Signal: Financial Funny Business 📧
I was back on Alex Kantrowitz's Big Technology Podcast yesterday and right before we were about to record, the news broke about the OpenAI/AMD deal, so I think we had a fun, off-the-cuff discussion on the topic and the mysterious new financial ideas enabling all of this... As well as about the potential for an OpenAI hardware device (per below) and how Apple and Meta are gearing up for a new fight in the general space...
I Wrote...
M.G. Siegler
Take One...
🪟 OpenAI's Windows Play to Own AI – Upon watching OpenAI's DevDay yesterday, my initial thought was how much it reminded me of old Facebook developer events – perhaps aided by OpenAI having a lot of old Facebook/Meta DNA in the company. But actually, I think Ben Thompson is correct to go back one click further here: OpenAI isn't running the Facebook playbook, they're running the Windows one. And if it works, it will allow them to do an end run around their partner NVIDIA to take control of the AI market (just as Microsoft did with their partner IBM – and to a degree, Intel). To make the parallel even more fun: the Apple foil in the analogy is now Google, with their fully integrated AI play. As I've written, I think pretty much every move OpenAI makes is to try to combat the literally infinitely more profitable (and scalable at the moment) player. Next question: does this play out like the 1980s/1990s (when Windows ascended as the PC topped the Mac) or the 2000s/2010s (when Windows fell with the web and the fully integrated iPhone took over computing)? One answer to that may come back to if a new form factor is needed or even can top the smartphone... But this AMD move might suggest that OpenAI has even more of a 3D chessboard strategy here. And so the actual question may be if OpenAI's spend strategy can survive any market hiccups to enable them to beat Google... [Stratechery]
One more thing: Alex Heath has a good summary of the key points from the OpenAI executive Q&A session after the keynote. There's a lot in here, including ChatGPT head Nick Turley even noting, "What you’re going to see over the next six months is an evolution of ChatGPT from an app that was really useful into something that feels a little bit more like an operating system"... FWIW, I do think the notion of apps being baked into ChatGPT makes much more sense than trying to make "an app store for GPTs" which I never thought would work. [Sources]
Asides...
- Sora keeps coming up with quick fixes for issues, the latest being more granular controls for your cameos in others' AI videos... [Verge]
- Also, fictional character are apparently officially coming soon, which sounds a lot like OpenAI is working on licensing IP – will they pay for it, or promise a rev share? [Verge]
- Can Donald Trump legally mint a $1 coin with his face even though he's still alive, which goes against a law established in 1866? Probably not, but he's going to do it anyway. Next question: will it come in Cosmic Orange? [NYT]
- Why did OpenAI offer to pay $500M for a startup, Medal, focused on videogame footage? Such information may be the key to scaling world model building in ways you can't in the actual real world. [Information 🔒]
- Microsoft keeps trying to make faces for their AI chatbots happen. If you didn't like the weird blob Miss Minutes-like thing, now you have 40 human faces to choose from. What could go wrong? Also, still no Clippy? [Verge]
I Spy...
If Instagram wants to celebrate their continued shift into becoming a junk drawer for every type of content and further suck up to creators by offering them awards like they're Tim Cook gifting golden trinkets to President Trump, that's fine. But why, oh why is the branding for "Rings" so insanely close to the branding for The Ring – the very popular horror franchise? I mean, did they use the same font?!
Below, members of The Inner Ring will find thoughts on:
• Paramount Buys The Free Press
• The MPA Fires Shots at Sora
• Supreme Court Declines Google's Emergency Halt
• and more...