AI Agenda by Stephanie Palazzolo — The Information

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By Stephanie Palazzolo

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Recent Editions

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

No, Sam Altman Isn’t Raising Trillions of Dollars For Chips

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 15, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Contrary to popular belief, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman isn’t raising trillions of dollars for a large project to develop new server chips for artificial intelligence. A Wall Street Journal report last week that implied Altman was seeking up to $7 trillion worth of capital for what sounds like a joint venture to end all joint ventures caused... Contrary to popular belief, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman isn’t raising trillions of dollars for a large...

Ali Ghodsi. Photo via YouTube.

Databricks CEO On What It Takes to Turn LLMs Into a Big Business

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 14, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Ali Ghodsi, the CEO of Databricks, a $43 billion-valuation enterprise software firm, had lots to say about OpenAI and the potential challenges it faces in a conference call with The Information subscribers yesterday. (One new challenge it's likely wrestling with is the departure of high-profile researcher Andrej Karpathy, as we scooped... Ali Ghodsi, the CEO of Databricks, a $43 billion-valuation enterprise software firm, had lots to...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

For Google, ‘Good Enough’ Gemini AI Could Be Good Enough to Win

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Jon Victor · Feb 13, 2024 7:00am PST

Early reviews are pouring in for Google’s Gemini Ultra, the company’s most advanced large language model that powers a paid version of chatbot Gemini, a rival to ChatGPT. The reviews make us think that after an early scramble to catch up to its Microsoft-backed rival, Google is going to be just fine in this market.The vast majority of developers... Early reviews are pouring in for Google’s Gemini Ultra, the company’s most advanced large...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

The Most Exciting Thing About Altman’s Chip Dream

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Anissa Gardizy · Feb 12, 2024 7:00am PST

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

The Most Exciting Thing About Altman’s Chip Dream

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Anissa Gardizy · Feb 12, 2024 7:00am PST

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stole the show last week with a report that he is trying to raise trillions of dollars in capital to develop and manufacture AI chips. But let’s set aside our collective incredulity for a moment (we’ll come back to it!) and consider the implication of Altman’s fundraising: that unlimited computing power will lead to... OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stole the show last week with a report that he is trying to raise trillions...

Google’s Mountain View campus. Photo by The Washington Post via Getty Images.

Google’s Strange Decision to Not Undercut OpenAI and Microsoft; OpenAI’s Secret Agents

By Kalley Huang · Feb 8, 2024 7:15am PST · 2 comments

I’m Kalley, a reporter covering Meta Platforms and social media. I’m now regularly contributing to AI Agenda.Google this morning launched Gemini Ultra, the long-awaited flagship version of its most advanced large language model. It also renamed its ChatGPT rival to Gemini from Bard, which seemed like a logical move. These announcements had... I’m Kalley, a reporter covering Meta Platforms and social media. I’m now regularly contributing...

Photo via Midjourney.

One Class of AI Startups That Can Thrive Without Funding: Porn Chatbots

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 7, 2024 7:00am PST

Sex sells, and sex created by artificial intelligence is no exception.While many generative AI startups have struggled to manage the exploding costs of AI and retain their customers, AI-powered romantic chatbots haven’t had much trouble attracting and keeping their users. Since OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022, a thriving ecosystem has... Sex sells, and sex created by artificial intelligence is no exception.While many generative AI...

Menlo Ventures partner Rama Sekhar. Photo courtesy of Menlo Ventures.

Why We’re Worried About the Wrong AI Security Risk; Gemini is Coming (Again)

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 6, 2024 7:10am PST · 1 comment

Put aside all of the scary talk about bad people theoretically using large language models to build bombs or bioweapons for a moment. A more urgent threat, says investor Rama Sekhar, are AI models that could leak sensitive corporate data or hackers that trigger ChatGPT service outages. Sekhar is a longtime cybersecurity investor who joined Menlo... Put aside all of the scary talk about bad people theoretically using large language models to...

Nat Friedman holding one of the burnt scrolls from Vesuvius he set out to decipher. Photo via YouTube/Dwarkesh Patel.

Our GPU Reseller Prediction Comes True; 2,000-Year-Old Mystery Solved with AI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 5, 2024 8:00am PST

Nat Friedman holding one of the burnt scrolls from Vesuvius he set out to decipher. Photo via YouTube/Dwarkesh Patel.

Our GPU Reseller Prediction Comes True; 2,000-Year-Old Mystery Solved with AI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 5, 2024 8:00am PST

In October we predicted that resellers of graphics processing units, an emerging class of startups that provide Nvidia’s in-demand server chips to artificial intelligence developers, would soon be in trouble. Sure enough, three months later, one of those startups is giving up.On Thursday, the startup Banana, which raised $3.4 million in funding... In October we predicted that resellers of graphics processing units, an emerging class of...

Semantiks founder Adrian Sanchez-Castro. Photo courtesy of Sanchez-Castro.

Mistral Reveals its Secret Weapon—Mark Zuckerberg; Struggling Startups Are Looking For the Exits

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 1, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a rough time testifying in Congress on Wednesday about social media’s mental health effects, but he must have cracked a smile after seeing the latest example of his company’s impact on the AI sector. For the past few months, AI founders and Meta employees have quietly speculated that Meta’s flagship... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a rough time testifying in Congress on Wednesday about...

Photos via Adobe Stock

Microsoft Dishes on AI Revenue; Google CEO Says ‘Agents’ Are Coming

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · Jan 31, 2024 7:00am PST

Microsoft investors tuned into the company’s earnings call with bated breath Tuesday night, looking to see how much its new AI products were boosting sales. Microsoft didn’t deliver an unequivocal blowout—revenue in the December quarter grew moderately faster, year over year, compared to the prior quarter’s growth—but positive signs abounded... Microsoft investors tuned into the company’s earnings call with bated breath Tuesday night,...

