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OpenAI's $100B+ valuation
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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.
Over the holidays, we read thousands of suggestions from readers and made some subtle upgrades to the newsletter.
Today, you’ll notice a new section dedicated to breakthroughs in AI research, more AI tools, fewer emojis, and ‘quicker' stories in our Quick Hits section. Let’s get into it.
In today’s AI rundown:
OpenAI in talks to raise at $100 billion+ valuation
The top 50 most visited AI tools
How to train a SD model for consistent characters
Research: AI discovers new class of antibiotics
9 new AI tools & 4 new AI jobs
More AI & tech news
Read time: 4 minutes
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
OPENAI
OpenAI in talks to raise at $100 Billion+ Valuation
Image source: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images
The Rundown: OpenAI is in early discussions to raise a new round at a valuation at or above $100 Billion, even though its tender offer at a $86 billion valuation isn’t yet completed. Sam Altman is so back.
The details:
OpenAI has yet to complete a separate tender offer that would allow employees to sell shares at a valuation of $86 billion.
The new deal valuing OpenAI at $100 Billion would make the ChatGPT maker the second-most valuable startup in the US, behind SpaceX.
The company has also discussed raising funding for a new chip venture with Abu Dhabi-based G42, per Bloomberg.
Why it matters: Just weeks ago in one of the most thrilling tech dramas of the year, OpenAI’s future looked shaky in the eyes of investors. However, it seems that where Sam Altman goes, the money flows — with the rehiring of Sam Altman coming with a fresh wave of confidence from potential backers.
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INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
The top 50 most visited AI tools
Image source: Writerbuddy
The Rundown: A new report by Writerbuddy showcased shocking data of the top 50 most visited AI tools between September 2022 and August 2023 from scraped data using AI tool directories and SEMrush.
Key takeaways:
ChatGPT led the list with 14 billion visits and 60% of the total.
The top 50 AI tools experienced a 10.7x growth rate, with an average monthly increase of 236.3 million visits.
The US contributed 5.5 billion visits, equating to 22.62% of the total.
Over 63% of AI tool users accessed via mobile devices.
69.5% of the top 50 AI tools were male users, with 30.5% being female users.
Why it matters: AI is developing at an exponential rate not only in research but also significantly within the consumer industry. The trend will only rise as AI tools such as Google Bard continue to open up to users outside of the US.
AI TRAINING
How to train a SD model for consistent characters
The Rundown: LensGo is a web-based Stable Diffusion AI app that allows users to train custom models using their own photos to create consistent characters when generating AI images.
Thank you to Chase Lean for sharing this tutorial with us.
Step-by-step:
Go to LensGo, which lets you train 3 custom models free every month.
Click “Train Custom Model“
Upload 10-20 images of yourself or a character you want to train the model on and click “Start“
After giving the app 20 minutes to train on your photos, come back and type simple prompts to generate consistent AI characters in any setting.
AI RESEARCH
AI discovers new class of antibiotics
Image source: Midjourney
The Rundown: A groundbreaking AI application has led to the discovery of a new class of antibiotics that can kill drug-resistant bacteria.
The details:
Researchers used graph neural networks to predict the toxicity of over 12M compounds (impossible to do in a wet lab).
The AI successfully identified compounds capable of killing drug-resistant strains, leading to a new class of antibiotics.
The new antibiotics have shown promising results in mouse models, effectively treating infections from these hard-to-combat bacteria.
Why it matters: As the death toll from antibiotic resistance continues to grow (claiming over 1.2 million lives in 2019 alone), this advancement shows promising real-world results of combining AI with drug discovery.
NEW TOOLS & JOBS
AI tools powered by Supertools
MaxAI.me- Use 1-Click AI Anywhere- simplifies tasks with quick summaries, AI web searches, email drafting/replies, and more (link)*
ReByte- Idea-to-app platform where AI agents do the work (link)
Nendo- Open-sourced AI music generation models (link)
Google VideoPoet- An LLM for zero-shot video generation (link)
Inbox Zero- Open-sourced AI email cleanup management (link)
Incogni- Remove your personal data from the web (link)
Rex- An AI nutrition and fitness coach (link)
Taplio- All-in-one LinkedIn growth tool with AI suggestions (link)
AWS Console Chat- Chrome extension to chat with AWS pages (link)
AI jobs powered by The Rundown Jobs
Anthropic- iOS Engineer (link)
Cohere- Full-stack/Backend Developer (link)
Synthesia- Customer Support Associate (link)
Rewind AI- Chief of Staff (link)
*Sponsored listing
QUICK HITS
Apple researchers quietly revealed ‘Ferret’ — a new open-source multimodal LLM that can use regions of images for queries.
Nat Friedman reveals a new demo of AI that is beginning to read ancient text that experts long thought were unreadable.
Microsoft released a free Android version of Copilot with no further details for an iOS app (though it’s likely to be released soon).
Salesforce posts their new AI-enabled commercial promoting ‘Data is the new Gold,‘ featuring Matthew McConaughey.
HD Hyundai teams up with Google Cloud to introduce generative AI across Hyundai’s core businesses.
