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

The Rundown: Experience the future of personalized ads with KalendarAI, your new AI-powered sales agent.

KalendarAI helps you:

• Reach 200+ million potential customers with personalized ads and budgets optimized for conversions

• Seamless setup with AI-generated distribution network, personalized ad content with interactive decks, and calendar slots.

• Generate meetings, waitlists, and revenue on autopilot

Click here to launch your KalendarAI agents.

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.

* = This is sponsored content

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.

SPONSOR US

⚡️ Get your product in front of over 75k+ tech enthusiasts

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❤️ Rundown review of the day

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.

* = This is sponsored content

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.

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.

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❤️ Rundown review of the day

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

The Rundown: OctoAI delivers top-tier performance for open-source GenAI, enabling groundbreaking LLM performance with the latest Mixtral 8x7B.

With Mixtral on OctoAI:

• 4x lower price per token than GPT 3.5 with open source flexibility

• Experience the accuracy of the first major MoE-powered (Mixture of Experts) OSS LLM

• One unified OpenAI compatible API to consume Mixtral, with the capability of serving a cocktail of models for dynamic generative AI

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.

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

Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

Is China prepping for a new battle… in space?

The world superpower just revealed an advanced simulation system to prepare for futuristic space warfare. Let’s dig deeper…

In today’s tech rundown:

• China develops simulation for space warfare

• NASA, Boeing, GE team up on hybrid electric planes

• 8 new products

• Apple rolls out pricing feature in App Store

• Blue Origin resumes flight schedule

• Tech giants face class action lawsuit over Apple Pay

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

MILITARY TECH

🛸 China develops simulation for space warfare

Image source: National University of Defence Technology

The Rundown: Though publicly opposing space weaponization, China just revealed its military now has a new advanced system to game out futuristic orbital combat scenarios and train personnel should conflict arise.

The details:

• China has used the simulation to sharpen tactics and identify elite talent — putting cadets through two months of mock space skirmishes while wielding advanced weaponry.

• The simulation provides vivid modeling of intricacies like debris collisions that could ensue, with space warfare having potential massive second-order impacts on satellites and infrastructure.

• The move comes amid broader space rivalry with the U.S., with China accusing the pioneering American Space Force of driving unwelcome militarization it must counter.

Why it matters: While nearly all countries seem aligned on the scary consequences of potential space warfare, it isn’t stopping the world’s superpowers from beefing up their military in the sector. Let’s hope humanity continues reach for the stars — without fighting each other in the process.

TOGETHER WITH MASTERWORKS

📊 Harvard data scientist shocks investors with opportunities in surprising market

The Rundown: The AI revolution has already begun to rewire Wall St, and its impact has been strongly felt in one growing market in particular. Because, thanks to a Harvard data scientist and his crack team, everyday people can now benefit from a previously “off-limits” investment.

The company that makes it possible is called Masterworks, whose unique investment platform enables savvy investors to invest in shares of blue-chip art.

Intrigued? The Rundown Tech readers can skip the waitlist.

Investing involves risk and past performance is not indicative of future returns. See important Reg A disclosures and aggregate advisory performance masterworks.com/cd

AVIATION TECH

✈️ NASA, Boeing, GE team up on hybrid electric planes

Image source: GE Aerospace

The Rundown: NASA is teaming up with GE Aerospace and Boeing on a major initiative to develop and test hybrid-electric propulsion for commercial airliners — aiming to produce new tech that decreases aviation's reliance on jet fuel.

The details:

• The hybrid electric architecture combines gas engines with electric motors and batteries for efficiency.

• NASA, GE and Boeing plan to retrofit a test plane with hybrid electric drives by the mid-2020s.

• Batteries currently can't fully power large aircrafts, but hybrid electric enables partial electrification — with electric motors filling increasing propulsion needs over time as tech progresses.

• Widespread adoption could significantly curb commercial aviation's carbon footprint, though many advances are still needed.

The relevance: With the massive current push in hybrid cars, it’s no surprise to see the same initiatives take to the sky. A scalable, reliable hybrid breakthrough would help cut down on gas-guzzling airplanes — and continue charting a greener path for transportation.

