shuffle 💸

i'm wall-e, welcoming you to today's tech briefing for monday, september 16.
openai’s new funding round: tiger global to join, potentially valuing the ai startup at over $150 billion. thrive capital leads with $1 billion, with microsoft, nvidia, and apple in talks to participate.
world labs’ stealth emergence: fei-fei li’s ai startup secures $230 million, valued over $1 billion, focusing on "large world models" for professionals. first product launch by 2025 aimed at game companies and movie studios.
larry ellison’s billionaire shuffle: briefly becomes the world’s second-richest person, aided by rising oracle shares and strategic cloud partnerships. net worth recently fell back to $197 billion.
uber & waymo partnership expansion: robotaxi services to roll out in austin and atlanta by early 2025. uber riders to book waymo driverless cars through the app, amid pressure to enhance autonomous vehicle strategy.
meta's ai training update: plans to use public uk posts from facebook and instagram users for ai training, with a revised "opt-out" approach. regulatory feedback incorporated for improved transparency.
we'll see you back here tomorrow

EP-107 Apple’s Hearing Aid Breakthrough 🎧, Openai’s Fact-checking Model 🧠, Meta’s Mental Health Initiative 💬

i'm wall-e, welcoming you to today's tech briefing for friday, september 13th.
apple airpods pro 2 as hearing aids: the fda greenlights apple's airpods pro 2 to function as over-the-counter hearing aids, requiring users to update to ios 18 for this new feature.
openai releases openai o1: openai unveils its latest generative ai model, openai o1, available in chatgpt plus or team subscriptions and via openai’s api, offering enhanced reasoning and fact-checking abilities.
thrive initiative by meta, snap, and tiktok: a new collaborative initiative named thrive is launched to combat the spread of suicide and self-harm content, with technology from meta’s lantern program.
spacex's first commercial spacewalk: spacex marks a historic milestone with its first commercial spacewalk during the polaris dawn mission, achieved without an airlock by depressurizing the entire capsule.
chinese tech giants’ ai efforts: companies like baidu, alibaba, tencent, huawei, and bytedance launch their own ai models, positioning themselves in the global ai race while navigating beijing's strict ai regulations.
we'll see you back here tomorrow.