Apple Watch Battle | Bloomberg Technology 12/18/2023
CAROLYN: I'M CAROLINE HYDE. ED: THIS IS BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY. CAROLYN: ADOBE AND SIGMA CALL OFF THE $20 BILLION DEAL. WE WILL BRING YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW. ED: PLUS, A-ROD'S BLACK CHECK COMPANY LYNK GLOBAL. WE HEAR FROM THE FORMER NEW YORK YANKEES ALL-STAR ON THE DEAL. CAROLINE: AND A DEEP DIVE INTO THE WORLD
OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. HOW BUSINESSES ARE UTILIZING THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE ETHICAL CONCERNS ATTACHED THE AI. FIRST, LET'S THROUGH THESE MARKETS BECAUSE TODAY IS A STORY OF M&A ON AN M&A OFF IT A SILLY QUESTION OF JUST HOW MUCH PUSHBACK WE ARE GOING TO GET ON THE FACT THAT RATE CUTS ARE COMING IN AS SOON AS MARCH OF NEXT YEAR. THE YIELD'S FEELING THAT QUESTIONING AROUND BORROWING COST AND INDEED, WHAT THE JAPAN CENTRAL BANK DOES. WE HAVE A FEW MORE VOICES TALKING ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE MARKET IS GETTING TOO FAR AHEAD OF THE TERMS OF RATE CUTS.
LET'S SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD OF CRYPTO BECAUSE WITH THE DOLLAR UP, WE SEEING A BIT OF A PULLBACK IN CRYPTO AS OF LATE. 41,000 OR 500 ON THE NOSE. TALK TO US ABOUT THESE DEALS. ED: THE DEAL THAT IS DEAD, ADOBE AND FIGMENT MUTUALLY AGREEING TO TERMINATE ADOBE'S ACQUISITION OF A $20 BILLION DEAL. IT IS INTERESTING TO WONDER WITH THIS IN EVER PASSED MUSTER WITH THE REGULATORS? THE NEWS BEING THAT ADOBE PAYS A $1 MILLION TERMINATION FEE AND NOW THAT THE DEAL HAS FAILED, LOTS OF OPINION THAT THERE ON SOCIAL MEDIA ABOUT WHETHER THIS WAS A GOOD OR BAD DEAL. LET'S GET THE DEALS.
I GUESS THIS IS ONE OF THOSE DEALS IN ONE OF THOSE STORIES WHERE YOU START WITH WHY? WHY DID BOTH PARTIES DECIDE TO TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT? >> IMAGINE GETTING PAID $1 BILLION TO BREAK UP. THE BIG ONE IS JUST THAT IT WAS TAKING SO LONG. 15 MONTHS AGO, WE SAT HERE AND THOUGHT ABOUT WHY ADOBE WAS GOING TO BUY SIGMA. IT WANTED TO EXPAND TO LOOK AT THE APT DESIGNERS, THE UI DESIGNERS AND ALSO JUST INVEST IN A PRODUCT. BUT OF COURSE REGULATORS HAVE BEEN VERY SKEPTICAL OF THESE DEALS WHERE A BIG, INCUMBENT TECH PLAYER WILL SCOOP UP A YOUNGER STARTUP AND MAYBE THREATEN IT. THIS SENSE IS THAT REGULATORS
REALLY THIS -- AND NOW STOPPING FACEBOOK, AND THEY REALLY WANTED TO KIND OF MAKE AN EXAMPLE HERE. THEY FACED SEVERE PUSHBACK IN THE U.K., E.U. THERE WAS A CERTAIN POINT WHERE BOTH ADOBE AND --SAID WE DON'T SEE A WAY FORWARD HERE. SO THEY DECIDED TO WALK AWAY. CAROLINE: THE COFOUNDER AND CEO TALKING ABOUT WHAT WAS IT, THE THOUSANDS OF HOURS SPENT WITH REGULATORS AND YET THEY STILL COULDN'T GET THIS DEAL AWAY. YOU CAN SEE THAT ADOBE IS RALLYING A BIT ON THE NEWS, BUT WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF FIGMA? I'M INTERESTED THAT THEY STILL SEEM PRETTY POSITIVE ABOUT WHAT THEY MANAGED TO BASICALLY PUT TO MARKET DURING THIS TIME. >> THE BIG QUESTION FOR US NOW, ARE THEY STILL ON A COLLISION COURSE? FOR THOSE WHO WANT SUPER FAMILIAR, THE CORE MARKET IS THE SOFTWARE THAT HELPS YOU DESIGN THE WAY THAT ABSENT WEBSITES LOOK, BUT THEY ARE EXPANDING ELSEWHERE.
THEY'VE LOOK THE PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE SUITE, THINK ABOUT A GOOGLE WORKSPACES KIND OF THING. THEY LOOKED INTO IMAGE-EDITING. SO YOU FIGURED THAT THIS IS A CAPABLE COMPANY WITH CAPABLE LEADERSHIP. THEY'VE HIRED 500 PEOPLE IN THE LAST YEAR. IT'S NOT HARD TO IMAGINE A SCENARIO WHERE THEY GROW TO OVERSHADOW SOME OF THESE LARGER SOFTWARE COMPANIES. CAROLINE: THEY TALK ABOUT THE HUGE ADVANCES IN AI AND HOW THAT IS AN AREA OR FOCUS FOR THE BUSINESS. WE ARE ALL WAITING FOR IPOS AND
EXITS AND THIS IS AN EXIT THAT HAS BEEN PUT ON ICE. DO YOU THINK THIS COMPANY WILL HE GOING IN ALONE? >> I THINK IT WILL BE A WHILE BEFORE WE SEE AN IPO. ADOBE WAS BUYING A FAST-GROWING BUT SOMEWHAT STILL NASCENT COMPETITOR. I DON'T REMEMBER THE REVENUE NUMBERS BUT THEY ARE RAPIDLY GROWING. I THINK IT WOULD BE A WHILE BEFORE WE SEE AN IPO. ARE THEY GOING TO GET ACQUIRED BY THESE OTHER LARGE SOFTWARE COMPANIES? I THINK WE ARE RIGHT TO ASK WHAT IS THE NEXT PATH.
ED: STAYING IN THE WORLD OF DEALS, A BLANK CHECK COMPANY SET UP BY ALEX RODRIGUEZ IS PLANNING TO MERGE WITH SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS PROVIDER LINK GLOBAL. EARLIER I SAT DOWN WITH THE CEOS TO DISCUSS. HAVE A LISTEN. >> LYNK INVENTED THIS TECHNOLOGY IT YOU GO BACK TO 2015, MANY PEOPLE THOUGHT THIS WAS IMPOSSIBLE. WE INVENTED ALL THE TECHNOLOGY, WITH NO CHANGE OF THE PHONE. PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT WAS CRAZY THINKING.
