Arc introduces it’s next-gen AI browser

Plus Google releases it’s AI image creator and enhances Maps

Today’s Highlights:

📰 News: The next gen Arc browser gets a massive AI upgrade + Google releases a free AI image generation tool and bring gen-AI to Google Maps

💰 Funding: Figure AI plans to raise $500M+ from Microsoft and OpenAi

⚡️ Top News Stories:

1. The Browser Company introduces AI-powered enhancements to its desktop browser, promising a revolution in how users interact with the web

  • "Instant Links" allows users to bypass search engines by directly generating relevant links in the sidebar.

  • "Live Folders" offer a dynamic way to receive updates from selected sources directly within the browser.

  • Arc Explore, a desktop version of Arc Search's "browse for me" feature, generates AI-curated webpages on searched topics.

  • Arc's AI features are designed to streamline browsing by automating tasks and organizing information, making it faster and more intuitive to use the internet with fewer steps.

  • The Browser Company's CEO, Josh Miller, emphasizes the goal of making the internet feel more useful and less cluttered.

2. OpenAI is developing methods to evaluate AI-enabled safety risks with a focus on biological threats

  • OpenAI conducted a study with 100 participants, including biology experts and students, to assess if models like GPT-4 could increase access to dangerous information.

  • The study aimed to serve as a "tripwire" for the potential misuse of AI in biological threat creation.

  • Findings showed mild uplifts in accuracy and completeness for participants with access to GPT-4, but the effects were not statistically significant.

  • The study emphasizes that access to information alone is insufficient for creating a biological threat and highlights the need for further research.

3. Google's Bard chatbot now features free AI image generation using the Imagen 2 model, competing with ChatGPT Plus's capabilities

  • Google emphasizes responsible AI use, implementing watermarking and safety guardrails to prevent the creation of inappropriate or explicit content.

  • Alongside Bard's update, Google introduces ImageFX, an experimental tool for creating images with text prompts, marking all outputs with SynthID to indicate AI generation.

  • Bard expands its language support to over 40 languages and is now available in more than 230 countries, with additional features like the double-check feature being extended to support these new languages.

4. The NYTimes is forming a team to investigate the application of generative AI in journalism, w/ aims to prototype AI and ML tech to assist in reporting and presentation.

5. Generative AI arrives on Google Maps, transforming local searches with insights from 300M contributors, offering recommendations for restaurants, shopping, and more

6. Meta updates its AI code generation model, Code Llama 70B, making it the largest and best-performing version, available for both research and commercial use for free.

7. Shopify introduces a new suite of free AI-enabled tools, dubbed Spotify Magic, starting w/ a Media Editor to enhance product images w/ AI, and an improved Semantic Search.

8. Elon Musk's Neuralink successfully implants a device in a human, promising to revolutionize interaction for people with severe disabilities

9. OpenAI is under investigation by Italy's data protection authority for potential GDPR violations, highlighting challenges in AI data processing compliance.

10. Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft are developing their own AI chips to reduce reliance on Nvidia

11. FCC aims to ban AI-generated robocalls, specifically targeting scams using cloned voices by making them ​​fundamentally illegal to simplify charging fraud operators

12. Volkswagen launches its own AI lab to innovate in automotive technology, aiming to explore proofs of concept in areas like optimizing electric vehicle charging, predictive maintenance, and enhancing vehicle connectivity

13. Amazon introduces Rufus, an AI shopping assistant designed to enhance the shopping experience by answering product questions, making comparisons, and offering suggestions

14. An open-source AI model named "miqu-1-70b" is confirmed to be a leak from Mistral AI, as it excites open-source AI enthusiasts w/ capabilities that approach OpenAI's GPT-4.

15. China accelerates AI development by approving over 40 AI models, in efforts to catch up with the U.S.

16. Ethereum co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, shared his thoughts on the potential synergy between blockchain/cryptocurrency tech and AI, highlighting four potential areas of convergence.

17. An innovative study used video of a baby's perspective to teach AI basic language skills, bridging the gap between human and machine learning

18. Yelp's introduces 20+ new features, enhancing local business discovery with AI summaries and visual search enhancements

19. AI-related companies lost $190Bn in market cap after disappointing quarterly reports from Alphabet, Microsoft, and AMD, as a result of costly AI ambitions and mixed results.

💰 Top Funding News:

1.Figure AI, the startup focused on developing humanlike robots, is in discussions to raise up to $500M in a funding round led by Microsoft and OpenAI.

2. Kore.ai, an enterprise conversational and generative AI no-code platform to power business interactions, raised a $150M strategic growth investment led by FTV Capital, w/ NVIDIA and others. 

3. Zum, a transportation company that uses AI to increase efficiencies and reduce costs for school districts managing bus fleets, raised a $140M Series E led by GIC, w/ Climate Investment, Sequoia Capital, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. 

4. DataSnipper, an intelligent automation platform for audit and finance professionals built to empower auditors with AI, raised a $100M Series B, led by Index Ventures

5. Codeium, a next gen set of AI tools for software developers, raised a $65M Series B led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from repeat investor Greenoaks, General Catalyst, and others. 

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