Hi Everyone. This is Take Off. We're like a hidden Easter egg in your favorite video game - surprising, delightful, and adding an extra layer of fun to your tech news consumption.

Here's what we're serving up today:

• The AI Odyssey 🤖

• Wednesday Wires 💰

• Asteroids ☄️

The AI Odyssey 🤖

As AI captures headlines, there’s a battle brewing in the back. The battle for who holds the most powerful piece of technology in almost two decades after the Internet and Big Tech is trying to get ahead.

How, you ask? By wielding one of their most powerful weapons: Checkbooks.

Unsurprisingly, one of the biggest investors in AI startups has been Big Tech. These companies have been strategically placing their financial chips on the AI chess board.

NVIDIA

Nvidia has risen from a market cap of $360B to $1T+ in just 9 months, all thanks to AI.

The company has been crowned with the title of “The Great Shovel Sheller in the AI Gold Rush”, due to their monopoly on the very chips powering this revolution.

Nvidia understands the leverage it currently has and they plan to use it to remain the kingpin at the center of this new era that has been ushered by AI.

The company has been one of the most active investors in recent times having participated in 18 different investments since 2021 to weave themselves into the very fabric of the AI tapestry.

Microsoft

The company that started the AI race. It put the biggest single check of $10 billion into the OG of AI: OpenAI.

By dropping a significant amount of capital in one of the most hottest private AI companies on the planet, Microsoft not only has the benefit of harnessing GPT’s capabilities into their suite of products but is also one of the biggest AI arms dealer as it becomes the exclusive provider of computing for all of OpenAI’s products.

The company has already started integrating the technology into Bing Search, Github Copilot, Office 365 Copilot and their biggest profit center of all - Azure.

Google

Big G isn’t behind in the race as well.

Google’s biggest individual investment this year has been into OpenAI’s rival, Anthropic, where it invested $400 million this year.

Salesforce

Salesforce isn’t necessarily the name that would pop into your mind when considering the above list.

But a loooot of AI startups are related to sales and marketing, so it makes sense that one of the largest CRM platforms in the world would want to stay ahead of the curve.

Salesforce has actually been one of the most active tech companies in the AI startup ecosystem with the company announcing an investment fund of $500 million through its venture arm - Salesforce Ventures.

Big Tech is deeply woven into the fabric of our digital lives. Their dominion offers them a vantage point, allowing them to harness the unbridled power of AI.

Thus, their aggressive investment in AI startups isn’t just a financial gambit; it’s about shaping and owning the future of technology.

☄️ Asteroids ☄️

US grocery delivery startup Instacart sets IPO price at $30 per share. They said that they aim to raise at least $660 million with the stock market debut. 🤑📈 

Meta is launching "Meta Verified" for businesses on Facebook and Instagram, offering badges, better reach, and protection from impersonation. It's set to expand to WhatsApp in the future. 🛍️🔒

Microsoft's refreshing the Xbox Series X in 2024 with a sleek cylindrical design and no disc drive! Also, get ready for a revamped controller with wireless upgrades and modular thumbsticks! 🕹️🔥

⚒️ Trending Tools ⚒️

🧠 Jimo - Contextual in-product interactions like product tours and more

📆 Lemcal - The 1 tool you need to book more meetings

💰️ Copilot - Supercharge your finances with insights

💰 Wednesday Wires 💰

Google-backed Indian audio platform Kuku FM raises $25 million. They're winning listeners with regional content in various genres! 📚🎧

JOKR, an online grocery delivery company now valued at receives about $50M in Series D funding. It is now valued at $800M! 🤯💵 

Ghanaian agritech, Complete Farmer, raised $10.4M to enhance farming in Africa. The platform connects African farmers to global markets and resources, aiming to uplift the agricultural sector. 🌾🤝

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