Your weekly briefing on all things AI
Presented by Clark Valberg

A couple of months ago, Palantir’s Alex Karp said, “AI models are commodities — it's what you do on top of them that counts." Recent developments reinforce that reality. DeepSeek’s new AI model, charging 1/20th the cost of mainstream models, underscores how foundational models are becoming increasingly interchangeable. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella also recently pointed out that as AI becomes more efficient, its real value lies in how businesses apply it—not in the models themselves.

Your data, workflows, brand, and subject-matter expertise are the real differentiators.

Rather than betting on any one model, it may be worth prioritizing model-agnostic infrastructure that allows for flexibility as technology evolves. The power of AI is undeniable, but its impact will ultimately be determined by how well it integrates with your domain expertise and your end-users’ experience.

Let’s dive in… 

> Implications & Use-Cases for DeepSeek & OpenAI’s New Operator
> US Government Gets Its Own ChatGPT
> 90% of Surveyed Brokerage Leaders Said Employees Use AI
> Mercer’s AI Recruiting Platform’s Valuation 8Xd in 4 Months
> Placer.ai’s Foot Traffic Analyses Drive Results for Retailers & Real Estate Investors
> A Key Difference in How To Prompt DeepSeek

Deepseek & OpenAI’s Operator Set the Tone for 2025

2 important trends to watch in 2025 both revolve around recent releases and their implications. First is DeepSeek. Despite what pop-news speculates, the fact that DeepSeek is open source means that it can be run locally, in the US, and that any CCP leanings can be trained out. What’s most important about this, is that it means premium levels of intelligence and a much cheaper way to leverage that intelligence. Grant from the Neuron highlighted some great examples of people putting DeepSeek to work. Non-developers were able to produce games like this 3D shooter made entirely from scratch or this entire piano app from one prompt.

Second is OpenAI’s operator. Currently only available for the $200/month chatGPT plan, Operator is an AI agent that can take action on your computer with decent accuracy. This will redefine how people interface with computers and by extension with software. It will loop in humans at critical stages (like entering credit card information), but for the most part is able to carry out even somewhat complex workflows between multiple tools. Aaron Levie (Box CEO), for example, built a Due Diligence Portal for an M&A transaction on Box. Rowan Cheung also curated a great list of operations he tried himself:

The punchline: When you combine dirt-cheap Ph.D.-level intelligence with tech that can operate a computer like a human does, your capacity to solve problems at scale increases exponentially. Leveraging SME, cheaper models like DeepSeek, and agents like OpenAI’s Operator, will give individuals the power of teams.

More Stories

• Microsoft investigates DeepSeek's potential misuse of OpenAI’s API (TechCrunch)

• OpenAI introduces ChatGPT for government usage (OpenAI)

• Anthropic CEO predicts AI could surpass human intelligence by 2027 (WSJ)

• Meta maintains AI investment despite DeepSeek’s breakthrough (CNBC)

• Sam Altman’s vision for AI identity integration (TechCrunch)

• Google’s Gemini AI expands to smart home controls (TheVerge)

• Apple pulls AI-generated news after fake news controversy (DailyAI)

• AI misleads Braveheart fans with deepfake trickery (YahooNews)

• Gen Z employees surprisingly show most skepticism toward AI in the workplace (TheTimes)

Real Estate | AI Adoption Among Agents and Brokerages
A recent survey by Delta Media Group found that nearly 90% of brokerage leaders report their agents are using AI tools, with applications ranging from property descriptions to digital marketing and data analysis. While concerns about AI's impact on jobs persist, only 42% of brokerage leaders now view AI adoption as a significant concern—an 8% decline from the previous year. Interestingly, smaller brokerages with fewer than 20 agents or under $50 million in transactions are less likely to adopt AI due to resource constraints. However, industry leaders predict AI will continue to enhance operational efficiency, helping firms navigate economic challenges in 2025. (RealEstateNews)

Healthcare & Biotech | AI for Long-Term Care Navigation
A Bay Area startup (still in waitlist mode) is harnessing AI to assist families in navigating long-term care options. The platform uses AI-driven analysis to match patients with care facilities based on needs, finances, and personal preferences. (TechCrunch)

Finance & Banking | AI’s Growing Influence in Fintech
Visa and other major fintech players are embracing AI to enhance fraud detection, streamline transactions, and provide personalized financial insights. Experts predict AI-driven financial solutions will make transactions more secure and efficient. (MarketWatch)

Technology | Bidding War for TikTok's U.S. Operations Intensifies
The potential acquisition of TikTok’s U.S. operations has triggered a public bidding war, with multiple tech firms vying for control. Microsoft remains a leading contender, while Perplexity AI has proposed a unique structure involving government ownership to address national security concerns. The competition underscores TikTok’s immense value and the heightened scrutiny over data privacy in foreign-owned platforms. (YahooFinance)

