New Gemini AI dominates Google I/O

Today’s Highlights:

📰 News: Google’s Gemini AI dominates its I/O Conference + Reddit and OpenAI strike a deal for partnership

💰 Funding: Stability AI is looking for a potential buyer

⚡️ Top News Stories:

1. Google's I/O 2024 introduces Gemini, a groundbreaking multimodal AI model, enhancing user interaction across all platforms. Watch this supercut or read the highlights:

• Gemini is the multimodal model designed for a new generation of AI, capable of processing various forms of data including text, images, video, and code. The model can handle long contexts up to 1M tokens and is now accessible to developers and consumers.

• Capabilities are being integrated across Google's major platforms such as Search, Photos, and Workspace.

• Gemini 1.5 Pro has been updated to handle a 2M token context window and improved in areas such as code generation, logical reasoning, and multimodal understanding.

• Gemini 1.5 Flash launches as a lightweight, fast, and efficient model optimized for high-volume tasks.

• Gemini Nano model is expanding its capabilities to include multimodal inputs like images and audio, starting with applications on Pixel devices.

• Gemma 2 is the next generation of open models for AI development, and updates on Project Astra, aiming to create responsive, proactive AI agents that can perform tasks across systems under user supervision, such as automating returns or assisting with relocation tasks.

• Google also announced Trillium, their most advanced TPU to date

2. OpenAI partners with Reddit for real-time content access, integrating Reddit discussions into ChatGPT and enhancing Reddit with AI-powered features.

• The deal will allow Reddit to use OpenAI’s LLMs to build applications and includes OpenAI becoming an advertising partner on Reddit.

• This agreement follows a similar deal Reddit made with Google, worth $60M, although the financial terms of the OpenAI deal were not disclosed.

3. Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's co-founder and chief scientist, leaves the company along w/ Jan Leike, head of the Superalignment team, which has sparked speculation about internal company rifts and future directions under new leadership.

4. Elon Musk's xAI is negotiating a $10Bn deal with Oracle to rent AI servers, aiming to boost its competitive edge by securing a significant amount of computing power.

5. Sony Music Group has sent letters to over 700 tech companies and music streaming services, warning them against using its music to train AI without explicit permission, while seeking details on use and threatening legal action.

6. Claude, Anthropic’s multilingual AI assistant, is now available across Europe via web and iOS, supporting diverse languages and business needs.

7. Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger joins Anthropic as Chief Product Officer, focusing on enhancing the company's AI products, including the Claude app for iOS.

8. TikTok tests AI-generated "search highlights" powered by ChatGPT to enhance search results, targeting user queries with relevant, summarized information.

9. Meta is developing 'Camerabuds,' AI-assisted earbuds with cameras for object identification and language translation.

10. ElevenLabs launches a consumer app, ElevenLabs Reader: AI Audio, which can read web pages, PDFs, and other documents aloud using a selection of 11 voices.

11. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has called for a substantial increase in government funding for AI research, proposing at least $32Bn annually for non-defense AI innovation to maintain U.S. dominance and outcompete China.

12. Microsoft's emissions rise by 30% in FY 2023, complicating its goal to be carbon negative by 2030 amid growing AI energy demands.

💰 Top Funding News:

1. Stability AI is in talks with potential buyers due to financial difficulties, generating less than $5M in revenue while losing over $30M in Q1 2024, with $100M in outstanding debts and recent staff layoffs.

2. PolyAI, which develops AI voice assistants for call centers, raised a $50M Series C led by Hedosophia and NVentures, w/ Khosla Ventures and Point72 Ventures.

3. Gamma, an AI-powered presentation platform that enables users to create presentations, websites, and more, raised a $12M Series A led by Accel, w/ Script Capital, South Park Commons, Lorimer Ventures, and Fellows Fund.

4. Voxel51, which develops a visual AI platform to improve the accuracy and robustness of AI models by refining data interpretation, raised a $30M Series B, led by Bessemer Venture Partners.