AI chip demand buoys Nvidia sales

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🚀 AI chip demand buoys Nvidia sales, forecasted to jump 170%

🤑 Walmart launches back-to-school promo on Roblox, other metaverse offerings

🙌 Epic's First Run offers game devs 100% revenue share for exclusivity

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AI chip demand buoys Nvidia sales, forecasted to jump 170% [Link]

Nvidia's Q2 performance outstrips expectations, with the company's optimistic outlook continuing into the 3rd fiscal quarter with an estimated revenue of around $16B at a remarkable 170% growth from the same period last year.

Nvidia's prominent role in the generative AI realm is evident through its strong sales and forecast. Graphics processing units (GPUs) like A100 and H100 AI chips are integral to building and operating AI apps, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT.

CEO Jensen Huang underscores the transformation of data centers into accelerated computing and gen AI, driven by Nvidia's GPUs.

Despite concerns about proposed export restrictions on chips, Nvidia's financial strength and product demand worldwide indicate minimal immediate impact.

Walmart launches back-to-school promo on Roblox, other metaverse offerings [Link]

Walmart is cooking up a whole array of online customer features, including a back-to-school Roblox experience, as it reveals to Chain Store Age.

The tasty lineup includes:

• Digital recipe hub - Walmart shoppers can access a collection of recipes for various occasions via one click, where they can add all the ingredients to their cart for pickup or delivery.

• Expanded Roblox presence with back-to-school promotion - Its new metaverse experience, Supercampus, is a gamified environment on Roblox that offers puzzles and other challenges. Players age 13 and up can choose to collaborate or compete with other players, with the game played with back-to-school brands and supplies such as BIC Highlighters, Crayola, and 3M’s Post-it Notes.

No stranger to metaverse activations, Walmart - based in Arkansas and operating 10,500+ stores and clubs in 24 countries and e-commerce sites - launched Roblox metaverse experiences Walmart Land and Walmart’s Universe of Play in Sept 2022.

AI will hit white-collar jobs first: IBM CEO [Link]

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna cites the influence of AI on employment, saying AI is likely to initially impact back-office, white-collar roles but underscoring its potential to enhance productivity and foster economic expansion.

Krishna emphasizes the potential of gen AI and extensive LLMs to streamline enterprise processes and achieve more with fewer human resources. The chief exec regards AI and hybrid cloud as pivotal tech for the future, introducing WatsonX, an AI tool that enables efficient construction and deployment of machine learning models.

He also underscores the collaborative nature of AI integration, stating its likelihood of augmenting human efforts rather than replacing them.

Epic's First Run offers game devs 100% revenue share for exclusivity [Link]

In its bid to oust Steam as the leading PC gaming storefront, Epic Games rolls out First Run, an option for devs to receive 100% of sales revenue from games. The catch: being exclusive on the platform for 6 months.

The finer details of the deal:

• Taking off in mid-Oct, First Run emerges as an attempt to woo devs experiencing Steam’s industry-standard 30% share. Currently, the Epic Games Store already offers a 12% cut.

• Besides net sales revenue, First Run-placed games will get "exclusive badging, homepage placements, and dedicated collections,” alongside getting featured in pertinent store campaigns.

A potential downside of the deal: Devs have disclosed that when their game is available on both Steam and Epic, the latter comprises only a small fraction of sales.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Surging demand for NVIDIA's GPUs lifts its gaming revenue up, with its GeForce RTX 40 Series gaming GPUs leveraging the same core architecture powering data center AI. (Link)

• Immutable announces the 1st playable demo of the futuristic sports game Infinite Victory. (Link)

• iGaming provider Pragmatic Play expands its presence in Argentina by pushing its content live with online casino Super 7. (Link)

• The mobile RPG Champions Arena Launches on Gala Games, releasing on mobile and PC through the Gala Launcher. (Link)

• Japanese immersive entertainment studio Cocone enters the US gaming and entertainment market with its avatars and digital fashion creations. (Link)

• Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia’s GeForce Now will likely be part of the list of cloud gaming apps coming to older Samsung smart TVs. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• From hot air balloons at L'Occitane to orgasm-Inspired NFTs at NARS, recent virtual ventures in beauty go far and wide. (Link)

• The Ladies of BAYC collaborates with fine jewelry brand KAVERAS to launch their 1st phygital jewelry collection. (Link)

• Freedom fighters to fictional K-pop stars: Homegrown brands debut campaigns fronted by AI models, expanding the tech’s impact on fashion and human aspiration. (Link)

• “I now see AI as a creative partner … AI has now become like a member of my team.” - creative director turned AI fashion designer Baris Gencel (Link)

• Shockoe-based footwear startup Kinis develops a new AI-powered insole. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• Elon Musk thinks chess is “too simple,” quoted as saying: “Understandable when all we had to play with were squirrels and rocks, but now we have computers.” (Link)

• The Women’s Tennis Association modernizes its data strategy to better serve players, fans, and tennis, possibly leveraging AI to predict future trends. (Link)

• Former NBA superstar and LA Lakers legend Magic Johnson, a multipotentialite, marks his presence in esports and the metaverse. (Link)

• Some 70% of football fans now access content through digital platforms. (Link)

• Chiliz, the parent company of fan token specialist Socios, strategically aligns with Crypto Blockchain Industries (CBI) for a soccer-themed metaverse. (Link)

• STARZPLAY integrates with the SKALE blockchain network to introduce a sports streaming platform. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• TikTok is about to block links to external stores like Amazon to promote sales on its own store, TikTok Shop. (Link)

• Meet Sanvii, a female virtual influencer on Instagram in India who’s powered by AI and 3D visualization. (Link)

• Powerful tech is breaking boundaries in film production and visual storytelling. (Link)

• Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg outlines a vision for Tumblr on a podcast, including utilizing open source and AI, and targeting younger and LGBTQ+ audiences. (Link)

• Selena Gomez reacts to an AI-generated remix of her song Starboy. (Link)

• For metaverse studio Karta, the launch of the BLACKPINK experience on Roblox follows its $1.1M funding round that attracted investment from players in music and other industries. (Link)

• Grand Prix Singapore hosts a web3 event that will dive deeper into the media and entertainment revolution currently happening on the blockchain. (Link)

🖼 Art

• CASTmyNFT.io launches a platform allowing artists to build 3D galleries to display NFTs. (Link)

• Francis Gurry, former director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization, becomes an advisor at Artfi, a web3 platform for art trading. (Link)

• The Genesis Collection is a unique digital artwork combining classical stories from the Book of Genesis with modern AI. (Link)

• Power Rangers and Funko team up to celebrate the franchise's 30th anniversary. (Link)

• The Denver Walls Mural Festival features murals and AR installations from a global artist lineup. (Link)

🤖 AI

• Germany intends to boost AI research funding over the next 2 years, aiming to bridge the gap with tech powerhouses China and the US. (Link)

• Microsoft looks to integrate AI into Windows 11 apps such as Photos, Snipping Tool, Paint, and Camera. (Link)

• An AI-powered brain implant can restore the ability to talk. (Link)

• IBM launches Watsonx in China, aiming to help local businesses leverage AI benefits. (Link)

• Here are 27+ AI tools to improve your productivity. (Link)

• From cute bionic cats to giant welding arms, see the coolest and strangest machines from the World Robot Conference. (Link)

• Spain has created the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence (AESIA), the 1st AI regulatory body of its kind in the EU. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Super League Gaming announces the closing of an underwritten public offering with gross proceeds of about $2.2M. (Link)

• RECON Labs collaborates with Shutterstock to develop and provide high-quality 3D assets for global creators. (Link)

• Mindway AI forges a strategic partnership with Dutch operator BetCity.nl to improve player protection and promote responsible gambling practices. (Link)

• Lex raises $2.75M for its AI writing tool that helps writers get past blocks. (Link)

• Wand.app, an AI-powered creative tool that lets artists customize and visualize their ideas, has raised $4.2M in seed funding. (Link)

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

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