It’s time for Bits & Bytes…
… where we bring you news, innovations, and thought-provoking insights from AI, IT, and beyond. In this week’s newsletter we’re looking at:
- The global quest for semiconductors
- Bluesky is live – have you joined yet?
- Introducing Sierra
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
🚀 OpenAI chief pursuing $7 trillion in investments
Sam Altman is setting his sights on semiconductors. The OpenAI chief is hoping to raise $7 trillion to boost global production of the pricey chips that power AI systems — an industry which last year brought in $527 billion. Altman is reportedly talking to a worldwide array of investors, industry partners and governments about the project, and has met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
TL;DR
- An OpenAI has confirmed the company has had “productive discussions about increasing global infrastructure and supply chains for chips.”
- The chip industry has become a point of tension between the U.S. and China, resulting in export restrictions back in October 2023.
- NVIDIA, the industry leader in AI processors, is reportedly setting up a custom chip unit to respond to the booming demand. It’s been a big news week for NVIDIA.
TECH HEADLINES FROM ACROSS THE WEB
Cisco + NVIDIA = ❤️
Cisco is teaming up with NVIDIA “to help enterprises deploy and manage secure AI infrastructure.” As part of the arrangement, Cisco will offer its clients M7 server computers powered by Nvidia’s latest processors, as well as the chipmaker’s software, AI models and development tools along with its own cloud-based software and services for monitoring and managing such systems.
☁️ Bluesky is public
The social media network created by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has ditched its invite-only system and is open to everyone. The X rival, which had 3 million sign-ups before opening to the public, has distinguished itself with its proprietary tech that allows users to control more of their experience, using their own rules and algorithms. It remains to be seen if these features will help Bluesky compete with Meta’s Threads and its 130 million monthly users, or even Mastodon with 1.8 million.
📺 YouTube TV reaches major milestone
If you’re forking over $72.99 a month for YouTube TV, you’re now one of 8 million subscribers – up from 5 million customers reported back in 2022 and makes it “far and away the biggest internet-streaming subscription TV service in the country”. The jump can largely be attributed to YouTube’s exclusive claim of the NFL Sunday Ticket, which was reported to have helped bring in about 1.3 million subscriptions last year.
INTRODUCING: SIERRA 👋
Meet the newest player in the growing field of artificial intelligence: Sierra, offering AI “agents” to business customers including SiriusXM and Weight Watchers. Sierra’s co-founders, ex-Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor and former Google virtual reality chief Clay Bavor, have already nailed down $110 million in funding from major investors led by Sequoia Capital and Benchmark. They’re betting that the AI “agents” will offer faster, cheaper customer service than humans — but will have to compete with chatbots already in wider use, including Salesforce’s Einstein.
