✨ Issue #35

Clark Valberg
February 06, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes

Your weekly briefing on all things AI

Breakthroughs continue to snowball as tech leaders all over the globe race to leverage and integrate AI systems. No innovation comes without push back, and so many companies are spearheading how to navigate both new and old regulations. All said and done, we are living in very exciting times!

🧠 Neuralink finally made it’s way into a human!

🟢 China greenlights 40+ AI models, bolstering Its global AI presence.

🇪🇺 ChatGPT grapples with Europe’s tight mesh of AI tech and privacy laws.

🕵️ AI agents are becoming more available (see tools section for examples)

📰 AI in the News

Neuralink's Breakthrough: First Human Brain Chip Implant Achieved

Elon Musk's Neuralink has achieved a groundbreaking milestone in the intersection of technology and medicine: the successful implantation of a brain chip in a human patient. This significant development, announced by Musk, indicates promising early results in neuron spike detection, a crucial step in Neuralink's ambitious goal to address paralysis and neurological disorders.

Granted FDA approval for human trials last year, Neuralink's latest achievement involves a sophisticated robot-assisted procedure, placing a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant. This innovation could potentially revolutionize how we interact with technology, enabling control through thought alone. However, the journey hasn't been without challenges. Neuralink has faced scrutiny over its safety protocols, including a recent fine and concerns raised by lawmakers, particularly following its animal testing phase.

Despite these hurdles, Musk remains confident in Neuralink's path forward. This first human implant marks a significant leap in brain-computer interface technology, opening new possibilities for medical treatment and human interaction with digital devices. As Neuralink continues to advance, it sets a new precedent in the rapidly evolving field of medical technology. (Full Story)

China's Rapid AI Expansion: Over 40 AI Models Approved for Public Use

In a significant push to advance its AI capabilities, China has approved over 40 artificial intelligence (AI) models for public use in just six months. This move is part of the country's effort to catch up with the U.S. in AI development. Among the recent approvals, 14 large language models (LLMs) were greenlit, including those from major tech players like Xiaomi Corp, 4Paradigm, and 01.AI. This marks the fourth batch of approvals since Beijing began its regulatory process last August, indicating a strategic approach to AI development under governmental oversight.

The initiation of this approval process reflects China's intent to both foster and regulate the growth of AI within its borders. The first approvals, granted shortly after the process was established, included AI models from Baidu, Alibaba, and ByteDance. Since then, Chinese companies have been actively developing AI products, spurred by the global impact of OpenAI's ChatGPT. As of 2023, China accounted for 40% of the world's LLMs, just trailing the United States' 50%. Also noteworthy is China’s climb upward to close the gap between their number of AI related deals closed in comparison with the US:

One notable success story is Baidu's Ernie Bot, a ChatGPT-like chatbot, which has attracted over 100 million users. This rapid development and widespread adoption of AI models demonstrate China's commitment to becoming a key player in the global AI landscape, balancing innovation with regulatory control. (Full Story)

📈 Venture Deals

Kore raised $150M to build conversational AI for enterprises (link)
Rebellions raised $124M to develop its new AI Rebel chip with Samsung (link)
Krutrim raised $50M for its voice-enabled conversational AI assistant that speaks multiple Indian languages (link)
Thentia raised $38M for its licensing and regulatory technology (link)
Sema4 raised $30.5M to bring open source powered AI to mission-critical enterprise work (link)
Aqemia raised €30M to discover new drugs with their generative-AI fueled by deep physics (link)
Spellbook raised $20M for its AI copilot for lawyers (link)
Vital Interaction raised $15M to combine healthcare data, business intelligence and workflow automation (link)
Semron raised $7.9M for AI chips with 3D packaging (link)
VAPAR raised $5M for AI-based sewerage system maintenance (link)
TextQL raised $4.1M to automate the data science lifecycle (link)

💡 Industry Impacts

⚖️ Legal

OpenAI Privacy Concerns: OpenAI is under scrutiny for potential violations of EU privacy laws as Italy's data protection authority investigates ChatGPT. OpenAI has been given 30 days to respond to allegations, and fines for breaches can be up to €20 million. The key issue is the legal basis for processing personal data for AI model training, with OpenAI relying on "legitimate interests," which presents challenges. (link)

🏥 Healthcare

Integrating AI into the Field of Radiology: CARPL, a San Francisco-based startup, has raised $6 million in funding to address the shortage of radiologists by providing a marketplace for AI applications in radiology. The platform helps healthcare providers discover, explore, validate, and deploy AI apps, making it easier for them to integrate AI into their workflows. (link)

🚗Auto

AI in Vehicle Innovation: ChatGPT integration was just the start…Volkswagen has established an AI Lab to collaborate with global tech sectors and create AI-driven digital prototypes for its vehicles. The focus is on improving speech recognition, enhancing AI for vehicle-home communication, and optimizing EV charging cycles. (link)

🛍️ Retail

AI-Powered Shopping Revolution at Amazon: Amazon Fashion is harnessing AI to revolutionize the shopping experience, providing personalized size recommendations, AI-generated Fit Review Highlights, and improved size charts. This AI-driven approach benefits both customers and brands, reducing fit-related returns and enhancing product offerings, ultimately aiming to make Amazon Fashion more inclusive and customer-centric. (link)

🛠️ Tool of the Week

As a pretty big fan of Google Sheets, I wanted to talk a bit about SheetCoPilot.ai and their google sheets integration. It’s free in Beta and can query your google sheets with natural language. Much like an intern, it will verify logical steps with you before proceeding to write it’s own formulas inside your sheet cells. While it’s not the prettiest way to visualize your data, it’s extremely useful in filling in gaps for those that are not Google Sheets experts. Click below to watch a quick demo!

More Tools

TryPromptly AI let’s you use natural language to build AI Agents for your business
Ava is an AI sales assistant created by Artisan.co
GenWorlds.com is an open source framework that developers can use to facilitate interactions between multiple AI agents
Arc.net offers an agent-style browser that can consolidate your search results for you.
Humanic.ai Automates marketing flows for product managers to move users through onboarding/subscription tiers