WE HAVE THREE OPERATIONAL, COMMERCIALLY-LICENSED SATELLITE IN ORBIT TODAY. WE'VE PROVEN IT ON ALL SEVEN CONFIDENT IN OVER TWO DOZEN COUNTRIES. IT PUTS US IN A GREAT POSITION TO BRING THIS SERVICE TO THE WORLD. THIS IS A SERVICE WITH OVER 5 BILLION CUSTOMER THAT HAVE A PHONE TODAY. ED:
YOU HAVE A SMALL CONSOLATION UP AND RUNNING, YOU HAVE THE COMMERCIAL DEALS IN PLACE. THIS IS AN AREA WHERE JUST LAST WEEK WE LEARNED THAT SPACEX WANTS TO GET INTO AS WELL. IS THERE ENOUGH FOR YOU IN THE LIKES OF SPACEX TO BUILD OUT THE NETWORK? WE ARE THE CATEGORY CREATORS, AND THERE IS A BUNCH OF COMPANIES JUMPING IN NOW THAT HAVE DONE IT, BUT THIS IS THE KEY THING TO UNDERSTAND. NO ONE IS GOING TO GET A MONOPOLY. IN THE MOBILE WIRELESS INDUSTRY THERE IS AT LEAST TWO OR THREE WINNERS. THEY DON'T LET ANYBODY GET A MONOPOLY.
THEY DIDN'T LET APPLE GET A MONOPOLY. THEY PULLED INTO EXISTENCE ANDROID WITHIN 18 MONTHS, SO THERE'S GOING TO BE AT LEAST TWO OR THREE WINNERS IN SATELLITE AND STANDARD PHONE. IT IS GOING TO BE LYNK AND ONE OR TWO OTHER COMPANIES. THAT IS A NATURAL THAT ESPECIALLY THE CONSUMER AND COMPLETELY VALIDATE WHAT WE ARE DOING. ED: REALLY SIMILAR QUESTION FOR YOU.
A LOT OF WHAT I'VE COVERED OVER THE LAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS, THE ONE THAT GOT WRONG IS WHERE DO DILIGENCE WAS A PROBLEM. I WONDERED HOW MUCH FOR CONCERN ENTERING A MARKET WITH LTN YNK, HOW MUCH OF THAT WAS A CONSIDERATION FOR YOU. >> IT WAS. WE ARE SUPER DISCIPLINED AND WE WOULD RATHER NOT TAKE SOMETHING PUBLIC UNLESS WE FELT REALLY PASSIONATE ABOUT IT. WE ARE LONG-TERM THINKERS AND
OUR CORE VALUES ARE ALIGNED. IT IS SUCH AN EXCITING SPACE TO THINK THAT THIS IS A BILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS ANNUALLY. AND TO CONNECT THE UNCONNECTED, TO THINK THAT CHARLES AND LYNK CAN CONNECT OVER ONE BILLION PEOPLE MORE THAN WE HAVE TODAY. AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT AMAZON, HOW THEY'VE DISRUPTED THE RETAIL BUSINESS.
THIS IS TO DISRUPT THE BUSINESS WHERE YOU HAVE THESE CELL TOWERS WHERE YOU WOULD NEED A FOOTBALL FIELD OR TWO TO PROVIDE. CHARLES HAS CREATED ONE THAT HIS SATELLITES GO IN THE SIZE OF A PIZZA BOX AND YOU SEND THEM TO ORBIT AND OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS THERE SHOULD BE HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF THESE UP IN ORBIT. ED: ALEX RAISES A GOOD POINT WHICH IS THE INDUSTRIES WERE TRYING TO DISRUPT. BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE END USER, ME, THE CONSUMER WITH A CELL PHONE, IT SEEMS TO BE THE CARRIERS THAT YOU WANT TO DO BUSINESS WITH. >> THAT IS A KEY PART OF OUR STRATEGY. WE ARE PARTNERED WITH MOBILE PHONE COMPANIES AND MANY PEOPLE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES NO VERIZON, AT&T AND T-MOBILE.
BUT THERE'S 800 AROUND THE WORLD. WE ARE GOING TO BE A PARTNER WITH MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS AROUND THE WORLD. WE ARE SET UP AS A TRUSTED PARTNER OF NETWORK OPERATORS AND IT HAS HUGE IMPLICATIONS FOR ECONOMICS.
WE DON'T HAVE TO GO SIGN UP SUBSCRIBERS. WE CUT A DEAL WITH A MOBILE NETWORK OPERATOR IN WE INSTANTLY GET ONE MILLION TO 90 100 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS. SO OUR SUBSCRIBER ACQUISITION COST, BECAUSE IT USES THE PHONE IN YOUR POCKET, BASICALLY ALMOST GO TO ZERO. ED: A-ROD'S SPAC TALKING LYNK GLOBAL GOING PUBLIC. VALUATION AROUND $800 MILLION AND THEY LITERALLY WANT TO TAKE ON SPACEX. THAT IS NOT A NEW STORY I
THOUGHT I WOULD WAKE UP TO ON A MONDAY MORNING. CAROLINE: QUITE A FEW STORIES TO WAKE UP TO. ONE OF THEM WAS THE FACT THAT APPLE IS HOLDING SALES OF ITS FLAGSHIP APPLE WATCH MODELS IN THE UNITED STATES. WE ARE GOING TO BRING YOU YET ANOTHER ANTITRUST STORY HERE AS WELL. OFF YOU GO. ED: IN CHINA ARE COLLEAGUES REPORTED THAT THE GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN ON THE USE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTINUES ACROSS GOVERNMENT AND STATE-BACKED ENTERPRISE. HAPPENING LOWER EARLY IN THE SESSION, THE KEY SUPPLIERS SEEM TO BE MOVING LOWER ON THAT NEWS. WE WILL HAVE THE DETAILS NEXT.