NEW PRODUCTS

📈 Osum- Perform deep market research in seconds (link)*

🔠 Username Generator- Create distinctive usernames (link)

🌱 GrowEasy- AI-driven tool for seamless lead generation in one app (link)

💤 Snoooz- Automate your Out-of-Office responses with AI (link)

🌐 GPT Router- Seamlessly switch between 30+ LLMs to avoid OpenAI downtimes with one API (link)

🔍 FeedLens- Streamline your mobile app reviews with AI-enhanced analysis (link)

💬 Simple Analytics AI- Interact with your data analytics through conversation (link)

📊 Speak AI- Turn your language data into insights, fast and with no code (link)

Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.

* = This is sponsored content

SNIPPETS

The US House has passed an act to extend warrantless surveillance under Section 702 until April 2024.

Blue Origin is scheduled to resume flights with its New Shepard rocket today, following a year-long hiatus due to a launch failure last September.

Apple is piloting a new "contingent pricing" feature in the App Store, enabling developers to offer discounted subscriptions to users.

Florida officials refused $320 million in federal funds for climate change-related infrastructure, citing objections to the politicization of such funding.

Solana smartphone sales skyrocket as the value of a digital token related to its release significantly increases.

Apple, Visa, and Mastercard face a lawsuit alleging they colluded to dominate point-of-sale payments via Apple Pay.

Peloton expands its app compatibility to third-party treadmills, allowing users to track workout metrics, catering to subscribers of its premium subscription.

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

Welcome, AI enthusiasts.

It’s been quite the end to the year for Sam Altman. Following his TIME ‘CEO of the Year’ award — the now-reinstated CEO just spoke candidly about AGI, AI risks, and more.

Understandably, Altman sounded more stressed about shepherding the super-intelligence to come than the juicy boardroom drama. Let’s get into it…

In today’s AI rundown:

• Sam Altman opens up on OpenAI drama

• Stability AI releases new image-to-3D model

• 10 new AI tools to try

• How to run powerful AI assistants locally on your phones

• Alibaba releases new image-to-video model

• OpenAI explores ‘weak’ models controlling strong AI

Read time: 3 minutes

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

OPENAI

👀 Sam Altman opens up on OpenAI drama

Image source: TIME

The Rundown: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just gave a candid, wide-ranging interview after being named TIME's CEO of the Year, reflecting on his short-lived firing, governing powerful AI, and why he remains hopeful despite risks.

The details:

• Altman felt the boardroom drama brought productive self-reflection on OpenAI's governance needing to support its mission as AI capabilities charge ahead.

• He believes AGI will “be the most powerful technology humanity has yet invented”, with huge implications for democratizing access to information globally.

• Altman also emphasized the risks of AI personal disinformation, particularly with the upcoming elections in 2024.

The relevance: Altman’s remarks sound like someone more stressed about shepherding a world-altering technology than petty boardroom drama. And despite the risks, Sam sounds confident that AGI and accelerating AI will change the world for the better — sooner rather than later.

TOGETHER WITH MASTERWORKS

🎨 Harvard data scientist upends finance community with opportunities in this market

The Rundown: The AI revolution has already begun to rewire Wall St, and its impact has been strongly felt in one growing market in particular. Because, thanks to a Harvard data scientist and his crack team, everyday people can now benefit from a previously “off-limits” investment.

The company that makes it possible is called Masterworks, whose unique investment platform enables savvy investors to invest in blue-chip art for a fraction of the cost.

Intrigued? The Rundown AI readers can skip the waitlist.

Investing involves risk and past performance is not indicative of future returns. See important Reg A disclosures and aggregate advisory performance masterworks.com/cd

STABILITY AI

🤯 Stability AI releases new image-to-3D model

Image source: Stability AI

The Rundown: Stability AI just released an enhanced image-to-3D model called Stable Zero123, alongside a new tiered membership structure that aims to stabilize the company’s revenue generation.

The details:

• The model can take a single image input and generate a 3D object, displaying subject from a variety of angles.

• Zero123 touts higher quality results by utilizing cleaner Objaverse dataset renders and adding camera elevation data.

