According to a recent research paper, Apple has opted to use Google-designed chips instead of Nvidia’s for two crucial components of its AI software infrastructure. This choice is noteworthy as Nvidia is widely regarded as the leading provider of AI processors. The paper detailed that Apple employed Google’s tensor processing units (TPUs) in large clusters, specifically 2,048 TPUv5p chips for AI models on devices like iPhones and 8,192 TPUv4 processors for server models.
The research paper did not mention any use of Nvidia chips, despite Nvidia dominating about 80% of the AI processor market through its graphics processing units (GPUs). Unlike Nvidia, which sells its GPUs directly, Google offers TPUs through its Google Cloud Platform, requiring customers to use Google’s platform for access.
Why does this matter?
Apple has begun introducing parts of its new AI suite, Apple Intelligence, to beta users. This recent publication only disclosed the full extent of Apple’s reliance on Google hardware, despite earlier reports hinting at this partnership.
Apple’s engineers noted the potential for even larger, more sophisticated AI models using Google’s chips. However, Apple’s stock saw a minor decline of 0.1% to $218.24 following the research paper’s release.
Alphabet’s Google has revealed two innovative AI systems, AlphaProof and AlphaGeometry 2, which demonstrate significant advancements in solving complex mathematical problems. These systems tackled abstract math more effectively than previous AI models, showcasing enhanced reasoning capabilities.
DeepMind, Google’s AI unit, reported that these models managed to solve four out of six questions at the 2024 International Math Olympiad. AlphaProof, which integrates the Gemini language model with the AlphaZero system, solved three problems, including the most challenging one, while AlphaGeometry 2 solved another.
These achievements mark the best performance by an AI system in the competition to date, with some problems solved in minutes and others taking up to three days. Meanwhile, Microsoft-backed OpenAI is developing a similar project known as ‘Strawberry,’ raising concerns among its staff about its potential impact on humanity.
The introduction of SearchGPT by OpenAI, an AI-powered search engine with real-time internet access, challenges Google’s dominance in the search market. Announced on Thursday, the launch places OpenAI in competition not only with Google but also with its major backer, Microsoft, and emerging AI search tools like Perplexity. The announcement caused Alphabet’s shares to drop by 3%.
SearchGPT is currently in its prototype stage, with a limited number of users and publishers testing it. The tool aims to provide summarised search results with source links, allowing users to ask follow-up questions for more contextual responses. OpenAI plans to integrate SearchGPT’s best features into ChatGPT in the future. Publishers will have access to tools for managing their content’s appearance in search results.
Google, which holds a 91.1% market share in search engines, may feel the pressure to innovate as competitors like OpenAI and Perplexity enter the arena. Perplexity is already facing legal challenges from publishers, highlighting the difficulties newer AI-powered search providers might encounter.
SearchGPT marks a closer collaboration between OpenAI and publishers, with News Corp and The Atlantic as initial partners. This follows OpenAI’s content licensing agreements with major media organisations. Google did not comment on the potential impact of SearchGPT on its business.
Google’s parent company stocks fell by over 3% on Wednesday amid concerns that rising investments in AI infrastructure could squeeze margins and that YouTube is facing stiff competition for ad dollars. The Google parent company saw its capital expenditure rise to $13.2 billion in the second quarter, exceeding expectations as it invests heavily in the infrastructure needed to support generative AI services and compete with Microsoft.
While Alphabet has been cutting costs through layoffs to protect profitability, analysts noted that seasonal hiring of fresh graduates and the earlier-than-usual Pixel launch would impact margins in the third quarter. Additionally, YouTube’s ad sales growth slowed to 13% in the second quarter from nearly 21% in the first quarter, as it grapples with tough year-on-year comparisons and competition from Amazon in the online video ad market.
Despite these challenges, many analysts remain positive about Alphabet, citing its AI efforts driving up cloud revenue and minimal disruption to Search revenue from its AI overviews. Cloud computing services revenue rose by 28.8%, outpacing expectations and signalling robust enterprise spending. Analysts believe Alphabet’s AI advancements position it as a market leader, and 25 brokerages have raised their price targets for the stock. Their failed Wiz acquisition echoes the company’s ambitions to expand their market share and reclaim their place at the top.
Alphabet’s stock, which has gained about 30% this year due to the AI stock rally, is set to lose around $60 billion in market value. However, its 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio of 22.2 remains competitive compared to Nvidia’s 38.6, indicating continued confidence in Alphabet’s long-term growth prospects.
Google Cloud announced Wednesday that their AI service (Vertex) will use Mistral AI’s Codestral AI model, as the Google Cloud team explained.
“Today, we’re announcing that Google Cloud is the first hyper scaler to introduce Codestral – Mistral AI’s first open-weight generative AI model explicitly designed for code generation tasks — as a fully managed service.”, the company emphasised.
Mistral AI is a Paris-based startup firm founded in 2023 by former Google Deep Mind and Meta AI scientists. The partnership shows the quick growth of Mistral AI, considered the European alternative to Microsoft-backed OpenAI by many analysts.
Cybersecurity startup Wiz has declined a $23 billion acquisition offer from Google’s parent company, Alphabet, opting to pursue its initial plan of an initial public offering (IPO). CEO Assaf Rappaport confirmed the decision in a memo, highlighting the company’s goals of reaching $1 billion in annual recurring revenue and proceeding with the IPO.
Google announced on Monday that it will continue to support third-party cookies in its Chrome browser, reversing its previous plans to phase out the tracking technology. The decision comes amid concerns from advertisers, Google’s primary revenue source, who feared the loss of cookies would hinder their ability to collect data for personalised ads and increase their reliance on Google’s user databases. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority had also scrutinised the initial plan, worried about its potential impact on competition in digital advertising.
In a blog post, Anthony Chavez, vice president of the Privacy Sandbox initiative, stated that instead of eliminating third-party cookies, Google will introduce a new feature in Chrome, allowing users to make informed choices about their web browsing privacy. The initiative aims to balance enhancing online privacy with supporting digital businesses. Since 2019, Google’s Privacy Sandbox has worked towards this goal, with cookies playing a crucial role in identifying and tracking web users’ browsing habits.
The use of cookies is regulated by laws such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires explicit user consent for storing cookies. Major browsers also offer options to delete cookies. Chavez mentioned that Google is collaborating with regulators, publishers, and privacy groups to develop this new approach while continuing to invest in the Privacy Sandbox program.
The announcement received mixed reactions. Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf, an analyst at eMarketer, noted that advertisers no longer need to prepare for a sudden shift away from third-party cookies. However, Lena Cohen from the Electronic Frontier Foundation criticised the decision, highlighting potential consumer harms and attributing Google’s stance to its advertising-driven business model.
Google France CEO Sébastien Missoffe highlighted Google’s infrastructure, data expertise, and long-term AI approach as key factors that will support CMA CGM’s growth. CEVA Logistics, CMA CGM’s logistics arm, will utilise Google’s AI-based management tools to enhance volume and demand forecasting, improving operational planning at its warehouses.
The partnership extends to CMA CGM’s media arm, which holds stakes in French private broadcaster M6 and recently acquired BFM TV. The media division aims to develop tools to help journalists synthesise and translate documents, generate media snippets for social networks, and digitise archives for research purposes. This collaboration underscores the growing trend of leveraging AI to address challenges across various industries, similar to the partnership between Airbus and Agrimetrics in agronomy.
Italy’s antitrust authority launched an investigation against Google and its parent company, Alphabet, over alleged unfair practices related to personal data usage. The watchdog claims that Google’s request for user consent to connect its various services “could be misleading and aggressive commercial practice,” failing to explain how it impacts personal data use adequately.
Google, which offers services such as YouTube, Gmail, and Maps, is accused of presenting consent requests in a way that restricts users’ freedom of choice. The antitrust authority argues that users might be pressured into agreeing to the combined use of personal data across different Google services.
A Google spokesperson stated that the company will examine the details and cooperate with the authorities. Companies found to breach consumer rights in Italy face fines ranging from £5,000 to £10 million.
The EU antitrust regulators are investigating a deal between Google and Samsung, where Google’s chatbot, Gemini Nano, is embedded in Samsung’s Galaxy S24 smartphones. The European Commission wants to understand if this multi-year generative AI deal restricts rival chatbots from being installed on Samsung devices, raising concerns about potential anti-competitive practices.
Regulators have sent out a questionnaire to industry participants, asking if the pre-installation of Gemini Nano via the device or the cloud limits the number of other AI systems that can be pre-installed. They are also examining if this arrangement affects the interoperability between Gemini Nano and other pre-installed apps on Samsung smartphones.
The investigation aims to determine if competitors have faced challenges in making deals with device manufacturers for the pre-installation of their chatbots and the reasons behind any rejections. Feedback from industry participants is crucial in shaping the EU’s stance on the matter.
Respondents have until this week to submit their responses to the eight-page questionnaire, which will play a key role in assessing the impact of the Google-Samsung deal on market competition.
