Biggest data moments past 2 weeks: AGI on the horizon, Amazon’s $4B AI bet, and Netflix’s data wizardry

?? Top stories of weeks 47 - 48

AGI in 2025?

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, believes AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) could be just around the corner—possibly by 2025. He says the path is clear and we already have the hardware to make it happen, with only a few tweaks needed. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, is a bit more cautious, suggesting AGI could arrive by 2026 or 2027, but with some hurdles ahead, like data shortages and global challenges. However, not everyone’s convinced, with some speculating that OpenAI’s next big model, Orion, might be more evolution than revolution. As the race continues, questions about the cost, environmental impact, and practicality of AGI loom large. So, are we about to see a sci-fi breakthrough or just a fancy calculator? ?? Read more here.

NVIDIA’s AI strategy

NVIDIA’s AI growth is still going strong ??, but there are a few bumps on the road ahead. Their GPUs continue to power the generative AI boom, but some investor concerns are rising, particularly around potential slowdowns in spending from key AI players. Despite this, CEO Jensen Huang is optimistic, pushing into new areas like enterprise AI and highlighting their game-changing potential. As the AI landscape evolves, the spotlight is now on finding high-impact, sustainable applications that can keep driving growth and justify ongoing investments. ?

?? Breaking: Amazon's $4B Anthropic investment and Snowflake partnership reshape enterprise AI landscape

In a series of groundbreaking developments, Amazon has concluded its promised $4 billion investment in Anthropic, while simultaneously, Anthropic announces a strategic partnership with Snowflake, marking a transformative moment in enterprise AI. These moves significantly reshape the competitive landscape in the AI industry and enhance enterprise AI capabilities across cloud platforms.

Amazon-Anthropic partnership details

• Completion of $4 billion investment ($1.25B initial + $2.75B additional)
• Anthropic adopts AWS as the primary cloud provider for critical workloads
• Integration of Claude 3 family models into Amazon Bedrock
• Implementation of AWS Trainium and Inferential chips for model development
• Claude 3 Opus outperforming competitors, including GPT-4, in key benchmarks

Snowflake strategic alliance

• A multi-year partnership bringing Claude models to Snowflake Cortex AI
• Integration of Claude 3.5 Sonnet within Snowflake's security framework
• Enhanced enterprise AI capabilities through Snowflake Intelligence and Cortex Analyst
• Available across select AWS regions with Amazon Bedrock

Industry impact

The dual partnerships create a powerful ecosystem for enterprise AI deployment:

• Enhanced security and governance frameworks
• Improved data processing capabilities
• Seamless integration with existing enterprise systems
• Advanced reasoning and problem-solving capabilities for business applications
• Early adaptation by Pfizer, Delta Air Lines, and Siemens

This unprecedented collaboration between three major tech players signals a new era in enterprise AI, promising more accessible, secure, and powerful AI solutions for businesses worldwide. The partnerships are expected to accelerate AI adoption across industries while maintaining robust security and governance standards.

?? Industry insights

dbt Cloud's enterprise evolution

dbt Labs has launched significant new features for dbt Cloud, enhancing enterprise analytics engineering capabilities. The update includes improved testing frameworks and advanced documentation features to make data transformation more reliable and efficient.

Netflix’s solution for scalable counting

Netflix just introduced a smart way to manage large-scale counting with its new Distributed counter abstraction. This system makes it easier to track data across millions of users in real time, even during high-demand moments. By separating counting from infrastructure, it helps Netflix scale services like recommendations and user activity tracking, while improving speed and reducing complexity. Learn more about how it works here.

Uber's migration setup

Uber’s recent blog post shares the inside scoop on how they managed to migrate their massive trips database, which tracks over a billion trips. It was no small feat – the team had to carefully plan every step to ensure data flowed seamlessly during the migration. They focused on fine-tuning database management, minimizing any downtime, and keeping data consistent throughout the process. This migration isn’t just about supporting Uber’s growth – it’s setting a new bar for how to handle massive real-time data at scale. Check out the full story on the challenges and solutions Uber faced during this journey here.

AI industry collaboration

Major AI companies including OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, and Google have intensified their cooperation on AI safety and development. They launched new initiatives to address AI risks and promote responsible development, particularly focusing on election integrity and content authenticity for 2024.

?? Tool of the fortnight

Want to stay ahead in data science for 2025? Don’t miss this curated list of 25 Python libraries that will be essential in the year ahead! ??

?? Pro tip: The days are getting shorter (at least in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere), so we’re embracing the trend—Deepnote now officially supports dark mode! ??