Lumian Gen AI Newsletter Issue #40

Welcome to the 40th edition of the Lumian Weekly Gen AI Newsletter!

Meta is the Real Open AI.

With the release of its latest open-source LLM model, Llama 3, Meta stakes its claim, not through the exclusivity of walled gardens, but through the universality of open access.

Meta's just given a turbo boost to the AI derby by dropping their Llama 3 into the wild. It's a bit like open-sourcing the secret sauce; suddenly everyone's a chef in AI's global kitchen. They've turned the AI development game from a hush-hush affair into the world's most collaborative hackathon. And here’s the kicker: while everyone's busy sharing and building, Meta's sitting back like a proud parent at a science fair, watching the inventions roll in. They've slyly shifted the AI battleground from secretive corporate strongholds to the open plains of communal innovation. Now, that's playing 4D chess with the tech world.

Why Llama 3 is a Big Deal: It’s All About the Benjamins (and the Brains)

Financial Clout: Meta raked in a cool $134 billion in revenue with profits of $39 billion last year. That's not just a war chest; that's a war vault. In contrast, OpenAI’s $2 billion in revenue looks a bit... quaint. And while OpenAI is still figuring out how to turn a profit, Meta’s financial muscle means it can afford to burn cash on shiny data centers and not blink at the expense of those exorbitant AI training sessions.

Compute Power: With that kind of money, Meta’s data centers are probably buzzing a little louder than OpenAI's. Think of it as Meta hosting an all-night rave for servers while OpenAI’s machines are tucked in bed by 9 PM. More cash means more compute, and more compute means models like Llama 3 don’t just dream about beating the competition—they actually do it.

Talent Acquisition: Here’s where being open-source is more than just good karma; it’s cunning strategy. By making Llama 3 open source, Meta isn’t just throwing a bone to the community—it’s setting up a beacon for the world’s smartest AI minds. These folks are drawn to open projects like moths to a flame, preferring to contribute to a global pool of knowledge rather than getting their wings clipped behind corporate doors.

The Broader Picture

As the tech giants scramble to outdo each other, Meta’s strategy reflects a deep understanding that in the modern tech landscape, influence comes not from exclusivity but from ubiquity. It’s a challenge not just to OpenAI, but to the entire proprietary model of software development. Why? Because it shifts the focus from guarding intellectual property to spreading it as widely as possible and seeing what happens.

So, as we look ahead, the big question isn't just who will release the next big model, or who will capture the most market share. It’s about who will contribute most effectively to an ecosystem where the best tools are as universal as air. Meta’s betting it will be them. Given their resources, their strategy, and their new toy, Llama 3, they might just be right.

And in this sense, Meta is the real Open AI.

Happy reading! 📚🤖🎵

In this week’s issue:

• News Flash: Amazon’s Music Maestro, Llama 3 and Meta AI, Tome Layoffs

• AI Frontier: AI Canine tools you can use today

• Fundraising: The biggest deals in AI

• Nerd Out: Technical and Business Content for Everyone

🚀 AI in Practice

Cutting-Edge AI Video Tools You Can Use Today

• Dog Trainer Assistant - GPT to guide on dog training and behavior management

• BuddyBreeds - A dog directory built with AI-created images and content