AI startup Gensyn’s $43M a16z-led funding

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💰 AI startup Gensyn’s $43M a16z-led funding

⚠️ UN chief: AI threatens democracy and human rights

☁️ Salesforce’s AI Cloud for enterprise tech

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AI startup Gensyn’s $43M a16z-led funding [Link]

Blockchain-oriented protocol Gensyn closes out a Series A funding round led by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), which is known to be significantly engaged in the crypto space alongside increasing its stakes in AI startups.

Gensyn functions as a marketplace protocol aimed at decentralizing AI via a blockchain-based approach, describing itself as a network that “unites all of the world’s compute into a global machine learning cluster.”

Its service enables developers and solvers to trade digital resources like computational power, data, and algorithms sans intermediaries, which then potentially builds a permissionless model forming a global marketplace.

Through the investment, a16z ushers in affordable access to large-scale computing power - a must for building AI systems - for startups. This can level the playing field and give startups access to computing power and the economies of scale of large data centers, which tech giants readily have.

UN chief: AI threatens democracy and human rights [Link]

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres backs a proposal to create an international watchdog to monitor AI while warning that the technology is being used to spread hate, disinformation, and elements that threaten democracy and human rights.

Key details:

• The proposed watchdog body is similar to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI said last month could place restrictions on deployment, vet compliance with safety standards, and track usage of computing power.

• Alarm bells over generative AI are “deafening” particularly as they come from developers, scientists, and experts themselves, Guterres told reporters. He said such warnings around AI as “an existential threat to humanity on a par with the risk of nuclear war” should be taken seriously.

• Guterres also bared support for the planned AI summit in the UK as well as plans to appoint a scientific advisory board of AI experts and chief scientists from UN agencies.

Salesforce’s AI Cloud for enterprise tech [Link]

Salesforce has launched AI Cloud, a suite of AI products, to bolster its position in the space following its generative AI initiative earlier in 2023.

Here's what you need to know about AI Cloud, set to launch later this year:

• Provides "enterprise-ready" AI tools, equipping businesses with the know-how and security to use AI in their operations.

• Incorporates nine models, namely Sales GPT, Service GPT, Marketing GPT, Commerce GPT, Slack GPT, Tableau GPT, Flow GPT, and Apex GPT, each serving specific purposes such as auto-crafting personalized emails, generating audience segments, and suggesting code improvements.

• Offers AI models from partners like AWS, Anthropic, Cohere, OpenAI, and Salesforce's AI research division. Customers can also integrate their custom-trained models while maintaining data on their own infrastructure.

• Enhances the capabilities of Salesforce's flagship products, including Data Cloud, Tableau, Flow, and MuleSoft - models that cater to functions like sales, marketing, and commerce.

Australian retailers catching shoplifters via AI [Link]

Major Australian retailers like Woolworths and Bunnings are utilizing AI software called Auror to identify and catch shoplifters through image cross-referencing and thus assist the police by aiding investigations.

Some key benefits and features:

• Allows retailers to upload images of suspects for analysis

• Provides real-time alerts to security staff when potential wrongdoing is detected

• Focuses on specific crime events within a store, respecting customer privacy (does not perform live facial recognition or reference external internet sources)

• Facilitates information sharing among retailers

• Uses a read-only capacity for law enforcement, relying on traditional police work for verification: “Basically … a substitute for what we would normally do in relation to going to a business and collecting the CCTV,” according to police.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Infrastructure startup Thirdweb appoints ex-Facebook exec Atif Khan as its new VP of Gaming to accelerate its web3 gaming growth. (Link)

• Samsung banners new era of OLED gaming with world-1st DQHD OLED monitor featuring AI upscaling and an incredibly fast 0.03ms response time (GtG). (Link)

• Minecraft’s ban on NFTs, created a stir in the web3 community, is looming ahead. (Link)

• In a push for AI safety, the Indian government will regulate online gaming and ban betting. (Link)

• Capcom announces new titles including a new collection of remastered Ace Attorney games and a mobile Mega-Man X game. (Link)

• 3D gaming metaverse NAKAVERSE 2.0 kicks off in Q1 of 2024. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• Many fashion students are still distrusting of generative AI, while educators from London’s Central Saint Martins to NY’s Parsons are exploring it. (Link)

• E-commerce is transforming the Indian fashion industry, and AR and VR have a critical role to play. (Link)

• AR fashion try-on company ZERO10 unveils its prototype AR Store at Viva Technology in Paris this week. (Link)

• As ecommerce platforms aim to draw in more shoppers (including using AI-powered chatbots), ZALORA brings Italian fashion brand PINKO onboard. (Link)

• Community co-creation “is a big step for fashion brands” entering the metaverse: metaverse fashion platform BNV founder and CEO Richard Hobbs. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• It just might be celebrity golf, but Netflix is reportedly getting ready to stream its 1st-ever sporting event. (Link)

• AI-driven sports metaverse LootMogul partners with Starzz to expand its community in Europe and North America. (Link)

• Web3 is putting sports, gambling, and gaming on a new course, mainly with how consumers watch and interact with the game. (Link)

• YouTube TV is bringing a fan-favorite feature to NFL Sunday Ticket: condensed replays that will let viewers watch games in under an hour. (Link)

• CA sports marketing startup Millions.co taps ChatGPT to automate athlete marketing campaigns. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Fast and Furious creators explore AI to feature Paul Walker in future movies, but want to remain "respectful of his memory." (Link)

• Twitter sets messaging restrictions for users without blue subscription. (Link)

• UN chief António Guterres calls for a new era of social media integrity in a bid to stem misinformation. (Link)

• James Gunn states that his DC Universe won’t use AI art in animation. (Link)

• TuneCore partners with Grimes and CreateSafe, an AI dev studio, to distribute songs made by indie artists using an AI voice model. (Link)

• A new Black Jack manga episode is created using AI, to be released in fall. (Link)

🖼 Art

• In/Visible: An NFT exhibition seeks to redefine black visibility through AI. (Link)

• Takashi Murakami on aging, AI, and his new Gagosian Show in Le Bourget. (Link)

• Virtual model Lucy sells artworks through a live commerce show. (Link)

• Art NFT marketplace and community HeartX announces its open beta launch. (Link)

• Renowned scientific journal Nature won’t publish images or videos created using generative AI. (Link)

🤖 AI

• PassGPT: AI trained on leaked passwords that could change online security. (Link)

• Google DeepMind, OpenAI & Anthropic offer the UK with early AI access: British PM Rishi Sunak. (Link)

• Paul McCartney says he has employed AI to help create "the final Beatles record." (Link)

• Singapore launches AI Verify Foundation to shape the future of international AI standards. (Link)

• AI-powered church service in Germany draws a large crowd. (Link)

• Meta's open-source MusicGen AI is like ChatGPT for tunes. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• PixelPunks and Bigetron Esports forge strategic partnership to promote brands, facilitate growth, and innovate in the gaming, esports, and virtual worlds sector. (Link)

• Hyper raises $3.6M from Amazon and more for its iPhone-based, VTuber-friendly avatar platform. (Link)

• Digital comic book publisher LightningWorks receives $2.5M in seed funding. (Link)

• Virtual sports platform Metasport Arena teams up with Soundpickr and Burrst to introduce music and web3 tech to the digital world Sam Arena. (Link)

• NFT Technologies Inc. partners with GPT DAO, which is focused on governance and resource allocation for generative AI. (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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