💰 TikTok Investment Boom

Update 2023-04-06

News

• Google Contractors Test Bard Chatbot Amid Time Constraints

• Apple Plans Alternate App Stores for iPhones and iPads in Europe

• Meta Unveils AI Model to Isolate Objects in Images and Videos

• iPhone Production in India Soars, Boosting Apple's Market Share

• Brands Increase TikTok Spending Despite Threat of US Ban

• Google and Amazon Struggle to Lay Off Workers in Europe

• AI Agents Collaborate for Greater Autonomy

• Stripe Sees Slower Volume Growth Despite Large Customer Increase

• Global Venture Capital Funding Plummets in Q1 2023

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Big Tech

Google Contractors Test Bard Chatbot Amid Time Constraints

Google released its AI chatbot, Bard, in limited beta back in March, as a response to OpenAI's ChatGPT. The chatbot operates similarly, providing human-like responses to questions and tasks. Now, Google contractors are working on evaluating and improving the chatbot's response quality. However, some contractors report frustration with the limited time they are given to rate the chatbot's responses to prompts accurately.

These contractors, known as "raters," usually evaluate Google's search algorithms, ad relevancy and flag harmful websites. Since January, their focus has shifted toward reviewing AI prompts. Four raters, speaking anonymously, expressed concerns about the insufficient time allocated for grading responses, which has led them to make educated guesses in order to still get paid.

Apple Plans Alternate App Stores for iPhones and iPads in Europe

Apple intends to allow alternate app stores on iPhones and iPads in response to upcoming European legislation requiring sideloading support. This change would enable customers to download apps without using the App Store, bypassing Apple's 15-30% fees for developers.

Initially, Apple will only implement sideloading support in Europe; however, if other countries adopt similar legislation, alternate app stores could expand beyond the European Union. The United States is currently considering legislation that would also require Apple to support sideloading.

Meta Unveils AI Model to Isolate Objects in Images and Videos

Meta has introduced the Segment Anything Model (SAM), an AI model capable of identifying individual objects in images and videos, including objects not encountered during training. SAM is an image segmentation model that responds to text prompts, or user clicks to isolate specific objects within an image.

Image segmentation divides an image into multiple segments representing specific objects or areas of interest, simplifying analysis or processing. Meta's technology could benefit webpage content understanding, augmented reality, image editing, and scientific research.

By developing SAM, Meta aims to democratize the process by reducing the need for specialized training and expertise. Meta will make SAM and its accompanying SA-1B dataset available for research purposes under an Apache 2.0 license.

iPhone Production in India Soars, Boosting Apple's Market Share

Counterpoint reports that iPhone shipments produced in India increased by 65% annually in 2022, with their value rising by 162%.

Apple's shift in production from China to India aims to diversify its supply chain. As a result, Apple accounted for 25% of the total smartphone shipments' value in India in 2022, up from 12% in 2021.

This increase in iPhone production has benefited Apple by reducing its dependence on China and diversifying its supply chain. Furthermore, the Indian government's incentives for manufacturing in India have made the country more attractive for Apple's iPhone production. The surge in iPhone production in India has positively impacted Apple, increasing its market share in the country and reducing reliance on China.

Brands Increase TikTok Spending Despite Threat of US Ban

Advertisers are increasing their spending on TikTok despite the threat of an imminent US ban of the Chinese-owned viral video app over national security concerns.

Advertising on TikTok in the US grew by 11% in March, with companies like Pepsi, DoorDash, Amazon, and Apple among the top spenders. Brands largely plan to continue spending on TikTok, while leading advertising agencies have not advised their clients to lower their investment.

The continued enthusiasm from advertisers comes amid mounting security concerns and calls for a ban or divestiture of the short-form video app. TikTok is forecast to book $14.15 billion in revenues in 2023, up from $9.89 billion in 2022.

Google and Amazon Struggle to Lay Off Workers in Europe

In Europe, mass layoffs among tech companies have stalled due to labor protections that make it difficult to dismiss people without prior consultations with employee interest groups.

Google and Amazon are negotiating with works councils in France and Germany to reduce headcount through voluntary departures and severance packages. By law, companies are required to bargain with these councils before implementing layoffs, which can be a lengthy process. Google is not planning on implementing layoffs in Romania, Greece, or Austria. In the UK, where labor protections are not as stringent, an estimated 500 out of 8,000 Googlers will have to leave. More than 170,000 full-time tech workers are employed on the continent and in the UK by Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta.

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AI

AI Agents Collaborate for Greater Autonomy

Developers are connecting multiple AI agents to create more autonomous systems capable of working together to complete complex tasks like developing websites, creating newsletters, or writing code for applications.

By stacking AI models on top of each other, these systems can run continuously with less human intervention. While this approach doesn't signal the emergence of artificial general intelligence, it does showcase progress in AI innovation. OpenAI has developed agents that invent their own language for better cooperation, while Facebook has trained agents to negotiate and lie. These advancements stem from ongoing efforts to create AI systems that can simulate chains of thought, reasoning, and self-critique to accomplish a series of tasks and subtasks.

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Fintech

Stripe Sees Slower Volume Growth Despite Large Customer Increase

Stripe reported a slowdown in payment volume growth last year, even as it catered to more large businesses handling online payments.

The company's volume increased by 26% to $817 billion in 2022, compared to a 60% growth in 2021 during the pandemic. Stripe's recent $50 billion valuation is a significant decrease from its earlier $95 billion valuation in 2021. The firm has shifted its focus to larger clients, like Amazon and Zoom, with over 100 companies handling more than $1 billion in payments using Stripe annually. The company is working to improve e-commerce conversion rates and fix issues in online transactions. Data also reveals a decline in San Francisco's centrality for tech startups, with 46% of "breakout startups" based there since 2020, compared to 60% before the pandemic.

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Funding, Venture Capital and M&A

Global Venture Capital Funding Plummets in Q1 2023

Global venture capital funding has seen a dramatic decrease across all stages in Q1 2023, according to Crunchbase.

This downward trend began in Q3 2022, with seed funding falling around 18% compared to Q1. Late-stage funding also experienced a decline, with $40 billion invested in late-stage ventures and private equity to venture-backed companies in Q3 2022, representing a 40% drop quarter over quarter and a 63% decrease year over year. The decline is attributed to a slower funding climate in early 2023 and a significant reduction in investment pace by venture and growth investors in private companies during the second half of 2022. Despite the decline, global venture funding in 2022 reached $445 billion, a 35% decrease from the $681 billion invested in 2021.