Gmail’s Gemini, Microsoft’s Challenges, Squarespace’s Curation, and Plumerai’s On-Device AI

Happy Monday, AI & Data Enthusiasts! 

In today’s edition: 

• Gmail Q&A: Gemini Chatbot Now Available on iOS for Premium Users

• Microsoft’s AI Journey: Challenges Ahead as Investors Weigh Rising Costs and Complexity

• Squarespace is Training its AI Tools with Curation and Taste

• Plumerai’s Tiny AI Revolutionizes Home Security with On-Device Processing

- Naseema Perveen

WHAT CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION MOST

Gmail Q&A: Gemini Chatbot Now Available on iOS for Premium Users

Google has expanded its AI-powered Gemini chatbot to iOS users, allowing them to interact with their Gmail inbox in a new way. This Gmail Q&A feature was previously available to Android users and is now rolling out to iOS for Google One AI Premium subscribers or those with Workspace Enterprise or Education plans.

• Personalized Email Assistance: Gemini can answer specific questions about your emails, such as “How much did we spend on the last marketing event?” and summarize emails on a specific topic.

• Enhanced Search Functionality: In addition to Gmail's regular search bar, users can now access the Gemini button to find inbox information more efficiently, with future integration to include Google Drive.

• Exclusive to Premium Users: Gmail Q&A is part of Google’s broader strategy to drive subscription sign-ups, likely keeping this feature out of reach for free Gmail users.

As Google continues to integrate AI into its existing services, Gmail Q&A on iOS is another step in offering smarter, more efficient tools to manage inboxes. Whether it's summarizing emails or quickly finding specific information, AI is making email management more seamless than ever.

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KEEP YOUR EYE ON IT

Microsoft’s AI Journey: Challenges Ahead as Investors Weigh Rising Costs and Complexity

Microsoft's early success in the AI space is starting to face scrutiny as rising capital expenditures, financial reporting shifts, and its close ties with OpenAI are prompting investors to take a second look. Despite a strong performance last year, the company’s stock is struggling in 2024, leading to growing concerns about its future in AI.

• Soaring Costs of AI: Microsoft spent a staggering $55.7 billion on capital expenditures in its last fiscal year, much of it going toward AI infrastructure like Nvidia chips and cooling systems. This spending is expected to continue rising.

• Investor Patience Wearing Thin: While Microsoft’s Azure cloud service reported growth due to AI, analysts are concerned that the returns on its generative AI investments, such as Copilot tools, have yet to significantly boost revenue.

• Financial Reporting Complications: Recent changes in how Microsoft reports revenue make it difficult for investors to track the performance of its key segments, adding to the uncertainty around its AI strategy.

As Microsoft navigates the complexities of its AI investments, including a close relationship with OpenAI, it must prove to investors that its heavy spending will yield substantial returns. While Wall Street still backs the tech giant, growing concerns about competition and financial transparency may test that confidence.

Squarespace is Training its AI Tools with Curation and Taste

With the launch of Design Intelligence, Squarespace is introducing generative AI tools aimed at helping users build more refined websites. Rather than just relying on AI to automate designs, the company emphasizes a blend of curation and customization to ensure every site feels unique and aligned with the user’s vision.

• Focus on Curation: Squarespace’s AI isn’t about replacing designers but enhancing creativity. The company uses proprietary prompts to guide AI outputs, ensuring the generated content aligns with the platform’s aesthetic and customers' expectations.

• Customization Still Key: Despite using AI to generate elements like text and images, users are encouraged to customize every aspect of the design, maintaining creative control over the final product.

• AI as a Tool, Not a Threat: Squarespace positions its AI tools as a way for designers to save time and enhance their creativity rather than replace them, reinforcing AI’s role as an opportunity, not a competitor.

Squarespace’s Design Intelligence offers a powerful combination of AI automation and human creativity, allowing users to build better websites faster. The company is committed to maintaining design integrity while ensuring AI enhances the web-building process, not overtakes it.

Plumerai’s Tiny AI Revolutionizes Home Security with On-Device Processing

Plumerai, backed by iPod creator Tony Fadell, is making waves in the home security market by integrating on-device AI for smarter, more private cameras. Unlike traditional systems that rely on remote servers, Plumerai’s technology performs people detection and familiar face recognition directly on the camera, enhancing privacy and reducing costs associated with data transmission and storage.

Fadell’s investment in Plumerai reflects his belief in starting small and scaling up, akin to his work on the iPhone. By focusing on smaller AI models, Plumerai ensures that its technology is more efficient and cost-effective, making it an attractive option for companies like Chamberlain Group, which plans to integrate Plumerai’s AI into its smart home cameras. This approach underscores the potential for tiny AI to disrupt the home security market with privacy-focused, on-device solutions.

🎤 VOICE YOUR OPINION

ICYMI

• One of the leaders behind OpenAI’s Sora model has left for Google.

• SoftBank to invest $500mn in OpenAI.

• Anthropic hires OpenAI co-founder Durk Kingma.

• AI reading coach startup Ello now lets kids create their own stories.

• South Korea summit to target 'blueprint' for using AI in military.

MONEY MATTERS

• Artisan raises $11.5M to deploy AI ’employees’ for sales teams.

• Avarra raised $8 million for its AI avatar sales training platform.

• Numa, a startup that uses AI in car dealerships, raised $32 million.

• Subnet raised $55 million for building more environmentally friendly AI data centers.

• AI coding startup Poolside raised a massive $500 million round.

LINKS WE’RE LOVIN’

✅ Podcast: Future of Programming with AI | Lex Fridman Podcast.

✅Cheat sheet: Data Science Cheat Sheets.

✅Course: AI Basics Course for Beginners.

✅Webinar: Leading AI Initiatives: The Strategic Role of the CAIO.

✅Watch: iPhone 16 Pro First Review 2024.

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