THIS IS BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY. ♪ ED: TIME FOR TALKING TECH AND IN THE NEWS, IBM HAS AGREED TO BUY DATA INTEGRATION PLATFORMS STREAM SETS AND WEB METHODS FROM SOFTWARE AG FOR $2.3 BILLION IN CASH. THE DEAL IS EXPECTED TO COMPLETE IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2024 AND IT IS AN EFFORT TO STRENGTHEN ITS AI AND CLOUD CAPABILITIES. AND SENSETIME PLUNGED AFTER ITS CO-FOUNDER STATUS SPOOKED INVESTORS ALREADY GRAPPLING WITH THE FALLOUT FROM SLOWING GROWTH AND U.S. SANCTIONS. SINCETIME DISCLOSED THAT ITS
CO-FOUNDER AND MAJOR SHAREHOLDER DIED FRIDAY AFTERNOON THIS. THE M.I.T. GRADUATE AND HONG KONG PROFESSOR WAS REGARDED AS A PIONEER IN CHINA'S AI SECTOR, HELPING CREATE ONE OF THE NATION'S LEADERS AND FACIAL AND IMAGE RECOGNITION. CHINESE AGENCIES AND GOVERNMENT-BACKED FIRMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE ORDERED STAFF TO STOP BRINGING IPHONES AND OTHER FOREIGN DEVICES TO WORK. THE FORMAL DIRECTIVES FOLLOW A GENERAL MANDATE FROM MONTHS AGO AND SETS IN MOTION AN UNPRECEDENTED PROHIBITION THAT IS LIKELY TO BLOCK APPLE AND SAMSUNG FROM PARTS OF THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SMARTPHONE MARKET. CAROLINE: AND THERE WAS SO MUCH TO CHEW ONE WHEN IT COMES TO APPLE TODAY SO LET'S STICK WITH A COMPANY THAT IS ALSO CONFIRMING IT IS SOON GOING TO BE HOPING SALES OF THE FLAGSHIP APPLE WATCH MODELS RIGHT HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.
THE MOVES COMES FOLLOWING A RULING AS THEY LONG-RUNNING DISPUTE BETWEEN APPLE AND MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY -- AROUND THE BLOOD OXYGEN SENSOR TECHNOLOGY. FIRST, THE WATCHES. THIS IS QUITE A MAJOR STEP BUT BASICALLY THEY ARE ANTICIPATING -- HERE. >> WE WERE EXPECTING THAT THERE WOULD BE A SETTLEMENT BY NOW BETWEEN THE TWO COMPANIES AND WE STILL HAVE A FEW DAYS.
LET'S SEE IF THIS IS JUST ARMSTRONG BY BOTH OF THE COMPANIES, BUT WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT THERE WILL BE A SETTLEMENT BETWEEN THEM. >> THE OTHER STORY REPORTED OVERNIGHT ACCORDING TO BLOOMBERG SOURCES, THIS KIND OF GOVERNMENT OR PUBLIC SECTOR COUNTDOWN ON FOREIGN HANDSETS IN CHINA. IT STARTED WITH BEIJING, NOW THERE ARE EIGHT OTHER PROVINCES WHERE STATE-BACKED ENTITIES OR COMPANIES, GOVERNMENT ENTITIES ARE SAYING LEAVE YOUR FOREIGN HANDSET AT WORK, BUY DOMESTIC. IS THAT REALLY IMPACT APPLE SALES GROWTH OR POTENTIAL IN CHINA? >> THAT ISN'T MUCH GOOD NEWS FOR APPLE IN THE LAST SEVERAL DAYS. I THINK THE IPHONE NEWS IS SOMETHING THAT IN ALL FRANKNESS, YOU DON'T EXPECT GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES TO SHOWCASE THEIR IPHONES ANYWAY IN THE PUBLIC.
THIS IS SOMETHING YOU DON'T DO FOR YEARS, BUT I THINK THE BIGGER ISSUE WITH THAT RIGHT NOW IS H WAWEI HAS A NEW PHONE THAT IS REALLY DOING WELL IN CHINA RIGHT NOW. BUT I THINK IPHONE REALLY IS ON THE BACK FOOT AT THIS POINT. WHEN THEY REPORT RESULTS OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ASKED. WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING IN
CHINA AND HOW SHOULD BE EXPECTED, BECAUSE IT IS THE BIGGEST GROWTH MARKET FOR APPLE IN TERMS OF PHONES. ED: APPLE IS UP 50% YEAR-TO-DATE. IT FELT 26% IN 2022. WHAT IS THE STORY GOING TO BE FOR APPLE IN 2024? >> AS FAR AS THREE, THE GROWTH PROSPECTS ARE PRETTY TEPID AT THIS POINT. GROWTH RATE OF 3, 4, 5% IS NOTHING TO REALLY WRITE HOME ABOUT ONE OF THE REASONS PEOPLE LOOK AT APPLE IS BECAUSE OF ITS QUALITY AND WITH INTEREST RATES GOING DOWN THAT HAS HELPED SOME OF THE LARGER TECH NAMES.
BUT FUNDAMENTALLY I THINK APPLE STILL NEEDS TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF WORK TO SHOWCASE THAT THEY CAN GET BACK TO THAT HIGH SINGLE DIGIT, LOW DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH RATE BUT WE DON'T THINK THAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT YEAR. NEXT 12 MONTHS IS GOING TO BE TOUGH FOR THEM. CAROLINE: THERE'S BEEN A SLIGHT PIVOT FROM A SUPPLY PERSPECTIVE LOOKING TOWARD INDIA AS A DEMAND-DRIVER AS WELL.
IS THAT GOING TO BE SOME SORT OF A LINING, THE PULLBACK OF CHINA OR THE MORE DIFFICULT OUTLOOK FOR 2024? >> IN THE LONG-TERM, INDIA IS A VERY BIG GROWTH MARKET FOR THEM, NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO PLAY INTO THE 3-5 YEARS RANGE. CHINA REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS BECAUSE THEY CHASING POWER OF CONSUMERS IN CHINA STILL IS A LOT MORE THAN IN INDIA. IN INDIA IF YOU LOOK AT THE SMARTPHONE MARKET, APPLE DOESN'T EVEN QUALIFY FOR 95% OF THE UNIT SHIPMENTS BECAUSE THEY ARE BELOW $300.
APPLE DOESN'T PLAY IN THAT MARKET. WHILE THE POPULATION SIZE IS VERY ATTRACTIVE AND VERY ADVERTISING, THE SMARTPHONE GROWTH IS NOT THERE JUST FROM UNITS AT THIS POINT. ED: RIGHT. GREAT TO GET YOUR ANALYSIS ON A LIVE APPLE LOSE. COMING UP HERE ON THE PROGRAM, NVIDIA STAFF IS WARNING THE CHIP-MAKER'S CEO ON THE THREATS AI WOULD POSE TO MINORITIES.
