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Nvidia shares pass $1,000 for first time on AI-driven sales surge

Also: Scarlett Johansson's AI row has echoes of Silicon Valley's bad old days

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AI KATANA
May 22, 2024

Hi!

In today's newsletter, we delve into Nvidia's remarkable Q1 2025 earnings surge, propelling its shares past $1,000 for the first time due to soaring AI chip demand. We also explore Scarlett Johansson's dispute with OpenAI over unauthorized voice usage, reflecting ongoing ethical dilemmas in the tech industry. NASA's commitment to responsible AI use is highlighted alongside BBVA's strategic AI partnership with OpenAI to enhance banking operations. Nvidia's shift to annual AI chip releases and Meta's perspective on the limitations of large language models provide further insights into the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Additionally, we cover updates on NASA's new AI-driven climate tools, Microsoft's AI-powered Advanced Paste feature, and significant venture capital investments in AI startups DeepL and Scale AI, underscoring the industry's robust growth and innovation.

Sliced:

  • 📈 Nvidia shares pass $1,000 for first time on AI-driven sales surge

  • ⚠️ Scarlett Johansson's AI row has echoes of Silicon Valley's bad old days

  • 🧑🏻‍🚀 NASA pledges to use AI carefully and responsibly

  • 🏦 BBVA steps up its plans in artificial intelligence by signing an agreement with OpenAI

  • 🤝 Nvidia will now make new AI chips every year

  • 🤖 Meta AI chief says large language models will not reach human intelligence

Nvidia's Q1 2025 earnings report revealed a significant surge in both sales and stock price, driven by robust demand for its AI chips. The company reported an adjusted earnings per share of $6.12 and revenue of $26.04 billion, surpassing analyst expectations. Notably, Nvidia's data center revenue soared by 427% year-over-year to $22.6 billion, largely due to the high demand for its Hopper GPUs. CEO Jensen Huang announced that Nvidia's next-generation AI chip, Blackwell, will begin generating revenue later this year. Additionally, Nvidia's gaming sector saw an 18% increase in revenue, reaching $2.65 billion. The company also announced a 10-for-1 stock split and increased its quarterly dividend from 4 cents to 10 cents per share on a pre-split basis. The earnings report highlights Nvidia's pivotal role in the AI industry, with significant contributions from major tech companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and OpenAI.

Scarlett Johansson recently clashed with OpenAI, accusing the company of using her voice for its new ChatGPT product without permission, which OpenAI denies. This incident echoes Silicon Valley's historical "move fast and break things" ethos, characterized by aggressive innovation often disregarding ethical considerations. The creative industries, including major entities like Sony Music, have raised concerns over the unauthorized use of their content to train AI systems. As the AI sector grows, the need for stringent, enforceable regulations becomes apparent to prevent misuse and protect intellectual property. Recent efforts, including global AI safety summits and new legislative measures like the EU's AI Act, aim to address these issues, though there is skepticism about their sufficiency and the slow pace of policy development compared to rapid technological advancements.

NASA has committed to leveraging AI with a strong emphasis on safety, transparency, and reliability. During an AI town hall, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson highlighted the potential risks of AI if misused and stressed the importance of responsible implementation. To ensure effective and ethical use of AI, NASA has appointed its first AI chief, David Salvagnini, who introduced a "Summer of AI" initiative aimed at enhancing AI literacy among the workforce. Salvagnini emphasized the concept of "assistive intelligence" to underscore human accountability in AI-driven processes. NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy noted that AI's ability to process large datasets efficiently could lead to significant breakthroughs in fields like heliophysics, Earth science, and astronomy, provided it is managed responsibly to avoid jeopardizing the agency's mission and credibility.

BBVA has significantly advanced its AI strategy by signing a strategic agreement with OpenAI, becoming the first European bank to do so. This partnership enables BBVA to integrate generative AI tools like ChatGPT Enterprise, enhancing productivity, efficiency, and innovation across the bank. BBVA has already distributed 3,000 ChatGPT Enterprise licenses among its employees, with plans for extensive training and deployment to maximize the tool's benefits. The bank's AI Factories in Spain, Mexico, and Türkiye, along with over 5,000 data specialists, are central to this initiative. This move underscores BBVA's commitment to leveraging AI for improved decision-making and customer service, reinforcing its position as a leader in financial technology innovation.

