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Top stories today: 1) OpenAI's revenue is at $200M+, 2) 2023 AI Index Report is released, 3) Trump is expected to face 34 counts and surrender at 2:15 PM ET, and 4/5) Apple and Google are cutting costs further.

0. Data and calendar

1. OpenAI's revenue at "hundreds of millions" per year

• "Thanks in part to the launch of a paid version of ChatGPT in February, said a person with direct knowledge." - The Information

  • Previously, OpenAI projected $200M for 2023 and $1B for 2024. "Hundreds of millions" suggests the number could be even higher. - Fortune

• OpenAI has been hiring a large sales team since June. Some of the key headers were former WalkMe VP Aliisa Rosenthal as head of sales and former Stripe sales leader James Dyett as head of strategic accounts.

• Plugin partners are not paid and were approached 2 months ago. "The partnerships are a form of data exchange, where plug-in makers get insights into the types of queries people post to ChatGPT."

2. Artificial Intelligence Index Report for 2023 is published by Stanford

AI has moved from academia to industry

Model size has been growing exponentially, now at the trillion parameter level

California continues to lead in number of AI jobs

The U.S. leads in private investment, followed by China

Read more: The Verge, 2023 AI Index Report.

3. Trump expected to face 34 felony counts and surrender today at 2:15 PM ET

• No handcuffs, jail cell or, mugshot. - Yahoo

• Journalists have been in line since Monday, to witness first-hand Trump inside the courtroom.

• No cameras are allowed in the courtroom. - Daily Mail

Trump wants DA Bragg to be indicted

• Trump might face a gag order today, so these might be some of his last words on the case.

Attorney Todd Blanche will lead his defense

• Left prestigious Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft to join Trump's team.

• Successfully defended Paul Manafort's 2019 criminal charges, which were discarded by the judge after Blanche successfully argued the case violated a state law protecting defendants from being prosecuted for the same crimes twice.

• Previously, 9 years as a federal prosecutor for the SDNY. - WSJ

CNN poll: 60% approve indictment, but only 37% think Trump did something illegal

Read more: CNN poll.

4. Apple eliminating a "likely very small" number of jobs in corporate retail teams

Nothing compared to the layoffs at Apple's major competitors, such as Microsoft, Google/Alphabet, and Facebook/Meta:

• Likely very small number: "The company is shedding positions in what it calls its development and preservation teams, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the move hasn’t been announced. Those groups are responsible for the construction and upkeep of Apple retail stores and other facilities around the world. While the number of positions being eliminated couldn’t be ascertained and is likely very small, the move represents a new step for the world’s most valuable company." - Bloomberg

• In related news, Tim Cook is profiled by GQ.

5. Google is cutting down on many perks

A leaked company-wide email from Google CEO includes:

• 2 comparisons with 2018.

• Cuts to refreshes for laptops, PCs, monitors, mobile phones.

• Requirement for director-or-above approval for purchases above $1K. - CNBC

6. Saudi Arabia discloses investments in several U.S. funds

The list is long and includes many of the most famous names

• Like 500 Startups, Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, Craft, Flagship, General Atlantic, Orbimed, Polychain, Race, Valar, Advent, Apollo, H.I.G., K1, Thoma Bravo, and others. - The Information, Sanabil

Banning foreign investors is not the solution; transparency is

• Banning foreign investment from non-enemy countries does not seem wise, even if they are dictatorships or do not share Western values, as the West would have to curtail trade with most of the world. Even India, the new media darling, arrested its main opposition leader this past month.

• With transparency, potential conflicts of interest become clearer. The SEC could help by mandating funds larger than $100M (the same that must publish their stock investments via the 13F forms) to disclose foreign investors whose beneficial owner are governments or politically exposed persons.

7. Twitter changes logo to DOGE coin dog

Elon suggests the change was purely for the meme value

DOGE rose 27% to $0.10, equivalent to a $14B market cap

8. Twitter competitor Post.news launches to the public

• Focused on news and rewarding publishers. "Bardin claims the average CPMs publishers are getting from Post’s platform is $25 for a paid post. The highest article got a $300 CPM. But, he adds, publishers are also making an average of $1.30 CPMs from their free posts by way of donations and tips. The micropayments platform Post users, which is powered by Stripe, allows users to buy a bundle of points in packets of 300 ($4.20) up to 10,000 ($126.70)." - Techcrunch, Post.news

• We much prefer Twitter and don't see Post as a threat. Twitter is amazing for all the news headlines but also for the commentary from the world's top thinkers and builders. No one wants a stream of news links -- that's RSS, and newsletters like this provide a much better product.

9. Mounjaro, the world's best weight loss drug, gets a WSJ profile

This comparison table shows that Mounjaro-treated patients had an average weight loss of 22.5% in clinical trials, a record:

10. Other headlines

Tech

• Google Travel getting new features: price guarantee, swipeable story format.

• Spotify shutting down live-audio app Spotify Live.

• Flipboard quits Twitter as new API plans are "prohibitively expensive."

• Meta report: news links account for <3% of what people see on Facebook.

• PC market decline to bottom out in Q1: Canalys.

Business

• Saudis cut oil production to have money for their gigaprojects, ignoring U.S. interests.

• Credit Suisse Chairman "truly sorry" for bank failure.

• TikTok: Australia bans app from government devices.

• UFC parent merging with WWE; enterprise values of $12B and $9B, respectively.

• Women's college basketball drew an average of 9.9M viewers, a record.

Media

• Elon doc: Vice's The Cult of Elon to launch on April 24 on Fox-owned Tubi.

• Game of Thrones prequel about the 1st Targaryen being discussed at HBO.

• Harry Potter online TV series expected from Warner Bros.

Crypto

• Binance denies CEO CZ has an Interpol Red Notice; rumor started by @Cobie.

• Euler $200M hack: all "recoverable funds" returned.

• Gucci to launch Bored Ape-themed jewelry.

Politics

• U.S. kills Islamic State leader in Syria.

• Finland to enter NATO today.

• Disney CEO critiques DeSantis for "anti-business" and "anti-Florida" retaliation.

• Florida to become 26th state to allow permitless concealed carry.

11. Interesting tweets, memes, and images

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