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| Here's a look at today's AI briefing: - Google postpones its Gemini launch to early 2024.
- Mistral nears $487M funding round at a $2B valuation.
- Klarna pauses hiring as it turns more to AI.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Google has delayed the launch of its AI model Gemini to early 2024, according to The Information. The GPT-4 competitor, originally scheduled to launch next week, has faced issues with non-English queries, forcing CEO Sundar Pichai to delay its debut, the publication reported. More: - Launch events in New York, Washington, and California have been silently rescheduled to early 2024 due to concerns about Gemini's responses to non-English prompts.
- Gemini, built on DeepMind's AlphaGo AI system, is multimodal and capable of generating both images and text in multiple languages.
- According to Google, Gemini will be available in different sizes and capabilities.
- Other Google products, like Bard, Assistant, and Docs, are expected to benefit from Gemini's AI capabilities.
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| 2 | | Mistral AI is close to raising €450M ($487M) in a funding round that values the French AI startup at ~$2B, sources told Bloomberg. The deal reportedly involves over €325M ($352M) in equity from investors led by Andreessen Horowitz, with Nvidia and Salesforce committing an additional €120M ($130M) in convertible debt. More: - Under the deal terms, Mistral's three co-founders have agreed to sell over €1M worth of equity each.
- Three other Mistral insiders, including Cedric O, the former French minister and the startup's chief adviser, plan to offload shares, Bloomberg reported.
- Sources said some of the details could still change.
- In June, Mistral raised €105M ($113M), the largest-ever seed round in Europe.
Zoom out: - Mistral, which bills itself as the "OpenAI of Europe," competes with the U.S. AI firm in the development of large language models and generative AI.
- The startup, founded by two former Meta researchers and a former Google DeepMind researcher, is focused on open-source models and datasets.
- In September, it released its Mistral 7B large language model for free without any use restrictions.
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| 3 | | Klarna will pause most of its hiring as CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski believes AI will fill the gaps left by departing employees. The Swedish BNPL firm will no longer hire outside of its engineering department and use natural attrition to shrink its workforce, he said. More: - Siemiatkowski attributed the shift to the widespread adoption and productivity gains from AI tools like ChatGPT.
- He didn't specify which roles AI might replace.
- "Things that previously took people a lot of time can be done much faster and much shorter, and we need fewer people to do the same thing," he told The Telegraph.
- Klarna is planning more consumer-facing AI features to transform the platform more into a "personal finance assistant," he said.
Zoom out: - In May, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said the company would pause recruitment for particular positions that could possibly be replaced by AI within the next few years, specifically focusing on back-office functions.
- Dropbox also reduced its global workforce by 16% earlier this year, citing slowing cloud growth and the arrival of "the AI era of computing."
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| 4 | | A Spokeo survey of over 1,000 Americans found that nearly 75% were concerned about AI's impact on their industry. People aged 18-24 showed the lowest level of concern, while those over 65 had the highest level. 
What the numbers show: Top concerns centered around AI's impact on future salary increases (34.4%) and job replacement (34.3%). As well, 66.6% of those surveyed believed AI could perform their jobs. They chose financial activities and insurance (41.4%), professional and business services (40.2%), and leisure and hospitality (38.4%) as the industries most susceptible to AI's negative impacts. On a brighter note, 76.7% believe AI will eventually reduce the average American's workweek, and over 78% thought AI could alleviate some job stress, now or in the future. What it means: The study suggests Americans are wary of AI but also see some benefits in the workplace with the right training from employers, Spokeo researchers said. 
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| 5 | | Drugmaker AstraZeneca has signed an up to $247M deal with AI biologics firm Absci to design a cancer treatment. The effort will use a zero-shot generative AI model to create an antibody to fight cancer, though a specific target was not disclosed. More: - Absci uses AI to design optimal drug candidates, focusing on factors like target affinity, safety, and manufacturability.
- The collaboration will tap into Absci's AI technology for large-scale protein analysis, focusing on oncology therapy.
- The deal includes upfront fees, research funding, milestone payments, and royalties on product sales, according to The Financial Times.
Zoom out: - Last month, Absci signed a deal worth up to $650M with Spanish pharma company Almirall. It also entered into a $610M deal with Merck in 2022.
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| 6 | | AI Events and Conferences: - CDAI Apex West: Dec. 5-6, Tempe, Arizona.
- The AI Summit New York: Dec. 6-7, New York, N.Y.
- AI Expo, Powered by AWS, Dec. 9, Austin, Texas.
- AAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence: Feb. 20-27, 2024, Vancouver, British Columbia.
- Nvidia GTC AI Conference & Expo: March 18-21, 2024, San Jose, California, and virtual.
- Data Innovation Summit: April 25-25, 2024, Stockholm, Sweden, and online.
- 2024 IEEE Conference on Artificial Intelligence: June 25-27, 2024, Singapore.
- The AI Conference: Sept 18-19, 2024, San Francisco.
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| 7 | | QUICK HITS - The Kubernetes Cookbook is your comprehensive companion, equipping you with the knowledge and techniques to harness the full potential of Kubernetes.*
- VC Lab has developed a generative AI chatbot called Decile Base to help venture capitalists in areas like fundraising and compliance, saving them money on legal and accounting fees.
- U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he is planning legislation to counter AI's potential impact on the 2024 election. The plan stems from concerns about the risk of AI discrimination against people of color.
- OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap told CNBC that a common misconception is that AI can bring about "substantive business change" quickly.
- Ecosia, the largest non-profit search engine, launched a "green filter" search chatbot that offers "more sustainable" answers and results.
- Toast to 2024: Key affiliate marketing trends to help your campaigns start off on the right foot in the new year. Get the free report.*
*This is a sponsored post. | | | |
 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for notable publications like USA Today and the Arizona Business Gazette. During her time as a public policy reporter at The Arizona Republic, she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for her collaborative reporting on pension cost increases. Beth also authored a book on the solar photovoltaic industry in 2016. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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