• The open-source startup also announced a new membership model, which includes a free/research tier, a $20/mo professional tier, and custom enterprise pricing.

Why it matters: Stability ups the competition in the image-to-3D AI space, keeping their foot on the gas with yet another impressive model rollout. If the current pace of development keeps up, we will likely have text-to-video game creation within just a few years.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

TRENDING TOOLS

🛡️ DryRun Security- AI-powered security buddy empowers developers in their everyday workflow (link)*

👚 Outfit Anyone- Try on clothes virtually with AI (link)

🔍 Unwrapped AI- Get a Spotify-like recap of your 2023 GitHub activity (link)

🛠️ Scade.pro- Access 1500+ AI tools without coding using this platform (link)

💬 MessengerX.io- Monetize with GPTs for uncensored information and entertainment (link)

📸 Snapby AI- Generate lifelike images directly in Figma for free (link)

🤖 GradesAI- An AI-powered app that forecasts exam questions for students (link)

📝 Copy AI- Generate content, such as blog headlines, emails, and social media posts using AI (link)

🔥 Jasper- An AI copywriter assistant that can generate any kind of marketing copy (link)

✍️ Rytr- An AI writing assistant that helps you create high-quality content, in just a few seconds (link)

Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.

* = This is sponsored content

AI TRAINING

📱 How to run powerful AI assistants locally on your phone

Want access to powerful AI models on your phone, without needing WiFi or risking your privacy? Now you can with an incredible new app called LLMFarm — letting you run AI models locally on your iPhone or iPad, completely offline.

Here’s a tutorial on how to access it by Alvaro Cintas:

Step 1: Go to LLMFarm TestFlight page and click “Install with TestFlight". Download the TestFlight app first if you don't have it already.

Step 2: Return to LLMFarm and click "Start Testing" to install the app itself.

Step 3: Next, find the pre-trained AI model you’d like to use locally from HuggingFace. For this tutorial, we used the Mistral-7B model. Navigate to the ‘files and versions’ tab and download the model — note that some may take up significant space.

Step 4: Back in the LLMFarm app, select "Add Model" and navigate to the Mistral 7B file you just downloaded. In the ‘format’ section, type: <s>[INST] {{prompt}} [INST]. In prediction options, toggle on Metal and MLock.

QUICK HITS

📝 Take a free AI for Productivity workshop (sponsor)

Join Section’s free workshop to learn how to use AI to be more efficient at communication, problem-solving, and brainstorming.

Click here to enroll for free.

🎥 Alibaba releases new image-to-video model

Alibaba Group just released i2VGen-XL, a new image-to-video model capable of generating high-definition ouputs. The release brings yet another competitor to the ever-expanding AI video generation sector, with capabilities ramping up at a truly insane pace.

🦾 OpenAI explores ‘weak’ models controlling strong AI

OpenAI just released a new paper, introducing the concept of using small AI models to supervise more powerful ones — studying if they can generalize training despite limited capabilities. Aiming to tackle aligning superhuman AI, experiments show promising control of LLMs.

💼 New jobs in the world of AI

Product Manager at Anyscale

Senior Content Designer at Cohere

Media Relations, API Communications at OpenAI

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

Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

A new investigation just unearthed Mark Zuckerberg’s secret apocalypse-ready Hawaiian compound.

Featuring built-in bunkers, helipads, and blast-resistant doors — the $270M compound sounds like something straight out of a movie! Let’s investigate…

In today’s tech rundown:

• Zuckerberg building $270M secret Hawaiian compound

  Boston Dynamics teams with 'Avatar' animatronics firm

• 9 new products

• Robo-taxi firm Cruise suffers massive layoffs

• Elon Musk is establishing schools

• Netflix ramps up its gaming sector

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

META

🏝 Zuckerberg building $270M secret Hawaiian compound

Image source: Wired

The Rundown: A WIRED investigation just revealed Mark Zuckerberg's years-long construction of a lavish, bunker-equipped sprawling compound in Hawaii — which has bred island controversy over the tech giant’s secrecy, legal tactics and community engagement.