Australian Judicial Administration reveals new guidelines encouraging the use of AI in Australian courtrooms.
JAMA Network Open published a new study by Korean researchers accurately demonstrating the use of AI to diagnose autism in children.
Sony’s PlayStation Pro or next-gen PlayStation 6 may use an AI processor for real-time predictive gaming.
THAT’S A WRAP
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AI Antibiotic breakthrough
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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.
A new class of antibiotics discovered with the help of artificial intelligence can kill drug-resistant bacteria.
This could save more than 10 million lives by 2050. Let’s dive in…
In today’s tech rundown:
AI combats drug-resistant bacteria
Scooter unicorn Bird files for bankruptcy
8 new products
Branson-backed Hyperloop One is shutting down
X experiences major global outages
Worldcoin shuts down ID verification in Brazil, France, India
Read time: 3 minutes
TODAY’S HEADLINES
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
🦠 AI combats drug-resistant bacteria
The Rundown: A groundbreaking AI application has led to the discovery of a new class of antibiotics, offering hope in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria, a major health threat globally.
The details:
The AI system was instrumental in screening millions of chemical compounds, successfully identifying those capable of killing drug-resistant strains like MRSA and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus.
This discovery is particularly significant given the rising death toll from antibiotic resistance, which claimed over 1.2 million lives in 2019 alone.
The new antibiotics have shown promising results in mouse models, effectively treating infections from these hard-to-combat bacteria.
Our thoughts: This advancement marks a significant leap in both AI applications and antibiotic development. By harnessing AI for drug discovery, researchers are opening new frontiers in the battle against some of the most challenging medical threats of our time.
TOGETHER WITH FREEDOMGPT
🔥 AI’s uncensored app store
The Rundown: Get one-click access to Uncensored LLMs, Text to Image, and Text to Video AI with FreedomGPT:
Join 2 million users enjoying uncensored, multimodal AI models with complete privacy
Effortlessly access powerful AI without any technical know-how
Freely switch among numerous AI models, with no cap on response length or prompt frequency
BIRD
🛴 Scooter unicorn Bird files for bankruptcy
Image source: Bloomberg
The Rundown: Electric scooter startup Bird (once valued as high as $2.5B) — just plunged into bankruptcy, putting a cap on a monumental downfall for the company amid inflated growth claims and financial instability.
The details:
Demand for Bird’s rentable electric scooters surged in 2019, with the startup reaching unicorn status and seemingly unlocking a new sector of micro-mobility.
The pandemic and regulatory pushback stalled progress, but the company still went public with an IPO in 2021 — quickly losing 90% of its value just six months later.
The company also encountered safety issues amid cost-cutting efforts, and admitted inflated financial reporting.
Bird will reportedly continue to operate as normal during the bankruptcy proceedings.
The relevance: Despite being one of the fastest startups to Unicorn status and pioneering a new sector of rentable city transportation, Bird’s rise and fall from a VC darling to bankruptcy is a cautionary tale of how quickly startups can implode.
NEW PRODUCTS
🎄 AI Christmas Portrait Generator- Create festive portraits with AI (link)
🤖 Opencord AI- Craft AI-generated social media content effortlessly (link)
🧬 Helix- Custom-build AI using open-source software and personal datasets (link)
🍔 Rex Nutribot- AI-powered tracking for calories, workouts, and meals via WhatsApp (link)
🎨 Drawww- iPad-optimized real-time AI drawing tool (link)
✨ Magic Studio- Create amazing product photos in minutes (link)
🧠 Taskade- Five AI-powered tools in one to supercharge your team productivity (link)
⏰ Timetics AI- Smart scheduling solution for meetings and businesses (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
SNIPPETS
Beeper is giving up on bringing iMessage to Android after Apple repeatedly thwarted its workarounds, concluding it can't win a "cat-and-mouse game" against the tech giant.
Hyperloop One, the Richard Branson-backed futuristic transportation startup, is reportedly shutting down at the end of 2023 after over $300 million in funding and nearly a decade in operation.
X experienced a major global outage on Wednesday, preventing access and causing errors with loading feeds.
Microsoft is discontinuing its Windows Mixed Reality platform as part of a removal of deprecated Windows features after over 5 years.
Worldcoin is no longer offering its Orb eye-scanning biometric ID verification device in India, Brazil and France, shutting down just months after expanding to those markets.
Samsung's upcoming Galaxy S24 lineup specs have reportedly leaked, featuring new colors and iterative hardware like Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips.
The UK Supreme Court ruled that AI systems cannot be inventors eligible for patents, rejecting Stephen Thaler's bid to have his AI system named an inventor of container and light inventions.
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❤️ Rundown review of the day
Gemini gets schooled by... GPT 3.5?
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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.
Google's prized AI asset Gemini just got a lump of coal in a new third-party study — achieving subpar results versus free OpenAI models like GPT-3.5.