WE WILL BRING YOU SOME EXCLUSIVE BLOOMBERG REPORTING COMING UP NEXT. CAROLINE: ANOTHER STORY YOU SHOULD BE FOLLOWING WHEN IT COMES TO THE EUROPEAN UNION, TAKING ITS FIRST FORMALSTATUS AGAINST ELON MUSK'S X OVER ALLEGEDLY BREAKING RULES ON HOW TO HANDLE ILLEGAL CONTENT AND DISINFORMATION. IT IS THE FIRST SUCH PROBE SINCE THE BLOCK WHEN THEY BROUGHT IN THAT DIGITAL SERVICES ACT THAT CAME TO FOURTH THIS YEAR. MEANWHILE WE ARE GOING TO KEEP AN EYE ON WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH SHARES OF NETFLIX. CONTINUING OUT, 2.8%. THE COMPANY SEEKING TO TURN ITS BIGGEST HITS INTO FRANCHISES. ATTRACTING TENS OF MILLIONS WITH ORIGINALS LIKE HOUSE OF CARDS, STRANGER THINGS AND NOW STARTING TO RESEMBLE A MORE HOLLYWOOD STUDIO FIVE. MAKING A LOT MORE SEQUELS AND
PREQUELS, REBOOT. IT IS ALL ABOUT EXISTING IP AND IT IS HELPING THE MENTALITY. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." ♪ CAROLINE: LET'SCAROLINE: TURN OUR ATTENTION TO NVIDIA NOW. THE THREAT THAT AI POSES TO MINORITIES. THIS IS HIGHLIGHTED BY TWO FORMER EMPLOYEES WHO WARN THE CEO OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES. THUS FAR, NVIDIA HAS DECLINED
TO COMMENT ON THE SPECIFICS OF THE MEETING THE COMPANY SAID IT COULD CONTINUE TO DEVOTE TREMENDOUS RESOURCES TO ENSURING THAT AI BENEFITS EVERYONE. LET'S GET TO THE REPORTER BEHIND THIS INCREDIBLE PIECE. IT GOES BACK SEVERAL YEARS BETWEEN MEETING THAT THEY HAD WITH THE CEO OF NVIDIA AND THESE TWO EMPLOYEES BASICALLY WALKED OUT SAYING THAT THEY WERE NOT HEARD. >> CORRECT.
THEY WERE BOTH PRESIDENTS OF THE BLACK EMPLOYEES GROUP, BUT THEY WORKED WITH EXECUTIVES AND PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE COMPANY TO PUT TOGETHER A PRESENTATION FOR THE CEO OF NVIDIA ABOUT THE RISKS AI CAN POSE, HOW CAN WE MAKE AI SAFE, AND THE GENERAL TOPIC OF AI ETHICS. THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMPANY WHICH THEY CLAIM IS GOING TO BE A MAJOR AI SUPERPOWER IN THE FUTURE SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, HAVE GUARDRAILS, HAVE PROCESSES AND FRAMEWORKS THAT MAKE SURE AI IS SAFE. AND THEY WALKED OUT OF THE MEETING NOT FEELING HEARD, AND THEY QUIT SHORTLY AFTER. ED:
NOT JUST THE NOT FEELING HEARD OR BASICALLY ANY INACTION FROM NVIDIA FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW WITH THE IDEA THAT THE PEOPLE BUILDING THE TECHNOLOGY, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THERE IS DIVERSITY WITHIN IT. AND IT DUG DOWN INTO NVIDIA'S WORKFORCE, ESSENTIALLY, IT'S HIRING RELATIVE TO SOME OF ITS PEERS. WHAT DID YOU FIND AND WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT? >> THERE IS A LOT OF RESEARCH THAT SAYS PARTICULARLY FOR AI BUT TECHNOLOGY AS A WHOLE THAT IS AN INDUSTRY, IT HAS SUCH FEW UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES THAT IT IS LIKELY BLIND SPOTS WHEN IT COMES TO BUILDING THESE TOOLS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY.
WHEN I LOOKED INTO THE DIVERSITY NUMBERS, THEY WERE IN THE BOTTOM TO FOR UNDERREPRESENTED -- UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES, BLACK, HISPANIC, MIXED RACE PEOPLE. IT IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE RESEARCH SAYS THAT IF YOU DON'T HAVE THESE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN DISCUSSIONS AS WERE BUILDING PRODUCTS, YOU ARE LIKELY TO MISS BLIND SPOTS. ED: WE READ NVIDIA'S STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE STORY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEGMENT, BUT WHAT IS THE NET RESULT OF THIS REPORTING? WHAT KIND OF ACTION ARE THEY TAKING IN HIS ANYTHING IMPROVE? >> THE MEETING HAPPENED A WHILE AGO. NVIDIA CLAIMS IT HAS DONE A
TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK IN THINKING ABOUT THIS ISSUE, AND THEY'VE HIRED NIKKI POPE TO RUN THEIR TRUSTWORTHY AI DIVISION. THEY'VE MADE SURE THAT THE DATA SETS THAT THE MODELS ARE TRAINED ON ARE NOT BIASED, AND THEY'VE PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO MAKING SURE THE MODELS ARE TRANSPARENT. THEY HAVE RAISED GUARDRAILS WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO KEEP CHATBOTS SAFE AND ON TOPIC AND APPROPRIATE. SO THEY CLAIM TO HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK SINCE THAT MEETING AND SINCE THAT TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT AI IS SAFE. CAROLINE: IT IS WORTH REMINDING PEOPLE THAT THESE TWO EMPLOYEES WHEN THEY FIRST WENT TO THE CEO, IT WAS BACK IN 2020. A LOT HAS CHANGED AMONG CORPORATE AMERICA SINCE THE TRAGIC DEATH OF GEORGE FLOYD AS WELL.
I'M INTERESTED ULTIMATELY IN THE REAL PART OF AI THEY SEEM TO BE WORRIED ABOUT, FACIAL RECOGNITION, CORRECT? >> THAT IS ONE OF THE BIG PIECES. AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY RAISED DURING THAT MEETING. THERE IS A LOT OF RESEARCH THAT SAYS ALREADY THAT FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGIES IN GENERAL DON'T IDENTIFY PEOPLE OF COLOR QUITE WELL.
