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GPT-5 Delayed, Asia’s Cloud Boom, and 2024’s Biggest Bets

Major updates shaping AI’s future—who’s winning the race?

AuthorAuthor

Lex Lee & Leo Jiang
December 24, 2024

In partnership with

 

Hello AI Innovators.

Happy Holidays and best wishes for the Holiday Season🎄✨

As we wrap up 2024 and step into the festive season, it’s the perfect time to reflect on a year where bold moves in AI reshaped industries and redefined what’s possible.

From $100 billion gambles to tech giants pivoting overnight—2024 proved that in AI, bold moves win big (or fail spectacularly).

This week, we unpack the stories that defined AI in 2024. Here’s what you need to know to stay ahead. 

In today’s newsletter ⬇️ :

  • 🔒 Why did OpenAI really delay GPT-5? 

  • 💰 The $100B bet that has NVIDIA worried 

  • 🎯 What 90% of AI experts missed about o3 

  • 🎙️ Accenture's AI chief finally breaks silence 

  • 🏆 6 AI breakthroughs nobody saw coming 

  • 🔥 Plus: The AI tool GitHub just made free

Writer RAG tool: build production-ready RAG apps in minutes

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Integrated into Writer’s full-stack platform, it eliminates the need for complex vendor RAG setups, making it quick to build scalable, highly accurate AI workflows just by passing a graph ID of your data as a parameter to your RAG tool.

The News: East Meets West

News from The WEST 👈:

🚀 Big Moves in Tech

  • OpenAI Delays GPT-5 "Orion" Launch
    Regulatory concerns have led OpenAI to delay its highly anticipated GPT-5 release.
    💡 Why It Matters: AI governance and safety are now critical priorities in development.
    👉 Learn what’s next →

  • Google Showcases Year-End AI Updates
    Google revealed advancements in conversational AI, generative models, and developer accessibility.
    💡 Why It Matters: These updates could redefine AI-driven tools for businesses and creators.
    👉 See what’s new →

🆓 Democratizing AI Tools

  • GitHub Rolls Out Free Copilot AI Assistant
    GitHub launched a free version of its Copilot AI assistant, expanding its reach to developers worldwide.
    💡 Why It Matters: Making AI tools free removes barriers for global innovation.
    👉 Try it now →

🛠️ Gen-AI Breakthroughs

  • Backflip Raises $30M to Transform Text into Reality
    Backflip’s new AI model can turn text descriptions into physical objects, signaling a leap in generative AI.
    💡 Why It Matters: This breakthrough opens doors for industries like design and manufacturing.
    👉 Full story here →

  • SandboxAQ Hits $5.3B Valuation After $300M Fundraising
    Alphabet spinoff SandboxAQ secured $300M in funding to advance AI and quantum computing technologies.
    💡 Why It Matters: The intersection of AI and quantum computing could unlock unprecedented opportunities.
    👉 Read the details →

News from The EAST 👉:

🌏 The AI Boom in Asia

  • Masayoshi Son’s $100 Billion AI Gamble
    SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son is investing $100B to transform the company into an AI powerhouse like Nvidia.
    💡 Why It Matters: Asia is asserting dominance in the global AI race, focusing on chips and cloud computing.
    👉 Read the full story →

Poll: $100B on AI—Genius or Gamble?

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  • Public Cloud Demand Surges in Asia-Pacific
    AI adoption and modernization trends are driving rapid cloud adoption in Asia-Pacific.
    💡 Why It Matters: Enterprises are leveraging cloud-based AI to scale operations and boost innovation.
    👉 Discover the trends →

🤖 AI Meets Blockchain

  • aelf Unveils 'aevatar Intelligence' for No-Code AI Agents
    Blockchain platform aelf launched aevatar, a no-code solution for deploying unrestricted AI agents.
    💡 Why It Matters: This bridges blockchain and AI, pushing Asia’s leadership in cutting-edge tech.
    👉 Explore more →

✅ Strategic Approvals

  • EU Approves Nvidia’s Acquisition of Run:AI
    The EU greenlit Nvidia’s acquisition of Run:AI, expanding AI infrastructure capabilities in global markets.
    💡 Why It Matters: Nvidia’s expansion could create ripple effects in Asian tech ecosystems.
    👉 Get the details →

🎙️ INSIDER ALERT: Accenture's $3B Bet on AI (and why it matters)

Ever wondered what happens when one of the world's biggest consulting firms goes all-in on AI? 

Jun Song, Accenture's Senior MD, just shared intel that's making waves across the industry.

Key Intel: 

  • A $3B investment that's flipping the AI playbook (their strategy surprised even us)

  • Inside their "AI Refinery" - the framework behind 300+ enterprise deployments

  • Banking's AI breakthrough that competitors are scrambling to copy

Plus: Jun gets brutally honest about AI hallucinations in enterprise (no PR spin here).

Just between us: Skip to 31:39 for the "librarian to advisor" shift that's quietly revolutionizing how tech leaders think about AI deployment. This part alone is worth your time.

OPENAI'S SHIPMAS FINALE: The Updates Everyone Missed

While Twitter's buzzing about ChatGPT on WhatsApp, something far more intriguing dropped in Days 8-12. Here's what has AI researchers talking:

The o3 preview quietly introduced "Deliberative Alignment" - potentially the biggest leap in AI safety architecture we've seen. 

Instead of traditional alignment techniques, o3 actively reasons about safety during inference. If you've been following the alignment debates, you know why this is huge.

But that's just the beginning...

Key Intel:

  • WebRTC integration + enhanced API response times = OpenAI positioning for real-time AI applications (and the implications are wild)

  • New fine-tuning method that cuts computational overhead without performance loss (goodbye, training bottlenecks?)

  • Search enhancement that's less about speed, more about reasoning architecture

💡 Quick take: If you're building AI systems, the o3's approach to safety specifications during inference time might just solve the deployment challenges you've been wrestling with...

P.S. Everyone's focused on the WhatsApp integration, but the real game-changer is buried in the API documentation. More on that in our analysis.

Poll: Which Shipmas Update Excites You the Most?

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2024'S BIGGEST AI BETS: Winners, Losers & What's Next

While everyone's talking about ChatGPT, the real AI revolution happened behind the scenes. 

Our deep dive reveals the moves that actually mattered in 2024.

Key Intel:

  • NVIDIA's $2T moment (and why the Blackwell chip shortage is bigger than you think)

  • The "Strawberry" effect: How OpenAI's o1 quietly changed enterprise AI

  • Why Apple's AI strategy has Silicon Valley nervously taking notes

  • The Microsoft fumble nobody's talking about

Plus: We uncovered 6 other breakthroughs that'll reshape tech in 2025. Including one that 90% of AI experts missed.

💡 Industry whisper: The AI PC numbers on page 7 are causing serious waves. One tech giant is already pivoting their 2025 strategy because of it...

🚀 Trending AI Tools

  • MeetGeek: Automatically record, transcribe, and summarize meetings for actionable insights.

  • FeedHive: Plan, schedule, and manage your social media content with ease.

  • Backflip AI: Turn text prompts into stunning 3D designs effortlessly.

  • Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking: Google’s latest reasoning AI model that’s faster and free to try.

📚 AI Resources

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Until next time!
Leo & Lex

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