OpenAI: GPT-5 Denial, GPT-4 Focus 🤖 || Meta's Reels & AI Ad Shift 🌐|| Series C Funding Dips 74% 💸

📝 Update 2023-18-04

Headlines for today’s Business Edge update.

• 🐘 Big Tech

  • Meta Shifts Focus from Metaverse to Reels and AI Tools for Advertisers

  • Apple Launches High-Yield Savings Account with 4.15% APY

  • Google Pursues Personalized AI-Powered Search and Project Magi

  • AI More Profound Than Fire or Electricity, Says Alphabet CEO, Sundar Pichai

• 📈 Startups and technology

  • Rovio Confirms Discussions with Sega over Potential Tender Offer

• 🤖 AI

  • OpenAI CEO Denies GPT-5 Development, Focuses on GPT-4 Capabilities

  • Truecaller Debuts AI-Powered SMS Fraud Protection in India

    Rockstar Games Patent Hints at Intelligent NPCs for GTA 6

  • DuckDuckGo Introduces DuckAssist: AI-generated Answers in Search Results

  • Adobe Firefly Brings Generative AI to Creative Cloud for Enhanced Workflow

• 💰 Venture Capital and M&A

  • Series C Funding Plummets 74% YoY, Signaling Lower Investor Confidence

  • Q1 2023 PE Report: Deal Value Rises 11%, Higher Equity Contributions in Tech Buyouts

  • Generative AI Startups Attract $1.6B in Q1 2023 Investments

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🐘 Big Tech

The Big Tech companies that move the market, FANG, and more.

Meta Shifts Focus from Metaverse to Reels and AI Tools for Advertisers

According to The Information, Meta has reportedly stopped promoting the metaverse to advertisers. The company now prioritizes its short-form video product, Reels, and its range of AI tools in pitch meetings. This move aligns with Meta's recent shift away from its metaverse ambitions in favor of cost-cutting measures.

Meta is offering discounts of up to 25% for ad spend on Reels, an amount described as "unusually large" by an ad executive. In addition to Reels, the company is emphasizing its AI tools for advertisers, such as Advantage+, a machine learning program for delivering targeted ads across Meta's social platforms. Meta is also investing in generative AI tools to aid in creating marketing campaigns, which could bring short-term gains for the company amid cost-cutting pressure.

As part of its "Year of Efficiency," Meta has laid off over 20,000 employees in the past six months. Despite Mark Zuckerberg's previous commitment to the metaverse, Reality Labs, the division focused on building metaverse products, is facing pressure to operate more economically after losing billions of dollars.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 5 minutes)

Apple Launches High-Yield Savings Account with 4.15% APY

Apple has announced the introduction of an Apple Card Savings Account through Goldman Sachs, offering an annual percentage yield (APY) of 4.15%—approximately 10 times higher than the national average of 0.35%. The savings account has no fees, minimum deposit, or balance requirements and can be set up directly in the Wallet app on an iPhone.

The high-yield savings account was created specifically for Apple with Goldman Sachs. However, the company has not confirmed whether the 4.15% APY will remain constant, indicating it could change in the future.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 2 minutes)

Google Pursues Personalized AI-Powered Search and Project Magi

Google is developing an all-new AI-driven search engine and Project Magi, both aiming to enhance its existing search engine with AI-based features. The new search engine seeks to provide a more personalized experience, anticipating users' needs. Project Magi focuses on allowing users to complete transactions directly from search results.

Other AI-driven features include Google Earth's mapping technology, GIFI for generating images in Google Image results, Tivoli Tutor for language learning, and Search along for chatbot assistance in Google Chrome.

Read more at —> (read time: 4 minutes)

AI More Profound Than Fire or Electricity, Says Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai believes that artificial intelligence (AI) is the most profound technology humanity has ever worked on, comparing its significance to fire and electricity. In an interview on CBS's 60 Minutes, Pichai emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, incorporating social scientists, ethicists, and philosophers to develop AI systems aligned with human values and morality.

The release of OpenAI's ChatGPT has intensified the AI race, prompting tech companies like Google to speed up product releases. Google recently opened up the waitlist for its AI chatbot, Bard, which is not yet as widely available as ChatGPT, but is critical to the company as AI could render its search business obsolete.

Pichai acknowledged that AI could revolutionize human civilization but also warned of its potential threats, calling it a "cat and mouse game." He cited the need for constant algorithm development, as with Google's spam detection on Gmail, and the necessity for regulation and laws against deepfake videos that cause harm to society.

Other tech leaders, such as Nvidia's Jensen Huang and C3 AI's Tom Siebel, have also called for AI regulation. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warned that the tech industry could face a "reckoning" if proper controls and regulations are not implemented. Europe has begun considering measures limiting AI use in certain cases involving copyrighted materials, while the US Biden administration is seeking public comments on potential rules.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 4 minutes)

💎 PRO Heavy regulation in the AI industry can serve as a competitive advantage for Google, given its ability to handle compliance costs and navigate complex regulatory landscapes. The company's scale, resources, and commitment to ethical AI development can fortify its dominance in the market and further solidify its position as a leading player in the AI arena. Read our PRO article for deeper discussion.

Read the full PRO article here —> (read time: 3 minutes)

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📈 Startups and technology

The latest from the world of startups and technology companies.