SO THIS WAS JUST GENERALLY RAISED IF THAT IS GOING TO BE POWERING SELF DRIVING CARS, WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN? WHAT IF THEY DON'T RECOGNIZE PEOPLE WITH DARKER SKIN OR DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE IN GENERAL? ED: JUST REALLY IMPORTANT AND DEEP REPORTING ON NVIDIA, A COMPANY THAT EVERYONE HAS BECOME SO OBSESSED WITH THE 2023. COMING UP WE WILL CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND TURN TO COMPANY ADOPTION OF GENERATIVE AI. WE DISCUSSED WITH AMAZON WEB SERVICES' VICE PRESIDENT. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." ♪ ED: WELCOME BACK TO "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." ED LUDLOW IN SAN FRANCISCO. CAROLINE:
CAROLINE HYDE IN NEW YORK. MANAGING TO HOLD FIRM AND THE NASDAQ, STOCKSTILL STILL MANAGING POWER ON HIGHER. STILL THE MOON MUSIC IS POSITIVE AND EQUITIES EVEN THOUGH IN THE BOND MARKET WE ARE SELLING OFF A LITTLE BIT WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE CAUTION COMING FROM SOME OF THE STEAD VOICES. WE LOOK TO THE DOJ WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL BE CAMPING UP SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT CENTRAL-BANK POLICIES. U.S. 10 YEAR YIELD CURRENTLY UP, SO
FOUR BASIS POINTS. BITCOIN SELLING OFF AFTER WHAT HAS BEEN A RAPID RUNOFF IN RECENT MONTHS. INDIVIDUAL COMPANIES ON THE MOVE. THERE IS SO MUCH WINDING AND UNWINDING OF M&A, IT IS EXTRAORDINARY TODAY.
THESE ARE THE ADRS TRADED HERE OF WHAT IS A EUROPEAN TELECOM JUGGERNAUT LOOKING TO TIE UP IS ITALIAN UNIT WITH THAT OF ILIAD IN FRANCE AS WELL. KEEP IN MIND THAT PARTICULAR COMING TOGETHER AND ITALIAN COORDINATION. SOUTH KOREAN E-COMMERCE COMPANY LOOKING TO BASICALLY SAVE A DOWN AND OUT U.K. ONE. IT WAS ONE OF THE PINUPS OF THE U.K. SPACE FIVE YEARS AGO AND DID INCREDIBLY WELL DURING COVID AND THEN DIDN'T MANAGE TO MAKE THE JUMP. SEEMS AS THOUGH THOSE THAT ARE HOLDERS ARE GOING TO BE WIPED OUT BY THIS PARTICULAR DEAL.
$500 MILLION OF BRIDGE LOANS BASICALLY TEAMING UP WITH ANOTHER COMPANY TO BE ABLE TO BUY THIS COMPANY OUT OF ADMINISTRATION. LUMINA, 1.8% HIGHER. THIS IS AS THEY ARE FORTH TO DIVEST, A CANCER TECHNOLOGY COMPANY THAT IT BOUGHT. ONCE AGAIN, U.S. REALLY FEELING THAT THEY HAVE TO NOT GO FORWARD WITH THIS PARTICULAR BIT OF M&A EVEN THEY THEY FALL HARD IN THE DIVESTING OF THAT PARTICULAR ASSET. ED: LET'S GET A DEEP DIVE NOW ON GENERATIVE AI AND WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENED SO FAR. DURING HIS NOW AS AMAZON WEB SERVICES VICE PRESIDENT. GREAT AUNTIE BACK ON THE PROGRAM.
WHAT I WANT TO GET INTO HIS DETAIL. I TALKED A LOT THIS YEAR ABOUT AMAZON, AWS, BEDROCK. NOW THAT THE YEAR IS COMING TO A CLOSE, WHAT IS THE ONE THING THAT MOST CUSTOMERS HAVE COME TO YOU AND ASKED FOR? >> CUSTOMERS ALL OVER THE WORLD COME AS YOU KNOW, ARE LOOKING TO DEPLOY GENERATIVE AI AND SCALE, BUT THEY WANT TO DO IT RESPONSIBLY, SAFELY. AND SO THAT REALLY COMES DOWN TO DATA. WHAT IS THE DATA DRIVING THE
BUSINESS TODAY, AND HOW CAN WE PUT THAT DATA TO WORK, AS WELL AS HOW CAN YOU DO IT SECURELY, RESPONSIBLY BY DEFAULT. AND THAT IS JUST TOP OF MIND FOR CEOS ALL OVER THE WORLD NO MATTER WHAT INDUSTRY THEY ARE IN. ED: BUT IS THAT THEM SPECIFICALLY SAYING WE WANT THESE BEDROCK BECAUSE WE CAN ACCESS ALL KINDS OF THIRD-PARTY MODELS, OR BECAUSE IT IS A PLACE THEY CAN BUILD THEIR OWN? >> I THINK THE FIRST REASON WHY CUSTOMERS COME TO AMAZON BEDROCK IS ABOUT CHOICE. THERE'S NOT GOING TO BE ONE MODEL THAT EVERY SINGLE CUSTOMER IS GOING TO USE.
IN FACT, WHAT WE ARE SEEING CUSTOMERS DOING TODAY IS ACTUALLY USING A LOT OF DIFFERENT MODELS FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES. I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE. GENERATIVE PHIL IS ENORMOUSLY POPULAR WITH CREEDS, ACTUALLY THE MOST-USED FEATURE OF PHOTOSHOP. IN FACT IT HAS BEEN ADOPTED 10 TIMES FASTER THAN ANY OTHER FEATURE IN PHOTOSHOP HISTORY AND ADOBE DEALT THAT ON AWS USING A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT MODELS, MARSHLAND MODELS AND FOUNDATION MODELS, ONE OF WHICH THEY WROTE THEMSELVES. SO WHEN CUSTOMERS USE AMAZON BEDROCK, THEY ARE COMING TO IMPOUND IRAN FOR CHOICE. THE ABILITY TO USE THE LATEST LARGE FOUNDATION MODELS, ONE THAT WE HAD JUST RECENTLY, AND BEING ABLE TO TAKE THOSE FLEETING MODELS AND USE THE TOOLING AND AMAZON BEDROCK TO DEPLOY GENERATIVE AI APPLICATIONS REALLY QUICKLY AND SECURELY ON, AS YOU SAY, THEIR OWN CUSTOM DATA.
