TOGETHER WITH

Good morning, human brains. Welcome back to your daily munch of AI news.

Here’s what’s on the menu today:

• US cloud vs China AI chip metal ☁️ 

  China announced chip metal export restrictions. The US responds in kind.

• SoftBank’s $140 billion AI loss 💸

  No more Mr. Nice Guy — SoftBank switches from defense to offense.

• Moonlander AI’s “text to game“ 👾

  An alpha release of their AI-powered video game builder.

Sponsor Bot Eat Brain | New here? Subscribe!

APPETIZER

No cloud access for you, China ☁️

The US government is placing restrictions on China’s cloud usage. Why? China’s putting the kibosh on their chip metal exports.

Mostly gallium and germanium — the exact metals needed for manufacturing AI chips.

Cloudy with a chance of high-stakes tension.

If these restrictions pass, US companies like Amazon and Microsoft will need government permission to provide AI-chip cloud services to Chinese companies.

So far, Microsoft, Amazon, and The Commerce Department are all silent.

Crickets.

Our take: This could be a blow to Amazon and Microsoft’s AI cloud revenues and cause even more tension between the world’s economic superpowers. It didn’t take long for AI to get geopolitical.

Also, if this goes through — GPU prices go brrr — probably.

Chaos reigns!

BUZZWORD OF THE DAY

FROM OUR PARTNERS

This AI-powered tool makes how-to videos for any product, feature, or workflow.

Here’s how it works:

1. Hit the start button and Guidde instantly starts recording your screen.

2. Click done and Guidde automatically generates a step-by-step description of your workflow including high-quality visuals.

3. Share in one click.

That’s Guidde. It can help you explain any complex workflow quickly and clearly using AI-generated video documentation.

I’d say it’s as easy as pie, but a pie takes an hour to bake…

Why should you care?

📜 Save time: Easily produce high-quality documentation with what feels like minimum effort.

🤔 Make your life easier: You’ll see the results every day in decreasing support tickets.

✏️ Grow faster: Scale your support operations without sacrificing quality.

MAIN COURSE

$140 billion SoftBank rollercoaster 🎢

SoftBank, the world’s largest private investment fund, has spent and lost $140 billion on generative AI.

Like that old joke - what’s the fastest way to become a millionaire? Start with a billion dollars.

Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s billionaire CEO, said it would be “the investment company for the AI revolution.”

But out of the 400 startups that it’s backed, only one is valued north of $1 billion.

Ouch.

The best investment in its portfolio? ARM, the chip design company. NVIDIA almost purchased ARM for $40 Billion but backed out.

Speaking of, SoftBank invested $4 billion in NVIDIA in 2017, but cashed out in 2019. NVIDIA’s stock is up around 10 times as much now.

Son says he plans to shift from “defense mode“ to “offense mode“ to capitalize on the current AI boom.

⊛ rolls up sleeves ⊛

Our take: Hype and overvaluation, anyone? Hindsight is 20/20, but a well-timed $140 billion in today’s biggest players…

And, remember the WeWork thing? All better now, sort of. 🙃 

So yeah, Softbank’s been going through it. But they’ll probably be ok.

A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA

Moonlander’s “text-to-game“ AI 👾

MoonlanderAI announced the alpha release of its AI platform for creating 3D games. The most exciting feature? Text-to-game.

Hey Moonlander, make GTA 6.

Moonlander uses AI to simplify and streamline game development. It enables users to create 3D games with the help of text prompts.

Less time spent in the technical weeds, and more time for creativity.

Click here to sign up for early access.

Our take: This could create a new generation of indie game developers, as it eliminates a good portion of the notoriously steep learning curve for game development. A prime example of how AI can be a force for creativity and new opportunity, in contrast to what the AI doomers say. We’ll be watching this one closely.

MEMES FOR DESSERT

YOUR DAILY MUNCH

Think Pieces

Humans defeat AI at Go — a result of exploiting the AI’s weaknesses.

Is AI just a “mathematical parlor trick?“ AWS’ VP of Product says so.

Startup News

Unity releases Sentis and Muse AI. Two AI tools for 3D creation in real-time.

Meta reveals 22 system cards that explain how AI tailors user experience in Facebook & Instagram. Some of the why behind what we’re seeing in our social media feeds.

NVIDIA acquired OmniML in February and nobody noticed. Here’s why.

Research

Waterwave breaks models into smaller “sub-models.“ A new, effective method of training multiple AI models.

Train-serve skew guide. What is train-serve skew? How can users mitigate the impact of it in ML models?

Wanda (Pruning by Weights and activations). A new method for pruning LLMs.

Tools

Guidde [Sponsored] — AI tool that makes how-to videos for any product, feature, or workflow.

MarketingBlocks — your own personal marketing assistant powered by AI.

Wisdolia - flashcard generator. Automatically create flashcards for any subject.

Webscrape - automatic data collection with no coding knowledge necessary.

TWEET OF THE DAY

What the average male and female from South Carolina look like according to AI:

Tag us on Twitter @BotEatBrain for a chance to be featured here tomorrow.

RECOMMENDED READING

If you like Bot Eat Brain, you might like these other newsletters too:

🖊️ The Pen Pivot — AI tools and prompts curated for curators.

☀️ The Boonly — Brighten your inbox with inspirational insights that make self-growth enjoyable, not stressful. Every Sunday.

👓️ The Copilot — Weekly AI startup funding insights, and AI business opportunities.

AI ART-SHOW

Until next time 🤖😋🧠