ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has introduced a new feature called Private Link, which will be a new way for its business customers to ensure direct communication between Azure and OpenAI while minimizing exposure to the open internet. The company has also released native multi-factor authentication (MFA) to help ensure compliance with increasing access control requirements. Apart from this, OpenAI also offers business associate agreements for healthcare companies.
A Chinese state-backed company, Beijing Xinzhida Neurotechnology, unveiled a brain chip similar to the Neuralink developed on Thursday at the annual tech-focused Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing. It has developed a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant, called Neucyber, that has been tested on a monkey, allowing it to control a robotic arm with only its thoughts. It was "independently developed" and China's first "high-performance invasive BCI."
The Biden administration has helped jumpstart the Micron project by agreeing to provide $6.1 billion in government support that will also cover a memory chip factory in Idaho that would be operating in 2026. The funding is part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act. There are also factories planned by Intel in Arizona and Ohio, TSMC in Arizona, Samsung in Texas and other chipmakers.
A little-discussed problem with modern glass, namely is that it is increasingly difficult for radio signals to pass through it. Siemens-developed technology is going to to limit the frequency loss for mobile signals passing through the windows, in turn significantly boosting it. NTT Docomo is trying to combat the thermal coating issue, by evaluating aerogel, which it described in a statement as a “light, porous material”. A third possibility involves using (Li-Fi) specialist LINXC Bridge which beam signals indoors using light rather than radio.
Tesla is confident its 4680 battery cells will surpass supplier cells in cost by year-end. This technology promises lower costs and faster charging. Despite initial challenges, Tesla aims to outpace suppliers like LG and Panasonic. The focus is on nickel-based cells, excluding lithium-phosphate variants.
During Meta’s earnings call, Zuckerberg focused on AI, the metaverse, and potential ad revenue, but investors reacted poorly, causing a 19% drop in share price. Despite better-than-expected earnings, Zuckerberg highlighted investments, especially in AI, anticipating a multiyear cycle before profitability. The cost-cutting plan from last year continues, with increased capital expenditures for AI infrastructure. Investors were cautious due to a light revenue forecast for Q2.
If there’s one overarching takeaway from last night’s Rabbit R1 launch event, it’s this: Hardware can be fun again. It would have been difficult to time the release better. Generative AI hype had reached a fever pitch. The R1 looks as much like an art piece as anything. It’s a squat, orange object. ChatGPT and Google Gemini will be increasingly baked into mobile operating systems in the months and years to come.
OpenAI chief Sam Altman is pretty much determined to solve the energy and compute issues associated with building and providing generative AI services to a large customer base. Compute is going to be the currency of the future. It will maybe be the most precious commodity in the world. And we should be investing heavily to make a lot more compute. At the same time, Altman believes that it is the hardest problem to solve.
The Federal Trade Commission narrowly voted Tuesday to ban nearly all noncompete employment agreements that typically prevent workers from joining competing businesses or launching ones of their own. The FTC estimates that about 30 million people, or one in five American workers, from minimum wage earners to CEOs, are bound by noncompetes. The FTC says employers should not enforce other existing noncompete agreements.
Apple is said to be developing its own AI server processor using TSMC's 3nm process, targeting mass production by the second half of 2025. By designing its server chips, Apple can tailor hardware specifically to its software needs and could use its own AI processors to enhance the performance of its data centers and future AI tools that rely on the cloud.