Meta AI Llama is here and open-source

Today we are covering…

💬 Meta’s ChatGPT rival Llama is here

💰 Metaverse startup Futureverse lands $54M funding

🛡️ Claude 2 touted as safer AI

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Meta’s ChatGPT rival Llama is here [Link]

Meta has made public its own chatbot aimed to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google's Bard, yet it appears to take a different direction: release Llama for free.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces they’re partnering with Microsoft to introduce the next-gen AI large language model and make Llama 2 free for research and commercial use.

The facts so far:

• LLaMA is an acronym for Large Language Model Meta AI, pertaining to the 1st version of its model. It has dropped the capital letters for its second version, Llama 2.

• Saying “open source drives innovation,” Meta differentiates itself from its Big Tech rivals by advocating for such openness to enable outside researchers to delve deeper into AI systems and their biases, risks, and tendencies.

• While describing Microsoft as a “preferred” partner, Meta said the models will also be available through Amazon Web Services, Microsoft's main cloud rival, along with AI startup Hugging Face.

Why this matters: The free-for-use strategy goes against the rush of profit making sparked by ChatGPT in the tech space, as generative AI tools instigated a frenzy of creating new content, images, and other media.

Metaverse startup Futureverse lands $54M funding [Link]

Pushing ahead with its intentions to combine AI and the metaverse, startup Futureverse raises $54M in a new funding round led by 10T Holdings and participated by the likes of Ripple.

Key details:

• Futureverse’s tech platform comprises a suite of proprietary AI content generation tools for enhancing the music, objects, characters, and animations that will eventually figure in the metaverse.

• It recently launched the AI-powered consumer game AI League in cooperation with FIFA on iOS and Android.

• It has rolled up 11 metaverse infrastructure and content firms quietly since starting, seeking to deliver essential components for constructing any metaverse application while simultaneously forming a huge metaverse community worldwide.

Why the large funding matters: It stands in stark contrast with the broader trend of meager capital infusion in the space due to bear market conditions. Further, one of the investors, Ripple, was involved in a federal court ruling last week that said it did not violate security laws when it sold its crypto tokens to the general public.

Claude 2 touted as safer AI [Link]

Startup Anthropic launches Claude 2: a "safer" AI bot offering helpful, harmless, and honest services free of charge to US and UK users. Businesses can also access the API for tailored functions.

Major features of Claude 2:

• Improved accuracy in coding, math, and reasoning

• Higher score on the 2021 multistate practice bar exam compared to predecessor

• Training to self-critique and enhance future outputs

• Lack of feelings or consciousness, clarifying its non-human nature

Anthropic adheres to its "Constitutional AI" principles, involving human evaluation of models before deployment. This approach aims to prevent toxic or discriminatory responses and ensure adherence to legal and ethical standards.

Setting itself apart from other AI bots like Bing and ChatGPT, Claude 2 offers up-to-date knowledge beyond 2021 and can generate longer documents from a single prompt. Its versatility is further enhanced by the ability to accept files in various formats through the upload feature.

Franchising in the metaverse holds potential [Link]

The metaverse, with its immersive virtual environments and shared experiences, holds great promise for franchise development. Venturing into the metaverse can also come with risks that franchisors need to navigate to protect their brand and maximize the benefits.

Franchisors can address risks to leverage metaverse opportunities:

• Take proactive steps to protect IP and brand integrity, such as registering trademarks and IP for digital goods and services, using private blockchain to track asset ownership, and utilizing trademark monitoring services to address violations.

• Comply with data privacy laws and design their services with privacy, security, and regulation in mind. They must review and align privacy policies to mitigate discrepancies, especially when minors are involved.

• Remain cognizant of potential changes in data privacy laws in the metaverse, as jurisdictional discrepancies can create challenges.