Rovio Confirms Discussions with Sega over Potential Tender Offer

Rovio Entertainment, the creator of the popular mobile game Angry Birds, confirmed it is in talks with Japan's Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. over a potential tender offer for its shares. Rovio began a strategic review and preliminary non-binding discussions regarding the offer in February.

The confirmation follows the Wall Street Journal's report that Sega is close to acquiring Rovio for about $1 billion. However, Rovio has not commented on the valuation. As of Friday, Rovio's market capitalization was 594.1 million euros ($653.5 million), based on Refinitiv Eikon data.

Rovio emphasized that there is no certainty regarding the timing or occurrence of the potential tender offer. Previously, the company received a 683 million euro takeover bid from Israeli company Playtika Holding Corp, but the discussions were called off last month.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 2 minutes)

🤖 AI

Keeping you updated on the latest in AI.

OpenAI CEO Denies GPT-5 Development, Focuses on GPT-4 Capabilities

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has confirmed that the company is not currently working on a fifth version of its generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) model. Instead, it is focusing on enhancing the capabilities of GPT-4. Altman addressed an open letter that called for a temporary pause in training AI models larger than GPT-4 for six months, noting that although there were parts of the letter he supported, he found it "sort of silly" since they are not training GPT-5.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 4 minutes)

Truecaller Debuts AI-Powered SMS Fraud Protection in India

Truecaller, a global communications platform, has launched AI-driven Fraud Protection to safeguard users against scams and frauds via SMS. Already warning users about potential fraudulent phone calls for over a decade, Truecaller's Fraud Protection combines user feedback and proprietary machine learning to combat fraudulent messages and senders. Available to all Android users in India, the system recognizes and adapts to new forms of fraud without user reports.

Fraud Protection is free for all Truecaller users in India and displays a red notification for fraudulent messages. All processing occurs locally on the device, thanks to advanced AI filters.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 4 minutes)

Rockstar Games Patent Hints at Intelligent NPCs for GTA 6

Take-Two Interactive has filed a patent suggesting that Grand Theft Auto VI may feature smarter non-playable characters (NPCs) with advanced AI capabilities. The patent, filed by two Rockstar Games employees, describes a system for managing nodes and node graphs relating to NPCs that provides virtual navigation and management. This could result in NPCs with more individualized personalities and life-like behavior.

The patent also mentions using cloud resources to overcome local hardware limitations for advanced AI processing. Although GTA VI has not been officially announced, these developments indicate potential advancements in NPC technology for future games.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 3 minutes)

DuckDuckGo Introduces DuckAssist: AI-generated Answers in Search Results

DuckDuckGo has announced the launch of DuckAssist, a new AI tool that automatically pulls and summarizes information from Wikipedia in response to certain questions. The beta version is currently available only on DuckDuckGo's mobile apps and browser extensions. DuckAssist is built upon language models from OpenAI and Anthropic, focusing on privacy by not sharing any personally identifiable information with these companies.

DuckAssist will provide AI-generated answers using summarized information from Wikipedia for straightforward queries. The feature uses the most recent full Wikipedia download available and plans to add more sources in the future.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 4 minutes)

Adobe Firefly Brings Generative AI to Creative Cloud for Enhanced Workflow

Adobe announced its artificial intelligence generator, Adobe Firefly, will be incorporated into Creative Cloud applications later this year. Firefly aims to turbocharge the creative process while reducing post-production time with a range of advanced capabilities.

Text-to-color enhancements, advanced music and sound effects, stunning fonts, text effects, graphics, and logos will be generated in minutes using simple text prompts. Powerful script and B-roll capabilities will expedite pre-production, production, and post-production processes. Creative assistants and co-pilots, powered by generative AI, will help users learn new skills and speed up processes from initial vision to production and editing.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 4 minutes)

💰 Venture Capital and M&A

Follow the market trends in Venture Capital and the latest tech M&A.

Generative AI Startups Attract $1.6B in Q1 2023 Investments

Generative AI startups have drawn significant investor interest, raising approximately $1.7 billion across 46 deals in Q1 2023, according to PitchBook data. The market is becoming more competitive, with investors seeing potential in vertical applications, such as integrating generative AI into enterprise and commercial services. Privacy, data collection, and energy consumption within generative AI are predicted to be growing areas of focus.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 3 minutes)

Q1 2023 PE Report: Deal Value Rises 11%, Higher Equity Contributions in Tech Buyouts

Private equity (PE) deal value in Q1 2023 increased by over 11% from the previous quarter, despite the total number of deals falling more than 9% and exit activity deteriorating. In the same period, tech take-private buyouts were financed with significantly higher equity contributions, ranging from 70% to 92%, compared to the typical median equity contribution of around 48%. Additionally, PE deal prices are experiencing a correction, with the enterprise value/revenue multiple for buyouts dropping to 1.7x in Q1, down from 2.4x in 2022 and 2.5x in 2021.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 3 minutes)

Series C Funding Plummets 74% YoY, Signaling Lower Investor Confidence

Series C funding in the US dropped 74% in Q1 2023 compared to last year, indicating lower investor confidence in mid-stage startups. Although venture funding is down across all stages, the decline in Series C funding is particularly significant, representing a crucial stage between product-market fit and preparing for an exit. Furthermore, major venture firms like SoftBank Vision Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Tiger Global Management, Insight Partners, and Sequoia Capital haven't led any US Series C rounds this year and have only participated in four C-stage deals.

Read more about it at —> (read time: 4 minutes)