🔎 Bing's AI Push Falls Short

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Now let’s dive into today’s top headlines:

• Bing's AI Push Falls Short

• Smartphone Market Nears Decade-Low

• Tesla Plans Rental Service

• Gartner: Generative AI Hype Peaks

• LK-99: Superconductor Hopes Dashed

• WhatsApp Unveils HD Images

• and more...

READ TIME: 4.2 MINUTES

Tech Companies

Bing's AI Push Falls Short (4-minute read, wsj)

Microsoft's February launch of AI-powered Bing aimed to snatch market share from Google, targeting a 1% gain. However, by July, Bing's global market share stagnated at 3%. Even with generative AI chat providing direct conversational responses, user habits remain solid with Google. Although Bing's user base rose by 10% post-launch, reaching 98 million, it pales beside Google's 1.12 billion. Microsoft reports gains in mobile searches and Edge browser usage but doesn't share specifics. Google responded with its own AI initiatives, suggesting a growing AI search war.

Smartphone Market Nears Decade-Low (2-minute read, bloomberg)

Global smartphone shipments in 2023 are predicted to decline 6% year-over-year, marking the worst year in over a decade. Economic challenges in China and waning demand in the US contribute to the downturn. However, Apple seems poised to weather this storm, thanks to its upcoming iPhone upgrades and a loyal user base.

Quick

Xbox 360 Store Shuts 2024 (2-minute read, theverge)

Microsoft will close the Xbox 360 Store and Marketplace on July 29th, 2024. Existing digital games remain playable, but no new purchases will be possible.

Tesla Plans Rental Service (2-minute read, electrek)

Tesla intends to launch an in-house “Tesla Rental Program”, initially targeting collision centers in Texas.

Apple's Liquid VR Lens Solution (3-minute read, techradar)

Apple's new patent suggests using liquid lenses to address VR's prescription lens challenges, potentially revolutionizing headset designs.

Startup Scene

IBM Watson's Creator Funds Startup (3-minute read, cnbc)

David Ferrucci, the mind behind IBM Watson, secured $60 million for his AI venture, Elemental Cognition. The New York-based startup aims to create AI that deliberates before responding and offers two enterprise products for various industries.

ProjectDiscovery's $25M Cloud Push (3-minute read, techcrunch)

ProjectDiscovery secured $25 million for its vulnerability-detection platform, planning a cloud version. Its strength lies in a 60,000-strong open-source community.

env0's Funding Triumph (3-minute read, silliconvalleyjournals)

env0 completes $18.1M Series A, totaling $35.1M. The firm saw a 450% growth in 2022, drawing clients like PayPal.

AI Corner

Generative AI Hype Peaks (4-minute read, gartner)

Gartner's 2023 Hype Cycle highlights Generative AI atop its peak of inflated expectations. Melissa Davis, VP Analyst, underscores emerging tech's transformational potential and the inherent risks and rewards. Key tech trends include enhancing the Developer experience (DevX), the rise of pervasive cloud computing, and human-centric security and privacy, each promising significant business innovation.

Insight Partners' AI Surge (4-minute read, crunchbase)

New York's Insight Partners has funneled $4 billion into AI startups in five years. George Mathew, a pivotal partner, emphasizes generative AI models' potential to overhaul software. Insight's investment in Weights & Biases crowned the latter a unicorn shortly after a Series C raise. While slowing their 2023 funding pace, the firm predominantly directs funds from its sizable recent funds, emphasizing machine-learning operations and next-gen generative AI applications.

AI's Impact Rivals Internet (3-minute read, yahoofinance)

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella compares artificial intelligence's influence to the internet's revolutionary effect in 1995. Microsoft's collaboration with OpenAI strengthens its AI stance.

Arthur Launches AI Evaluator (3-minute read, venturebeat)

NYC-based AI startup Arthur introduces Arthur Bench, an open-source tool to assess and compare large language model (LLM) performances. Bench aids in distinguishing LLM behaviors and effectiveness, assisting enterprises in informed AI adoption decisions.

Markets & Money

Lenovo's Revenue Slides (3-minute read, reuters)

China's Lenovo Group reported a 24% revenue decline for April-June, marking its fourth consecutive quarterly sales drop. Q1 revenue landed at $12.9 billion, missing the anticipated $13.84 billion. Following the announcement, Lenovo's shares dropped 6% in Hong Kong.

Adyen Profits Dip, Hiring Impacts (4-minute read, ft)

Despite a 21% rise in revenue to €739.1mn, Adyen's earnings fell short of analyst expectations of €754mn. The stock saw a 33% drop after a hiring spree amid slowing economic growth and heightened competition, especially from US-based rivals like Stripe.

Insights & Analysis

LK-99: Superconductor Hopes Dashed (8-minute read, nature)

Researchers have debunked the initial claims about LK-99 being a room-temperature superconductor. It was previously believed that LK-99, a compound comprising copper, lead, phosphorus, and oxygen, showcased superconductivity properties at ambient conditions. However, in-depth studies revealed that the observed characteristics were due to impurities, especially copper sulfide, rather than intrinsic superconductivity.

Apps & Gadgets

Redesigned Google Maps Pins (2-minute read, androidpolice)

Google Maps is experimenting with circular icons to replace traditional pin shapes for saved locations. This new design aims to distinguish user-saved places from default pins more clearly.

WhatsApp Unveils HD Images (3-minute read, androidpolice)

WhatsApp introduces high-resolution image sharing support, allowing users to send better quality photos. While compressed quality remains default, HD images, like all content on WhatsApp, are end-to-end encrypted.

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