Inflection AI’s $1.3B funding

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💰 Inflection AI bags $1.3B funding

⚖️ OpenAI hit by class-action lawsuit

🚫 Valve quietly bans games with AI art

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Inflection AI bags $1.3B funding [Link]

Microsoft and Nvidia, two leading players in the booming AI race, are among the tech heavyweights that have just poured $1.3B into startup Inflection AI in a mix of cash and cloud credit.

Key details about Inflection AI:

• It’s a year-old, Palo Alto-based company that’s building consumer-faced AI products and is deemed a top OpenAI rival. Founded by Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, it’s valued at $4B due to the new investment.

• Last month, it has just released its chatbot Pi, which uses generative AI similar to ChatGPT in order to interact with users via dialogues and allow them to ask questions as well as share feedback. Its model Inflection-1, which powers Pi, is claimed in a recent report to outperform most models available.

• Most of the fresh funding will be used to build computing power to develop a more powerful foundation model.

Microsoft is an existing Inflection AI investor while also backing its rival Open AI, while Nvidia is pumping more AI investments of late as it directs its product development toward the metaverse.

OpenAI hit by class-action lawsuit [Link]

A California-based law firm alleges that the company behind ChatGPT has massively violated the copyrights and privacy of countless individuals when it used data scraped from the internet to train its popular tech.

The finer details of the class-action suit:

• The novel legal theory: OpenAI violated the rights of millions of internet users by using everything from their social media comments to blog and Wikipedia articles to family recipes.

• The rationale behind the case: At the heart of generative AI tools is tech that processes billions of words from the open internet and builds inferences between them. Following its processing of enough data, the ensuing large language models (LLMs) respond to a prompt, creating anything from complex conversations to poetry and creative output to news articles.

• The road ahead: While the law firm already has a group of plaintiffs, it is actively looking for more.

While OpenAI isn’t the only scraping the open internet for data to train its AI models, it plays a pivotal role in spurring rivalry among Google, Facebook, and Microsoft (to name a few) to advance their own AI agenda.

Valve quietly bans games with AI art [Link]

Valve, the company powering popular games Steam and Counter-Strike, quietly implements a ban on games that use AI-generated art in their development.

A user's post on the AIGameDev subreddit revealed their failed attempt to release a game with AI-generated art assets on the platform.

In response, Valve sent an email stating that they cannot allow games to be shipped if the developer doesn't possess all the necessary rights to the assets used. This move seems to be made in response to the complex issue of copyright associated with AI-generated art.

This decision, however, raises questions about the sustainability of the approach, especially given the costs associated with game submissions on Steam. Valve has offered refunds under specific circumstances, while navigating the complexities and implications of AI-generated content on the platform.

Will you sign up for Microsoft’s generative AI certification program? [Link]

Microsoft advances AI literacy among workers with its AI Skills Initiative, a part of its Skills for Jobs program, to provide professionals with the skills needed to utilize generative AI.

The initiative offers free coursework through LinkedIn, including a 1st-of-its-kind Professional Certificate on Generative AI. The courses will cover introductory AI concepts and "responsible AI frameworks," empowering learners with essential knowledge and skills.

Initially launching in English, the program will eventually expand to include Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese.

Amid ongoing debates on the ethical implications of generative AI, its integration into the workforce has already begun, starting with these novel courses helping people develop proficiency in generative AI as the world revolves around new and emerging tech.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• What in the world is HV-MTL Forge as Yuga Labs’ significant metaverse gaming expansion? (Link)

• SuperDuper partners with Immutable to release their debut web3 game Overlord. (Link)

• Derby Stars, a new NFT-powered horse racing game, promises superior graphics, free-to-play gameplay, strategic systems and earning potential. (Link)

• In South Africa, Cape Town launches new Roblox game Starlight Adventures In The Cape Karoo to inspire tweens, teens, and their families to explore the Western Cape this winter. (Link)

