👊Google and OpenAI go head-to-head, and X treads new ground

Welcome to the first edition of NPB Weekly Download (you are early!)

Subscribe now to be part of a small group of early supporters that would be the first to know of any NPB developments.

Now back to the newsletter. Another week with much happening in the world of technology and business.

Here are some highlights we found interesting. Reply back if you think we missed anything!

Artificial Intelligence

• OpenAI acquires Minecraft-like game studio Global Illumination. Why? No one knows yet, but AI-simulated characters and worlds is more exciting than just gaming revenue.

• Google and OpenAI both release enterprise versions of Google AI tools and ChatGPT respectively. More details below.

• Salesforce, Google, Nvidia, Amazon, and others have invested $235 million in machine learning company Hugging Face. Is this the next wave of open-source and AI agent tools?

• Nvidia hits another ATH with news of Google partnership. I like to side with the underdogs…where they at?

• Spain announces new Gov agency to regulate AI. Not surprised if we see the rest of EU quickly follow suit.

Web3 and Spatial

• Elon Musk gets license required for crypto payments on X. Coupled with their new monetisation program we can see where X might be heading. More details below.

• US courts vacated SECs position to deny Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF application. Another wall broken down…

• Layer 2 roll-ups now process 5x the transactions of Ethereum mainnet. There is an incredible amount of innovation and possibility forming in L2 that isn't possible or is cost prohibitive on L1

• SEC charged Impact Theory (Tom Bilyeu) for unregistered security offering in the form of NFTs in 2021. Others must be sweating 🥵

• PayPal's stablecoin pyUSD demand from launch is lacklustre. Adoption is hard. Full stop.

• Moonpay launches venture arm to invest in gaming and fintech. At least someone needs to be bullish.

Macro and other musings

• US continues with stricter export controls of its AI chips to now beyond China to include the Middle East

• Observation: VC money seems to be still pouring into AI startups but is a little slow for other sectors. I sense there is a lot of money waiting on the sidelines.

HIGHLIGHT

Enterprise versions of Generative AI services announced from both Google and OpenAI

The race to make AI services more acceptable to enterprise standards is on. Just one day after Open AI announces ChatGPT for enterprise, Google announces it's own.

Summary Points

• OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Enterprise, focused on providing enterprise-grade security and privacy. ChatGPT Enterprise releases usage caps, improve speed, and provides enterprise solutions such as data encryption, SOC2 compliant, and not use data for training.

• Google announced new versions of its own foundation AI infrastructure that improve performance and add features, including SynthID to watermark AI-generated images.

• Google also announced a new version of its custom-built AI chips designed to train and serve large models.

What does this mean? The NPB perspective. This might be a good step forward to robust and secure generative AI, but it is far from being all-encompassing of the issues related to Generative AI. Don't fall for the false sense of security that this creates. As many risks are specific to company appetite and outside of AI-aaS providers will typically manage.

HIGHLIGHT

Following the adventure of madness or genius that is X (formerly Twitter)

X is gearing up to allow for digital currencies on the platform.

Summary Points

• X has obtained a currency transmitter license from Rhode Island, allowing the platform to handle both fiat and digital currencies and indicating its potential future involvement in the financial crypto sector.

• In addition to allowing Bitcoin tips feature support to set NFTs as profile pictures.

• With around 450 million monthly active users as of 2023, this could be big for the adoption of digital currency

What does this mean? The NPB perspective. X has always been the home for crypto and web3. Coupled with the recent monetisation payments paid to influencers on the platform, this begins to bring together multiple elements needed for a digital economy. Ability to earn. Ability to spend. Ability to exchange.

Recent NPB Deep Dives and Reports