With expectations sky-high, the tech giant looks to have some serious work to do to deliver on its massively hyped promises. Let’s investigate…
In today’s AI rundown:
Google’s Gemini lags behind GPT 3.5 Turbo
‘Hallucinate’ named Word of the Year
9 new AI tools to try
How to generate full music tracks with Copilot
LongAnimateDiff lengthens AI video outputs
Users trick ChatGPT in car dealership negotiations
Read time: 3 minutes
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
🐢 Google’s Gemini lags behind GPT 3.5 Turbo
Image source: Gemini
The Rundown: Fresh third-party testing just found that Google's new (and polarizing) Gemini Pro LLM lags slightly behind free OpenAI models like GPT-3.5 on most benchmarks, despite the hype around its launch.
The details:
On questions across academics, reasoning, math, and other tasks, Gemini solved slightly fewer problems than GPT-3.5.
Flaws seemingly responsible included struggling on longer queries, aggressive content blocking, and bias towards end choices.
One area where Gemini excelled was in non-English language generations — but content filtering resulted in responses being blocked in 10 language pairs.
A Google representative disputed the paper’s claims, pointing to the company’s own research and calling attention to Gemini Ultra’s release in early 2024.
Our thoughts: Is Gemini getting coal in its stocking this holiday season? With all eyes on Google’s flagship AI launch, the numbers in this study certainly seem to show that the tech giant is lagging behind. If Gemini Ultra doesn’t show significant upgrades early next year, things could get ugly for Google.
TOGETHER WITH YOU.AI
🧠 Bring custom AIs to your team in 2024
The Rundown: You know your business needs AI. You might already have some ideas of where AI could increase performance - or, you’ve got a list of tedious work that might be improved with AI but haven’t seen a tool that can do exactly what you need.
Using MindStudio, you can build custom, no-code AIs to solve any problem with:
Personalized, flexible workflows
Branching Automations
Multiple AI models (GPT, Claude, Llama, Mistral, and more)
Custom data sources
Integrations with current tools (Mailchimp, Slack, Salesforce)
Learn today with MindStudio’s video tutorials, and have a new AI within 24 hours. Start learning now!
AI TERMINOLOGY
💬 ‘Hallucinate’ named Word of the Year
Image source: Dictionary
The Rundown: Dictionary.com selected "Hallucinate" as its 2023 Word of the Year, pointing to its emergent AI context meaning "to produce false information and present it as fact."
The details:
Lexicographers noted lookups jumped 46% this year as articles mentioned "hallucinate" 85% more in reference to AI outputs.
The site added the novel definition in 2022, with experts drawing comparisons to past tech metaphorical extensions like "virus."
Other AI words like LLM, chatbot, generative AI, and GPT also saw upticks in searches — with AI-related words increasing by an average of 62% on the platform.
Our thoughts: While AI enthusiasts probably laugh, AI hallucinations are an important thing for the broader world to understand. The blind trust new users may put into the tech (especially young students) is a massive risk as AI continues to become more mainstream.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
TRENDING TOOLS
🤖 GPT-Engineer App- Making practical, easy-to-deploy web apps in minutes (link)
🪄 InMagic- Uncover your personality based on your Instagram profile (link)
🏟️ Chatbot Arena- Compare and rank the output of 25+ LLMs (link)
🎨 LogoFast- Create stunning logos quickly & effortlessly with AI for free (link)
🤖 Knowlee AI- Integrate AI agents with various apps (link)
📘 Linnk.AI- Enhance your reading experience with AI-powered insights and efficiency (link)
🎨 Shader- Elevate your personal expression through AI (link)
❄️ Snowball- Simplify your content creation with AI assistance (link)
👩🏽🍳 ChefGPT - AI digital chef & kitchen companion (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
AI TRAINING
🎼 How to generate full music tracks with Copilot
Ready to tap into your musical talent? Thanks to a new integration with Suno, Microsoft Copilot can now create full AI-generated tracks from simple text prompts — complete with lyrics, instruments, and vocals.
Create one yourself below:
Enable Suno: Navigate to Microsoft Copilot → Plugins tab. Make sure ‘Search’ is enabled, and then activate the new Suno integration.
Start Prompting: Type the details of the song you’d like to generate into the Copilot chat. Don’t overthink it — simple prompts work well. The prompt used for our example: “Make a groovy rap jazz song about AI advancing society”.
Get Your Song: After about a minute, Copilot will provide an external link to listen to your song. Re-prompt and tweak as needed!
Check out the results of our example song (it has a bit of a Kayne West vibe to it 🤣)
QUICK HITS
🤖 RSVP for free event: Can AI Be Contained? (sponsor)
Join Inflection AI co-founder Mustafa Suleyman and NYU Stern professor Scott Galloway for a discussion on whether humanity can contain the next wave of AI. Sign up for the event today!
🎥 LongAnimateDiff lengthens AI video outputs
Lightricks just introduced LongAnimateDiff, extending its AnimateDiff video diffusion model to handle 16-64 frames. Also launching a 32-frame specialist variant, the labs' updated model expands AI-generated video clips for longer and more flexible generations.
🤝 Users trick ChatGPT in car dealership negotiations
After discovering a car dealership’s chatbot was powered by ChatGPT, hilarity ensued — with users deploying prompt injections and various tricks to persuade the bot to offer cars for $1, throw in vacation packages, and complete other unrelated tasks.