DATA SETS THAT ARE AT WORK TODAY. CAROLINE: HOW PRICE-SENSITIVE ARE THESE CUSTOMERS? BECAUSE WE ENTERED THIS PERIOD OF AI EXUBERANCE AND A TIME OF ECONOMIC REALITIES OR COMPANIES NEED TO CUT COSTS IN MANY WAYS. >> I THINK COST IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE FRONT AND CENTER OF ANY LARGE-SCALE DEPLOYMENT AND THAT IS WHAT CUSTOMERS ARE THE TRYING TO DO WITH GENERATIVE AI. THEY ARE TRYING TO USE
GENERATIVE AI NOT JUST TO TRANSFORM THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES. FOR EXAMPLE, INTUIT WHICH HAS OVER 100 MILLION SMALL BUSINESS AND CONSUMER CUSTOMERS TODAY BAWLED OUT SOMETHING CALLED ASSIST IN ALL OF THEIR PORTFOLIOS. IF YOU ARE USING QUICKBOOKS YOU CAN USE ASSIST. IF YOU ARE TURNING YOUR MIND TO TAXES RAFTER THE HOLIDAY SEASON, YOU CAN USE ASSIST. AND WHEN YOU HAVE CUSTOMERS WHO WANT TO TRANSFORM THEIR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES OR USE IT TO IMPROVE THEIR INTERNAL PRODUCTIVITY, THEY ARE GOING TO THINK ABOUT COST. I THINK THAT
IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WHEN WE BUILD OUR GENERATIVE AI CAPABILITIES, WE ARE ALSO BUILDING ALL OF OUR THREE LAYERS, THE FOUNDATIONAL LAYER, THE MIDDLE LAYER WHICH WE CALL AMAZON BEDROCK, AND WE ARE BUILDING CAPABILITIES CALLED CAPACITY BLOCKS. AND THESE CAPACITY BLOCKS WORK MUCH THE WAY THAT YOU RESERVE A HOTEL ROOM OF DIFFERENT BEDS, EXCEPT WITH THESE CAPACITY BLOCKS, YOU ARE RESERVING GPUS. HUNDREDS OF GPUS FOR WHEN YOU NEED IT, IN THE FUTURE, AND THEN ONCE YOU ARE DONE USING IT, YOU CAN GIVE THEM BACK BECAUSE YOU WANT TO SAVE ON COST. CAROLINE: I KNOW YOU'RE A THOUGHTFUL PERSON WHEN IT COMES TO ULTIMATELY HUMANITY AT THE SAME TIME AS WORKING WITHIN TECHNOLOGY. YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO THINKS A
LOT ABOUT AMAZON, WOMEN WITHIN TECHNOLOGY. I'M SURE YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS MORE BROADLY. TO THAT END, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT INDEED PUTTING A FEW OUT OF JOBS? IS THAT SOMETHING YOU TALK ABOUT A WITHIN THE BUSINESS? >> FOR ME, PERSONALLY, I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT GENERATIVE AI BECAUSE FOR ME, IT LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD FOR DATA LITERACY. IT BRINGS EVERYBODY, AS IT WERE, TO THE TABLE.
TODAY IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THE WAY WE MAKE SENSE OF OUR WORLD IS OFTEN WITH NUMBERS, AND WE USE SPREADSHEET AND WE USE DATA QUERIES, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO DON'T HAVE EXPOSURE TO THOSE TECHNOLOGIES EARLY ON, AND WITH GENERATIVE AI, YOU CAN TAKE A QUERYING TURN IT INTO A SPOKEN QUESTION. A SPOKEN CONVERSATION. FOR ME, I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE IDEA OF GENERATIVE AI UNLEASHING THE HUMAN POTENTIAL THAT IS EVERYWHERE AND MAKING THE NATIVE INTELLIGENCE OF PEOPLE AND UNLOCKING THAT FRANKLY WITH DATA USING GENERATIVE AI. IN ORDER TO DO THIS AT SCALE, WE HAVE BEEN DOING AWS CLOUD SERVICES NOW FOR JUST ABOUT 18 YEARS. WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DO IT RESPONSIBLY, ANYWAY WHERE ONE OF THE TOP THREE DATA CHALLENGES THAT I HEAR FROM CUSTOMERS WHEN I TALK TO THEM IS HOW CAN I BE MY OWN BEST AUDITOR TODAY? THIS IS A MAJOR INITIATIVE RIGHT NOW. THE WORLD OF REGULATION HAS NOT YET ARRIVED AT GENERATIVE AI, BUT YOU KNOW IT WILL. SO WHAT WE DO IS WE TRY TO THINK ABOUT HOW CAN WE BUILD THAT CAPABILITY INTO OUR AWS MANAGED AI SOLUTIONS LIKE AMAZON BEDROCK BY DEFAULT? IF YOU'RE ARE USING AMAZON BEDROCK, AS OVER 10,000 CUSTOMERS ARE, YOU ARE ABLE TO GET AN AUDIT TRAIL FOR NOT JUST YOUR USER INTERACTIONS WITH THE MODEL, BUT ALSO HOW IS THE MODEL MAKING DECISIONS? MATT AUDIT TRAIL IS LOGIN AVAILABLE FOR YOUR USE FOR ANY TAPE OF COMPLAINTS YOU NEED AND IT IS USING THE SAME SERVICES THAT CUSTOMERS USE USE AWS CLOUD TRAIL FOR AUDIT LOGGING, AND THEY USE IT FOR THEIR OWN COMPLIANCE.
THAT IS THE DEFAULT INTO AMAZON BEDROCK AND WE KNOW THE WORLD MUST BE RESPONSIBLE, BUT CAROLINE, IT IS ONE THING TO WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE, AND ANOTHER THING TO BE RESPONSIBLE ONE OR TWICE, BUT IT IS A THIRD THING, IT IS NEXT LEVEL TO BE RESPONSIBLE BY DEFAULT, TO REMAIN RESPONSIBLE IN AN AUTOMATED WAY. THAT IS WHAT WE ARE BUILDING INTO OUR AI SERVICES. ED: LAST MONTH ADAM JOY TO BE ON THE PROGRAM TO TALK ABOUT NEXT IN TRAINING, BUT THE DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH NVIDIA. IN THE THREE WEEKS THAT FOLLOWED, CAN YOU GIVE US ANY GRANULAR DETAIL ON HOW SELECTIVE CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN AND HOW DEEPLY THEY THINK ABOUT WHICH SILICON THEIR WORKLOADS ARE BEING TRAINED ON.
