🤖 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Who Owns the Generative AI Platform? (long read)

• 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.

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Nvidia became a $1 trillion company thanks to the AI boom (quick read)

• 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.

Top 10 Generative Artificial Intelligence Companies to Invest In (long read)

• 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!

• Freepik: In-browser AI-powered image generation, editing, and more.

• GeneratedBy: Prompt engineering.

• TweetHunter: AI-powered twitter marketing.

🌡️ CLIMATE CHANGE & CLEAN ENERGY

German start-up wins initial funding for revolutionary fusion energy machine (long read)

• 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 big El Niño is looming. Here’s what it means for our weather. (long read)

• 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 now the growth leader for new battery factories (quick read)

• 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

35% Plugin Vehicle Market Share In China! (China EV Sales Report) (long read)

• 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.

Watch Jeep demonstrate AI and autonomous off-road technology it’s developing for its EVs [Video] (quick read)

• 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.

Here’s what would happen if the US federal fleet was 100% electric (medium read)

• 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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Thanks for reading!

-Marc 👋

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