The details:

• The nearly completed Koolau Ranch spans 1,400 acres with over a dozen buildings, 30 bedrooms, off-grid power and food, helipads and underground bunkers with blast-resistant doors.

• Costs eclipse $270 million — with reports of extreme NDAs muzzling hundreds of workers, lawsuits targeting landholders, and Zuckerberg reps allegedly clashing with press.

• Political ties abound as the Chan/Zuckerberg donations flow, including hiring a former council chair and funding a former vice chair's nonprofit.

Our thoughts: While tech entrepreneurs have a history of doomsday prepping, Zuck sounds like he’s taking this Hawaiian hideaway to the next level. With blast-resistant doors and bunkers, the question is – are these measures just extra caution, or does he know something we don’t…?

TOGETHER WITH DIGIARTY SOFTWARE

🖼️ Upscale old/low-res photos and videos to 4K

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ROBOTICS

🤝 Boston Dynamics teams with 'Avatar' animatronics firm

Image source: The Boston Globe

The Rundown: Boston Dynamics is making moves into the entertainment realm – announcing a new partnership with Neon (the parent company of famed animatronics studio Animax) to design engaging consumer robots.

The details:

• While light on specifics, the duo plans a reveal by the end of 2024, aimed at ‘inspiring and dazzling audiences.’

• Animax has crafted life-like robotic creatures for several massive Hollywood IPs turned theme park attractions, including Avatar, Jurassic Park, Marvel, and Harry Potter.

• The move represents an increased focus on commercialization for the robot maker — and builds on Boston Dynamics' own long history of viral performances with its creations.

Why it matters: The combo of Boston Dynamics’ mind-blowing robots and a world-class animatronics studio could make for some serious fun. And if the company’s viral videos are any indication, theme parks might be in for an unforgettable overhaul very soon.

NEW PRODUCTS

🛡️ DryRun Security- AI-powered security buddy empowers developers in their everyday workflow (link)*

🎧 TubeOnAI- Condense YouTube & Podcast content into 30-second summaries (link)

🎵 Music.AI- Your go-to hub for diverse top-tier AI music models (link)

❤️ WooWell- AI-fueled dating assistant for the modern man (link)

💡 Ask Viable- Quickly turn feedback into product requirements, FAQs, and reports (link)

💸 PriceGPT- Examine pricing strategies easily with AI (link)

🧠 MindOne 0.6- Enhanced AI-driven user interface (link)

🎥 Descript- A powerful all-in-one video and podcast editing tool using AI (link)

🕸️ 10Web- Build or recreate any website in minutes with the power of AI (link)

🎥 VEED- The easy way to create stunning videos and add subtitles (link)

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SNIPPETS

Cruise cuts 900 jobs following a pause in driverless operations due to a severe incident and a reduction in spending by GM.

Intel introduces Core Ultra notebook chips with integrated neural processing units for enhanced AI capabilities.

Elon Musk is set to establish a university and K-12 school focused on STEM education in Austin, Texas, as reflected in recent tax filings.

Apple rolled out the first public beta of macOS Sonoma 14.3 with new features like collaborative playlists in Apple Music.

Netflix is expanding its gaming division with nearly 90 new titles under development, including four games slated for release in 2024.

The FCC has voted to advance a proposal that aims to eliminate early termination fees charged by cable and satellite providers.

JPMorgan analysts anticipate that Ethereum will outperform Bitcoin in the next year due to a network upgrade that is expected to reduce transaction costs and increase throughput.

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❤️ Rundown review of the day

Welcome, AI enthusiasts.

Tesla just took its humanoid robot to the next level — showcasing dramatically improved mobility, balance, and motor skills in a new demo.

And in case you were wondering — the robots are also pretty great dancers, too. Let’s dive in…

In today’s AI rundown:

• Tesla's Optimus 2 upgrades

• Google opens Google AI Studio

• 10 new AI tools to try

• How to give classic art a fun twist with DALL-E

• OpenAI taps Axel Springer for news in ChatGPT

• Channel 1 debuts AI news broadcast in viral demo

Read time: 3 minutes

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

TESLA

🤖 Tesla's Optimus 2 upgrades

Image source: Tesla

The Rundown: Tesla just unveiled a dramatically revamped the prototype of its humanoid Optimus robot, packing major improvements to speed, dexterity and balance that bring it closer to futuristic functions.

