Business

For AI Giants, Smaller Is Sometimes Better. People and tech firms are starting to realize that they hyped AI too much and reality is setting in. If only small models are economical and practical, what’s the difference between the current AI and the machine learning that has been in use for years? Is this the end of the drop in AI hype?Or is it the begining?

Goldman Sachs’ explosive report on Generative AI. This report will appeal to a growing number of people, myself included, but it will annoy more who are fans of Gen AI. That’s not a popular thing to do, but for an investment bank, is it incentivized to be right or to be popular? Nonetheless, I am glad to see that more and more people come to see the limitations of Gen AI in its current form. Could it get better over time? Maybe. The point is that nobody knows, yet many splurge billions on it and swear up and down that this is a life-changing technology.

Investing in the rising data center economy. An interesting read on the data center economy which, I suspect, will continue to grow due to the AI arms race. This gave me a few clues into what to read next, in order to find the next investment idea.

Home Insurance Premiums Are Surging—and States Are Allowing It. I understand the need to keep home insurers in the market, but giving them just 0.2% shy of what these insurers asked for is just too much. This is where the federal government and local authorities can collaborate to help consumers. Sadly, it’s too partisan and politically toxic right now.

Gen Z, millennials drive membership growth at Sam’s Club. Last week, we went to our local Sam’s Club store and were surprised with the new tech that allowed us to walk out without being stopped for a receipt check. Of course, we used Scan & Go as well. Very smooth. Very pleased with the investments in technology by Sam’s Club and Walmart.

A nice write-up on OneStream. This startup is preparing to go public. Its SaaS offering focuses on streamlining the workflow of the office of the CFO. This is the first time I have ever heard of such a niche. The company was valued at $1bn in 2019 and $6bn in 2021, at the peak of SaaS valuation. Hence, it will be somewhere in between. Whether now is a good environment for a SaaS IPO is tricky. I am more of the opinion that it is not.

Other Stuff I Find Interesting

It suddenly looks like there are too many homes for sale. “Here’s why that’s not quite right. “Now supply is finally beginning to climb back, but the gains are mostly in the new home market, not on the existing side. In fact, there is now a nine-month supply of newly built homes for sale, nearly three times that of existing homes. New and old home months’ supply usually track pretty closely. New construction now makes up 30% of total inventory, about twice its historical share, according to the NAHB. For example, there is just a 2.7-month supply of homes for sale between $100,000 and $250,000, but supply is up 19% from a year ago. Meanwhile, there is a 4.2-month supply of homes priced upward of $1 million, but supply is up just 5% from a year ago. This explains why home prices remain stubbornly high, even with improving supply.”

Tokyo’s oldest train line – in pictures

Tony Robbins Bet $200 Million on a Green-Energy Breakthrough. Proof It Works Remains Elusive. A story on an interesting startup which is determined to turn waste coal into useful products. I admire Omnigen’s mission, but if the technical challenges the Journal described are true, observers and investors are right to question the feasibility of the business. We are likely to have a new administration in the White House starting 2025 and that administration will be less likely to endorse green-energy technologies that Omnigen is working on.

High inflation is largely not Biden’s or Trump’s fault, economists say. It’s one of those things perpetually in the grey area. Regardless, a President tends to take credit or shoulder the blame for what happens in their tenure. In essense, that’s what leadership is about.

How To Survive 3 Years In North Korea As A Foreigner.

Stats

The average cost of a wedding ceremony and reception in 2023 was $35,000

“The Transportation Security Administration said 3,013,413 people were screened Sunday” (7th July 2024)

Private label brands’ sales hit $121 billion in the first half of 2024