- Cash Nut
- Posts
- Gold is shining and rising
Gold is shining and rising
Plus: Baidu Says Ernie AI Chatbot Now Has 200 Million Users
Cash Nut
April 17, 2024
Together with
In Today’s Edition
Andreessen Horowitz Closes $7.2 billion for New Funds
Microsoft will invest $1.5B in the UAE’s leading AI company
International Monetary Fund raises US economic forecast
Baidu Says Ernie AI Chatbot Now Has 200 Million Users
YouTube is strengthening its enforcement on third-party apps
New charging algorithm could double life of li-ion batteries
Bay Area Times is a visual-based newsletter on business and tech, with 250,000+ subscribers.
Sign up with one click.
🚀Startups Nuts
Andreessen Horowitz, a prominent venture capital firm, has successfully raised $7.2 billion for its latest set of funds, surpassing its initial target of $6.9 billion. The firm has created dedicated venture funds, each with its own team of experts and capabilities, specifically focused on certain segments such as American Dynamism, Apps, Games, Infrastructure, and Growth.
Other News
Two Chairs, an in-person therapy startup, raised $72 million
GridBeyond, a power grid software company, raised $55 million
Upstage, a document and workflow automation platform, raised $72M
Spines, a publishing platform supercharged by AI, raised $6.5M
🏭Business Nuts
Gold prices continued its rally as Middle East tensions spurred demand, lifted by the bullion's safe haven appeal. Gold prices notched another record close Monday, with the most-active June contract for gold futures settling at $2,383 per ounce. Hotter-than-expected inflation in March pushed back market expectations of a rate cut to September, and the expectation is now for two rate reductions instead of three. In spite of that, analysts remain bullish on the yellow metal's outlook, boosted by continued physical demand as well as its appeal as a geopolitical hedge.
Other News
Tesla’s shares kept sliding yesterday following Monday’s job cuts, sending the company’s valuation below $500B for the first time since last April. The EV juggernaut has lost $290B+ in value so far in 2024.
Microsoft will invest $1.5B in the UAE’s leading AI company, G42, as part of a US government-led deal to end the Abu Dhabi-based firm’s collaboration with China.
Dr. Martens stock dropped 30% yesterday, hitting a new low for the shoe brand, and was also temporarily suspended from the London Stock Exchange.
China's economy expands more than expected with 5.3% growth year-over-year in first quarter, driven by increased exports.
Morgan Stanley beats first quarter earnings and revenue expectations, with profit up 14% year-over-year, sending stock up 3% on the news; all three divisions (wealth management, trading, and investment banking) saw a jump.
International Monetary Fund raises US economic forecast to 2.7% growth this year, outpacing Europe; anticipates global growth of 3.2%.
Amazon's Prime service reached a new milestone with 180 million U.S. members, marking an 8% increase from last year, as the platform's rapid delivery and broad product range continue to attract consumers despite rising competition.
📱Tech Nuts
Baidu's ChatGPT-style chatbot Ernie Bot has doubled its number of users since December. The chatbot now has over 200 million users and more than 85,000 enterprise clients. Its API is being used 200 million times each day. Ernie Bot was launched in March 2023 and released publicly last August. It is competing with other Chinese generative AI models including Alibaba Group's Tongyi Qianwen, Tencent's Hunyuan, and Alibaba-backed Moonshot AI's Kimi.
Other News
YouTube is strengthening its enforcement on third-party apps that violate its Terms of Service, specifically ad-blocking apps. It recently made a post on the official YouTube Community Help Forum putting third-party ad-blocking apps on notice. People using these apps may start experiencing buffering issues or errors when trying to watch videos.
The initial batch of AI features on iOS 18 will function without the need for an internet connection.
MKBHD's review of the Humane Ai Pin has some people up in arms due to its title and thumbnail, sparking debate about influencers and their responsibilities to the companies they talk about.
Meta’s Oversight Board is also tackling the issue, investigating how it handled two instances of explicit deepfakes of public figures posted to Instagram and Facebook.
Uber added a simple safety feature yesterday: reminding passengers to buckle up. Users will get a push notification on their phones while drivers’ phones will play an audio alert.
🔥IRS offering $32k in tax credit compensation
Americans who earned any self-employment income during COVID-19 could be eligible to receive up to $32,220 in tax credits.
GigWorkerSolutions do what most CPA’s can't, and in the last 7 months have helped recover over $250M from the IRS. Create a free account with them today to see if you qualify.
🎁Miscellaneous
A team of researchers from Berlin has developed a charging solution that makes lithium-ion batteries last much longer than they do now. It uses a pulsed current (PC) protocol that results in reduced mechanical stress and cracking in graphite particles within batteries and suppressed structural degradation in cathodes. Using PC charging can double the service life of commercial lithium-ion batteries with an 80% capacity retention. High-frequency pulsing with square-wave current produced the best results.
💡What else are we reading and seeing?
An AI rom-com looks about as bad as you’d expect
The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat
Blackstone said to revive potential sale of Motel 6 brand owner
Top 5 interview tips from an investment banker
One big problem with how we rank countries by happiness
Why most workplace benefits don’t actually work
6 strategic concepts that set high-performing companies apart
🔥 Few tools many people are finding useful
AI Assistant for Acrobat is Adobe’s new “chat with your PDF” assistant
Muddy is an AI-powered web browser that’s built for team collaboration
Cassidy is an internal AI assistant that’s trained on all of your company knowledge bases
Canyon is a job search platform that includes AI mock interviews
🐦Joke of the Day
Enjoy The Cash Nut? Consider forwarding it to a co-worker, colleague, classmate, or whoever you think might be interested.
Advertise With us - Link
Keep an Eye on our Weekly newsletter, where we gonna share resources like Financial Models, AI tools, and much more.
That’s it from our side for today.