Top stories today:

1. Apple in talks with Google, OpenAI over building iPhone’s AI features
2. xAI open sources Grok-1, 314B-parameter LLM
3. TikTok Shop sees growth in 2023, nearing Amazon, Shopify

0. Data and calendar

1. Apple in talks with Google, OpenAI over building iPhone’s AI features

• Potential partnership with Google is more likely.

• WWDC in June: when a deal and the new features are likely to be announced.

• This suggests that Apple may be lagging behind in generative AI development if it needs to partner with Google.

2. xAI open sources Grok-1, 314B-parameter Mixture-of-Experts LLM

Still, Grok-1 is not the top-performing open-source LLM, behind Smaug, the #1 model in Hugging Face’s leaderboard, and slightly ahead of GPT-3.5:

• Base model, not fine-tuned for chatting or for filtering out unwanted words or ideas.

• Commercial uses allowed, given Apache License 2.0.

• It is unclear whether there is a current use case for a model of Grok’s size, which likely consumes more compute and energy (and thus costs more) than its comparables.

4. TikTok Shop sees exponential growth in 2023, nearing Amazon, Shopify

According to the number of visits to the seller portals of these platforms:

• TikTok U.S. estimated to be worth $100B with its algorithm, $40B without.

• U.S. user growth is stalling, even as revenue continues to grow.

  • From $10B in 2022 to $16B-$20B in 2023.

5. Vision Pro app store launches on web

Now non-Vision Pro owners can see what developers are building for the AR headset:

6. Interesting videos, posts, and memes

7. Other headlines

AI

• Apple researchers say they achieved breakthroughs in multimodal AI.

• FTC investigating Reddit's AI deals, as IPO nears.

• Social Capital's Groq AI deal led to firing of 2 partners.

• HubSpot: download the guide on how to use AI for better results, for free.*

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Tech

• Reddit IPO 4-5x oversubscribed: sources.

• AirPods 4 models expected in Sep./Oct.

• PlayStation 5 Pro expected to be released before year-end.

• PSVR2 production paused as inventory piles up.

• YC's Michael Seibel steps down as managing partner, becomes Partner.

• Elon Musk’s breakup with Don Lemon: behind the scenes.

• LinkedIn to add gaming.

• Incogni: keep your SSN off the dark web.*

• citizenM has 14 tech-ready hotels stateside for the best night's sleep of your life.*

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Tech & law

• SpaceX building spy satellite network for U.S. intelligence agency.

• Apple must face suit claiming AirTags help stalkers.

• SCOTUS rules public officials can block followers in some cases.

• Meta investigated by U.S. for alleged role in drug sales.

Biotech

• Relation raises $35M to discover osteoporosis drugs with AI.

• Alzheimer’s and the gut microbiome: a look at.

Business

• Fed whisperer Timiraos suggest rate cuts “soon,” not on Wed.

• Boeing’s troubles expected to pressure airline ticket prices.

Crypto

• SBF should get 40-50 years: prosecutors.

  • Private Google Docs showed his plans to avoid jail.

• Binance’s token listing process now requires 1-year cliff period for sales.

• SOL crosses $200, pushed by memecoin frenzy.

• Crypto certifications: a look at.

• Uniswap: making it easier to buy, sell and trade tokens on Ethereum.*

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U.S. politics

• Biden raises $53M in Feb., now has $155M in cash, more than Trump’s ~$40M.

• Trump advisers suggest Warsh, Hassett, Laffer as Fed Chair.

World

• Putin claims election win with 87% of votes.

  • Confirms rumors that he had agreed to swap Navalny for prisoners.

• Netanyahu: IDF prepares Rafah invasion, criticizes Schumer’s comments.

• Pakistan carries out airstrikes in Afghanistan.

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