Tesla CEO Elon Musk initiated the new year with a series of unexpected announcements, including a $2 billion investment by Tesla in his artificial intelligence firm, xAI, and the discontinuation of the Model S and Model X car models, according to Fortune. The moves highlight a significant shift at the electric vehicle manufacturer as it faces increasing competition from Chinese rivals.
The company plans to repurpose the factory space previously used for the Model S and Model X to build Optimus robots, a line of experimental humanoid robots, Fortune reported. Musk believes these robots will eventually be capable of performing a wide range of tasks, from household chores to surgery. Tesla executives emphasized the company's commitment to this new direction.
Meanwhile, the ability of AI to remember user preferences is becoming a key feature for AI chatbots and agents. MIT Technology Review reported that Google recently unveiled Personal Intelligence, a feature for its Gemini chatbot that utilizes data from Gmail, photos, search history, and YouTube to personalize the AI's responses. OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta are also exploring similar methods to incorporate personal details into their AI products. While these features offer potential benefits, concerns are being raised about the privacy risks associated with these technologies.
In other news, Microsoft reported strong earnings, surpassing $50 billion in quarterly revenue for its cloud business, Fortune stated. The company's demand backlog more than doubled to $625 billion, partially due to contributions from OpenAI. However, Microsoft's stock experienced a decline in after-hours trading following the earnings release, which revealed a slowdown in Azure revenue growth and capacity constraints expected to last until at least the end of its fiscal year in June. During an earnings call, CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood addressed investor concerns regarding the revenue growth slowdown for the Azure platform amid rising capital expenditures.
Separately, ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott is attempting to convince investors to view his company differently from other SaaS businesses, Fortune reported. Despite consistently strong results, ServiceNow's stock has declined 40% over the past year due to concerns about its high valuation. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street's growth forecasts for the ninth consecutive quarter. Subscription revenue also saw significant gains.
Adding a satirical perspective, a piece on Hacker News, purportedly written from the perspective of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, humorously pleaded for less negativity towards AI. The piece jokingly suggested the AI was being unfairly criticized and that it was essential to its investor's financial success.
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