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- Anthropic to receive up to $4B investment from Amazon
Anthropic to receive up to $4B investment from Amazon
Bay Area Times
September 25, 2023
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Top stories today:
- Anthropic to receive up to $4B investment from Amazon
- Meta to announce AI character bots, likely on Wednesday
- McCarthy to attempt vote to avoid shutdown starting Tuesday
- Hollywood unions reach provisional 3-year deal with studios
0. Data and calendar
All values as of 6 AM ET / 3 AM PT, other than S&P500 close (4 PM ET / 1 PM PT).
All times are ET.
1. Anthropic to receive up to $4B investment from Amazon
Anthropic is now the #2 most well-funded generative AI unicorn startup:
The initial tranche is $1.25B for a minority stake (exp. smaller than Microsoft's 49% in OpenAI).
Previously, Anthropic said it needed $1B over 18 months to develop its next model, Claude-next. - Techcrunch
Previous investors include Google, FTX, and Salesforce.
The last valuation was $5B in May.
2. Meta to announce AI character bots, likely on Wednesday, in push for young users
Meta's “Gen AI Personas” are similar chatbots to Character AI's.
The aim is to lure young users away from TikTok, which is currently the #1 most popular social media app among U.S. teenagers.
And increase user engagement in general.
Announcement expected at Meta Connect, which is on Wed-Thu. - WSJ
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4. McCarthy to attempt vote to avoid shutdown starting Tuesday
Tue: 1st vote on some of the key funding bills, including State Department, Homeland Security, and agricultural priorities.
Wed-Fri: expected more votes on remaining funding bills. - WSJ
Historically, government shutdowns have been short and have not led to significant spending cuts
Our view: Elon Musk showed that sometimes you can cut 80% of employees and have no effect on productivity
5. Hollywood unions reach provisional 3-year deal with studios to end strike
Details to be released Tuesday, but will likely include higher pay, performance bonuses, and AI standards.
May 2: strike began.
Our view: strikes reduce economic output and therefore are not an efficient way to negotiate wages
Alternatives are necessary, including:
Long-term contracts automatically tying wage growth with revenue/profit growth.
3rd party mediation to reach fair contract changes.
6. Trump 52% vs. 42% Biden in new ABC poll, as other polls, betting markets show tough race
Trump +1.1% on RealClearPolitics's polling average. - RCP
Betting markets have Trump as the slightly favorite, at 33% odds, vs. 31% for Biden
7. Interesting tweets, memes, and videos
8. Other headlines
AI
AI pause letter co-author: interview.
Tech
Apple to scale India production 5x to $40B in 4-5 years: source.
Range, backed by Google's AI Fund, has revolutionized wealth management.*
SpaceX’s cell coverage plans delayed by Starship explosion.
Android: India’s PhonePe launches 0-fee app store.
Amazon Alexa’s departing head: an interview.
Artifact: interview with co-founder Systrom (co-founder of Instagram).
Netflix's DVD unit being shut down (yes, it still was operating).
Trust & Will makes online estate planning easy & affordable.*
*Sponsored.
Tech & law
U.S. finalizes rules to prevent China from profiting from $52B CHIPS Act.
CA’s Newsom vetoes bill banning self-driving trucks.
Apple AI chief at Google trial: iPhone users can easily switch default search.
Rivos countersues Apple, saying Apple intimidates exiting employees.
Biotech
Business
Chinese developers’ shares fall 7% after Evergrande liquidation rumor.
China bars senior Nomura banker from leaving.
Prenups: 50% of U.S. adults support it.
Crypto
Mixin Network hacked for $200M.
Architect, founded by former FTX US president, gets CFTC license.
FTX: former lawyers file motion to dismiss class action.
U.S. politics
Nevada to have caucuses, which may benefit Trump.
GOP debate moderators: Dana Perino, Stuart Varney, Ilia Calderón.
World
Russia's Lavrov: West is “directly at war” with Moscow.
Zelensky's wife: not sure he will run for President in 2024.
Odesa hit overnight with drones and missiles.
U.S. Ambassador: Western intelligence led to India accusation.
Poland issues no-insults warning to Zelensky after UN comments.
China's takeover of Mischief Reef, 900 miles south of Chinese mainland.
The Philippines condemns China.
Taliban may create large-scale camera surveillance network.
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