💼 New jobs in the world of AI
Senior Director, Digital Marketing at C3 AI
Engineering Manager, Systems at Anthropic
Browse all available AI job positions with our job board.
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THAT’S A WRAP
That’s it for today’s news in the world of AI!
If you have anything interesting to share, please reach out to us by sending us a DM on Twitter: @rowancheung & @therundownai
❤️ Rundown review of the day
Is the Apple Vision Pro coming sooner?
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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.
Apple’s potential next big product launch may be rolling out sooner rather than later — with new rumors swirling that the $3,500 Vision Pro headsets.
Will the tech giant’s next sector-defining moment be here in just a few weeks? Let’s dig in…
In today’s tech rundown:
Rumor: Vision Pro set for February launch
'ECG Vest' images heart’s electrical activity to assess risk
8 new products
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick resigns
Sony’s Playstation 5 sales cross 50M
TikTok under fire for underage ‘parental supervision’ access
Read time: 3 minutes
TODAY’S HEADLINES
APPLE
🥽 Rumor: Vision Pro set for February launch
Image source: Bloomberg
The Rundown: The hotly anticipated launch of Apple’s potential sector-altering Vision Pro headset could come as soon as February, with production and launch preparations reportedly already underway.
The details:
Apple announced the product in hyped fashion at the company’s developer conference in June, coming in at a $3,500 price point.
Analyst Mark Gurman reported factories in China have kicked into high gear — aiming to have consumer units boxed by January to ship for a potential Q1 debut.
Developers just got a "get ready" notice on Wednesday to prep apps using the latest tools and APIs in preparation for the rollout.
The device marks Apple's first brand new hardware category launch in 8 years — with staff training kicking off in January to handle sales, fitting demos, and accessories.
The relevance: After years of somewhat stagnant new development from Apple, the Vision Pro has a chance to be another iPod / iPhone / iPad moment — potentially bringing the VR/AR sector into the mainstream and creating a massive new category for the tech leader.
TOGETHER WITH YOU.AI
🧠 Bring custom AIs to your team in 2024
The Rundown: You know your business needs AI. You might already have some ideas of where AI could increase performance - or, you’ve got a list of tedious work that might be improved with AI but haven’t seen a tool that can do exactly what you need.
Using MindStudio, you can build custom, no-code AIs to solve any problem with:
Personalized, flexible workflows
Branching Automations
Multiple AI models (GPT, Claude, Llama, Mistral, and more)
Custom data sources
Integrations with current tools (Mailchimp, Slack, Salesforce)
Learn today with MindStudio’s video tutorials, and have a new AI within 24 hours. Start learning now!
MEDICAL TECH
❤️ 'ECG Vest' images heart electrical activity to assess risk
Image source: University College London
The Rundown: Researchers at University College London (UCL) just developed a fast, reusable vest covered in sensors that combine with MRI scans to map cardiac electrical signals in high resolution.
The details:
The vest uses non-invasive reusable sensors slipped into a breathable fabric shell that slides over the torso, combining data with MRI shots.
The vest's intricate inner activity imaging may reveal hidden hotspots prone to cause deadly chaotic heart rhythms.
Having scanned over 800 patients already, researchers believe it has significant potential as a widely available, scalable screening tool.
Why it matters: With every second counting when it comes to treating heart issues, advancements like this have an opportunity to help better identify threats and save countless lives if the tech can scale.
NEW PRODUCTS
💬 Findly- Interact with your Google Analytics through conversation (link)
🤖 GPT-Engineer App- Making practical, easy-to-deploy web apps in minutes (link)
🎵 Korus- Create music with an AI platform from Deadmau5 (link)
🪄 InMagic- Uncover your personality based on your Instagram profile (link)
🏟️ Chatbot Arena- Compare and rank the output of 25+ LLMs (link)
🛠 AI Enhanced UI Kits- Revolutionize your design process with AI-assisted UI tools (link)
🐦 Postwise- Craft viral Tweets in seconds (link)
🌖 MoonBeam- A long-form writing AI assistant to never write from scratch again (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
SNIPPETS
The UK Supreme Court has ruled against recognizing AI as an inventor on patents, upholding the notion that only humans or companies can be creators.
Bobby Kotick is set to resign as CEO of Activision Blizzard, following leadership changes after Microsoft acquired the company.
A six-month operation led by Interpol and 34 countries resulted in the arrest of 3,500 cybercriminals and the seizure of $300 million.
Sony's PlayStation 5 console sales have reached the 50 million mark, showing a significant increase with 10 million units sold since a prior milestone.
Tesla often blames customers for vehicle part failures, including steering and suspension issues, despite internal knowledge of the parts' high failure rates.
TikTok faces criticism for reportedly allowing users below the age of 13 on the platform by accepting claims of parental supervision.
SPONSOR US
⚡️ Get your product in front of over 75k+ tech enthusiasts
Our newsletter is read by thousands of tech professionals, investors, engineers, managers, and business owners around the world. Get in touch today.
THAT’S A WRAP
If you have anything interesting to share, please reach out to us by sending us a DM on Twitter: @rowancheung & @therundowntech
❤️ Rundown review of the day
Bill Gates makes bold predictions for AI
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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.
