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French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the Global Forum on Artificial Intelligence for Humanity (GFAIH) at the Institut de France in Paris, France October 30, 2019.
Hard Numbers: France forges ahead, Crushing consulting, Say hi to my AI avatar, OpenAI’s big buy, Stability finds some cash
21 billion: Accenture’s generative AI business is booming. The consulting firm’s practice, which helps companies use AI technology to become more efficient, now has $21 billion worth of contracts, up from $17 billion this time last year. It’s a business that’s booming as companies try to cut their costs.
500 million: An AI video startup called HeyGen raised a new funding round, valuing it at $500 million. The company offers AI avatars and voice-cloning services, giving people a photorealistic online version of themselves for virtual meetings, marketing, or whatever they can dream up. And it can translate their speech into various languages. Should we test it out for a future edition? Email us here if you like the idea.
105 million: OpenAI bought a search and analytics startup called Rockset for $105 million, the biggest purchase to date for the ChatGPT maker. Rockset is an enterprise-focused company and, as such, OpenAI said it wants to use its software to improve its data offerings for business customers.
80 million: Stability AI, the beleaguered company behind the popular image generator Stable Diffusion, has secured an $80 million recapitalization with existing investors, which they hope will help set the company back on stable footing.FILE PHOTO: The 76th Cannes Film Festival - Press conference for the film "Asteroid City" in competition - Cannes, France, May 24, 2023. Cast member Scarlett Johansson attends.
Hard Numbers: Scarlett Johansen’s voice on ChatGPT, Sony Music’s warning, Energy drain, Stability AI’s instability, Sharing the love — and the GPUs
2: Film star Scarlett Johanssonturned down OpenAI’s Sam Altman twice when he asked to use her voice for ChatGPT’s speech applications. She said no, but OpenAI has released a voice called “Sky” that sounds similar to Johansson. The actress (well, at least her voice) starred in the 2013 film “Her”— which Altman has called his favorite movie — portraying a disembodied AI that the protagonist becomes infatuated with. OpenAI says it hired another actress to voice “Sky,” but the company has now removed the voice “out of respect for Ms. Johansson.”
700: Sony Music sent letters to 700 AI developers and music streaming companies telling them it’s “opting out” of letting them use its content for training models. That includes musical compositions as well as lyrics, recordings, music videos, and album artwork. Last year, AI-generated songs featuring the fake voices of Drake and The Weeknd became a viral smash on social media — but music publishers aren’t in the habit of licensing their assets for free.
30: Microsoft reported that between 2020 and 2023 its energy emissions jumped 30%, a sign of the huge toll that artificial intelligence could take on the planet. Microsoft wants to be carbon negative by 2030, but its generative AI initiatives have hampered progress toward that goal.
1 billion: Amid a cash crunch, Stability AI is reportedly exploring a sale. The startup, which makes the Stable Diffusion image generator, was valued at $1 billion in 2022. The biggest question is who can buy it? The Biden administration has chilled the merger and acquisition market, taking an especially aggressive approach to litigating alleged antitrust allegations throughout Silicon Valley.