Character.ai is pivoting from building AI models to enhancing its consumer products following Google's $2.7bn deal.   The company's new interim CEO, Dominic Perella, revealed that the focus will no...

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- Character.ai is pivoting from building AI models to enhancing its consumer products following Google's $2.7bn deal. 
- The company's new interim CEO, Dominic Perella, revealed that the focus will now be on their popular chatbots. 
- This decision comes after Google hired 20% of Character.ai's staff, including co-founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas. 
- With the funds from the Google deal, Character.ai bought out its investors and distributed company ownership among employees. 
- The company plans to continue AI research and is hopeful of avoiding antitrust concerns.

Source: [Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/f2a9b5d4-05fe-4134-b4fe-c24727b85bba)

Character.ai Shifts Focus to Consumer Products Post $2.7bn Google Deal

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Character.ai Shifts Focus to Consumer Products Post $2.7bn Google Deal- Grapevine

- ChatGPT has reshaped global information-seeking since its 2022 debut, popularizing AI chatbots.
- Despite fears, Google Search remains dominant, with a 91.1% market share in June and rising ad revenue.
- Analysts credit Google's AI integration, particularly Gemini, for boosting search query growth and product performance.
- Google faces antitrust scrutiny, with ongoing cases accusing it of monopolizing the digital search and advertising markets.
- A ruling on the Department of Justice's antitrust case against Google is expected in late 2024.

ChatGPT's Rise Doesn't Dethrone Google Search

- Google is developing AI software that mimics human reasoning, similar to OpenAI's o1.
- Multiple teams at Google have made progress on AI reasoning software, which excels at solving multistep problems.
- Google uses a technique called chain-of-thought prompting, where the software considers related prompts before responding.
- Google and OpenAI are in a fierce competition for AI dominance, with Google taking steps to regain its lead.
- Despite slower product roll-outs, Google remains a strong player in the AI field.

Source: [SCMP](https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3280882/google-working-reasoning-ai-chasing-openais-efforts?module=top_story&pgtype=section)

Google Chases OpenAI with New Reasoning AI Development

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Is this seriously how Google plans to take on Chat GPT?

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https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/06/anthropics-5b-4-year-plan-to-take-on-openai/

Pitch deck of Anthropic:

2024 deliverable = AI automates AI research

 2025/26 deliverable = Anthropic takes off - the race is over

Pitch deck of Anthropic:

2024 deliverable = AI automates AI research

 2025/26 deliverable = Anthropic takes off - the race is over

Been seeing a lot of articles by the publication praising google's gen AI model - Gemini and the strategy around it. Articles heavily implying doom is just around the corner for Open AI because Gemini is going to kill it.

I firmly think Open AI currently has a huge headstart, and is the model of choice for devs as well as general folks and google (where i also work) has a lot (A LOT!) of catching up to do. Does anyone get the same sense from their articles?

What is the deal with Analytics India Mag

Investor

Google has reappointed Noam Shazeer, a key figure in AI known for developing LaMDA. After leaving Google in 2021 to co-found Character.AI, Shazeer reportedly returns as part of a $2.7 billion deal. This move highlights Google's strategy to enhance its AI capabilities through external partnerships.

Google reportedly wrote a $2.7 billion cheque to bring back Character.AI co-founder Noam Shazeer: Here's why - The Economic Times

CTC: $ 2.7 Billion

Founder

- John Schulman, co-founder of OpenAI, has left the company to join rival AI startup Anthropic.
- OpenAI president Greg Brockman is taking an extended leave until the end of the year to relax and recharge.
- Peter Deng, a product manager at OpenAI, also exited the company recently.
- Schulman aims to focus on AI alignment research at Anthropic, believing he can gain new perspectives there.
- With Schulman's departure, only three of OpenAI's original 11 founders remain: Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and Wojciech Zaremba. 

 Source: https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/05/openai-co-founder-leaves-for-anthropic/

OpenAI Co-founder Schulman Leaves for Anthropic, Brockman Takes Extended Leave

It was a pretty straightforward and decent competition to let people practise their DSA, this also helped in people getting brownie points towards recruiters (atleast in India). Now Google has started a new series of competitions called ML Olympiad 2023.


I have 2 simple questions
1. If Google has shifted their focus to AI, as is evident by their rush towards Bard, does it mean they will now be looking for engineers who can work with AI ?
So people who wish the G tag, and consequently FAANG/MANGA/etc. (a predictable stretch) would *need* some experience with AI ?

2.  If not, then do you think FAANG would just casually resume hiring someday with the same old requirements ?

I'm just wondering because I was preparing for G with DSA and some projects but not AI.

Now that Google has retired Codejam, how will Google hire in India ?

Sharechat raises 50M USD via Convertible Debentures from existing investors. The picture isn't as rosy as what it seems. Plus, twitter bio suggests that they are now positioning as an AI powered content platform? Welcome to the peak AI era. Time to jump off the AI bandwagon when normies start chanting AI AI AI.

Sharechat valuation slashed by 60% 🚨

Product Manager

Is Google planning to layoff some employees for redundant roles replacing them with AI?

Google layoffs

Emmett Shear is the new CEO of OpenAI

Digital Accessibility Technologist

Google CEO tells employees to expect more job cuts in 2024

Sundar breaks his silence

Engineering Manager

- Dell Technologies Inc. is cutting jobs as part of a reorganization of its sales teams, introducing a new group focused on AI products and services.
- Sales executives Bill Scannell and John Byrne announced the streamlining of management layers and reprioritization of investments in a memo to employees.
- The company will also change its approach to data center sales, aiming to capitalize on the growing interest in AI workloads.
- Despite a 34% increase in shares this year, Dell has faced challenges, including a major workforce reduction in early 2023 and a decline in its personal computer business.
- Dell remains optimistic about the future, with plans to grow faster than the market by leveraging AI-optimized PCs and modern IT solutions. 

 Source: [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-05/dell-layoffs-hit-sales-team-with-new-unit-focused-on-ai)

Dell Layoffs Hit Sales Team Amid AI Focus

The startup I work at, in all of its existence, it has never given half a shit about AI. 

Now that the company is looking to raise its series C, over the last 2 months, all of the employees have been asked to build AI products so that the founders can sell this lollipop to investors and get a massive round. 

Guess what? it's working!

We'll soon close the next round by selling random nonsense in the name of revolutionary AI technology.

AI lollipop

Senior Product Manager

How is your company trying to navigate the issue of AI. Today my boss was shown preview of Gemini which google will publicly launch between October to December and he was mind blown by how far AI has come. I have a friend  working in Amazon, Seattle and his team is working on automating customer support in most of the language which will be public by early next year.   Given computing bottlenecks will be sorted out by Q3 2024, I am expecting tsunami change in how white collar jobs operates. 

What are some good initiatives your team is taking to deal with AI?

What is your company's AI strategy?

Google is back in Ai race

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Atleast not in the form it is now. Found a rare good post on LinkedIn via Twitter which lists the reason why i think so. Also, I was reading psychology of money and one of the chapters discussed how GE used to be the most valued company in 2000s and how within 20 years, everything went to manhole.

Google is seriously going through a leadership crisis. I hate Pichai from the gut. We Indians like him coz he's brown munda, but I have never seen such narrow minded CEO since Balmer.

Hot Take: Google will not exist in next 30 years

Many other xooglers raised these leadership issues earlier. 
 Meanwhile, tier2/3 kids are burning midnight oil to land up in Google to start YT channel

Character.ai Shifts Focus to Consumer Products Post $2.7bn Google Deal

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