Tesla CEO Elon Musk envisions a future where 10B humanoid robots populate the world by 2040, priced between $20,000 and $25,000 each. Musk shared his ambitious outlook virtually at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative, a key gathering for global industry leaders held in Riyadh. This prediction underscores Musk’s vision of an advanced AI-driven future where humanoid robots may become nearly as common as today’s smartphones.
This projection aligns with Musk’s belief that AI and robotics will revolutionise labor and everyday life, taking over tasks across industries and possibly reshaping global economies. By pricing these robots within reach of individual consumers and businesses alike, Musk foresees a rapid expansion of robotics in daily use, from personal assistance to industrial applications.
Musk’s forecast also raises questions about the societal and economic impacts of such widespread AI-driven automation, sparking discussions on regulation and ethics. As technology accelerates, industry leaders and policymakers are exploring the potential opportunities and risks of a robotic future on this scale.
Nubank, the Brazilian digital lender, will soon enter the telecom sector by introducing mobile services for customers in Brazil. The company aims to launch these services in the coming months, marking a significant expansion beyond its traditional financial offerings.
With over 95 million customers in Brazil alone, Nubank is one of the world’s largest digital lenders. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the fintech is valued at over $70 billion. By the end of June, it had more than 104 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.
The new mobile service, branded as NuCel, will provide coverage to 93% of Brazilian territory. It will operate using Claro’s infrastructure, a Mexican telecom company under the America Movil group. Nubank plans to offer three subscription options, with monthly costs ranging from 45 to 75 reais, payable through its credit cards.
This telecom launch is positioned as a strategic move to enhance Nubank’s portfolio. The company said it aims to deliver a better customer experience and diversify beyond financial services through this new venture.
Boston-based cybersecurity company Rapid7, valued at roughly $2.5 billion, is exploring acquisition options after attracting interest from private equity firms. Working with investment advisors Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, the firm is reportedly in early discussions with major private equity groups, including Advent, Bain Capital, and EQT. Sources suggest that while talks are ongoing, Rapid7 may ultimately decide against a sale.
The company, a provider of vulnerability management tools helping organisations assess and monitor cybersecurity risks, has been under increased pressure to consider a sale. Activist investor Jana Partners recently acquired a 5.8% stake in Rapid7, urging it to explore strategic options as it faces strong competition from larger players like Tenable and Qualys.
Rapid7 has seen its shares fall around 32% this year amid rising challenges in the cybersecurity market, as clients cut back on spending due to economic pressures. However, news of a potential sale lifted the company’s stock by over 4% on Monday. Interest in cybersecurity acquisitions remains strong, with private equity firms actively pursuing opportunities in the sector, highlighted by major deals such as Advent’s $14 billion acquisition of McAfee in 2021 and Vista Equity’s $4.6 billion buyout of KnowBe4 last year.
OpenAI is collaborating with Broadcom and TSMC to develop its first custom-designed chip, while supplementing its infrastructure with AMD chips alongside those from Nvidia to meet high computing demands. OpenAI initially considered establishing its own chip-manufacturing network but set the idea aside due to costs and time requirements. Instead, the company is focused on partnerships and in-house chip design to reduce costs, similar to strategies from industry giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.
Broadcom’s stock rose 4.5% following news of the collaboration, while AMD shares gained 3.7%. The partnership will leverage Broadcom’s experience in fine-tuning chip designs for manufacturing and secure production capacity with TSMC, aiming for the first in-house chips by 2026. OpenAI’s increased use of AMD chips on Microsoft’s Azure platform underscores the growing competition Nvidia faces in the AI chip market, where it currently holds over 80% market share.
With soaring expenses from training and deploying models, OpenAI is seeking to streamline operations and cut compute costs. Nvidia remains an essential partner for OpenAI’s advanced Blackwell GPUs, even as OpenAI expands its chip sourcing to support more affordable, efficient AI development.
Kenya partners with Google to enhance its digital infrastructure and empower its citizens in the evolving digital economy. The collaboration aims to create a robust digital ecosystem that meets current technological needs while anticipating future demands.
Kenya seeks to empower decision-makers with real-time insights by utilising AI and data-driven technologies, enhancing operational efficiency and facilitating effective governance. A key focus of the partnership is revitalising the tourism sector through Google’s technology, attracting more international visitors and showcasing the country’s unique landscapes, wildlife, and cultural heritage.
Additionally, prioritising cybersecurity measures is critical to building trust among citizens and ensuring a secure digital environment. The initiative will also promote skills training to equip Kenyans with essential digital competencies, fostering innovation and creativity while contributing to the overall growth of the nation’s economy.
Through this partnership, Kenya addresses immediate technological needs and lays a foundation for sustainable development in the digital space. By enhancing digital literacy and integrating advanced technologies, the collaboration positions Kenya as a leader in the region’s technological landscape.
Why does it matter?
The comprehensive approach ensures that as the digital economy expands, citizens are well-prepared to navigate the challenges and opportunities that arise, ultimately driving growth and resilience in the face of rapid technological advancements.
San Francisco-based Advex AI has launched publicly at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, aiming to address data shortages for training AI systems using synthetic imagery. Co-founded by CEO Pedro Pachuca and CTO Qasim Wani, Advex has already secured funding totalling $3.6 million and boasts seven major enterprise clients. Advex’s synthetic data platform uses a proprietary diffusion model to generate thousands of ‘fake’ images from a small sample, helping clients train machine vision systems with limited original data.
