Hi Everyone. This is Take Off. We're like the cheat codes to your favorite video game - empowering, game-changing, and providing an edge in the tech ecosystem.

Here's what we're serving up today:

• Chatbots are Burning Money 💵🔥

• What did Apple Sherlock at WWDC? 🔎🕵️‍♂️

• Asteroids ☄️

• Wednesday Wires 💰

Chatbots are Burning Money 💵🔥

Has your chatbot been unusually chatty recently? Maybe they're feeling the pinch, considering they're basically bleeding money every time you chat.

Look, we all appreciate a good chinwag with our favorite AI chatbot, be it the brainchild of OpenAI or Google. But did you know it costs companies a fortune every time these digital chatterboxes engage with us?

It’s not that they’re spending on designer silicon shoes or the latest shiny hardware handbags; it's just that running these behemoths is as damn expensive!

Tom Goldstein, a computer science professor from the University of Maryland, warns that due to cost constraints, we’re not even getting the crème de la crème of the AI world.

• OpenAI has made ChatGPT (GPT-3.5) freely available which is a less powerful version of its true beast, GPT-4.

• GPT-4 is available for $20/month, but even then, it’s limited to 25 messages per 3 hours and is muuuch slower than it’s sibling.

Some analysts calculated that ChatGPT was costing OpenAI around $700,000 per day in computing costs alone! (Source)

However, Big Tech is trying out a couple of different things to offset these costs:

• Some are developing lightweight versions of their models exactly similar to what OpenAI has done.

• A lot of players such as Google and Meta are designing their own power-efficient chips.

• Unsurprisingly, both Microsoft and Google are going to increasingly add “ads” to these chatbots as well.

What did Apple Sherlock at WWDC? 🔎🕵️‍♂️

You may be thinking that what’s the relation between WWDC and Apple supposedly doing detective work?

Well, there isn't any. Surprisingly, the term “Sherlocking” has nothing to do with Apple using any “deductive reasoning”, at least in this case.

Ever got yourself a shiny new Apple product and found an app that makes your life so much easier?

Then Apple goes ahead and introduces the same feature, leaving that cute little app you loved in the dust? Welcome to the world of "Sherlocking" - Apple style.

The Origin Story

It all started with Mac OS 8’s Sherlock feature. It could search for contents on the computer like a detective for your files and data - hence the name.

Enter a developer named Dan Wood. He made Watson, a $30 app that made Sherlock look like a rookie detective. Watson could pull movie times, exchange rates, weather reports, and more.

All was good in the land of Mac... until Mac OS X 10.2 showed up. Suddenly, Sherlock was basically Watson, but free.

So every now and then, some unfortunate app gets Sherlocked.

What Got Sherlocked this year at WWDC

1. Feature: Journaling App
   Apps Sherlocked: Day one

   Apple has announced a shiny new journaling app that's so feature-packed it could give Day One a run for its money. From personalized suggestions based on your location, activities, photos, music, and workouts to privacy features like locking journals, it seems like Apple is really out here trying to put pen to paper.

2. Feature: Stickers
   Apps Sherlocked: Sticker Drop

   Sticker fans might be familiar with apps like Sticker Drop, which let you lift a subject out of a picture or a video. With iOS 17, Apple has baked this functionality right into the system. Now everyone can be a sticker star, no third-party app required.

3. Feature: Hiking Tracking
   Apps Sherlocked: Topo

   Finally, for the adventurers among us, the popular hiking app Topo has been Sherlocked with WatchOS 10 introducing a ton of new hiking features like topographical maps, waypoints, and an elevation view with an altimeter. Looks like Apple is hiking up the competition.

Has Apple ever Sherlocked an App you loved? If yes, tell us which one.

Click here for an extensive list for all the apps Sherlocked by Apple at WWDC - 2023.

☄️ Asteroids ☄️

Logitech says CEO Bracken Darrell is stepping down. He's leaving for new opportunities, while board member Guy Getch steps in as interim CEO. 🔄💼

OpenAI intros new versions of GPT-3.5-turbo and GPT-4, now with function calling and larger context windows text features while reducing pricing. 💻🪟

AMD is gearing up to challenge Nvidia's AI market dominance. Details on AMD's advanced GPU, the MI300, are expected soon, with meaningful impact predicted for 2024. 🎮🚀.

💰 Wednesday Wires 💰

ZES, a Singapore startup, just got $7.5M richer! They're designing chips that laugh in the face of space radiation. These resilient little circuits could mean big things for satellites, drones, and even our smartphones! 🛰️📱

Indifi Technologies, an Indian startup helping small businesses nab loans, just bagged $35M! From new entrepreneurs to women-led ventures, they're giving everyone a fair shot at credit. 💰🎉

Oova, a startup making at-home fertility tracking a reality, just received a $10.3 million Series A boost! Their membership, at $99 per month, includes an at-home kit, pro consultations and community support. 🔬👩‍⚕️

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