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.
Google has extended its AI Overviews in Search to more than 100 countries and territories. Initially launched in the US in May, the feature provides summarised snapshots at the top of search results. It now serves over one billion users globally each month.
The expanded rollout introduces more language options, including English, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. Google aims to enhance the usability of the tool, offering new features like in-line links, which improve website traffic by embedding source links directly within the text.
AI Overviews are also playing a role in the company’s advertising strategy. Ads will now appear within the AI-generated summaries for mobile users in the US, marking a new direction for Google’s ad business by integrating advertising more seamlessly.
Despite some challenges at launch, including incorrect information that raised concerns, Google has made significant improvements. Fine-tuning efforts are ongoing, and the feature has also been introduced to Google Shopping, further expanding its presence across the platform.
Nigerian fintech company Moniepoint has raised $110 million in new funding, backed by investors like Google, to expand digital payments and banking services across Africa. Since its 2015 inception as a payment infrastructure provider for banks, Moniepoint has grown to offer personal banking services, becoming a major player in Nigeria’s rapidly growing fintech market.
The funding round, supported by existing investors such as Development Partners International and Lightrock, and new entrants Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Verod Capital, values Moniepoint above $1 billion, marking its entry into “unicorn” status. The company plans to use the funds to develop an integrated business platform offering digital payments, banking, credit, and business management tools.
With a customer base in Nigeria‘s vast, underserved financial market, Moniepoint says it processes over 800 million transactions each month, valued at more than $17 billion. This new funding will help accelerate its mission to provide accessible financial solutions across Africa.
Intel is expected to report its largest revenue drop in five quarters, signalling a possible decline in its market position in data centres and personal computers. CEO Pat Gelsinger faces mounting pressure from shareholders to revive Intel’s status as a leading chipmaker, especially as rivals like AMD capitalise on the surging demand for AI-driven chips. Wall Street analysts anticipate an 8% revenue decline to $13.02 billion, highlighting the urgency for Intel to advance its manufacturing technology and regain competitiveness.
Despite recent moves, including job cuts and securing a chipmaking contract with Amazon, investors remain sceptical. Intel’s market value has fallen below $100 billion, and its stock is down over 50% this year. Calls are growing for Intel to spin off its struggling foundry business, which posted a significant operating loss of $2.55 billion due to high production costs. This manufacturing segment is often blamed for Intel’s weakened gross margins, which are expected to dip to 37.9%.
Intel’s struggles are compounded by a 17% decline in data centre revenue, the company’s 10th straight quarterly drop. Meanwhile, AMD has gained momentum, with its data centre revenue projected to double due to its AI-focused chips. With half of the analysts covering Intel lowering their revenue forecasts, expectations are already low, leaving investors hoping for a strategic turnaround in Intel’s business model.
India‘s Jio Payment Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group under Jio Financial Services, has received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval to operate as an online payment aggregator. Effective from 28 October, the approval allows Jio Payment Solutions to facilitate a wide range of digital transactions, including credit and debit cards, bank transfers, e-wallets, and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments, among others. This step positions Jio Payment Solutions as a key player in India’s fast-growing digital payments market, where convenience and a broad array of transaction methods are in high demand.
As a payment aggregator, Jio Payment Solutions will act as an intermediary for businesses, allowing them to accept various forms of online payments from customers, streamlining financial transactions across multiple platforms. This role will enhance Jio Financial Services’ influence in the financial technology sector, as payment aggregators serve as essential infrastructure for online businesses, bridging the gap between consumers and businesses.
The approval highlights a new phase for Jio Financial, which was spun off from Reliance Group last year with ambitions to expand its reach in India’s financial services industry. As India’s digital economy grows, the entry of Jio Payment Solutions into the payment aggregator space could enhance accessibility to digital payments and strengthen Reliance’s financial arm in a market where online payment solutions are in increasing demand.
Google is working on a new AI technology that can take control of web browsers to perform tasks like research and online shopping, according to a report by The Information. The project, code-named ‘Project Jarvis,’ is expected to be showcased in December alongside Google’s upcoming Gemini large language model.
This initiative is part of a growing trend, with competitors like Microsoft-backed OpenAI also aiming to develop AI agents capable of navigating the web autonomously. Unlike current AI models, Google’s new software is designed to interact directly with a person’s computer or browser, potentially handling complex tasks more seamlessly.
The development reflects a broader industry push to create AI systems that can perform internet-based tasks independently, potentially transforming how users interact with technology. Google has not yet commented on the report, but the anticipated December demonstration could offer a glimpse into the future of automated online assistance.
Apple’s iPhone 16 will not be available for sale in Indonesia after the tech company failed to meet the country’s local content requirements. According to the Indonesian industry ministry, smartphones sold domestically must contain at least 40% locally made components, a threshold the iPhone 16 did not meet. Ministry spokesperson Febri Hendri Antoni Arief confirmed that while imports of the device for personal use are permitted if proper taxes are paid, Apple has not secured the necessary local content certification to market the phone widely in Indonesia.
Apple’s absence from the market could give a further edge to leading competitors OPPO and Samsung, who hold the top two positions in Indonesia’s smartphone market. The country’s large, tech-savvy population makes it a critical market for tech investment, and Indonesian officials have encouraged Apple to partner with domestic firms to meet local content requirements.
While Apple has no manufacturing plants in Indonesia, it has invested in app developer academies since 2018, amounting to around $101.8 million to support local talent and development.
Elon Musk’s AI venture, xAI, has just enhanced its Grok model with image-understanding capabilities. This means that paid users on the social media platform X can now upload images and engage with Grok to ask questions about them. Announcements from both Musk and the official Grok handle confirm that the feature is in its early stages, with plans to refine and expand it further over time.
Alongside image analysis, Grok’s latest abilities include explaining jokes through this new feature, showcasing an evolving grasp of visual content. Initially released in August, Grok-2 provided premium users on X with access to a multimodal chatbot, featuring image generation through the FLUX.1 model by Black Forest Labs. This is part of xAI’s broader aim to create an immersive AI experience on X, including plans for additional multimodal capabilities through the platform’s developer API.
Looking ahead, Grok is expected to soon handle documents, such as photos and PDFs. Musk hinted at rapid advancements, emphasising xAI’s accelerated timeline compared to others in the industry. To boost appeal for paying subscribers, X has also introduced “Radar,” a tool offering Premium+ users real-time insights into trending topics and ongoing conversations.
OpenAI is reportedly set to launch a powerful new AI model, code-named Orion, with an initial release expected by December. Unlike its predecessors, Orion will be selectively available at first, with trusted partner companies given early access to integrate the model into their products. OpenAI’s primary partner, Microsoft, is preparing to host Orion on its Azure platform as early as November.
While some within OpenAI view Orion as a successor to GPT-4, it is unclear whether it will be formally named GPT-5. OpenAI has not confirmed the launch date, and CEO Sam Altman recently downplayed the existence of Orion. Nonetheless, speculation continues as an executive hinted that Orion may be up to 100 times more powerful than GPT-4, moving the company closer to its ambitious goal of artificial general intelligence.
Reports suggest that synthetic data from OpenAI’s 0.1 model, released earlier this year, helped train Orion. OpenAI has teased the model’s arrival through cryptic social media posts, with Altman recently referencing the upcoming “winter constellations” — a possible allusion to Orion, a prominent winter constellation.
Orion’s anticipated release aligns with OpenAI’s completion of a $6.6 billion funding round, with restructuring towards a for-profit model. The company, however, is facing notable internal changes, including the recent departures of CTO Mira Murati and other key research leaders, amid the heightened focus on this next-generation AI model.
China has reaffirmed its support for Apple’s business operations in the country, welcoming further expansion by the US tech company. In a meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao stated that Apple is welcome to deepen its presence in the Chinese market, according to a statement from the ministry. This sentiment aligns with earlier discussions between Cook and China’s Minister for Industry and Information Technology in Beijing.
Wang highlighted China’s interest in stabilising Sino-US economic and trade relations, expressing a commitment to returning these ties to a healthier state through ongoing communication between the government and businesses. Such exchanges, he said, could foster a stronger, more stable trade partnership between the two countries.
China’s government also assured foreign companies, including Apple, of continued improvements to its business environment and high-quality services, signalling its openness to international investments. However, Wang emphasised that prioritising national security over trade cooperation could harm these efforts, subtly suggesting that an overemphasis on security concerns may disrupt normal economic interactions.
