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December 13th Newsletter
Da Yu
December 13, 2024
Before we unpack this week’s actions, feel free to download the financial performance of select public companies from various industries that Stepmark has prepared for you.
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As of the market close on December 12, 2024
Economic and corporate developments this week highlight shifting inflation trends and transformative partnerships in Big Tech. CPI rose to 2.7% year-over-year for November, compared to 2.6% for October, with core inflation at 3.3% as expected. Investors still expect a Fed rate cut at next week’s meeting, despite inflation’s slight uptick. In the retail sector, the Albertson-Kroger merger collapsed after a court ruling, and Walgreens is in talks of a buyout. In Big Tech, Google is partnering with Intersect Power and TPG Rise Climate to develop industrial parks combining data centers with clean energy plants, with the first project set for 2026.
We have recently published our Edtech and HCM market maps. Access both here.
Now let’s check out what exciting updates AI brings us this week!
Top 5 AI highlights
[1] 🌌 OpenAI has launched Sora, its new AI-powered video generator, as a standalone product available to ChatGPT Plus and Pro users on Monday. While Sora can generate creative videos, human depictions are restricted to invited testers due to concerns about misuse and deepfakes. CEO Sam Altman mentioned the company is prioritizing the prevention of harmful content and emphasizes that Sora will not replace the entertainment industry though text-to-video tools like Sora have been raising ethical concerns. Learn more about Sora.
[2] 🎨 Grok launched Aurora, rolling it out globally within a week. Initially available as a beta under Grok 2, Aurora faced early removal after generating photorealistic but controversial images, such as copyrighted figures. Elon Musk confirmed Aurora is in beta; he promises improvements amid concerns about content restrictions. Details on X.
[3] 🤖 Google’s Gemini 2.0, launching as an experimental preview, introduces enhanced multimodal capabilities, including audio and image generation. Its performance is ranked twice as fast as its predecessor Gemini 1.5 Pro, with improvements in code and reasoning. CEO Demis Hassabis highlights its cost-efficient performance and advancements in agent-based AI, such as Project Astra and Mariner. More information.
[4] 🌍 U.S. grants export license for advanced AI chips to a Microsoft-run UAE facility, resolving previous export concerns. The license supports Microsoft's $1.5 billion investment in G42, an Emirati AI firm that dominates the region's tech landscape. G42's significant revenue contribution to Cerebras highlights the strategic importance of the export approval for the AI chip manufacturer's IPO plans. Read more here.
[5] 🍎 Apple launches major AI updates with ChatGPT integration on Siri, enabling advanced question handling through OpenAI's GPT-4o model. The iOS 18.2 release introduces Apple Intelligence features for iPhone 15 and 16 models, with privacy-protected access to ChatGPT and new image generation tools. Meanwhile, Apple is developing its own AI chip, code-named Baltra, in collaboration with Broadcom, with production projected for 2026 via TSMC's advanced process, which also produces for Nvidia. More details.
Founder’s Corner
The difference in round size across metros explained by the cost of talent
What we read this week
Amazon launched Amazon Autos, now enabling US shoppers to purchase Hyundai cars in 48 US cities, and plans to expand with more dealerships (TechCrunch).
GM retracts focus from Cruise, its robotaxi, after investing more than $10B since 2016 (Reuters).
Hershey's owner rejects Mondelez's takeover bid, halting plans for a potential $50 billion food giant merger (Bloomberg).
DOJ fights TikTok's ban appeal, ByteDance faces January 19, 2025 divestment deadline or shutdown (Reuter).
ServiceTitan's IPO on Thursdays soared up to $105 and closed above $100 with a 42%+ gain. (TechCrunch).
WP Engine secured a court order against Automattic, halting interference with plugins and access to WordPress.org resources amid trademark disputes (The Verge).
Special Section: OpenAI’s 12-day Shipmas Recap
At the halfway mark, here are all the releases so far!
Day 1: Release of full o1 and ChatGPT Pro subscription;
Day 2: Reinforcement Fine-Tuning;
Day 3: Sora-Turbo released;
Day 4: Demo updates for ChatGPT’s Canvas;
Day 5: Apple Intelligence integration of ChatGPT
Day 6: Advanced voice with video & Santa mode🎅
… and more exciting things to come!
AI M&A and Fundraising news
December 11:
Flare: Cyber threat intelligence for data theft, raised a $30M Series B round.
RapidCanvas: AI agents for data scientists, raised a $16M Series A round.
SpotmyEnergy: German smart meter maker, raised a €10.5M Seed round.
Stainless: SDK generation from APIs, raised a $25M Series A round.
December 10:
Aampe: AI agents for consumer apps, raised a $18M Series A round.
Albert Invent: AI for the chemicals sector, raised a $22.5M Series A round.
AQEMIA: Quantum AI for drug discovery, raised a $38M funding round.
Arctic Instruments: Quantum computer amplifiers, raised a $2.5M round.
Astrix Security: Non-human identity management, raised a $45M funding round.
Gentrace: AI testing platform for developers, raised a $8M Series A round.
GovSignals: Government contract AI platform, raised a $5.5M Seed round.
HEMAV: AI-driven agriculture solutions, raised a $8.7M round.
Hyperbolic: Decentralized AI infrastructure, raised a $12M Series A round.
LambdaTest: Cloud-based testing platform, raised a $38M round.
Mainframe: Generative productivity assistant, raised a $5.5M Seed round.
Nscale: Renewable energy data centers, raised a $155M Series A round.
Speak: AI language learning app, raised $78M Series C at $1B valuation.
TruVideo: AI/AR-driven transportation communication, raised a $40M funding round.
Wald.ai: Data protection startup, raised a $4M seed round.
WeaveGrid: EV grid software, raised a $28M funding round.
December 9:
Ask Sage: GenAI for government and commerce, raised a $17M Series A round.
Element451: AI-first student engagement platform, raised a $175M round.
Rowan: Molecule and material analysis, raised a $2.1M Pre-seed round.
December 6: