NEWS YOU CAN’T MISS

Lessons from Larry Ellison: How to Ride the AI Wave

Larry Ellison, the 80-year-old Oracle co-founder, just got $15 billion richer, hitting a jaw-dropping $200 billion net worth. This incredible leap is all thanks to his smart move to embrace AI at Oracle, the tech giant he started 47 years ago.

Now you may not be in awe of tech billionaires, but I think there’s something to be learned from a good business strategy and Ellison clearly has one.

Historical Perception:

• Oracle was late to the cloud, focusing more on its traditional on-premises database solutions.

• It was known for its sales-driven "lock-in" model, which didn't align with the cloud's interoperability requirements.

Strategy Shift:

• Oracle has made a significant pivot towards cloud computing and integrated AI into its core offerings, including databases and applications.

• Oracle has formed strategic partnerships with tech giants like NVIDIA and Amazon Web Services (AWS) to enhance its AI capabilities and infrastructure.

Market Impact: Oracle's cloud services revenue has seen significant growth, with a 21% increase in Q1 2024 and a 45% year-over-year increase in cloud infrastructure revenue.

Bottom line:  Oracle's shift to a cloud and AI company has drastically changed its market perception and positioned it for future growth.

ps. Yes, this is a recent picture and everyone has been talking about Ellison’s youthful appearance. According to one article, for the past several decades, he’s been exercising several hours a day, eating a veg-aquarian diet and only drinks water and green tea. 😳 Now that’s discipline!

Sources: Forbes, Financial Times, Business Insider

AI's Next Leap: Fei-Fei Li Tackles the 3D World

The AI landscape is evolving rapidly, and Fei-Fei Li, a renowned AI pioneer, is once again at the forefront. Li, often referred to as the "Godmother of AI," has launched a new startup called World Labs, which has secured a substantial $230 million in funding.

With 20 employees, it now has a $1 billion valuation. Here’s the vision:

• World Labs' ambition is to develop "Large World Models" (LWMs) - a new type of AI model capable of understanding and interacting with the 3D world. 

• Imagine software that enables users to create and manipulate virtual 3D spaces, controlling everything from physics to aesthetics. 🤯

• This technology has the potential to revolutionize various industries, from gaming and filmmaking to architecture and design.

Here’s why you should take Li seriously: She’s a distinguished AI pioneer with a distinguished career - director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab (SAIL) and has previously worked at Google Cloud AI.

While LWMs are still in their nascent stage, the possibilities they present are vast. If successful, World Labs could usher in a new era of 3D interaction and creation, transforming how we engage with the digital world.

WOMAN IN TECH

Meet Vaysh Kewada, Co-founder and CEO of Salience Labs

Celebrating this week's Woman in tech 🥳: Vaysh Kewada, Co-founder and CEO of Salience Labs, who is leveraging a multi-design AI chip to achieve the high demand for faster AI computation.

Kewada holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Physics from Imperial College London.

• In 2014, she began her career at IBM, where she contributed to 3 patents and publications.

• In 2017, she joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant.

• In 2021, Kewada co-founded Salience Labs, a company dedicated to developing photonics-based multi-chip processors for AI applications. The company was spun out from research conducted at the University of Oxford and Münster University.

▶ The semiconductor industry is struggling to meet demands as AI computation speeds double every 3-4 months, while traditional processors followed Moore's Law, doubling in speed roughly every two years.

▶ The core challenge it addresses is that of low latency, the time it takes for data to travel from one point to another.

Vaysh and her team believe that merging an ultra-high-speed multi-chip processor that bundles a photonics chip with regular electronics can solve the speed problem. In 2022, the company secured $11.5 million to address this challenge of low latency and with its amplitude-based approach to photonics, they are delivering computing chips clocking at speeds of tens of GHz.

By fusing the traditional silicon chip with a photonic layer, their hybrid photonic chips offer compatibility with existing systems while laying a solid foundation for future needs.

I don’t see a lot of women working in AI hardware so I think it’s awesome that Vaysh Kewada is tackling this space. 😎 

Food for Thought

Is Your Pet Ready for Some Serious Pampering?

Pet spending is booming! Last year alone, Americans spent $186 billion on their beloved pets, more than they spent on childcare. From gourmet meals like Butternut Box’s sage-infused chicken to vegan-friendly skincare by brands like Dr Lisa, the pet care industry is getting fancier by the day.

And in South Korea, sales of dog strollers outpaced sales of baby strollers for the first time this year. 

Millennials and Gen Z are leading this spending spree, seeing their pets more like family than ever. Ready to treat your furry companion like royalty?

Leaving you today with an awesome quote from Robin Arzon, which she said during my Peleton ride this morning: “It’s not that it was too hard. You just expected it to be easy.”

Honestly, I think this holds true for a lot of things we do: from doing an AI project to exercising to any passion project we take up. Here’s to building momentum with action every day and not losing steam! 😎

Until next time! The future awaits.

Ayesha ♥️

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