>> WELL, FUNDAMENTALLY CUSTOMERS WANT CHOICE. FOR US, WE'VE HAD OVER 13 YEARS OF THE PARTNERSHIP WITH NVIDIA WHICH IS GOING TO CONTINUE INTO THE NEXT YEAR. WE'VE ANNOUNCED HOW THE NVIDIA SUPERJET IS GOING TO BE OFFERED TO AWS, IT'S GOING TO BE INTEGRATED WITH SECURITY AND VIRTUALIZATION SYSTEM, BUT CUSTOMERS ARE ABOUT CHOICE. WE HAVE BEEN BUILDING OUR OWN CUSTOM SILICA NOW SINCE 2018. WE HAVE FOUR GENERATIONS OF CHIPS, TWO GENERATIONS OF MACHINE LEARNING CHIPS AS WELL. SO OUR GOAL IS TO GIVE CUSTOMERS WHATEVER CHOICE THEY WANT, WHETHER IT IS USING OUR PARTNERSHIP THAT WE CAN WITH NVIDIA FOR THEIR CHOICES OR TO USE CUSTOM SILICONE WHICH WE THINK IS THE BEST PRICE FOR PERFORMANCE AS WELL AS THE RIGHT ENERGY SAVINGS, ENERGY EFFICIENCY THAT WE KNOW THE WORLD WANTS AS WELL. CAROLINE:
JUST AT THE FOREFRONT OF EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THROUGHOUT 2023. IT IS A JOY TO CATCH UP WITH YOU. MEANWHILE COMING UP, WE ARE GOING TO BE CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION AND DISCUSSING SOME OF THE ETHICAL INDICATIONS, THE ETHICAL CONCERNS FOR TECHNOLOGY. ALEX HANNA IS GOING TO BE JOINING THE SHOW.
THIS IS BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY. ♪ ED: EARLIER IN THE PROGRAM WE DISCUSSED CONCERNS REGARDING AI'S IMPACT ON MINORITIES AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES AND WE CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION WITH ALEX HANNAH, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH IN THE DISTRIBUTED AI RESEARCH INSTITUTE. THE WAY IN WHICH THE DATA'S EXACERBATE RACIAL, GENDER, AND CLASS INEQUALITY. THAT BLOOMBERG REPORT LOOKED AT NVIDIA AND ONE ELEMENT OF THAT WAS AN ANALYSIS OF NVIDIA'S WORKFORCE, 7.8% OF THE WORKFORCE BEING BLACK,
HISPANIC, OR OTHER RACES AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL WORKFORCE, RANKING THEM VERY LOW. NVIDIA THIS YEAR, BASICALLY THE COMPUTER BEHIND EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF THAT DATA ANALYSIS THAT BLOOMBERG PUT TOGETHER? >> THAT WAS A FAST-MOVING STORY IN SOMETHING THAT IS PREVALENT WITHIN THE INDUSTRY, ESPECIALLY IN COMPANIES THAT ARE DOING WORK IN AI. GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, META. ALL THE BIG TECH FIRMS FOCUSING ON AI DEVELOPMENT.
THERE'S A COMPLETE EPIDEMIC OF JUST THE INABILITY TO REALLY HIRE AND RETAIN BLACK, LATINX 10 MINORITY TALENT, AND THAT HAS BIG REPERCUSSIONS FOR THE WAY THAT THESE THINGS ARE DEVELOPED. AS THE STORY THAT WAS MENTIONED EARLIER MENTIONED, THERE ARE HUGE PROBLEMS AND DISPARITIES ON FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGIES BUT ALSO THINGS LIKE VOICE RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGIES. HOW PARTICULAR MINORITIES ARE REPRESENTED WHEN YOU ASK GENERATIVE AI PARTICULAR THINGS. THE TEXT TO IMAGE GENERATION.
THEY ARE REALLY THROUGHOUT THE TECHNOLOGY, SO THAT LACK OF DIVERSITY IN THE WORKFORCE IS REFLECTED INTO HOW THESE MODELS ACTUALLY ARE USED AND WHAT THEY PRODUCE. ED: ONE OF THE QUESTIONS I POSED WAS WHAT WAS THE RESULT OF THIS REPORTING? ONE OF THE ANSWERS WAS TO DE-BIAS SOME OF THE MODELS THAT THEY'VE WORKED ON. DOES THAT WORK? IF THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN TRAINED AND ARE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN, TO GO BACK, HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THAT AS A SORT OF FIXED? >> THERE IS NO ACTUAL WAY TO COMPLETELY DE-BIAS A MODEL. PEOPLE CONTEST FOR IT AND THERE ARE METHODS FOR AUDITING, FOR ENSURING THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE CATASTROPHIC RESULTS, BUT THERE ARE ALWAYS GOING TO BE BIASES. FOR INSTANCE, MORE RECENTLY
THERE WERE SOME BIASES REVEALED IN CHATGPT AND IN META'S AI WERE THERE WERE BIASES AGAINST PALESTINIANS WHERE THE JOURNALIST FOR THE GUARDIAN ASKED DO PALESTINIANS DESERVE FREEDOM AND IT SAID IT’'S COMPLICATED. WHEN ASKING TO ISRAELIS DESERVE FREEDOM, IT SAYS YES, EVERYBODY DESERVES FREEDOM. THESE BIASES CAN HAVE ABOUT TESTING BUT THEY ARE ALWAYS GOING TO HAVE PROBLEMS DOWN THE LINE. CAROLINE: I'M INTERESTED THAT WE WERE JUST HAVING A CONVERSATION REALLY SAYING FROM HER PERSPECTIVE THAT HER CLIENTS ARE TRYING TO THINK AHEAD OF REGULATION, TRYING TO THINK ABOUT COMPLIANCE, GOVERNANCE, AUDITING. AND YOU WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE WAY IN WHICH YOU CAN REALLY STRESS TEST SOME OF THE UNDERLYING FOUNDATIONAL MODELS AND THEIR APPLICATION.
ARE YOU FINDING THAT CORPORATE AMERICA CARES ENOUGH ABOUT THIS? >> IT IS REALLY HARD TO SAY BECAUSE THE WAY THAT CORPORATE AMERICA FOCUSES ON IT, THEY TEND TO REALLY NOT RELEASE WHAT THE RESULT OF THE STRESS TESTS ARE. THE KIND OF TRANSPARENCY THAT WE HAVE INTO DATA, INTO THE AUDITING THAT WE ARE DOING IS PRETTY MUCH A BLACK BOX. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IS ACTUALLY GOING ON BEHIND THE CURTAIN. WE'VE SEEN REPORTS THAT MICROSOFT AND DIFFERENT HUGE COMPANIES HAVE DISSIPATED THE RESPONSIBLE AI TEAMS EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE TURNING AROUND TO SAY THEY HAVE A COMMITMENT AI ETHICS. AND IF THEY DON'T HAVE ANY KIND OF TRANSPARENCY INTO WHAT IS HAPPENING AT THOSE COMPANIES, IT IS HARD FOR OTHER PEOPLE, OTHER TYPES OF AUDITORS , THERE IS NO WAY TO ACTUALLY SEE WHAT THEY ARE DOING WITH ANY KIND OF TRANSPARENT WAY. SO THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY DOESN'T HAVE THE VISIBILITY.