According to Bill Gates, this year has given humanity an idea of how AI will shape the future.
The Microsoft founder predicts major healthcare, education, climate, and other advances unlocked by AI. Let’s get into it.
In today’s AI rundown:
Bill Gates shares his AI predictions for 2024
Microsoft Copilot can now generate full AI songs
9 new AI tools to try
How to try on anything with AI
Airbnb using AI to predict + prevent NYE mayhem
TomTom & Microsoft build conversational car bot
Pika Labs debuts ‘Modify Region’ video feature
Read time: 3 minutes
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
BILL GATES
🔮 Bill Gates shares his AI predictions for 2024
Image source: Gates Notes
The Rundown: Bill Gates laid out an optimistic vision for AI's growing impact in 2024, sharing his thoughts in a new blog with predictions on how the tech will impact healthcare, education, work, and the broader innovation pipeline.
The details:
Gates believes AI will start reaching significant mainstream adoption in advanced economies like the U.S. within 18-24 months.
He highlighted ambitious medical AI projects underway, from combatting antibiotic resistance to treating high-risk pregnancies.
Gates believes AI will transform learning through individualized tutoring, and applauded innovations like localized chatbots already turning educational content to specific student needs.
The Microsoft founder foresees AI broadly augmenting roles and boosting productivity rather than replacing jobs.
The relevance: Gates had previously seemed less excited about the tech than other major figures (notably saying ChatGPT had likely peaked just recently) — but his predictions offer an optimistic and transformative outlook for the upcoming year of AI.
TOGETHER WITH KALENDAR
🔥 AI-powered personal ads
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MICROSOFT
🎶 Microsoft Copilot can now generate full AI songs
Image source: Microsoft
The Rundown: Microsoft just integrated music creation app Suno into its Copilot conversational AI, letting users turn text prompts into AI-generated tracks — complete with lyrics, instruments, and vocals.
The details:
Suno leverages Copilot's language mastery to synthesize songs encompassing lyrics, instruments, and vocals based on text prompts.
The new feature is currently rolling out to Microsoft Edge users and is accessible in Copilot via the plugins tab.
Suno says its models don't recognize artists by name and claim to block certain prompts, though users report getting genre-matching requests through.
The partnership comes on the heels of major competition in the AI audio space, with Google/YouTube’s Lyria and Meta’s Audiobox also gaining traction.
Our thoughts: We’ve seen some serious innovation in AI audio this year, but this feels like the first to combine elements for a full song. With continuing battles between artists over AI, this innovation will likely raise even more questions about the future of the traditional music industry.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
TRENDING TOOLS
📊 Openlayer- Get real-time alerts when things go sideways with your AI model (link)*
🦸 Superbooking- Book your favorite services quickly & easily with AI (link)
🎬 AI Clips- Transform extensive videos into engaging viral clips with AI assistance (link)
📹 Creatify AI- Turn a product URL into a video ad instantly (link)
🍽️ MealByMeal- Track your calories and macros easily through AI-powered text messages (link)
📅 Agenda Hero Magic- Create AI-generated calendar events effortlessly (link)
🤖 Forefront- Your AI assistant for work (link)
📕 DeepFiction- An AI platform for creating and sharing stories (link)
⌨️ Quicky AI- Use AI on any website instantly just by selecting text (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
* = This is sponsored content
AI TRAINING
👗 How to try on anything with AI
Ready to be able to try on any piece of clothing while online shopping, and get a perfect representation of how the outfit will look on you? We’re almost there — especially with the new viral Outfit Anyone demo from Alibaba this week.
Give it a try on HuggingFace and test out the future of online shopping:
Step 1: Navigate to the Outfit Anyone demo here.
Step 2: Choose which model from the list you’d like to outfit (the demo only allows the pre-selected options for now).
Step 3: Upload an image of the clothing item you’d like to have the model try on. For outfits that only have one piece (like a dress), upload the image to the ‘top garment’ section and leave the lower one blank.
As shown in the example with a pineapple, you can also upload an image of non-clothing items – the model will do its best to create a similar outfit!
Step 4: Hit ‘run’ and wait for your image to generate!
Here’s our example using the iconic outfit from Austin Powers:
QUICK HITS
🎆 Airbnb using AI to predict + prevent NYE mayhem
Trying to book a rental for your holiday parties? Think again! Airbnb is deploying an AI system to identify and block high-risk New Year's Eve bookings that could lead to parties — analyzing factors like trip duration and last-minute reservations to avoid destructive NYE rentals.
🚘 TomTom & Microsoft build conversational car bot
Digital mapmaker TomTom is teaming with Microsoft to launch an AI-powered voice assistant for vehicles. Leveraging Azure OpenAI to enable natural dialogue with infotainment systems, the bot hints at the future of next-gen in-car experiences.
🎥 Pika Labs debuts ‘Modify Region’ video feature
AI video startup Pika Labs just shipped another wild new feature, bringing a new ‘Modify Region’ tool that allows users to alter specific areas within the frame generation via text prompts. Check out the impressive demo here.
💼 New jobs in the world of AI
Technical Program Manager, Responsible Scaling Policy at Anthropic
AI/ML Program Manager - EMEA at Hugging Face
Browse all available AI job positions with our job board.
