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MC.33: Selling AI is Harder Than You Think
Explore Benedict Evans' take on AI's personal relevance gap, the hidden consultancy nature of many AI startups, and the layoffs at Tome revealing the tough realities of AI market challenges.
Samuel ROY
April 25, 2024
Hi everyone,
This week focuses on AI's occasional struggles to find its purpose.
On one side, lot’s of startups and VC money are fueling a revolution; on the other, companies and businesses have yet to adopt the technology, either due to a lack of know-how or AI startups not fulfilling their promises beyond the demos. After a year of experimenting, Ben Evans is still searching for AI use cases that benefit him, which says a lot about how the adoption might be slower than anticipated.
A new trend towards B2B use cases is emerging with models designed for businesses like DBRX and Snowflake Arctic. The market is nascent, and no one dominates like Salesforce in its category. ChatGPT Enterprise has 5% of the Fortune 500, while Salesforce has 90%. The bets are open, the journey has begun, and it is challenging.
Despite AI’s slow penetration into major companies, the story of the 9-year-old learning to code through AI demonstrates the technology's potential when the right use cases are identified.
I’m optimistic about the future, but it will take time. Unfortunately, a lot of money will be burnt; Humane and Tome are prime examples, and Devin is likely to be next.
Cheers,
Sam
PS: Talking about businesses, I’m being active on Linkedin again, let’s connect!
In this issue:
🦙 Meta: Llama 3 is the most capable openly available LLM to date
🕰️ WIRED: OpenAI’s CEO Says the Age of Giant AI Models Is Already Over
⏱️ TheFastest.ai: Benchmark LLMs providers
🥤 Coca-Cola: 5-year partnership to accelerate cloud and generative AI
🍏 9to5Mac: Apple acquires a French computer vision startup
🏢 Perplexity: Perplexity launches Enterprise Pro
📊 Bloomberry: I scraped all of ChatGPT's Enterprise customers
👧 HaiHai: AI is teaching my nine year old to code
🔍 Benedict Evans: Looking for AI use-cases
🌐 Browserbase: Headless Web Browser API
📈 The Information: Why Many AI Startups Are Consultancies Posing as Software Businesses
📝 Tome: Another Early Generative AI Startup Winner, Lays Off Staff
🚁 US-China: Military Drone Swarms Could Fuel Global Arms Race
📐 Sequoia: The Arc Product-Market Fit Framework
🔥 FireCrawl: Turns any website to clean markdown
Updates & tools
Meta: Llama 3 is the most capable openly available LLM to date
Meta just launched Llama 3, a language model making waves with its 70B parameter version, almost matching the performance of the much-talked-about Gemini Pro 1.5. It's exciting to think about the potential applications and innovations springing from such a powerful tool being open to the community. MORE
WIRED: OpenAI’s CEO Says the Age of Giant AI Models Is Already Over
Sam Altman of OpenAI suggests the era of building bigger AI models might give way to new approaches. This shift could lead to unexpected breakthroughs, keeping the AI field fresh and exciting. MORE
TheFastest.ai: Benchmark LLMs providers
This site measures the speed of various AI models in conversation, aiming to match human conversational speeds. It's cool because it considers locations like the US coasts and Europe, but it would be better if they included more global locations. MORE
Coca-Cola: 5-year partnership to accelerate cloud and generative AI
Coca-Cola is diving deep into AI with a $1.1 billion commitment to Microsoft Cloud, aiming to transform its operations globally. How they're leveraging Microsoft's AI to scale up and adapt quickly is smart and shows a proactive approach in a traditional industry. MORE
9to5Mac: Apple acquires a French computer vision startup
Apple recently bought Datakalab, a French company that focuses on AI and computer vision technology that works directly on devices. Lots of acqui-hires, I imagine that Apple wants to cook the most powerful multimodal LLM on device. Anything else won’t cut it. MORE
Perplexity: Perplexity launches Enterprise Pro
Perplexity recently secured $62.7 million in funding and launched a new product, Perplexity Enterprise Pro, aimed at providing enhanced security and control for large companies. Let’s see if businesses follow. MORE
Bloomberry: I scraped all of ChatGPT's Enterprise customers
Even with the excitement, about 5% of Fortune 500 companies have started using ChatGPT Enterprise. This indicates significant room for growth, especially compared to big players like Salesforce. Clearly, we are just beginning to see how AI can change the way we work.. MORE
HaiHai: AI is teaching my nine year old to code
A father tells the story of how AI transformed his daughter Emma's coding struggles into success. It's inspiring to see young people connect with technology so effectively, developing their ability to solve problems from an early age. MORE
Benedict Evans: Looking for AI use-cases
Benedict Evans discusses the struggle to find personal relevance in the widespread use of AI for tasks like coding and brainstorming. This perspective highlights the gap between AI capabilities and everyday utility for some individuals. MORE
Browserbase: Headless Web Browser API
Browserbase offers a way to run browser automation scripts easily and without infrastructure headaches. What might seem like a niche tool could become essential for developing more sophisticated AI agents. MORE
The Information: Why Many AI Startups Are Consultancies Posing as Software Businesses
Many AI startups assist companies by managing intricate tasks and data, as doing it alone is often too challenging. Startups must demonstrate growth and earnings, but the real test lies in delivering dependable AI software that effectively addresses customer problems beyond impressive demos. MORE
Tome: Another Early Generative AI Startup Winner, Lays Off Staff
Successful AI startups like Tome face tough times, laying off 20% of their staff. This demonstrates the challenges of selling AI software, with reliability and practical use cases as significant hurdles. MORE
US-China: Military Drone Swarms Could Fuel Global Arms Race
The US and China enhance their military capabilities with AI-driven drone swarms, reminiscent of a sci-fi movie. The idea of commanding these swarms remotely for offensive purposes is disturbing. I hope for a more humane application of this technology: coordinated fleets delivering aid to inaccessible areas during crises. MORE
Sequoia: The Arc Product-Market Fit Framework
Sequoia Capital's Arc framework assists startups in finding their market niche by identifying three distinct archetypes of product-market fit. Essential for anyone in the startup world, it helps understand effective product positioning. MORE
FireCrawl: Turns any website to clean markdown
FireCrawl transforms websites into neat markdown, making it easy to input detailed information into large language models. It's a handy tool that streamlines the process. MORE
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