In the latest sign of AI silly season, Allbirds, the shoe company, told the world it was now an AI company and briefly managed to septuple its stock price. The Newbird AI story is really just one of a bunch of things this week that made us wonder: have we reached the peak of AI, or at least a peak of AI?
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On this episode of The Vergecast, we look at both the data and the vibes. David and Nilay explore a new study from Stanford that says AI is getting better at lots of things, a …
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Elon Musk is the one who wanted this trial. He has spent months claiming OpenAI "stole a nonprofit," and saying he was the actual driving force behind one of the most important companies currently in tech. All indications are that he won't win his case against the company, but he's fighting it anyway. So you'd think he'd have done better when it was his time to take the stand.
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Instead, Musk spent much of the week arguing with lawyers (including his own!), changing his story, an …
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The trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI is officially upon us. And it is going to be a mess. As the two sides fight over the early days of AI, who deserves credit and cash for what, and more, we're likely to spend the next few weeks hearing a lot of important people's secrets made extremely public. Which may be exactly what Musk is going for.
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On this episode of The Vergecast, The Verge's Liz Lopatto joins the show to explain the origins of this case, how it got to trial, and why …
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John Ternus ascends the throne – but Cook will stay on to manage tech giant’s foreign policy as executive chair
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m your host, Blake Montgomery, US tech editor at the Guardian, writing to you after seeing The Jellicle Ball, a revival of Cats that I found fabulous and which the Guardian called “thrillingly new”.
Shares in Allbirds surge after maker of wool sneakers announces pivot to AI
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Allbirds is pivoting into artificial intelligence after selling its brand and assets for $39 million, rebranding as NewBird AI. The company announced a $50 million convertible financing facility from an undisclosed institutional investor to support its transition into a GPU-as-a-service and AI-native cloud provider. The move follows the divestment of its footwear business to American […]
Rebrand as NewBird AI sent shares up 582% in bizarre and rapid turnaround for firm that had fallen on hard times
Allbirds, the maker of minimalist wool sneakers beloved by Silicon Valley, announced on Wednesday that it is leaving shoes behind and pivoting to artificial intelligence. The new focus and rebrand as “NewBird AI” sent the company’s stock up 582% as of mid-day during a flurry of trading.
The surging stock price and new direction is a bizarre, rapid turnaround for a company that had fallen into disrepair in recent years. Once valued at $4bn, Allbirds’ shares had lost 99% of their worth since 2021 and earlier this month the company announced plans for a $39m sale to brand management firm American Exchange Company.
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