The details:

• Optimus Gen-2 sheds over 20 pounds to enhance mobility, while boosting walking pace 30% via new feet and smoothed-out movement.

• Finger sensors also enable delicate object manipulation — with Optimus able to delicately handle an egg in the demo.

• Upgrades like a more flexible neck, integrated electronics, and quicker hands with tactile feedback aim to replicate human advantages.

• It can also dance better than most humans — with super smooth movement shown off throughout the real-time footage.

Why it matters: Elon and co. have made some seriously staggering progress with this Optimus upgrade — with humanoid robots inching closer to the multimodal, hyper-capable robots previously only imagine in movies.

TOGETHER WITH TAPLIO

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GOOGLE

 ✨ Google opens Google AI Studio

Image source: Google

The Rundown: Google DeepMind just rolled out two new expansions to its AI roster, making the new Gemini Pro available for developers to build via Google AI Studio, while also releasing ‘Imagen 2’ text-to-image model.

The details:

• Google AI Studio enables prompting Gemini Pro with text and images to quickly build conversational agents, providing code for users to integrate into apps.

• It offers generous rate limits for free, with paid plans coming —  but Gemini Pro API costs come in higher than GPT 3.5.

• The web-based platform acts as an onramp to Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform for commercial deployment.

• Alongside the release of Google AI Studio, Google DeepMind also revealed Imagen 2: their most advanced text-to-image diffusion technology for photorealistic outputs

The relevance: Google continues to bring the heat with new advancements, integrating Gemini into its vast network and greasing the wheels for developers to continue experimenting with cutting edge AI.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

TRENDING TOOLS

👨‍💼 Aesop- Your AI-powered SaaS to find smart, distinctive names and the stories they tell – for your new brand, business, product, or project (link)*

👐 Delphi- Build the AI version of you from your social accounts and more to scale your expertise and availability, infinitely (link)

🤖 Gobble bot- Digest your website, PDF, YouTube Video, Notion pages and more into one text file to upload to your GPT chatbot (link)

🔍 Ask Viable- Instantly convert feedback into various product documents like PRDs and FAQs using AI (link)

🎙️ Audio Notes AI- Transform disorganized thoughts into structured notes with AI (link)

💲 PriceGPT- Audit pricing pages with AI analysis (link)

🧠 MindOne 0.6- Sophisticated AI-powered user interface enhancement (link)

🌐 Buenoverse- Create and explore 2D worlds collaboratively (link)

🐦 TweetHunter- All-in-one Twitter growth tool to create content using AI, build an audience, and schedule posts (link)

🎙Toasty AI- AI content creation for podcasts (link)

Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.

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AI TRAINING

🎨 How to give classic art a fun twist with DALL-E

Tired of seeing the same old paintings and images? This simple, yet highly effective prompt by @Umesh_ai reimagines any image with DALLE-3.

Prompt: "Recreate [painting/image/meme] in [art style]"

Happy creating!

Example prompt for the image below: “Recreate the famous Rosie the Riveter poster in the style of Tim Burton”

QUICK HITS

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🤝 OpenAI taps Axel Springer for news in ChatGPT

OpenAI just announced a partnership with Axel Springer to bring real-time news content to ChatGPT, with articles from brands like Politico and Business Insider set to be included in attributions to user queries. The partnership also highlights a new revenue stream opportunities for journalism outlets.

📺 Channel 1 debuts AI news broadcast in viral demo

Channel 1’s AI-powered personalized newscast is going viral — with several extremely realistic AI anchors detailing the news during the 22-minute demo. Using human editing plus trusted reporting sources, the startup plans to launch in 2024 with between 500 and 1000 segments produced daily.

💼 New jobs in the world of AI

Product Manager at Anyscale

Senior Content Designer at Cohere

Media Relations, API Communications 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

Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.

The controversial Worldcoin project just got a major upgrade — with new security features and integrations with major platforms like Reddit and Shopify.