Retail & Ecommerce | AI Called It, Baggy Jeans are “In”
Levi’s has successfully harnessed AI to predict and respond to fashion trends, such as the resurgence of baggy jeans. Their strategic application of AI has resulted in a 15% increase in sales of loose-fit jeans in the last quarter, demonstrating the significant impact of data-driven decision-making in the retail sector. (WSJ)

Media & Entertainment | Copyrighting AI Works
The U.S. Copyright Office has ruled that AI-generated content can be copyrighted if a human plays a significant role in its creation or editing. This decision sets the stage for new debates on AI authorship and intellectual property rights in media and entertainment, as creators and businesses navigate the legal implications of AI-assisted content production. (VentureBeat)

Featured Tool: Placer.ai

Placer.ai, a Tiferes portfolio company, provides real-time foot traffic analytics. This means helping businesses understand and predict how many people will be passing by their location, and the potential reasons why. Whether you're in retail, real estate, or urban planning, Placer’s AI-driven geospatial analytics offers deep insights into visitor patterns, competitive benchmarking, and site selection strategies that drive impressive results.

To highlight a few use cases, Ashley HomeStore utilized Placer.ai's site selection reports and trade area audience data to enhance their new store strategy, resulting in a 57% performance improvement over peer locations. Similarly, Catalyst Marketing leveraged Placer.ai's trade area and psychographic data insights to boost concert ticket sales at a casino resort by 42%. In the healthcare sector, Banner Health streamlined its expansion process using Placer.ai's trade area and visit trends data, saving 12 months of launch time and reducing costs by 12.5%. 

More Tools:

• Humanlinker – A free to try AI agent that assists with personalized prospecting leads and sales. 

• TeamAI – A collaborative AI workspace for teams, streamlining AI-powered workflows and integrations across business operations.

• Tabnine – An AI coding assistant that provides real-time code completions, helping developers write faster and with fewer errors.

• Moveworks – A conversational AI platform designed to automate employee support, reducing IT and HR ticket resolution times.

• Guse.io – AI-powered UX research automation, helping product teams gather insights and optimize user experiences efficiently.

• GetCargo.io – A logistics AI platform that optimizes freight operations, improving efficiency and cost savings for shipping companies.

• Seomatic.ai – An AI-driven SEO tool that automates keyword research, content optimization, and competitive analysis for digital marketers.

• Tavrn.ai – A next-gen AI-powered networking platform that helps professionals connect based on shared interests and industry relevance.

• Mercor, an AI recruiting platform, raised a $75M Series B at a $2B valuation. Fascinating context is that their Series A (just four months ago) was $30M at a $250M valuation. (AimResearch)

• ElevenLabs, an AI voice technology startup, has raised a $250M Series C funding round led by ICONIQ Growth, valuing the company at ~$3B. (TechCrunch)

• Rad AI, a healthcare startup specializing in AI-powered tools for radiologists, has secured a $60M Series C funding round led by Transformation Capital, valuing the company at $525M. (BusinessInsider)

• Clay, a sales automation platform, raised $40M at a $1.25B valuation. You can watch “Dr. Evil’s” entertaining announcement on Linkedin. (linkedin)

• AI mental health platform Eleos Health secured $60M in Series C funding to expand its AI-powered therapy solutions. (VCNewsDaily)

• AI-native e-commerce startup Lanai raised $10M in seed funding to optimize digital storefronts. (VCNewsDaily)

• Cybersecurity startup DryRun Security closed an $8.7M seed round to bolster AI-driven application security testing. (VCNewsDaily)

• AI automation startup Palona AI raised $10M in seed funding to enhance content generation and workflow automation. (VCNewsDaily)

• Career navigation platform Teal secured $7.5M in Series A financing to enhance AI-powered job search tools. (VCNewsDaily)

• AI-driven education startup Kaya AI secured $5.3M in pre-seed funding to personalize learning experiences. (VCNewsDaily)

_. Prompting Tip _.

Keep It Direct for DeepSeek R1

While it’s still early, research has shown that when prompting DeepSeek R1, less is more. Unlike models like ChatGPT, which thrive on including examples, DeepSeek R1 delivers better reasoning results when given direct prompts without examples.

Example Prompt:

"What are the key challenges in scaling AI infrastructure for enterprises?"

Why It Works:

• Optimized for Direct Input – DeepSeek R1 is designed to reason more effectively with minimal context.

• Avoids Unnecessary Bias – Providing examples can sometimes lead to overfitting responses to specific cases rather than generalizing effectively.

• Faster, More Precise Answers – By skipping the extra examples, you get straight-to-the-point insights with better logical coherence.

Try keeping your prompts simple and see how DeepSeek R1 responds.