Key Executive from Apple’s Steve Jobs Era to Retire Dan Riccio, a senior executive at Apple, is set to retire. He has been overseeing the company’s advancements in mixed reality headsets and previously served as the head of hardware engineering. According to insiders, the vice president, who reports to Apple CEO Tim Cook, will leave the company this month, with hardware engineering head John Ternus taking over the Vision Products Group (VPG) responsibilities. (Interface)WPS AI Co-Writing Feature Updated, Automatically Generates Content Without Prompts
Kingsoft Office has launched an updated WPS AI co-writing feature driven by the AI Agent paradigm. The updated WPS AI co-writing supports adding reference materials including cloud documents and web pages. After completing a title, users can understand their intent in just 0.5 seconds and continue writing content. When the AI generates factual content involving statistics, quotes, or legal regulations, users can link to the source with annotations upon acceptance. WPS AI co-writing can also intelligently adjust writing style and context based on the user’s selected professional role. (36Kr)
AI Wins Nobel Prize Again! 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded to Hassabis and OthersOn October 9, Beijing time, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to David Baker from the University of Washington and Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper from Google DeepMind for their contributions to “computational protein design” and “protein structure prediction.” These three are well-known figures in the field of AI protein research. In recent years, AI’s ability to predict protein structures has become a significant topic in both biology and AI. There are two well-known open-source algorithms in this field: DeepMind’s AlphaFold2 and RoseTTAFold developed by David Baker’s team at the University of Washington. (Machine Heart)
ByteDance Launches AI Smart Headphones Ola Friend
On October 10, ByteDance’s Doubao launched its first AI smart headphones, Ola Friend, which are now available for pre-sale on major e-commerce platforms at a price of 1199 yuan, with official shipping starting on October 17. The headphones connect to the Doubao large model, providing assistance in scenarios such as information queries, travel, English learning, and emotional communication. (Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily)
Samsung to Significantly Reduce Executives in Semiconductor Division, Adjust President LineupSamsung Electronics is reportedly planning to significantly reduce the number of executives in its semiconductor division during a major personnel reshuffle at the end of the year and adjust the lineup of department heads at the president level. Samsung will also enhance the efficiency of its semiconductor foundry business, which has incurred losses of tens of trillions of Korean won, and reorganize its semiconductor research institute, which focuses on future technology development. (Jiemian)
OpenAI Plans to Seek Nonprofit Structure to Guard Against Hostile TakeoversOpenAI is seeking an untested corporate structure to protect itself from hostile takeovers and shield CEO Sam Altman from external interference. The AI startup secured $6.6 billion in new funding last week and is planning to restructure as a nonprofit company, a new and rare corporate model that AI competitors, including Anthropic and Musk’s xAI, have also adopted. According to several people familiar with the company’s thinking, a key benefit of this nonprofit structure is its potential to prevent unwanted acquisitions or demands from activists. (Sina Finance)
Beijing’s Embodied Intelligence Robot Innovation Center Officially Upgraded to “National-Local Co-Built Embodied Intelligence Robot Innovation Center”Under the guidance of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Beijing Municipal Government, the Beijing Embodied Intelligence Robot Innovation Center was officially upgraded on October 10 to the “National-Local Co-Built Embodied Intelligence Robot Innovation Center.” After the upgrade, the innovation center will focus on solving common problems for various innovative entities, promoting the establishment of standards for the embodied intelligence industry, enhancing the efficient allocation and integration of resources in the innovation chain, industry chain, and supply chain, further reducing R&D and pilot costs for industry chain enterprises, increasing efforts to expand application scenarios, accelerating the maturation and iteration of innovative products during the development and testing process, and promoting the global application of products. (CCTV News)
SpaceX Reportedly Asks Competitors to Share Spectrum Rights to Boost Starlink BusinessAccording to insiders, before agreeing to launch devices from companies like Kepler Communications and OneWeb into orbit, SpaceX requested that these companies share spectrum rights with SpaceX’s Starlink broadband internet business. Insiders said that lawyers from Wilson Sonsini, representing some satellite and rocket companies, have met with the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division in recent months to discuss whether SpaceX has abused its market dominance. The U.S. Department of Justice and Wilson Sonsini spokespeople declined to comment. (Wall Street Journal)
Institution: By 2030, Embedded AI Cellular Modules Will Account for 25% of All IoT Module ShipmentsOn October 10, according to Counterpoint’s tracking and forecasting of AI modules, embedded AI cellular modules are expected to account for 25% of all cellular IoT module shipments by 2030, up from 6% in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 35%. Additionally, it is expected that by 2030, the automotive and POS industries will contribute the largest shipment volumes of embedded AI cellular modules. (Interface)
Institution: By 2030, 5G RedCap Connections Will Reach Nearly 1 BillionOn October 10, market research firm Omdia’s latest study on 5G technology predicts that by 2030, 5G RedCap (Reduced Capability) will surge at a compound annual growth rate of 66%, reaching 963.5 million connections. The firm noted that these findings highlight the growing influence of 5G technology on IoT use cases and the industry’s increasing readiness for RedCap and eRedCap solutions. (Interface)
AI Startup Sierra to Secure Hundreds of Millions in Funding, Valuation Exceeds $4 Billion
Sierra, co-founded by Bret Taylor, chairman of OpenAI’s board, is negotiating new funding with a valuation exceeding $4 billion, according to a person familiar with the deal. This underscores that despite investors’ concerns about the ballooning valuations of startups, interest in artificial intelligence remains strong. Insiders say that Sierra, co-founded last year by Bret Taylor and former Google executive Clay Bavor, is set to raise hundreds of millions in its latest funding round, which will more than double its valuation from a deal in January, making it a unicorn company. (Jiemian)
“Huaqiu Electronics” Announces Completion of New Round of 310 Million Yuan FinancingRecently, Shenzhen Huaqiu Electronics Co., Ltd. announced the completion of a C++ round of equity financing amounting to 310 million yuan. This round of financing was led by Pengrui Industrial Investment and Qifu Capital, with Yunmu Capital and several new and old shareholders participating. Yunmu Capital serves as the long-term exclusive financial advisor. The funds will primarily be used to strengthen the research and development of digital systems in the industrial chain, expand smart factory capacity, and enhance production capacity to further improve the digital intelligence capabilities and service upgrades of the industry. (36Kr)
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