Nvidia is shifting to an annual release schedule for its AI chips, moving from a biennial cadence to a yearly one, as announced by CEO Jensen Huang. This change follows Nvidia's record $14 billion profit in a single quarter, driven by its AI chip sales. The company plans to introduce the new "Rubin" architecture in 2025, succeeding the recently launched "Blackwell" chips. Nvidia aims to accelerate the development of all its products, including CPUs, GPUs, and networking devices, to match this new pace. This strategic move is intended to meet the surging demand from sectors like automotive and consumer internet, with companies like Tesla and Meta heavily investing in Nvidia's AI technology.

Yann LeCun, Meta's chief AI scientist, argues that large language models (LLMs) will not achieve human-level intelligence, highlighting their limitations in reasoning, understanding, and planning. Despite the progress in AI, LeCun points out that LLMs, including Meta's new Llama 3, can only respond accurately if they have been properly trained with the right data, making them "intrinsically unsafe." Instead, LeCun advocates for a novel approach called "world modelling" to develop AI with common sense and a deeper understanding of the physical world. This vision involves creating AI systems that learn like humans, a process he believes may take a decade. Despite skepticism from some experts and internal challenges, Meta continues to invest heavily in AI research and development to maintain its competitive edge in the AI landscape.

🛠️ AI tools updates

NASA, in collaboration with IBM Research and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has introduced a new AI-driven weather and climate model designed to enhance local and regional forecasting capabilities. The Privthi-weather-climate model utilizes extensive data and AI learning to identify patterns and predict severe weather and natural disasters. This advanced tool aims to help communities better prepare for and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events, offering improved spatial resolution and representations of physical processes. By making these models openly accessible, NASA hopes to broaden the use and benefits of its scientific data globally, addressing the urgent need for actionable climate information.

Microsoft has introduced an AI-powered copy-and-paste tool called Advanced Paste, available in the free PowerToys utility. This new feature allows users to choose how to format pasted text and includes AI-driven options to summarize, rewrite, or translate the content. Advanced Paste offers three primary formatting choices: plain text, markdown, and JSON. To use the tool, users need to install or update PowerToys to version 0.80.1, enable Advanced Paste and Clipboard history in the settings, and obtain an API key from OpenAI for the AI functionalities. This tool enhances productivity by simplifying text management and formatting tasks within Windows.

💵 Venture Capital updates

DeepL, an AI language translation startup based in Cologne, Germany, has secured $300 million in new funding, boosting its valuation to $2 billion. Led by Index Ventures, this investment underscores the high interest in AI startups. DeepL, known for its advanced text translation and writing tools, plans to use the funds to enhance sales, marketing, and research and development. The company, which serves over 100,000 businesses, aims to expand its market presence significantly. CEO Jarek Kutylowski highlighted the shift towards a more enterprise-focused strategy, emphasizing the need for stronger customer relationships and outbound functions. DeepL's product suite includes DeepL Write Pro, a writing assistant tailored for business, and the company plans to balance its research focus with hiring more non-technical staff. Despite strong competition from major tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, DeepL continues to innovate and expand its offerings in the AI translation space.

Scale AI, a leading provider of data labeling services for AI development and training, has secured $1 billion in a Series F funding round, elevating its valuation to $13.8 billion. This funding round, led by Accel and supported by a mix of new and existing investors including Cisco Investments, Intel Capital, Amazon, and Meta, aims to enhance Scale AI's capabilities and expand its offerings. The company's CEO, Alexandr Wang, emphasized their focus on advancing AI data training to eliminate data constraints, facilitating the growth of large language models. Scale AI's services are crucial for defense, civilian, and government sectors, supporting the entire AI lifecycle from development to deployment.

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