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| 1 | | What happened: Despite the recent advancements in generative AI, the AI industry suffered a drop in funding during Q1 2023 as it couldn't escape the broader downturn in venture capital investment. What it means: CB Insights released its State of AI Q1'23 Report, revealing more details about the investment landscape in AI, which has largely been stagnant. The drop in activity was unexpected, given the supposed favorable market conditions for AI startups. What the numbers say: During Q1 2023, AI startups raised $5.4B, a 66% drop from the previous year's figure and a 43% decline quarter-over-quarter. 
In Q1 2023, funding for AI companies based in the U.S. reached $3.7B, a 27% fall compared to the prior quarter. Deals for U.S. companies also fell for the fourth straight quarter, reaching only 232. 
Globally, the number of investment deals also plummeted by 37%, with only 554 deals made in Q1 2023 — the lowest since Q4 2017. 
There were five new AI unicorns in the first quarter, the same as the previous quarter, including the additions of Anthropic, Adept, and Character.AI, with each surpassing a valuation of $1B. Of the five new unicorns, three are based in the U.S., one in Israel, and one in Germany. Currently, the U.S. claims 64% out of the total 170 AI unicorns. 
There were also 75 mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving AI companies in Q1 2023, a 12% increase compared to the previous quarter, though still below the peak levels in 2021. Europe claimed the largest share of global AI exits at 38%. followed by U.S.-based companies at 33%, and Asia companies at 17%. 
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| 2 | | Amazon plans to add a ChatGPT-like search feature to its online store, according to Bloomberg. New job postings reveal Amazon's plans to reinvent its search function through the use of large language models. More: - One listing for a "Sr Technical Program Manager" says Amazon is working on an "AI-first initiative" to transform how it does search through large-scale and next-gen deep learning techniques.
- Another post for a "Sr SDE, Machine Learning (ML), Amazon Search" says the company is working to enhance shopping on its platform using the conversational capabilities of LLMs.
- The listing called it "a once-in-a-generation transformation for Search."
Zoom out: - According to Bloomberg, Amazon aims to build a new interactive conversational experience for customers, helping them to compare products, receive personalized suggestions, and find answers to product questions.
- When asked about the new AI capabilities, an Amazon spokesperson replied only that the company is "significantly investing in generative AI across all of our businesses."
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| 3 | | To help combat online misinformation, Google plans to roll out new features to its image search to help users spot AI-generated content. The features, due out later this year, include an "about this image" option and a hidden markup that will help label AI-created images. More: - "About this image" will provide additional details about an image, such as its origin, when it was first indexed by Google, and where it's appeared online so far.
- Users will be able to view the details by clicking on an image's three dots in Google Image results.
- The purpose is twofold: to help users discern whether an image was created using AI and to verify its authenticity through other websites.
- Google also plans to add an invisible "markup" to any image produced by its AI models to indicate that they were generated by a computer.
- Although this metadata would not be visible to people, software like Google Search could interpret and label it as AI to warn users.
- For example, Google could provide a warning that says, "Image self-labeled as AI-generated."
- Midjourney, Shutterstock, and other publishers have also agreed to adopt the markup.
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| 4 | | Stability AI, the startup known for the Stable Diffusion text-to-image generator, has launched an open-source tool that creates animation from text prompts. Unlike DALL-E or Bing Image Creator, users can't access the new Animation SDK through a website. Rather, they need advanced technical and programming skills to install and run the model. More: - In addition to text alone, Animation SDK users can prompt the model with text combined with a source image or source video.
- They can also change various attributes of the animation, such as color, shape, size, and texture.
- The tool works with all Stable Diffusion models, including the latest Stable Diffusion XL.
Zoom out: - Stability AI's platform, Stable Diffusion, rivals Open AI's Dall-E 2 generative AI system.
- According to a Bloomberg report from March, Stability AI has been in talks to raise an undisclosed funding round at an over $4B valuation.
- The company was valued at $1B in a $101M seed funding round announced in October.
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| 5 | | AI Events and Conferences: - AI and Big Data Expo North America: May 17-18, Santa Clara, California.
- AI World Congress 2023: June 7-8, London.
- Data Science Salon: Applying AI & Machine Learning to Media & Advertising: June 8, New York City and virtual.
- Big Data and Analytics Summit Canada: June 13-14, Toronto.
- Deep Learning World: June 18-22, Las Vegas.
- Ai4 2023: Aug. 7-9, Las Vegas.
- AI Hardware Summit: Sept. 12-14, Santa Clara, California.
- Edge AI Summit: Sept. 12-14, Santa Clara, California.
- AI & Big Data Expo Global 2023: Nov. 30-Dec. 1, Olympia, London.
- The AI Summit New York: Dec. 6-7, New York City.
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| 6 | | Community Corner Last week, we asked our tech community, "How do you feel about AI-generated content, such as art, music, or writing?" and received dozens of responses! Here are some highlights: - Steve Hutt (p/fastlane), Founder and Podcast Host at eCommerce Fastlane, answered, "AI-generated content is an intriguing development. Thinking about how computers can take data and form something new is fascinating. This could open up new opportunities for creativity and collaboration between humans and machines. At the same time, I think it's vital that we maintain a healthy skepticism when it comes to AI-generated content. We should be aware of potential flaws or ethical issues when using AI-generated content. We should also remember that AI-generated content can never truly replicate the unique creativity of humans."
- Rick Canfield (p/Nativecreation), Producer at Native Creation, answered, "There are many fascinating areas for AI usage, but personally, I think it'll be great for creating new game worlds or telling cinematic stories that have previously been unknown. In other words, it could be useful for leveling the playing field of storytelling, reducing myths and stereotypes from marginalized communities or countries. That's if these communities also have equal access to AI tools, and it's not hidden behind paywalls or through gatekeeping." You can read Rick’s full comment here.
- Ande Lyons (p/andelyons), Founder/Host at Startup Life LIVE Show, answered, "I'm not a fan of AI-generated artwork — it exploits real artists' work. I love AI for generating show notes from the delicious conversations on my podcast. It's a time saver and SEO game changer!"
Join the conversations at Inside.com, and we may shout out your name and business or contact you for more! ⭐️ | | | |
| 7 | | QUICK HITS - An AI-generated cover on best-selling author Sarah J. Maas' book, "House of Earth and Blood," has drawn criticism from readers and artists, who blamed publishing house Bloomsbury for purchasing the AI content from Adobe Stock rather than hiring a human illustrator.
- Google made the case that AI should not be recognized as an "inventor" under U.S. patent law, according to a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Google's senior patent counsel, Laura Sheridan, told Axios that the company believes individuals should be granted patents for innovations created with the help of AI and not the technology itself.
- A sheriff's department in Washington state has issued a warning about the rise in scams involving voice-cloning AI technology. A scammer recently posed as the 16-year-old daughter of a family in Tacoma, demanding at least $10,000 in a wire transfer for her safe return.
- Meta's open-source AI models have sparked a surge in the development of free alternatives to proprietary AI software, potentially posing a disruption to companies like Google and OpenAI, according to The Information.
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Term of the Day Demand elasticity: Demand elasticity is calculated by measuring the percentage change in quantity demand for a good or service in response to a change in price. Question of the Week How do you approach networking, and what advice can you give others looking to build their professional connections? Join the conversation |
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. She has written the Inside AI newsletter since 2019. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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