Quick Hits

🎮 Gaming

• Crucible launches its tool for Unreal Engine game devs, making game assets reusable across game and metaverse apps. (Link)

• Assassin's Creed creator and gaming giant Ubisoft, in its continued blockchain expansion, becomes a Cronos blockchain validator. (Link)

• Could these new patents filed by Sony possibly point to a new attachment for the PlayStation VR2? (Link)

• PvP space shooter Galaxy Commanders is slated for release on Ethereum scaling network Immutable zkEVM. (Link)

• Meshing nostalgia with innovation, the KMON trading card game launches to present beloved classics like Pokémon and Yugioh in web3. (Link)

• The Simplio app banks on 1-click web3 mobile gaming. (Link)

🕶 Fashion

• L’Oréal cosmetics brand Shu Uemura unveils face stickers embedded with an NFC chip. (Link)

• From demand forecasting to virtual sampling here’s a wealth of ways AI can help cut down fashion waste. (Link)

• Meet Tilly Talbot, the controversial 1st AI fashion designer from Down Under. (Link)

• “In a retail environment where the product-to-experience shift is increasingly significant, genAI can enable the creation of immersive, personalized experiences.” (Link)

• Canadian fashion e-tailer Ssense banks on an gen-AI chatbot tailored for enhanced online styling and shopping. (Link)

• This high-tech body measurement tool from Zalando is intended to drive down returns. (Link)

🏀 Sports

• Rumor has it that the NBA’s joining Apple Vision Pro for sports livestreaming. (Link)

• The AI project SoccerNet uses a large reference set of soccer game recordings - 500 games and 850 video hours - for optimum research. (Link)

• How are XR firms training sports athletes and saving their lives? (Link)

• The Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships lands in the metaverse with a phygital component. (Link)

• NFL’s Washington Commanders are the 1st major league team in the US to use this virtual advertising tech for digital replicas in video games and the metaverse. (Link)

• Mexico’s TV Azteca integrates extended reality platform to allow sports viewers to choose their own viewing angle. (Link)

🎥 Media & Entertainment

• In an open letter to AI companies, writers James Patterson, Suzanne Collins, and Margaret Atwood advocate for copyright permissions. (Link)

• Elon Musk confirms the revival of long-form content feature Twitter Notes. (Link)

• G/O Media - owner of Gizmodo, the Onion, and Jezebel - presses on with AI-generated stories despite errors and staff criticism. (Link)

• An AI engine for media relations? (Link)

• Futurists argue that while it is too early for the metaverse and fundamental technical barriers still exist, it will happen - and arrive with a big bang. (Link)

• Roland launches a AI-powered royalty-free sound library for Bridge Cast live streamers. (Link)

🖼 Art

• The Crypt Gallery announces the launch of SuperRare space. (Link)

• Digital art platform Prohibition taps Arbitrum to democratize generative art. (Link)

• The debut MESH 3D art fair kicks off as the main event at Metaverse Art Week 2023 in Decentraland. (Link)

• Telefónica beefs up its marketplace with new releases, including 5 NFTs of the 1st collection of a work by Van Gogh, digitized in Spain. (Link)

• The time has come to digitize and tokenize the wine industry with new NFTs. (Link)

• Inside the 1st STELSI international metaverse architecture competition. (Link)

• Theta Labs taps 90’s hit game POG for new digital collectibles. (Link)

🤖 AI

• OpenAI donates $5M to the American Journalism Project. (Link)

• Microsoft unveils new AI features: Vector Search, Document Generative AI, OpenAI's Whisper model, and Custom Neural Voice with consent and watermarking. (Link)

• Is it only a matter of time for AI sex robots to replace human intimacy? (Link)

• Microsoft’s Bing Chat is heading to the enterprise space. (Link)

• Catholic universities push for an ethical embrace of AI. (Link)

• China pushes ahead with nationwide computing infrastructure for AI edge. (Link)

💸 Funding & Partnerships

• Web3 investment company Polychain announces first close of $200M fund. (Link)

• CoinFund raises $152M to boost early-stage crypto and AI startups. (Link)

• Radio frequency ID tech company Radar secures $30M in funding, expanding its customer reach and accelerating product development. (Link)

• SCCG management announces strategic partnership with Land Vegas for metaverse VR gaming. (Link)

• Scalo Technologies leads a $3.5M investment round for Hexacore, publisher of hybrid mobile web3 games. (Link)

• Personalized fashion discovery app Get Outfit with an AI-powered stylist has raised pre-seed investments. (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.

📈 If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse 📈

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