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  • #63. 💰Top AI companies to invest in | ⚛️ stellarator fusion power | 📬 100% EV US Postal fleet numbers

#63. 💰Top AI companies to invest in | ⚛️ stellarator fusion power | 📬 100% EV US Postal fleet numbers

PLUS: Generative AI winners | Nvidia $1T company | 2023 El Niño | North America battery factory leader | China's 35% BEV share | AI & AV off-road tech for EV Jeeps |

🤖 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

  • Generative AI is seeing significant market growth, however, the biggest winners are infrastructure vendors who capture the majority of dollars in the industry.

  • The AI tech stack consists of three key layers: user-facing applications, the AI models powering these applications, and the infrastructure that runs these AI workloads.

  • AI applications are achieving rapid growth, but they face challenges in maintaining customer retention, differentiating their products, and achieving high gross margins.

  • Model providers, who essentially created the generative AI market, have yet to achieve large-scale commercial success, despite their critical role.

  • Infrastructure vendors, such as cloud platforms and hardware manufacturers, are the primary beneficiaries in the market due to their essential role in providing the computing power needed for AI.

  • The future of generative AI business models remains a topic of debate, with various aspects like vertical integration, commoditization of AI models, and the potential for customer graduation posing significant questions.

  • Nvidia briefly reached a $1 trillion market valuation due to increasing demand for its AI tools.

  • Big tech companies are racing to integrate generative AI tools into their products, boosting Nvidia's role as a key supplier.

  • Despite falling back to $992 billion, Nvidia’s growth was highlighted by over $2 billion in profit in the last quarterly earnings report.

  • Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, expressed optimism about the company's data center growth, with a new record in data center revenue in the most recent report.

  • At Nvidia's Computex 2023 keynote, numerous AI-related announcements were made, including the demo of games using its Avatar Cloud Engine and a new DGX GH200 supercomputer.

  • Despite setbacks like overproduction of gaming GPUs, the company's focus on AI and data centers has helped maintain its strong position.

  • Generative AI, enabling computers to create original content, is expected to dominate the decade with significant investment opportunities.

  • In 2022, generative AI startups in the US received $2.6 billion in investment; global AI market is projected to hit $900 billion by 2026.

  • Studies indicate improved productivity in sectors using generative AI, impacting fields like education and travel.

  • Top generative AI companies include IBM, AMD, Adobe, Alibaba, and NVIDIA, showcasing advancements and application of AI technology.

  • Companies selected based on the number of hedge fund investors as of Q1 2023, indicating the rising interest of institutional investors in generative AI.

🤖🔥🤯 COOL AI TOOLS, APPS, VIDEOS, PODCASTS, LINKS, AND MORE!

🌡️ CLIMATE CHANGE & CLEAN ENERGY

  • German start-up Proxima Fusion has secured €7 million in initial funding to develop a stellarator, a fusion energy machine expected to provide abundant, emissions-free power.

  • Proxima Fusion, incorporated in January, is the first fusion company to emerge from Germany's esteemed Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics.

  • A stellarator, an alternative to the well-known tokamak device, uses magnets to suspend a floating mass of hydrogen plasma, heating it to extreme temperatures to induce fusion, thereby releasing energy.

  • The design of a stellarator is more complex than a traditional tokamak, but produces a more stable plasma that could enable scientists to sustain the fusion reaction for longer.

  • Despite progress, Max Planck Institute's Thomas Klinger suggests the journey to commercial power might still take around 25 years, with a fusion machine yet to produce more energy than it consumes.

  • A strong El Niño is expected to occur this year, which will have significant impacts on weather patterns worldwide, setting new heat records and affecting rainfall and drought conditions.

  • The World Meteorological Organization warns that the combination of El Niño and human-induced climate change will push global temperatures to unprecedented levels, with far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management, and the environment.

  • Previous studies have shown that El Niño events can result in substantial economic losses and increased mortality due to storms and floods.

  • Rising global temperatures will exacerbate the effects of El Niño, and even with existing greenhouse gas emissions reduction efforts, economic losses could reach $84 trillion by the end of the century.

  • The Pacific Ocean's complex system of currents and temperature changes drives El Niño, affecting weather patterns globally and influencing rainfall, sea levels, and upwelling of nutrients critical for marine life.

  • Despite the challenges posed by El Niño, improved prediction capabilities and measures such as early warning systems and climate-resilient infrastructure can help mitigate some of the worst impacts.

  • North America is the fastest-growing region for new battery cell manufacturing factories, fueled by incentives from the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act.

  • Examples include Ford and CATL's $3.5 billion, 35 GWh factory in Michigan and BMW Group and Envision AESC's $700 million, 30 GWh factory in South Carolina.

  • China remains the leading battery manufacturing hub, but its share is expected to decline in the future.

  • Europe has faced delays and cancellations of planned battery factories due to high energy prices and pro-clean energy policies in other countries.

  • Global EV battery usage increased by 72% from 2021 to 2022, with further significant growth expected.

  • EV sales exceeded 10 million in 2022, and 14% of new cars sold were electric, driving the need for more battery manufacturing capacity.

🚗 AUTONOMOUS & ELECTRIC VEHICLES

  • Plugin vehicles had a significant impact in the Chinese auto market, with over half a million sales last month, accounting for 35% of the market share.

  • Full electric vehicles (BEVs) alone made up 24% of the country's auto sales, contributing to a total 33% share of the plugin vehicle market in 2023.

  • China represented over half of global plugin registrations in the past month, emphasizing the market's importance.

  • Among the best-selling electric models, BYD Qin Plus emerged as the top seller in April, followed by BYD Song and BYD Dolphin.

  • While certain vehicle categories, such as city cars and midsize models, showed high electrification rates, compacts and full-size vehicles still have room for improvement in terms of electrification.

  • Jeep demonstrates AI and autonomous off-road technology in Moab for National Autonomous Vehicle Day.

  • Jeep, known for off-roading, focuses on autonomous driving for off-road trails.

  • The autonomous technology will eventually support drivers on normal paved roads.

  • Jeep plans to showcase a full video of its future generation autonomous off-road technology.

  • Parent company Stellantis aims to electrify the Jeep brand with four all-electric SUVs by 2025.

  • Electrifying the entire US federal fleet could save $6 billion over 15 years, according to a report by ICF Climate Center.

  • The current federal fleet consists of over 650,000 vehicles, with only about 4,300 being electric or plug-in hybrids.

  • EVs have higher upfront costs but lower lifetime costs compared to gas vehicles.

  • The EV fleet would save nearly $6 billion over 15 years, even after accounting for higher purchase costs.

  • Transitioning to a fully electric fleet would avoid 1.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually and save $1.2 billion in social costs of carbon.

  • The US Postal Service has committed to buying 100% electric trucks by 2026.

🎉 THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY!

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-Marc 👋

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