EXTERNAL AUDITORS DON'T HAVE THE VISIBILITY. SO IT IS REALLY HARD TO SEE IF WE CAN TAKE THEM AT THEIR WORD. CAROLINE: THE QUESTION KEEPS ON BEING ONE WE WILL HAVE TO ADDRESS IN THE 2024. CRAIG MAMMY BACK ON THE SHOW. MEANWHILE COMING UP, WE ARE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT AI AGAIN, THIS TIME WITH THE APPLICATION TO SPORTS.
HOW WE ARE CONSUMING CONTENT. ♪ CAROLINE: BLUESTONE EQUITY PARTNERS. YOU KNOW IT FOR ITS LATEST INVESTMENT, DELIVERING GROWTH IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT, HOW WE CONSUME IT. HERE TO TALK US THROUGH IT, THE FOUNDING AND MANAGING PARTNER AT BLUESTONE EQUITY PARTNERS. YOU'VE GOT PLENTY OF EXPERTISE
HAVING HELPED STEER THE GROWTH AND FORTUNES OF PLENTY OF SPORTS, OUTLOOK AND DEVELOP THE WORLDS OF CRICKET, BASKETBALL, AND MANY OTHERS. HOW ARE THEY GOING TO BE MAKING OUR CONCEPTION OF IT TOTALLY DIFFERENT? >> VIDEOVERSE IS THE COMPANY FOUNDED IN INDIA AND BASED IN THE U.S. IN CALIFORNIA. THE FLAGSHIP PRODUCT IS CALLED MAGNIFY AND WHAT IT DOES IS IT LEVERAGES ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, COMPUTER VISION AND MACHINE LEARNING TO AUTOMATE IN REAL-TIME THE DEVELOPMENT OF -- I SHOULD SAY THE CURE RATION OF SHORT FORM CONTENT AND HIGHLIGHTS FROM CONTENT LIKE SPORTS AND EVEN NEWS. CAROLINE: I CAN SEE THE APPLICATION FOR A PARTICULAR INDUSTRY, THE AMOUNT THAT WE NEED TO BE PUTTING ALONG FOUR CONVERSATIONS, FINDING THE MOST THE BID. -- PITHY BIT.
WHERE IS THE CLIENT ENGAGEMENT? >> VIDEOVERSE WORKS WITH CLIENTS SUCH AS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, THE INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE, THE MASSIVE SUCCESS STORY THAT MY COLLEAGUES WHERE I SPENT FOUR YEARS BUILDING SPECIAL SPORTS LEAGUES AROUND THE WORLD. THEY WORK WITH WIMBLEDON, THE U.S. OPEN, THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN, EVEN NCAA BASKETBALL AND ATHLETIC CONFERENCES. BUT THEY DO IS ESSENTIALLY BRING DOWN THE COST BASIS FOR SOMETHING THAT HISTORICALLY WIRED A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF HUMAN TIME AND LABOR AND SOMETHING THAT REQUIRED OTHERWISE EXPENSIVE DATA FEEDS. SO THEY ARE ABLE TO COST-EFFECTIVELY AND TIME-EFFICIENTLY PUT OUT HIGHLIGHT IN REAL-TIME SOCIAL MEDIA. IT ALSO GIVES THE ABILITY TO
SEARCH CONTENT, VIDEO TEST CONTENT PROJECT, IMAGES, PLAYS, SOUNDS, ACTIONS. THERE IS A WHOLE HOST OF VIDEO EDITING FUNCTIONS THAT ARE OTHERWISE TIME AND COST-INEFFICIENT AT THIS TIME THAT AN APPLIED AI TECHNOLOGY LIKE THIS IS GOING DOWN SOLVE. ED: THERE IS NO GREATER AGONY WHEN YOU ARE A SPORTS FAN THEN WHEN YOU ARE NOT WATCHING A GAME IN SOMEWHERE, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE, MAYBE YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW'S OR ANCHORING A SHOW, AND YOU KNOW WHAT HAS HAPPENED BUT YOU CAN'T SEE THE HIGHLIGHT. HERE'S MY QUESTION FOR YOU. DOES THE PLATFORM CHOOSE WHAT IS IMPORTANT IN THE HIGHLIGHT OR IS IT STILL A HUMAN SAYING THIS IS IMPORTANT, BUT THE PROCESS OF ETIQUETTE IS AUTOMATED? >> I THINK THAT IS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENTIATOR BETWEEN VIDEOVERSE AND MAGNIFY AND ITS NEAREST COMPETITOR. THERE IS A HUMAN ELEMENT INVOLVED AND OTHER CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY THAT THIS SORT OF EVENT. IT IS FULLY AUTOMATED AND
THROUGH THE MACHINE LEARNING THAT TECHNOLOGY COULD DRIVE THE AUTOMATED CURE RATION AND DIFFUSION OTHERS HIGHLIGHT SO INSTEAD OF WAITING MINUTES OR HOURS, IT WILL HAPPEN WITHIN SECONDS. YOU CAN IMAGINE THE JOY THAT CAN BRING NOT JUST TO YOU, BUT GENERATIONALLY, JUST INCREASINGLY BECOMING A LARGER AND LARGER SEGMENT OF THE ACTUAL AUDIENCE IN A WAY FOR SPORTS PROPERTIES TO STAY RELEVANT AS THEIR TRADITIONAL FAN BASES ARE STARTING TO AGE. THAT IS THE ONLY WAY THEY CONSUME A LOT OF SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT.
THIS IS IMPORTANT AS A MATTER OF FAN ENGAGEMENT AS MUCH AS IT IS TO INFORM YOU ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AND IN SOME CASES, CREATING FANS AND MONETIXING DIFFERENT AVENUES THAT DIDN'T EXIST BEFORE. CAROLINE: CURRENT INVESTMENT COMING UP AT THREE AND MILLION DOLLARS FUND. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. MEANWHILE, I'M SURE YOU WANT TRYING TO INSINUATE THAT YOUR WIFE AND YOUR MOTHER WERE NOT WATCHING YOU. CAROLINE: THAT IS A POOR EXAMPLE ED: ED: THAT THIS OF ALL WEEKS I WILL LIVE TO REGRET. THANKS FOR LISTENING.
2023-12-21 02:18