SPONSOR US
🦾 Get your product in front of over 400k+ AI enthusiasts
Our newsletter is read by thousands of tech professionals, investors, engineers, managers, and business owners around the world. Get in touch today.
THAT’S A WRAP
That’s it for today’s news in the world of AI!
If you have anything interesting to share, please reach out to us by sending us a DM on Twitter: @rowancheung & @therundownai
❤️ Rundown review of the day
Blue Origin is BACK in space
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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.
After a lengthy wait following a previous failed mission, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin finally took to space once again.
One small step for Blue Origin, one (potential) giant leap for space tourism. Let’s dig in...
In today’s tech rundown:
Blue Origin soars back to space with successful launch
Delivery bots promise high-tech holiday season
8 new products
Google agrees to $700M antitrust settlement
Xfinity confirms major data breach
BlackRock updates Bitcoin ETF as potential SEC approval looms
Read time: 3 minutes
TODAY’S HEADLINES
BLUE ORIGIN
🚀 Blue Origin soars back to space with successful launch
Image source: Blue Origin
The Rundown: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin relaunched its fully reusable, suborbital New Shepard rocket from West Texas, successfully carrying scientific payloads to the edge of space in its first flight since a failed mission destroyed a booster in September 2022.
The details:
Engineers traced last year's launch failure to an engine nozzle issue and implemented design fixes — with the upgraded new rocket acing the landing.
No passengers were aboard this time, but officials say crewed missions will resume "soon."
The successful launch caps a long road back for Blue Origin after speculation swirled about the program's future amid lengthy delays.
Blue Origin also has another massive rocket waiting in the wings for 2024 called New Glenn.
Why it matters: After a tense waiting period, Blue Origin is running again — with the potential for space ‘tourism’ inching closer with each successful mission. And with both Musk and Bezos vying for space dominance, things could get pretty wild. Check out the replay of New Shepard launch here.
TOGETHER WITH KALENDAR
🔥 AI-powered personalized ads
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ROBOTICS
🎅 Delivery bots promise high-tech holiday season
Image source: Starship Technologies
The Rundown: From sidewalk rovers to medical drones, a robotic delivery revolution is set to accelerate in 2024 — promising to transform holiday convenience and remake logistics.
The details:
Firms like Starship Technologies have brought cute, singing delivery robots mainstream in cities across Europe, through pilots on university campuses and partnerships with convenience stores.
Drone-delivery firm Zipline is expanding operations into groceries and meals, spanning across Africa, the U.S., and Japan.
Sidewalk delivery robots are coming to Finland, South Korea, and the U.S., while Amazon hopes to deliver millions of packages by drone by the end of the decade.
Relaxing regulation is helping increase adoption, with better measures in place for operating safely and avoiding aircraft and other hazards.
The relevance: It feels inevitable that robot couriers will be the norm very soon — especially given the insane development we’ve seen in robotics and AI over the last year. Don’t be surprised if your holiday shopping orders are dropped off by a friendly robot in the next few years.
NEW PRODUCTS
📊 Openlayer- Get real-time alerts when things go sideways with your AI model (link)*
📜 AI Contract Analysis- Navigate legal documents affordably across 57 languages using AI (link)
📰 News Sentinel by Blockbrain- Streamlines cryptocurrency insights by filtering out unnecessary information (link)
💻 Wave- A sleek, open-source terminal for macOS and Linux users (link)
🦸 Superbooking- Book your favorite services quickly & easily with AI (link)
🦄 Screen Story- Create video demos, tutorials, education videos, gifs, and promo videos (link)
🧑⚖️ AI Lawyer- Personal AI lawyer at your fingertips (link)
👾 Dante- Custom GPT chatbots trained on your data (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
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SNIPPETS
Meta's Oversight Board criticized the company's automated content moderation for inappropriately removing videos related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Google agrees to pay a $700 million settlement and implement modest Play Store changes after a multistate antitrust lawsuit.
NASA's GUSTO mission will utilize a high-altitude balloon to gather terahertz frequency data from the cosmic interstellar medium to assist in creating a 3D map of the Milky Way.
Xfinity confirmed a significant data breach in October, potentially exposing customer usernames, hashed passwords, and other sensitive information.
Southwest Airlines faces a $140 million fine for consumer protection violations after a significant IT outage disrupted travel during Christmas 2022.
Play ransomware has impacted around 300 entities over the past year according to a joint advisory from the FBI, CISA, and others.
BlackRock has updated its proposed Bitcoin spot ETF to feature cash redemptions, aiming to align with regulatory requirements and potentially secure SEC approval.
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❤️ Rundown review of the day
Figma and Adobe's $20B breakup
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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.
After a $20B agreement and 15 months of review, the major merger between Figma and Adobe is officially over.