Photo via Adobe Stock

The Rising Underdog In The Information’s AI Chip Database

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 30, 2024 7:50am PST

For those overwhelmed by the flurry of new chip startups hoping to ride the AI wave, you’re in luck. This morning, we published our AI Chip Database, which tracks both the startups building these chips and those building the software to run them.There’s lots in here. For instance, we make clear whether startups are making chips suitable for... For those overwhelmed by the flurry of new chip startups hoping to ride the AI wave, you’re in...

Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

Anthropic’s Antitrust Advantage

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Aaron Holmes and Maria Heeter · Jan 29, 2024 8:00am PST

Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images.

Anthropic’s Antitrust Advantage

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Aaron Holmes and Maria Heeter · Jan 29, 2024 8:00am PST

As officials from Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission scrutinize the role that cloud providers play in OpenAI and Anthropic, one thing they should recognize quickly is that the two startups’ relationships with their big cloud-shareholders are not the same. Anthropic has a lot more independence from its shareholders than OpenAI. For... As officials from Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission scrutinize the role that cloud providers...

A data center in Germany. Photo by Picture Alliance/Getty Images.

The Next AI Bottleneck: Power For Data Centers

By Anissa Gardizy · Jan 25, 2024 7:00am PST

At The Information, we’ve spent a lot of time writing about artificial intelligence and the people who develop it. But at the end of the day, their ability to launch software to billions of people depends on data centers. And the availability of such facilities can’t be taken for granted.Over the past few days, I’ve rubbed shoulders with the... At The Information, we’ve spent a lot of time writing about artificial intelligence and the...

Photo via Adobe Stock.

4% of AI Startups Prioritize Social Interests in Corporate Structure

By Abubakar Idris · Jan 24, 2024 8:07am PST

OpenAI, Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI have drawn attention for their unconventional governance structures, ones that prioritize public interest over obligations to shareholders. But these companies are the outliers, The Information’s analysis shows, as most AI developers opt for traditional approaches that appeal to investors. Only 4 of the... OpenAI, Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI have drawn attention for their unconventional governance...

Photo via Midjourney.

What’s Driving AI Costs Down and What’s Driving Them Back Up

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 23, 2024 7:00am PST

Developing large language models is expensive work: the costs of running LLMs in the cloud knocked out more than half of the revenue Anthropic generated last month, Maria Heeter and I reported yesterday. And that doesn’t include the cost to train its models in the first place.Recent technological advancements should make it cheaper to develop... Developing large language models is expensive work: the costs of running LLMs in the cloud...

Chart by Shane Burke.

AI Agenda: OpenAI Is a (Relative) Steal

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 22, 2024 7:35am PST · 1 comment

Chart by Shane Burke.

AI Agenda: OpenAI Is a (Relative) Steal

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 22, 2024 7:35am PST · 1 comment

Over the past year, we’ve seen billions in funding thrown at AI startups at eye-popping valuations. More important than the absolute valuation figures, though, is how they stack up to those startups’ revenue numbers.In the chart above, we’ve tracked the valuations of eight AI startups that have recently raised funding, calculated against their... Over the past year, we’ve seen billions in funding thrown at AI startups at eye-popping...

Photo via Unsplash/DeepMind.

Could State Space Models Kill Large Language Models?

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 18, 2024 7:10am PST

The time it takes for a new technology to replace (or try to replace) an incumbent has consistently gotten shorter over time (just take a look at how long it took Google Docs to overthrow Microsoft Word versus the flurry of 15-minute grocery delivery startups that popped up following the success of companies like Instacart). That’s why nobody... The time it takes for a new technology to replace (or try to replace) an incumbent has...

Ali Ghodsi, CEO of Databricks. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

The Nonprofit Versus For-Profit OpenAI Powder Keg

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 17, 2024 8:05am PST

It’s been nearly two months since OpenAI’s pared-down board started looking for new directors, and so far, it doesn’t have much to show for it. We have yet to see any actual board appointments, though we’ve gotten plenty of news around candidates being approached. The latest one—the CEO of an OpenAI quasi rival—is an interesting example. As... It’s been nearly two months since OpenAI’s pared-down board started looking for new directors,...

Photo via Adobe Stock.

ChatGPT Coming To an Army Near You

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 16, 2024 7:00am PST

Last week, OpenAI quietly tweaked the wording in its usage policies. That seemingly simple action could have massive consequences.Most notably, OpenAI removed a previous ban on using its large language models for any military or warfare-related applications. Instead of the ban, the policies now say that OpenAI products can’t be used to “harm... Last week, OpenAI quietly tweaked the wording in its usage policies. That seemingly simple action...

OpenAI's new GPT Store. Photo via OpenAI.

OpenAI’s App Store Moment; VCs’ Love Affair with AI, By the Numbers

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 11, 2024 7:10am PST

OpenAI's new GPT Store. Photo via OpenAI.

OpenAI’s App Store Moment; VCs’ Love Affair with AI, By the Numbers

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 11, 2024 7:10am PST

After a two-month delay, OpenAI’s long-awaited chatbot store is finally here.As I previously reported would happen, the model developer on Wednesday opened its GPT app store, which allows software developers to distribute customized OpenAI-powered apps for everything from lesson planning for middle school teachers to researching academic papers... After a two-month delay, OpenAI’s long-awaited chatbot store is finally here.As I previously ...