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:

• Bye Bye Free Netflix 🎬

• Google says Get Ready for AI Ads 🔍

• Asteroids ☄️

• Wednesday Wires 💰

Bye Bye Free Netflix 🎬

What’s the best part of your day? Is it relaxing back on your sofa after a hard day of looking at memes on Insta and switching on Netflix to watch Seinfeld for the 2546th time?

The cherry on top? The blissful feel you get when you realize that the binge is free because you were mooching off someone else’s account.

Well, it’s time to say bye to that feeling. It's official: Netflix's password-sharing crackdown has arrived in the US.

Here's the lowdown:

• If you're on the Netflix Standard plan ($15.49/month), you can add an extra member (translation: your ex, your cousin, your cousin's ex) who can use the service outside your household for $7.99 extra per month.

• Sadly, if you're on Netflix's cheapest plans, you're out of luck. No option to add extra members there. It's like Netflix is saying, "Nope, not even if you say 'pretty please'."​

In March 2017, Netflix famously tweeted, “Love is sharing a password.”

Apparently, Netflix realized that love doesn't pay the bills, especially when more than 100 million households were getting Netflix through password sharing.

Despite the backlash, Netflix believes this will benefit its long-term growth and financial health. Contrary to focusing on just growth, Netflix is now running after profitability.

• Their Q2 guidance outlined their push for their ads plan and the crack-down on password sharing.

• Their stock (NASDAQ:NFLX) has been performing nicely as well despite all these measures as it’s up by 20%.

Google says Get Ready for AI Ads 🔍

Are you fed up of seeing a gazillion ads every time you search something on Google? Well, worry not because that’s all about to change.

You are now going to be fed up of AI-generated ads instead of the regular ones.

Now, Google's turning its AI gaze to its bread and butter - selling ads. Google’s promising that generative AI is going to make ads more personalized. How, you ask?

• Well, they're gonna whip up the text in ads on the fly, and craft some eye-catching product images. Advertisers, sit back and relax! It's AI's time to do some heavy lifting.

• Say, for example, you're searching for "skin care for dry sensitive skin." The AI will see that and you'll see an ad saying, "Soothe your dry, sensitive skin." At least that’s what the demo shows.

But, hold on a sec! AI isn't perfect and there are wrinkles to iron out. For starters, these systems can be unpredictable (we’ve all seen those wonky AI fails).

Plus, there are lingering questions about whether they're playing fast and loose with copyright laws.

By the way, Google isn't alone in this race. Meta has its own suite of AI tools for ads, and other tech companies are following suit. So, are we ready for a world where AI writes and designs our ads?

☄️ Asteroids ☄️

Meta loses millions as made to sell Giphy to Shutterstock. They sold it for $53m, despite paying $400m for it just three years ago. Still, Meta's apps get to keep using Giphy's fun GIFs. 🎉🕺

Microsoft beefs up ChatGPT and Bing in wide-ranging AI product launch. AI enhancements are coming to ChatGPT, Bing and cloud services. 💪💡

NASA says it may have spotted remains of crashed Japanese moon lander. NASA has found where the Japanese company, ispace's lunar lander, which went "kapow!" on the Moon last month. To infinity and beyond! 🚀💫

💰 Wednesday Wires 💰

Episode Six just bagged a cool $48 million in their Series C round! Not bad for a team turning the headache of outdated payment tech into a walk in the digital park! 😎🌳

Anthropic, the AI whizz-kids, just raised a whopping $450 million! Pretty impressive for folks who talk to machines! Seems like AI has deeper pockets than we thought. 🤑🔮

Gan.ai, the video wizard, just scooped up $5.2 million in seed funding! They're turning video creation into a one-click magic show. Now that's what we call a "reel" success! 📽️👏

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