Salesforce is helping businesses deploy their own AI models with a Bring Your Own Model tool

Aug 07, 2023

⚡ Today’s Highlights

📰 News: Salesforce is helping businesses deploy their own AI models with a Bring Your Own Model tool
💰 Funding: Haus, Language I/O, and Persist AI
📅 Events: Ai4 is happening today in Las Vegas and the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and IoT is this weekend!

📰 Today's Top Stories

Salesforce Launches BYOM to Make It Easy for Businesses to Use Proprietary Data to Build and Deploy AI Models

(10 min read) (Source: Salesforce)

TLDR: Salesforce has launched Einstein Studio, an easy-to-use "bring your own model" (BYOM) platform. This lets companies integrate their custom AI models with Salesforce applications, amplifying the value derived from their AI and data investments.

Einstein Studio allows businesses to use their company-specific data from Salesforce Data Cloud to train models from various AI platforms, including Amazon SageMaker from AWS and Google Cloud's Vertex AI.
Einstein Studio's features include zero-ETL integration, making data migration between platforms simpler. It provides a control panel for AI model management and eliminates lengthy data integration processes, making AI adoption quicker and cost-effective.
The platform can enhance customer interactions, allow for seamless integration with tools like Amazon SageMaker and Google Cloud’s Vertex AI, and maximize IT and AI investments. Practical applications are evident in finance (cross-selling), retail (personalized product recommendations), and automotive (predictive maintenance) sectors.
AI integration is a priority for many businesses, yet around 60% are still in the early stages. Einstein Studio aims to streamline AI integration into enterprise workflows, potentially revolutionizing the way companies leverage AI.

OpenAI adds ‘huge set’ of ChatGPT updates, including suggested prompts, multiple file uploads

(4 min read) (Source: VentureBeat)

TLDR: OpenAI, via Logan Kilpatrick, announced a series of enhancements to its ChatGPT product. These updates aim to streamline user interactions and boost productivity. The new features include:

Example Prompts: Users will have guidance and won't start with a blank slate.
Suggested Replies: ChatGPT will now automatically formulate follow-up questions, reducing decision fatigue.
GPT-4 as Default: ChatGPT Plus subscribers will have GPT-4 as their default model, negating the need to switch to this version manually each time.
Multiple File Uploading: Enhanced functionality in the Code Interpreter beta now allows Plus users to upload multiple files simultaneously.
Extended Login Duration & New Welcome Page: Users won’t be automatically logged out every two weeks, and if they do, a new and improved welcome page awaits.
Concurrently, there are indications of OpenAI's future plans as they have filed a trademark application for GPT-5, suggesting advancements like artificial production of human speech and multilingual translation capabilities.

https://twitter.com/OfficialLoganK/status/1687151401523089408

Microsoft kills Cortana in Windows as it focuses on next-gen AI

(3 min read) (Source: TechCrunch)

TLDR: Microsoft is discontinuing its digital assistant app, Cortana, this month, while emphasizing new AI-driven features, including Bing Chat, within Windows and its Edge browser.

They're integrating a GPT-4 powered chatbot into Windows 11, a result of their collaboration with OpenAI. Concurrently, while the standalone Cortana app will see its end, specific functions will remain available in tools like Outlook and Microsoft Teams.

Tim Cook answers critics about why Apple’s A.I. efforts seem so far behind Microsoft, Google, and Elon Musk

(4 min read) (Source: Fortune)

TLDR: Unlike other tech giants, Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, remained largely silent about the role of AI during the quarterly earnings call. Cook instead focused on discussing Apple's new Vision Pro headset and its retail expansion in India.

Despite the minimal public emphasis, when pressed at the meeting, Cook highlighted the significance of A.I. in Apple's product development. Features in iOS 17 and Apple Watch's fall detection underscore its integration. Cook stated that AI and machine learning are fundamental to nearly every Apple product.
Altman, Pichai, Musk and others have frequently discussed the potential of generative A.I. and anticipate a transformative moment for their respective companies. In contrast, it seems Apple and Cook perceive A.I. as a means to enhance product value, opting for a more subdued approach toward investor communication.

👀 More Reading:

The Economic Case for Generative AI and Foundation Models (Andreessen Horowitz)
Death by LLM: Stack Overflow's decline, and its plan to survive, shows the future of free online data in an AI world (Business Insider)
Nvidia GPU shortage is ‘top gossip’ of Silicon Valley (VentureBeat)
A New Frontier for Travel Scammers: A.I.-Generated Guidebooks (The New York Times)
The Other A.I.: Artificial Intimacy With Your Chatbot Friend (The Wall Street Journal)
Every start-up is an AI company now. Bubble fears are growing. (The Washington Post)

💰 Funding Alerts

1. Haus, a growth intelligence platform using AI to provide brands with tools to understand how marketing activities impact their business performance, raised a $17M Series A.

Their platform features demand forecasting, personalized treatments for existing customers, and next-generation LTV modeling, revolutionizing marketing analytics.
Round led by Insight Partners with existing investors Baseline Ventures, Haystack Ventures, Upside Partnership, Octave Ventures, and Mantis Venture Capital also participating.
Funding is for expanding their team and build a suite of highly integrated causal analytical tools to help companies measure and drive profitable growth.

2. Language I/O, an AI-enabled translation platform providing brand-specific translations of user-generated content for Fortune 500 companies, raised a $8M Series A1.

Round led by Joint Effects, and joined by Wyoming Business Council’s Wyoming Venture Capital (WYVC) Fund with Gutbrain Ventures, PBJ Capital, and Omega Venture Partners.
Funding is for expanding LIO's machine learning team and platform.
They aim to integrate generative AI to improve real-time translation quality and develop language-specific, LLM-powered chatbots. Their goal is to remove language barriers and foster seamless global communication, empowering businesses to deliver exceptional customer experiences across diverse markets.

3. Persist AI develops robotics and AI-driven drug formulation tech for long-acting injectable formulations. They raised $4M in funding after completing YCombinator.

Round led by 2048 Ventures with participation from Innospark Ventures, Fellows Fund, YCombinator, Pioneer Fund, and others.
Funding is for expanding operations and development efforts at Persist AI.

📅 Upcoming Events

SIGGRAPH 2023 (Aug 6-10, 2023 / Los Angeles, CA, USA OR Virtual)

Recent advancements in AI technology have led to some major breakthroughs in the computer graphics industry! This year, SIGGRAPH celebrates its 50th conference and reflects on half a century of discovery and advancement while charting a course for the bold and limitless future ahead. You’re invited to contribute your audacious ideas in computer graphics, digital art, animation, visual effects, new realities, artificial intelligence, research, and more.

Ai4 2023 (Aug 7-9, 2023 / MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV, USA)

One of the industries leading conferences, Ai4 2023 brings together business leaders and data practitioners to facilitate the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology.
Over 10+ hours of built-in networking time, 1:1 meeting scheduling, group discussions, a private networking & messaging app, and a few other fun surprises to help you connect.

International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and IoT (Aug 12-13, 2023 / Virtual)

AIIoT 2023 will provide an excellent international forum for sharing knowledge and results in theory, methodology and applications of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT).

The Data Scientist Learning Journey: Deep Learning Made Easy (Aug 17, 2023 / Virtual)

This webinar will introduce you to helpful tools for data scientists who are building models with image or video data but don’t have experience working with deep learning model architectures.
For more experienced deep learning modelers, this webinar will provide convenient examples of using predefined architectures to build SAS deep learning models.