Advex’s solution is particularly valuable in sectors like manufacturing, where recognising subtle defects can be crucial but challenging with limited real data. For example, a car manufacturer needing to train a system to detect seat material flaws could upload just a few images of tears, with Advex generating thousands of variations to expand training data. Such applications span industries, from automotive to oil and gas, reducing costs and time associated with real data collection.
While synthetic data isn’t a new concept, Advex distinguishes itself through its custom diffusion model, which Pachuca says is faster and more realistic than traditional simulation methods. Unlike game-engine techniques, Advex’s model can rapidly create images tailored to the data gaps in a client’s specific AI system, helping it operate more effectively in real-world scenarios.
Microsoft is anticipated to report its slowest revenue growth in a year as investors focus on AI-related earnings and the impact of heavy investments in the technology. While Microsoft has led the way in generative AI, helped by its significant stake in ChatGPT creator OpenAI, adoption of its enterprise AI assistant, Copilot, has lagged. Recent reports suggest a hesitant market for Copilot’s $30-per-month subscription, with many companies still in pilot phases.
Analysts from Morgan Stanley and Visible Alpha expect Microsoft’s capital expenditures in the September quarter to have surged nearly 72% year-on-year, driven by high AI and cloud computing costs. Azure, Microsoft’s cloud unit, likely grew by 33% for the quarter, although that marks a slight dip from prior growth. Despite this, Microsoft hopes for stronger AI-driven revenue in Azure and is targeting faster growth in the second half of the fiscal year.
In the wake of a financial reorganisation in August, Microsoft’s earnings have become harder to predict. With high AI-related costs weighing on margins, Microsoft’s shares have seen minimal growth since July, underperforming the S&P 500. Meanwhile, analysts anticipate a revenue rise of around 14% to $64.5 billion, a modest improvement amid investor concerns over Microsoft’s AI strategies.
Scepticism around Microsoft’s 365 Copilot assistant remains, though some analysts believe recent AI upgrades could drive demand. Microsoft’s productivity unit, including LinkedIn and Office, is expected to maintain steady growth, and the company remains optimistic about AI’s potential to strengthen its productivity suite.
At TechCrunch Disrupt 2024, Ashton Kutcher, co-founder of Sound Ventures, shared his belief that every company will eventually incorporate AI, though he doubts there will be a single “winner” in the space. Kutcher emphasised the transformative potential of foundational AI models, which he views as essential to future innovation across industries. “There will not be a company in the world that is not, in some way, using AI,” he noted, adding that foundational companies in AI could become some of the most valuable in history.
Kutcher, alongside Sound co-founders Guy Oseary and Effie Epstein, explained that Sound Ventures is betting heavily on AI, with a $265 million fund backing major AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic. Kutcher also shared that OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, supported Sound’s multi-company AI investments, with the firm carefully maintaining confidentiality across its portfolio.
While some are apprehensive about AI’s rapid growth, Kutcher compared the technology’s potential impact to transformative past innovations like personal computers and cars. Advising founders, he highlighted the importance of strong teams over polished pitch decks, noting that real value lies in people, market insight, and breakthrough ideas.
Meta is working on a new AI search engine to lessen its reliance on Google and Microsoft’s Bing. The move places Meta among other tech giants, such as OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft, in the race to dominate the evolving AI-powered search landscape.
The new search tool aims to enhance Meta’s chatbot on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook by offering conversational responses to real-time queries about news and events. Meta currently depends on Google and Bing to provide users with information on topics like news, stock markets, and sports.
As competition intensifies, Google is pushing its Gemini AI model into core services, including Search, to offer more interactive and intuitive experiences. OpenAI, meanwhile, continues to use Bing, leveraging its close partnership with Microsoft for topical queries.
The use of web data to train AI systems and build search engines has sparked debates about copyright and fair compensation. Meta recently announced that its chatbot would incorporate Reuters content to provide up-to-date answers to questions related to news and current events.
Shivaun and Adam Raff, founders of the now-closed price comparison site Foundem, recently concluded a 15-year legal battle against Google, which resulted in a record-breaking €2.4bn (£2bn) fine against the tech giant. The dispute began when Foundem’s online visibility plummeted due to a Google penalty shortly after the site’s 2006 launch. The Raffles believed it was an error but later suspected Google was deliberately pushing their site lower in search results to favour its own shopping services.
Following years of appeals, the European Court of Justice ruled against Google in 2024, upholding the European Commission‘s 2017 decision that Google had abused its market dominance by demoting competing shopping services. Although Foundem’s closure in 2016 made the victory bittersweet, the case has had lasting regulatory implications, prompting the European Commission to investigate Alphabet, Google’s parent company, for ongoing anti-competitive practices under the Digital Markets Act.
The Raffs, whose site once allowed users to compare a wide range of products, fought for years with little initial success, escalating the case to regulators in Brussels in 2010. Google argued its changes since 2017 comply with the EU ruling and benefit hundreds of price comparison sites, but the Raffs maintain that Google’s practices continue to stifle competition.
The couple’s legal journey has taken a toll, but they are still pursuing a civil damages claim against Google, scheduled for 2026. Their fight is seen as a pivotal moment in Big Tech regulation, underscoring their determination to challenge anti-competitive behaviour.