With regulatory concerns driving the breakup, the scrapped acquisition highlights another (expensive) example of antitrust efforts crushing big tech’s consolidation efforts. Let’s explore…
In today’s tech rundown:
Figma and Adobe’s $20B breakup
Apple Watch sales halted amid patent battle
8 new products
Tesla removes Disney+ app over Musk, Iger feud
TikTok rolls out new viewing experience for tablets, foldables
Acura opens reservations for first all-electric SUV
Read time: 3 minutes
TODAY’S HEADLINES
FIGMA
🎨 Figma’s $20B merger with Adobe breaks down
Image source: Figma
The Rundown: Figma and Adobe have jointly decided to cancel their previously proposed merger, with the decision coming after a 15-month-long regulatory review process.
The details:
The merger originally planned to unite Figma's innovative design tools with Adobe's extensive suite.
Throughout the review process, both Figma and Adobe engaged in extensive discussions with regulators globally.
Figma continues to thrive independently and has introduced new products like native AI features, Dev Mode, Variables, and Advanced Prototyping.
As a result of the termination, Adobe will pay Figma a reverse termination fee of $1 billion in cash.
Our thoughts: While the merger's cancellation might seem like a setback for Figma and Adobe, it also presents an opportunity for Figma to continue its journey as an independent entity. And designers are probably rejoicing at not having to pay Adobe Studio's ridiculous subscription fees every month.
TOGETHER WITH JASPER
⚡️ Accelerate content generation with AI
The Rundown: Unleash the power of Jasper, the generative AI tool that crafts captivating content at 10x speed:
Generate SEO content, Facebook ads, video scripts and more
Scan and identify your brand voice for seamless integration
Receive actionable insight to improve and adapt your content
Click here to transform your content game, and let Jasper help you stop posting “AI-sounding” content today.
APPLE
⌚️ Apple Watch sales halted amid patent battle
Image source: Apple
The Rundown: Apple will pause online and retail sales of new Apple Watch models (the Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9) starting Thursday, after losing a monumental case.
The details:
Medical device firm Masimo sued Apple over alleged executive poaching and IP theft, with the case resulting in an import ban requiring Apple to stop sales post-Christmas.
Apple asked President Biden to overturn the ITC ruling — but with licensing talks inactive, devices incorporating blood oxygen detection face an uncertain future.
Masimo's CEO offered to sell its FDA-cleared pulse oximetry chip to Apple, willing to work on a licensed solution if the company won't use its hardware.
With Apple Watch sales approaching $20B annually, the case may impact access to new health-tracking features as legal options narrow.
The relevance: If you were in the market for a new Apple Watch model this holiday season, they may be a bit harder to come by. But given Apple’s extensive reach and deep pockets, expect a resolution here sooner rather than later.
NEW PRODUCTS
🐇 CodeRabbit- AI-powered code reviewer that provides context-aware feedback, line-by-line code suggestions, and real-time chat that gets smarter with usage (link)*
🌌 Image Pipeline- Seamlessly integrates multiple stable diffusion models for image processing (link)
✍️ CopyNinja- Generates SEO-friendly product descriptions for Shopify stores (link)
🔍 Pixplain by Merlin AI- Transform screenshots into actionable insights with a single click using GPT-4 vision (link)
⚡ THERAi- Elevate your experience with an AI that learns and evolves with you (link)
👩🏫 guidde- Magically create stunning video documentation with AI (link)
🧠 Decktopus- An AI-powered presentation generator (link)
🙊 ChatNode- Train ChatGPT on your own data (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
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SNIPPETS
The European Commission opened a formal infringement proceeding against X (formerly Twitter) under the Digital Services Act over suspected failures to address illegal/harmful content and disinformation.
Nikola founder Trevor Milton was sentenced to four years in prison over securities and wire fraud convictions for lying to investors about the electric truck startup's technology.
Acura opened reservations for the 2024 ZDX, its first all-electric SUV starting at $60K. The Google-powered EV promises 325 miles of range, up to 500HP, and deliveries beginning in early 2024.
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers wrote to President Biden warning the EU's Digital Markets Act unfairly targets major US tech companies as "gatekeepers" while excluding Chinese and EU companies.
Tesla has begun removing the Disney+ app from vehicles amid CEO Elon Musk's ongoing feud with Disney after its ad pause on X.
TikTok rolled out an enhanced viewing experience for tablets and foldables with a clearer feed, top and bottom nav bars, landscape orientation support, and streamlined controls.
The UK's National Health Service will begin using Zipline drones to deliver critical medical supplies across 30 facilities in England by late 2024.
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❤️ Rundown review of the day
Is GPT 4.5 already here?
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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.
Is OpenAI about to leave a shiny new GPT model under the tree this holiday season?
Rumors are swirling that GPT 4.5 is here — with ‘leaked’ screenshots and ChatGPT responses pouring gas on the speculative fire. Let’s investigate…
In today’s AI rundown:
Is GPT-4.5 here? Altman shoots down rumors
ByteDance caught misusing GPT for rival LLM
9 new AI tools to try
How to get AI-powered summaries in Google Chrome
Grimes' Grok AI toy beats Musk’s bot to punch
DeepMind AI cracks unsolved math problem
New "romantic" AI companion goes viral
Read time: 4 minutes
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
OPENAI
👀 Is GPT-4.5 here? Altman shoots down rumors
Image source: Reddit
The Rundown: GPT-4.5 was trending across all social media over the weekend, with reports of users receiving responses indicating the model was already being utilized — despite OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denying circulating screenshots a couple of days prior.