• Have fun, earn crypto: MyLand.Earth Metaverse Treasure Hunt-2-Earn Game goes live. (Link)

• Inspired by notorious cities from the real world, metaverse game Sinverse’s 17 districts provide a chilling backdrop for players to engage in nefarious activities reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• Lacoste doubles down on web3 with its new Undw3 card NFT, which rewards consumer engagement via the blockchain - another vote of confidence in web3 from fashion. (Link)

• Michele Zanello is a visionary from Italy reimagining fashion’s future, starting his journey as an entertainment manager to becoming a metaverse fashion trailblazer. (Link)

• From Phantom of the Opera to Hamilton: In the spirit of high fashion, Buzzfeed asks AI to design shoes based on Broadway musicals. (Link)

• AVØLVE’s 1st NFT drop, dropping June 29, consists of 4,000 avatars designed to thrive in high-end virtual worlds, blending digital fashion and gaming culture. (Link)

• 3D printing news on digital fashion, 3D printed boulder replica, and more. (Link)

• Brands need to go beyond simply digitizing their existing collections - it means embracing the interactive, user-driven nature of digital fashion. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• Binance bags exclusive rights to release Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2nd NFT collection dubbed ForeverCR7: The GOAT. (Link)

• This members-only metaverse golf club features a virtual Nicklaus Design course. (Link)

• ALIBABA Cloud tests its AI-driven sustainability solution Energy Expert to measure and analyze carbon emissions from temporary construction built to host the 1st Olympic Esports Week. (Link)

• As the sports ad market stays hot, Warner Bros. Discovery bets big on The Match, leaning into irreverence whether it features golf cart commentators or an AI chatbot trash talking Charles Barkley. (Link)

• Magnus Carlsen talks Global Chess League being made more fan-friendly and the whole idea of the metaverse helping its expansion plans. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• Martial arts legend Bruce Lee’s metaverse debut goes to Byte City. (Link)

• Meta unveils plans to revolutionize the EU app industry. (Link)

• Arnold Schwarzenegger: Did the James Cameron’s 1984 film Terminator predict the rise of AI? (Link)

• Could AI movies like The Matrix and Her become a reality? Experts weigh in. (Link)

• Dolly Parton gets intimate with her thoughts on AI in music. (Link)

• Tired of hyper-personalized, algorithm-driven bubbles, many music pros are reverting to the communal spirit of forums through a fresh set of digital tools. (Link)

🖼 Art

• Sotheby’s attempts a new auction model amid economic downturn. (Link)

• Candy Digital confirms layoffs and reveals a merger with Palm NFT studio to form a leading digital collectible provider. (Link)

• Steam might be banning games made with AI art. (Link)

• AI artist Prateek Aurora envisions futuristic rainwear and Amphibious Autorickshaws as solutions for waterlogged roads. (Link)

• Trump NFTs are back. This time, it’s $50 Melania July 4 collectibles. (Link)

• Eminent NFT collector Cozomo de’ Medici links up with Avant Art to showcase artistic talents through NFT project Medici Collection, set to launch on July 25. (Link)

🤖 AI

• The global AI sensor market size is expected to reach $41.17B by 2030. (Link)

• Microsoft president Brad Smith goes to Europe to help shape the AI regulation debate. (Link)

• Get a taste of AI in Windows 11 via the new Clippy app. (Link)

• This is how AI decides what you see on Facebook and Instagram, straight from Meta. (Link)

• The first fully AI-generated drug enters clinical trials in human patients. (Link)

• Microsoft brings new AI-powered shopping tools to Bing and Edge. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Animoca Brands Corporation joins hands with RugbyDAO Forge to create a rugby-themed web3 initiative. (Link)

• Runway, a startup building generative AI for content creators, raises $141M. (Link)

• SuperDuper partners with Immutable to create a web3 real-time strategy game based on its Overlord IP. (Link)

• Community-driven web3 gaming platform Neon Link raises $1M. (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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