Five Things Tech: Google, Wendy's, Rare-Earth Magnets, Venture Debt, Wine
There's so much going on in Tech. Read this now to stay in the know.
Tech is amazing. And also weird. And sometimes frightening! Welcome to the latest edition of Five Things Tech, where I take you on a quick tour through the wonderful world of tech.
I’m Nico, I have been involved in tech for over 20 years and I still enjoy it. There’s so much going on, so many developments happen, that have a huge impact on our economy and society.
This week was the week of Google I/O and I assume there was some tension over at the Googleplex before all of those announcements happened. It looks like Google is back in the AI race now and we will see interesting developments in the near future with Bard, OpenAI, et al. It will be interesting to see what Mark Zuckerberg will do about this, not being invited by VP Kamela Harris to talk about the future of AI and the possible regulations necessary, was probably a hard blow for him. But he still has the Metaverse…
This week OMR Festival took place in my hometown of Hamburg, Germany, and it was a blast. 70,000 people spend two days to learn about current digital trends, meet people, do deals, have fun and party hard. Bonus link for all German-speaking people: the annual State of the German Internet address, oddly enough in German and not in English…
The AI takeover of Google Search starts now
Google had a busy few months trying to catch up with Microsoft and OpenAI. It will be interesting to see how Google will develop AI further - and as a sidenote let us remember that OpenAI grew substantially since the launch von ChatGPT3, but the integration of ChatGPT into Bing just gave a minimal uptick in user numbers. (The Verge)
Wendy’s, Google Train Next-Generation Order Taker: an AI Chatbot
Honestly, I think this will be amazing for customers and employees alike. The order process is always mediocre, because it seems that both sides only understand half of what is being said. Hopefully, the AI chatbot can better guestimate the other half. (Wall Street Journal)
Meet The Texas Startup That Recycles Rare-Earth Magnets, Bypassing China
Companies like Noveon will become more important in the near future. It’s amazing how recycling gets more into the focus as we rely on rare-earth material and need to overcome the natural limitations that come along with it. (Forbes)
Tech Startups Find One of Their Last Funding Sources Is Drying Up
The times are tough right now for startups as securing funding is getting harder and harder. Now venture debt is also drying up, so we’ll see a reconfiguration of the startup ecosystem real soon now, including different valuations. (Bloomberg)
Wine Reseller Underground Cellar Faces Alleged Fraud and $25 Million Debt Amid Bankruptcy
The times are tough right now, but imagine not getting the wine you ordered. Nobody deserves that. (Vinepair)
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Honestly, I did not bother reading the Wendy's post as I don't own a car and always never to go a fast food chain anyway but I was wondering whether this topic was a more a solution looking for a problem type of thing. The last time I was in a McDonald's they had huge touchscreens for customers to order their items and that seems to work well. On the other hand I cannot imagine a McDonald's where customers are screaming at screens because voice input is the latest thing in tech ...