GM. This is Take Off. We're like that perfectly timed joke at a party - making you laugh, breaking the ice, and keeping the conversation flowing.

Here's what we're serving up today:

• AI is Reviving The Dead 💀

• The Billion Dollar Chip Feud 🇺🇸🇨🇳

• Asteroids ☄️

• Wednesday Wires 💰

AI is Reviving The Dead 💀

Remember those Greek myths and tales that warned against bringing back the dead? Well, some AI companies have taken them up on the dare.

Welcome to the world of 'griefbots', where AI is about to become your digital medium, summoning digital representations of your departed loved ones for a teary-eyed chat over the digital void.

Many players are propping up in the space with different modes of offering.

• Seance AI, initially considered a monthly subscription model but are now leaning towards a pay-per-session model. This is to prevent people from, you know, constantly knocking on the door of the afterlife.

• A Chinese funeral company, Fu Shou Yuan International Group is charging families around $7.3k to create digital replicas of their dearly departed using ChatGPT .

• Avatar services like HereAfter and Replika offer a monthly subscription model.

Like it or not, grief is evolving with technology. Remember when photography became a thing, and we started bringing images of the deceased into our homes?

Well, this is just the latest twist in the tale. Whether they'll help us say better goodbyes or leave us feeling more hollow - well, that's the million-dollar question .

The Billion Dollar Chip Feud 🇺🇸🇨🇳

Micron is having a bit of a tiff with China. The Chinese government has just said, "Nuh-uh, no more buying Micron's memory chips."

China's cyberspace regulator claims it's all about "network security review failure," whatever that means. It's like your mom grounding you for something she won't specify.

What does it mean for Micron in dollars and cents?

• Micron pulled in around 11% of its total dough from mainland China in 2022 and with Hong Kong in the mix, that figure rises to 16%.

• The ban could tarnish Micron's brand image in China, making Chinese consumers think twice before buying Micron's products.

• The announcement couldn't have come at a worse time for Micron as they've reported a 52% drop in revenues for Q2 FY'23, and are forecasting an even steeper fall for the next quarter.

Uncle Sam, though, has been taking measures recently to bring manufacturing back home as they realize that the country with the crunchiest chips is going to the be king of the jungle in the future.

• They passed the CHIPS Act to invest a whopping $52 billion to boost domestic production of semiconductors.

• They’ve restricted China’s access to certain US-made chips resulting in a step 23% drop in China’s chip imports in Q1 2023.

• The US has been whispering sweet nothings into the ears of companies, persuading them to move back home. Apple, for one, announced a multibillion-dollar investment in partnership with Broadcom to build chips.

The U.S. and China are clearly setting up their pieces on the global tech chessboard. Which side do you think is going to checkmate the other?

☄️ Asteroids ☄️

The Pixel Watch 2 might kiss Samsung chips goodbye to improve battery. They are reportedly ditching Samsung for Qualcomm's Snapdragon W5 Plus chip! 🔋⌚

Amazon is retiring celebrity voices for Alexa - sorry fans of Samuel L. Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Melissa McCarthy. Maybe the star-studded support didn't quite fit in with Amazon's vision or budget. 😢

No ChatGPT in my court: Judge orders all AI-generated content must be declared and checked. Lawyers must now certify their filings are human-checked if AI was involved. 🤖📚

💰 Wednesday Wires 💰

Qflow, a startup making construction eco-friendly, just raised $9.1M to help builders snap pics of materials for carbon tracking. Think of it as diet tracking for buildings – less carbon, more green! 🍃💰

Carrum Health, the specialist-care-tinder for employers, just bagged $96M in Series B funding! Now they're set to go full throttle on oncology care. Saving bucks while boosting health – that's what we call a win-win! 💸🎉

Pluton Biosciences, the bug-finding whizz kids, just bagged a cool $16.5M in Series A funding! They're set to turn soil-saving microbes into eco-friendly agri-products. Get ready, world, they're sowing seeds for greener pastures! 🌱😎

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