👀 Amazon’s AI infatuation

In his annual shareholder letter, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy emphasized the company's dual focus on cost-cutting and investing in AI as a key growth area.

Despite slow sales and economic headwinds leading to Amazon's largest layoffs (over 27,000 job cuts), Jassy believes there are still opportunities to "lower our cost to serve" in the retail business.

However, he stressed the importance of staying "resilient" long-term by finding new areas for growth and building "primitive services" - foundational building blocks that can bring about new projects and businesses.

Jassy views GenAI as potentially Amazon's next big "pillar" or major line of business, following retail, Prime subscriptions, and cloud computing (AWS). While Amazon will build many AI applications, Jassy said AWS aims to become the platform on which "much of this world-changing AI will be built."

• Amazon has already made a flurry of AI moves, including:

• Adding $2.75B to its stake in AI startup Anthropic,

• Launching shopping assistant Rufus,

• Unveiling the business AI chatbot "Q,"

• Debuting the Bedrock GenAI service for AWS customers and

• Adding AI pioneer Andrew Ng to its board.

With both cost discipline and aggressive AI investments, Jassy aims to position Amazon for long-term success as AI reshapes the tech landscape.

Read more: CNBC

💻️ Apple’s AI MacBooks

According to Bloomberg, Apple is gearing up for a major overhaul of its Mac lineup powered by the new AI-focused M4 chips - the company aims to update every Mac model with the next-generation processors, which will feature AI processing capabilities.

The updated Macs are expected to launch late this year or early next year. The lineup will include:

• New iMacs,

• A low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, 

• A high-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, and

• Mac Minis - all equipped with AI-enabled M4 chips.

The move comes as PC makers look to revive sales by integrating more powerful AI chips that can handle tasks like document summarization without relying on cloud processing.

Apple plans to highlight the M4 chips' AI capabilities and how they will integrate with the next macOS version. The initiative aligns with Apple's anticipated AI announcements at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in June, where the company could unveil new AI partnerships and iOS changes.

With Mac sales down 27% last fiscal year, the AI-focused M4 chips present an opportunity for Apple to breathe new life into its computer lineup and meet rising demands for on-device AI processing power.

Read more: Yahoo Finance

📼 Adobe’s data buying spree

With data being the currency in this AI world, Adobe is taking a proactive approach to building its AI text-to-video generator by actively procuring videos from its network of creators and artists.

The software giant is aiming to source over 100 video clips depicting people engaged in everyday actions, expressing emotions like joy and anger, or interacting with objects - while offering $2.62 to $7.25 per minute of submitted video content.

Overall: This move comes as Adobe faces increasing competitive pressure from OpenAI's impressive Sora video generation model.

While Adobe has already released AI tools for generating images and illustrations in its creative software, like Photoshop, it recognizes the need to catch up in the video AI space.

Read more: Bloomberg

Tweet Highlight

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 AI girlfriends

This Twitter/X post made by Greg Isenberg, CEO of Late Checkout, has been trending since last week.

Its premise was simple: AI-generated virtual girlfriends are poised to create a billion-dollar dating industry.

Here’s the story:

• Isenberg recounted meeting a 24-year-old man in Miami who admitted to spending $10,000 monthly on "AI girlfriends."

• The man explained his fondness for customizing an AI companion's likes, dislikes, and even voice interactions, saying, "It's comfort at the end of the day."

• He preferred websites like Candy.ai and Kupid.ai, which offer immersive chatbots that portray fictional girlfriends.

Isenberg predicted, "Someone will build the AI-version of Match Group and make $1B+," referring to the dating app conglomerate. Platforms like Romance.AI, Replika, Forever Companion, Nomi.ai, and Soulmate are already gaining popularity by allowing users to create personalized AI partners for friendships, mentoring, or romantic relationships.

Overall: As the technology develops, Isenberg believes AI companions could disrupt the dating industry with a billion-dollar AI girlfriend service.

While the concept raises ethical considerations, the market demand appears present, positioning AI girlfriends as an emerging industry to watch.

Read more: Yahoo News

🤖 Ernie Bot is on the rise

One of China's tech giants, Baidu, recently announced that its AI chatbot "Ernie Bot" has amassed over 200 million users since its public release eight months ago.

The number of users has doubled since the company's last update in December, demonstrating the growing popularity of ChatGPT-like AI assistants in China.

Here are some stats on the Ernie Bot:

• During a conference in Shenzhen, Baidu CEO Robin Li revealed that Ernie Bot's API is being utilized 200 million times daily.

• Ernie Bot has also gained traction in the enterprise sector, with 85,000 companies utilizing the AI assistant.

• Li stated that in the fourth quarter of last year, Baidu had already generated several hundred million yuan in revenue by leveraging AI to improve its advertising services and assisting other companies in building their own AI models.

Overall: While Ernie Bot was the first domestically developed ChatGPT-like chatbot announced in China, it faced regulatory hurdles and only received approval for public release in August, along with seven other AI chatbots approved by Beijing.

Read more: Reuters

If you enjoyed this, please help spread the love by forwarding this Newsletter to a friend or colleague.

I hope to see you in the next one!

AI Genesis

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here's how I can help you:

Get your product in front of 3600+ solopreneurs, business owners, and professionals. Sponsor this newsletter here.