Grishin Robotics

Qualcomm is exploring the acquisition of parts of Intel's design business to enhance its product portfolio, according to sources. The mobile chipmaker is particularly interested in Intel's PC design segment, though it is evaluating other units as well. This move comes as Intel faces financial struggles, including a 15% staff reduction and halted dividends following a poor second quarter. While Qualcomm has yet to approach Intel formally, the interest has been ongoing for months. Intel remains committed to its PC business and recently launched a new AI-focused PC chip, Lunar Lake.

Major update revealed by OpenAI – OpenAI O1 https://openai.com/o1/ It changes the way GPT assistance works. This new model, O1, solves complex problems significantly better than the GPT models we are used to because it effectively “thinks” before generating a response.

China's gaming giants, Tencent and NetEase, are scaling back their investments in Japanese studios after years of limited success. NetEase has significantly reduced its workforce at Tokyo's Ouka studio and plans to close its Shibuya branch. Tencent, too, is reconsidering its investment pace in Japan, frustrated by mismatched ambitions with local developers. The shift comes as China's gaming market revives, highlighted by the success of "Black Myth: Wukong" and NetEase's "Naraka: Bladepoint." Both companies continue to collaborate with major Japanese names like Capcom and Bandai Namco but are now more focused on domestic opportunities.

Codeium, a competitor to GitHub Copilot, has raised $150 million in a Series C round led by General Catalyst, valuing the company at $1.25 billion. Founded in 2021 by Varun Mohan and Douglas Chen, Codeium pivoted from GPU optimization to generative coding in 2022. The platform supports 70 programming languages and integrates with popular development environments. With over 700,000 users and 1,000 enterprise customers, Codeium offers a free tier and a self-hosted option to address data security concerns. The new funding will boost R&D and growth as the company aims to capture a share of the burgeoning AI coding tools market, projected to reach $27.17 billion by 2032.

AI-driven coding assistants have attracted nearly $1bn in funding since early 2023, signaling a transformative shift in software engineering. Companies like Replit, Anysphere, and Magic have raised $433mn this year alone, highlighting the sector's rapid growth. Hadi Partovi of Code.org likens coding without AI to writing without a word processor, emphasizing AI's impact on programming. Giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are competing to dominate this space, with GitHub Copilot leading the charge. Launched in 2022, Copilot now boasts nearly 2 million subscribers and significantly boosts GitHub's revenue. Despite security concerns, AI tools are enhancing productivity by 20-35%, according to GitHub's CEO Thomas Dohmke. McKinsey estimates AI could improve software engineering productivity by up to 45%. While AI assists with repetitive tasks and problem-solving, experts like Marc Tuscher of Sereact stress that human oversight remains crucial for good software architecture. In summary, AI coding assistants are revolutionizing software development, making it faster and more efficient while still requiring human expertise for complex design and architecture.

Safe Superintelligence (SSI), co-founded by OpenAI's former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, has secured $1 billion in funding to advance safe AI systems. The three-month-old startup, valued at $5 billion, aims to acquire computing power and top talent, focusing on a small, trusted team split between Palo Alto and Tel Aviv. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. SSI's mission is to ensure AI safety, a critical issue amid fears of rogue AI. Sutskever, alongside co-founders Daniel Gross and Daniel Levy, emphasizes a unique approach to scaling AI, differing from traditional methods.

OpenAI is seeking a new funding round that values the company at over $100 billion, with Apple reportedly in negotiations to join. According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple is in talks to invest alongside other companies, including Microsoft, which already holds a 49% share of OpenAI's profits. The exact investment amounts from Apple and Microsoft remain undisclosed. This fundraising round aims to raise several billion dollars, led by venture capital firm Thrive Capital, which plans to invest $1 billion. In addition, Apple and OpenAI are collaborating to integrate ChatGPT into iOS 18 later this year. This partnership will see ChatGPT handling world knowledge requests in combination with Siri. Apple is not paying OpenAI for this integration, believing the exposure is of equal or greater value than cash. Other AI models, including Google Gemini, may also be added to iOS 18.

As TikTok Shop gains momentum, YouTube is stepping up its game by expanding its partnership with Shopify. Announced on Tuesday, this move will onboard more brands into YouTube's Shopping affiliate program, giving creators access to thousands of new brands to tag in their videos, a significant increase from the current few hundred. Eligible Shopify Plus and Advanced merchants in the U.S. can now join the program, offering creators a lucrative way to earn money while helping their audience discover new products. For brands, it’s an opportunity to reach more customers and boost sales. This expansion positions YouTube to better compete with TikTok, which aims to grow its U.S. TikTok Shop business tenfold to $17.5 billion this year. Despite being newer to U.S. e-commerce, TikTok has rapidly onboarded 500,000 merchants by the end of 2023. Additionally, YouTube is launching a new Chrome extension for U.S. creators in the affiliate program, allowing them to save products while browsing and easily tag them in videos later. This expansion comes as YouTube intensifies its e-commerce efforts amid a slowdown in digital advertising. The platform saw over 30 billion hours of shopping-related video views in 2023 and a 25% increase in watch time for shopping-help videos. The program also benefits creators looking to increase their earnings, with YouTube rolling out new Shopping features to aid in product marketing and revenue growth.

Prediction marketplace Polymarket has teamed up with AI-powered search engine Perplexity to provide users with concise news summaries related to real-world events. This integration allows users to view event-related news summaries and ask further questions via a search box. Polymarket will also feature a column on Perplexity’s Discover page using Perplexity’s Pages feature, which creates sharable pages from search results. Additionally, Perplexity will use Polymarket data, such as election trends, to generate visual content through the AI platform Tako. This partnership follows Polymarket’s collaboration with Substack and aims to enhance user experience by providing high-quality, trusted information. Perplexity, while primarily consumer-focused, sees API usage growing among developers and enterprises. Despite criticism for web scraping, Perplexity has committed to displaying citations and partnering with media outlets for ad revenue sharing. Backed by major investors, Perplexity continues to expand its offerings and partnerships.

GoPro announced a significant restructuring plan, aiming to cut about 15% of its workforce, or approximately 139 jobs, by the end of 2024. This move is part of an effort to reduce operating expenses. The company anticipates restructuring charges between $5 million and $7 million, with $1 million recognized in Q3 and $4 million to $6 million in Q4 of 2024. Despite the layoffs, GoPro's shares rose by 1.5%. The company reported a 22.7% decline in Q2 revenue to $186 million and a 5% increase in operating expenses to $103 million. Additionally, the U.S. International Trade Commission is investigating GoPro's claims of patent violations by Chinese firm Arashi Vision.