2023’s AI Gold Rush starts in 2024
Someday, you might be working hand in hand with BigTech.
1.) Look at ChatGPT that took the world by storm, sending Google scrambling to catch up. It was backed up by BigTech: Microsoft.
2.) When OpenAI's ChatGPT launched late last year, it felt like an earthquake. Suddenly, generative AI was everywhere and Google was caught flat-footed. But the giants are striking back hard, pouring billions into AI with access startups can't match.
3.) AI startups might grab headlines, but the tech titans are still winning the AI race with their unmatched data, cloud compute, and backing.
Tea-loaded AI Narrative
Microsoft is rushing to capitalize on its partnership with OpenAI, the darling child it helped raise. Google recovering, shifting to "bold and responsible" as it plays catch up after telling people to "move slowly" with AI. And Amazon is tapping into the hottest innovations, investing up to $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic.
So while generative AI has disrupted, it all flows back to Big Tech. OpenAI likely wouldn't be on the brink of its recent advances absent years of heavy Microsoft backing. And Anthropic's $4 billion Amazon lifeline gives the e-commerce titan front row access to leading research while further entrenching its cloud dominance.
It's almost a "round-tripping" system. The giants fund the startups then the startups pull off innovation that achieves the desired ROI, spending those resources on cloud services from the very same giants to build the next big thing.
What we’ve learned so far
In this AI gold rush, the startups prospect for innovation quicker. But the tech titans reinforce their iron grip over the most precious resource: data. And their existing place at the center of business in turn expands.
So while upstarts like Anthropic and OpenAI can benefit greatly from the boom, the symbiotic relationship means the titans only tighten their advantage as AI progresses.
Which is why the giants still reign supreme.
I’ll be back with more mind-numbing emails. And oh, this one was co-created with an AI.
-Anj