The details:
The speculation started on Thursday with a ‘leaked‘ image showing a new GPT-4.5 model with new advanced multimodal capabilities and new pricing.
Sam Altman commented "nah" when asked if the rumors were true, with others also finding inconsistencies in the pricing on the ‘leaked’ (fake) screenshots.
Despite Altman’s comments, anonymous leakers said the CEO was just ‘trolling.‘
Over the weekend, users reported ChatGPT responding with ‘GPT 4.5-turbo’ when asked what model is currently running — though an OpenAI employee called it a ‘weird’ hallucination.
However, several reports claim ChatGPT had a significant upgrade and has been performing better than ever in the past 48 hours.
The official ChatGPT X account was tweeting in cryptic emojis as all of this happened, adding fuel to the speculation.
What this means: With Sam Altman and another OpenAI employee denying rumors, we probably won’t be getting a powerful new version of ChatGPT under the tree this holiday season. However, ChatGPT's improved performance indicates some sort of upgrade is in the works.
TOGETHER WITH OCTOML
🔥 Mixtral on OctoAI outperforms GPT and Llama2
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With Mixtral on OctoAI:
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Check out the Mixtral benchmarks and sign up for OctoAI for free tokens to put it to the test.
BYTEDANCE
🚨 ByteDance caught misusing GPT for rival LLM
The Rundown: Leaked documents reveal TikTok parent ByteDance secretly relied on OpenAI's API to develop its Chinese ChatGPT competitor called ‘Project Seed’.
The details:
Almost every phase of Project Seed, a rushed 200B parameter model effort underway for about a year, reportedly tapped the OpenAI tech.
Project Seed was kicked off inside ByteDance ~1 year ago and has become a high-priority, secretive initiative since.
A person familiar with the matter said that ByteDance wants "to make sure everything is legal, but they really just don’t want to get caught."
The act is a direct violation of OpenAI's terms of service, which has resulted in a suspension of ByteDance's account from the platform.
Why it matters: It’s pretty wild to see a company of this size try to cut corners in the frenzied race to roll out AI products. The reveal also raises concerns about data pollution — with AI models being trained on other AI outputs potentially increasing hallucination risks.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
TRENDING TOOLS
📈 Osum- Perform deep market research in seconds (link)*
❤️ Digi- AI romantic companionship (link)
📸 Fal- Photo Booth powered by AI (link)
🔥 Roast My Web- Enhance your website with intelligent AI critiques (link)
🧠 InterviewJarvis- AI-powered tech job interview preparation (link)
⚡ FastDrafts from Briefly- Accelerate crafting your marketing briefs with 9x the speed (link)
📝 Copy AI- Generate content, such as blog headlines, emails, and social media posts using AI (link)
🖥️ Super- Create a website from your Notion database in minutes (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
* = This is sponsored content
AI TRAINING
💬 How to get AI-powered summaries in Chrome
There’s a brand new powerful AI feature available directly in Google Chrome — unlocking instant summaries for any webpage with the click of a button.
Take advantage of this awesome feature by following the steps below:
Activate the AI summarizer: Navigate to labs.google.com, click ‘Get Started’ under ‘Search Powered by Generative AI’, and toggle on ‘SGE while browsing’ (it may already be on from previous tutorials/usage).
Restart Chrome and pin: To start using the feature, you’ll need to restart your browser. Once reopened, navigate to the G icon in your plugin bar — if you don’t see it immediately, open the side panel icon in the top right, select ‘search’, and pin it to the top bar.
Navigate to a website you want to summarize and click the ‘G’ icon, then select ‘generate’ to receive instant key points powered by Google Bard.
Try this must-have Chrome hack next time you're overloaded reading a complex article or page for quick, bulleted summaries!
QUICK HITS
🧸 Grimes' Grok AI toy beats Musk’s bot to punch
Grimes and Curio launched a line of AI-powered children’s plushies, with the singer voicing the three characters — one which shares the ‘Grok’ name with Elon Musk’s X chatbot. Curio reportedly filed a trademark for the name first, with the two ventures unrelated despite ties between Musk and Grimes.
🧮 DeepMind AI cracks unsolved math problem
A new DeepMind paper just revealed that LLMs suggested code that solved the previously unachievable ‘cap set’ math problem. Though still messy, the technique shows that AI can surface groundbreaking NEW ideas versus just hallucinations.
🥰 New "romantic" AI companion goes viral
A startup just unveiled Digi —a customizable virtual companion billed as "the future of AI romantic companionship." While AI avatars and companion bots are all the rage, many are slamming the viral launch — arguing this use case exploits loneliness over technological progress.
💼 New jobs in the world of AI
Technical Program Manager, Compute at Anthropic
Build & Release Engineer at Shield AI
Facilities Coordinator at OpenAI
Browse all available AI job positions with our job board.
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THAT’S A WRAP
That’s it for today’s news in the world of AI!
If you have anything interesting to share, please reach out to us by sending us a DM on Twitter: @rowancheung & @therundownai
❤️ Rundown review of the day
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