📈 X Reveals User Numbers, Actually Shows Growth

Today: X User Numbers | AI: Gold Rush or Bubble? | 6 AI Tools

Author

Kristoffer Lindström
October 02, 2023

Presented by

Happy Monday, tech enthusiasts!

It's October 2, and the tech landscape is buzzing. There's much to unpack, from Yaccarino's user growth to Apple's gaming ambitions and the AI showdown between Llama 2 and GPT-3.5. Let's dive into today's top headlines.

  • Yaccarino's X User Growth

  • Pegasus Engine Update

  • Llama 2 vs GPT-3.5

  • 6 AI Tools

  • AI: Gold Rush or Bubble?

  • Apple in Gaming

READ TIME: 5.7 MINUTES

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Tech Companies

CEO Linda Yaccarino revealed that X user numbers at the code 2023 conference. The first reveal was that X has 225 million Daily Active Users (DAU). In a revised statement by X, the actual number is 245 million.

In a series of tweets just before the company's take-over, Elon Musk revealed that the DAU number stood at 254.5 million. However, that number was most likely heavily inflated by the deal itself, as it attracted much media attention.

When we dig a little deeper, the mDAU (monetizable Daily Active Users) that Twitter reported in Q3 of 2021 was 211 million. Assuming that the 245 million number just reported by X is for Q3 of 2023, that is an increase of 16% and an annual compounded growth rate of 7.75%. It is pretty far off from a steep decline and crash that many want to portray.

💡Why does this matter?

The health of X might be better than most want to portray and think, wich might lead to an opportunity for marketing investment in the channel and increased focus and presence.

K.L - Business Edge

Apple is enhancing its internal search engine "Pegasus" for deeper integration into its App Store and other applications, potentially using generative AI tools.

💡 Why does this matter?

Apple's plans to upgrade its App Store's search engine and possibly extend to other applications could pose notable challenges to Google's dominance in the search engine market. However, Apple has stated they are not developing a competitor to Google.

K.L - Business Edge

Google extends its AI Search to US teens aged 13-17 while implementing safeguards against inappropriate content. It also offers an AI Literacy Guide and a new tool, Google-Extended, enabling web publishers to control AI training using their sites.

French antitrust authorities have raided Nvidia's local offices, suspecting anticompetitive practices in the graphics card sector. Nvidia has yet to comment.

AI Corner

Meta has released a new AI model, Llama 2 Long, that outperforms key competitors on various tasks, reinforcing the potential of the company's open-source approach.

Altimeter Capital's CEO, Brad Gerstner, is optimistic about AI's future, predicting it will overtake the internet, mobile, and cloud software. He cited the tech's rise as a "super-cycle" and noted a promising IPO pipeline.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) expands beyond the mainstream with lesser-known yet powerful tools such as '

  • A Prompt for That

  • GPTZero

  • Wonderplan

  • GFPGAN

  • Rarsy

  • Waveformer

These arrive free, supplementing generative AI across sectors from prompt optimization and distinguishing human-written text to travel planning, photo restoration, content creation, and music generation. Users need mindful adherence to privacy policies and registration prerequisites with possible restrictions on free trials.

Zapier has launched Canvas, an AI-powered flowchart tool, and Tables, a data automation service, along with several updates, aiming to streamline workflow and data management.

Markets & Money

Robinhood Markets is allocating $100 million in Q3 to address disclosed regulatory issues. Despite economic turbulence, it still outperformed Q2 revenue forecasts and reported a first-time profit.

Insights & Analysis

AI start-ups are receiving billions in investment, despite contrasting overall trends in venture capital. The enthusiasm for AI is driven by new software and high demand from companies due to labor shortages, with further funds available from unspent capital raised during the pandemic market slowdown.

However, concerns have been raised of an AI investment bubble, with valuations potentially overhyped. Prominent investors in AI include Nvidia, Oracle, Salesforce Ventures, and tech giants Microsoft and Google. Despite some investors showing caution and concerns about expensive valuations, a general belief remains that AI will offer significant opportunities across all industries.

💡 Why does this matter?

The current global frenzy for AI startups suggests a potential tech bubble, with concerns of overvaluation mirroring previous tech-innovation bubbles. However, as discussions at the recent Collision tech conference showed, many significant investors are confident in AI's long-term value and transformative potential despite the current high-risk market. Its impact across all industries and potential for massive productivity gains cannot be ignored. The tech industry should fasten its seatbelt for an uncertain but possibly rewarding ride.

K.L - Business Edge

Cisco Systems is set to acquire Splunk for $28 billion, marking a key growth opportunity for the former and a beneficial strategy for the latter. The acquisition brings Cisco an extra $4 billion in annual recurring revenue and the potential to grow Splunk's business internationally, with customers generally positive about the deal. Splunk's transition to a cloud and subscription pricing model has been a challenge, with concerns around its growth prospects and competitiveness in the market.

Microsoft is introducing AI models into software, transitioning towards language or voice user interactions. Their new interface, Copilot, mimics the model of ChatGPT's AI system.

Apps & Gadgets

Shopify has launched an upgraded Shopify Audiences tool, which includes integrations with all major advertising platforms, allowing businesses to reduce customer acquisition costs by up to 50% and facilitating in-depth benchmarking.

In an interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook emphasized the significance of the upcoming Vision Pro and Apple's serious intent in the gaming industry.

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