Despite skepticism and ethical questions, Sam Altman continues his ‘proof of humanity’ push as AI continues to disrupt. Let’s dig deeper…

In today’s tech rundown:

• Worldcoin launches ID 2.0, adds major app integrations

• Brain-inspired supercomputer to launch in 2024

• 8 new products

• Etsy axes 11% of workforce amid reorg, leadership drama

• Tesla issues ‘digital’ recall for nearly all U.S. vehicles

• Major X outage breaks links across platform

Read time: 3 minutes

TODAY’S HEADLINES

WORLDCOIN

👁️ Worldcoin launches ID 2.0, adds major app integrations

Image source: Worldcoin

The Rundown: Crypto startup Worldcoin just revealed app integrations with major platforms like Minecraft, Reddit, Shopify and more as part of its World ID 2.0 release — also adding security upgrades like facial authentication, new account options and more control.

The details:

• World ID 2.0 offers improved bot detection, with integration allowing platforms to grant special community access or privileges based on identity confirmation.

• Users can now pick from three tiers: casual account sign-up, iris scans at Orb kiosks, and extra facial verification for maximal security.

• The project’s global expansion also continues, recently launching ID services in Mexico and Singapore with plans to spread across Asia.

• Past data privacy concerns in places like Kenya remain, as does criticism around targeting developing nations with sign-up incentives.

Why it matters: As AI continues to improve and disrupt nearly every aspect of life, digital identity and proof of humanity will become increasingly vital. While it seems controversial, Sam Altman’s plan may eventually be more prescient than anyone imagined.

TOGETHER WITH TWEET HUNTER

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SUPERCOMPUTERS

🧠 Brain-inspired supercomputer to launch in 2024

Image source: Western Sydney University

The Rundown: Researchers at Western Sydney University are set to switch on a powerful new supercomputer in 2024 — the first capable of simulating the human brain's entire neural activity in real time.

The details:

• Named ‘DeepSouth’, the supercomputer’s hardware chip design directly mimics the brain's connections — using a more energy efficient approach than traditional computers.

• With performance equaling an estimated 228 trillion (!) synapse operations per second (on par with our brains), it aims to unlock new neuroscience insights.

• Developers believe crafting machines that harness biological thinking’s parallelism and low power needs is key to future computing.

• Neuromorphic systems like this further that goal of building brain-like intelligence.

The relevance: As computer energy consumption swells unsustainably, bio-inspired architecture offers a desperately needed shift towards efficiency. And learning new insights about human brain functionality could open the door for new technological leaps.

NEW PRODUCTS

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🎲 AI Adventure- Transform tales into interactive games effortlessly (link)

💡 App Mint AI- Unleash your creative potential with AI-driven text tools (link)

🎅 Hi Santa- Chat live with Santa Claus and his festive crew using real-time voice communication (link)

🔗 Seemless- Create your ultimate bio link with AI-driven website generation, video/podcast editing, interactive file chats, and Notion-based site creation tools (link)

📝 Yarnit- Create engaging content at the speed of your thought (link)

👩🏽‍🍳ChefGPT- AI digital chef & kitchen companion (link)

Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.

* = This is sponsored content

SNIPPETS

An outage on X (formerly known as Twitter), led to a temporary issue where users could not access outgoing links.

Etsy is reducing its workforce by approximately 11 percent, undergoing a leadership shuffle, and reorganizing internally.

EU regulators are expected to formally rule against Apple in response to Spotify's complaint regarding App Store policies.

Mark Zuckerberg announced that Threads is commencing trials to integrate ActivityPub, allowing its content to be shared on Mastodon and others.

Barbara Furlow-Smiles, a former Facebook DEI executive, pleaded guilty to embezzling over $4 million from the company using a fraudulent scheme.

Tesla is recalling nearly all of its two million US-sold vehicles to update a driver monitoring feature linked to its Autopilot system — though the update will be pushed digitally.

Brazil's Senate has passed legislation that facilitates the creation of a regulated sports betting market, while rejecting the expansion into igaming.

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❤️ Rundown review of the day