Tech Giants' Battle & Hardware Heavyweights

Also: This week's AI tools you could try

Hi, it's Omar. Today's newsletter is 1,153 words, a 4-minute read.

Here is what we have for this week’s newsletter:

1. Tech Titans in the AI Race: Amazon & Google Hustling to Match Microsoft's Pace

As the digital era hurtles forward, three tech juggernauts—Amazon, Google, and Microsoft—are locked in a fierce battle. It's not just about who sells more devices or garners more online clicks, but who dominates the pulsating heart of modern technology: artificial intelligence (AI). While Microsoft has set a blistering pace, both Amazon and Google are showing they're not to be left in the dust.

Why it matters: AI is not just the stuff of sci-fi anymore. From predicting weather patterns to personalizing online shopping, AI is permeating every sector. The company that leads in AI will shape the future, wielding enormous influence over global industries.

Amazon's AI Ambitions:

  • Amazon Web Services (AWS): Recently, AWS's CEO Adam Selipsky unveiled ambitious plans to embed AI across its applications, hinting at a future where every AWS customer is AI-powered.

  • Democratizing IT: With AWS's mission of making IT accessible for all, they're eyeing a holistic approach, taking generative AI from labs to laymen.

Google’s Big Bet on Gemini:

  • The Grand Unveiling: Google recently made waves with Gemini, its state-of-the-art AI software, hoping to match, if not surpass, Microsoft's offerings.

  • Multimodal Mastery: Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, has showcased Gemini's unique ability to understand text, images, and other data types—a promising step that could redefine conversational AI.

How it works: Google and Amazon aren't merely creating AI tools. They're crafting ecosystems. By integrating AI across services—search for Google and e-commerce for Amazon—they aim to create a seamless, intelligent digital experience for users.

What’s next: While Microsoft currently enjoys the frontrunner status, the tech world knows better than to declare a victor in a race that's just begun. As Amazon's AWS expands its AI capabilities and Google's Gemini enters the business scene, the next chapters of the AI saga are eagerly awaited.

2. AI Hardware Showdown: Nvidia vs. Intel

Why it matters: The AI landscape is rapidly evolving, and hardware performance is crucial. Recent benchmarks from MLCommons highlight Nvidia and Intel as frontrunners, setting the stage for the industry's next moves.

Quick Dive:

  • Nvidia's Edge: Nvidia's H100s lead the pack, especially in the 6B-parameter LLM test for summarizing CNN articles. Their H100 Tensor Core GPU showcased record performance across all MLPerf Training tests. More on Nvidia

  • Intel's Play: Intel's Gaudi2 is hot on Nvidia's heels, coming in just 10% slower. A sign of Intel's growing prowess in AI hardware.

  • MLCommons' Benchmark: MLCommons' recent MLPerf Inference v3.1 benchmark measures AI model speed across various real-world scenarios, from chatbots to vehicle safety. Details at MLCommons

State of play: While Nvidia and Intel lead, the AI industry is dynamic with continuous innovation. MLCommons' benchmarks offer a current snapshot, but rankings may shift soon.

Wrap-up: MLCommons benchmarks spotlight Nvidia and Intel's AI advancements. As the tech evolves, so will the benchmarks and industry leaders. The AI future is bright, and it's just the beginning.

Cool AI-enabled tools for you:

  1. Portfolio Magic by Contra - AI-driven portfolio builder with integrated payments and analytics.

  2. Wave - AI tool for intelligent note-taking, summaries, and transcriptions.

  3. HelpKit AI – Enhances your Notion knowledge base using AI.

  4. Instagraph - Transforms text or URLs into visual knowledge graphs.

  5. ExLlama V2 - Library for running LLMs on consumer GPUs.

  6. JS2TS - Uses ChatGPT to convert JavaScript to TypeScript.

  7. CustomerIQ - AI workspace for capturing and analyzing customer feedback.