 | Nov 06, 2024 | | | | Supported by  | | | | | Good morning! OpenAI has hired Meta Platforms' former hardware lead for augmented reality glasses. Casper has been acquired by foam manufacturer Carpenter. Meta will allow U.S. government agencies and contractors to use its artificial intelligence models for military purposes.
| | | | OpenAI has hired Caitlin Kalinowski, who previously led hardware for augmented reality glasses at Meta Platforms, to lead robotics and consumer hardware, she said in a post on X Monday. A spokesperson for OpenAI confirmed her hire. Kalinowski said she will "initially focus on OpenAI's robotics work and partnerships to help bring AI into the physical world and unlock its benefits for humanity." At Meta, she had worked on devices including Orion, a prototype of AR glasses debuted in September, and was laid off in June when the company cut senior staff from Reality Labs, its virtual and augmented reality unit. Kalinowski did not respond to a request for comment. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has long been interested in AI-powered devices for consumers, personally investing in the AI pin startup Humane and separately working with Apple's former design chief Jony Ive on an AI device. Altman and Ive previously explored building AI-powered earphones with cameras. OpenAI's startup fund recently led a funding round in Opal, which makes webcams and also plans to build other devices powered by OpenAI's AI models. | | | | Casper, the once-trendy mattress seller, has been acquired by foam manufacturer Carpenter Co., marking the brand's latest change in ownership after a rocky initial public offering four years ago. Terms of the transaction, which Carpenter announced last week, weren't disclosed. Casper began as a direct-to-consumer startup backed by investors including Lerer Hippeau, IVP and Norwest Venture Partners, raising nearly $350 million in funding prior to an early 2020 IPO. But the company struggled to turn a profit, and was taken private after less than two years by private equity firm Durational Capital Management. As direct-to-consumer companies have struggled with falling sales and pressure from investors to operate profitably, some have opted to sell themselves to licensing firms, manufacturers or other companies that can operate a roster of brands with lower costs. For example, startup lingerie brand Parade sold in mid-2023 to wholesaler Ariela & Associates, while investment firm Consortium Brand Partners acquired athleisure company Outdoor Voices in June. | | | | Meta Platforms will allow U.S. government agencies and contractors working on defense and national security to use its artificial intelligence models for military purposes, it said in a blog post Tuesday. A spokesperson said the company will also make its models available for government agencies and contractors in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The move marks an exception to Meta's terms for its open-source large language model Llama, which otherwise prohibit use for "military, warfare, nuclear industries or applications, espionage" and other applications. "As an American company, and one that owes its success in no small part to the entrepreneurial spirit and democratic values the United States upholds, Meta wants to play its part to support the safety, security and economic prosperity of America—and of its closest allies too," Nick Clegg, president of global affairs, wrote in the blog post. | | | | Conviction Partners' Sarah Guo, a former general partner at Greylock Partners who left the firm two years ago to back very young AI startups, is raising around $200 million for her second fund, according to a person with direct knowledge on the fundraising efforts. Guo has also told prospective investors that Mike Vernal, a former general partner at Sequoia Capital, has joined the firm, according to the same person. Guo filed paperwork indicating intent to raise around $230 million for her second fund in July, according to filings. Guo and Vernal could not be immediately reached for comment. The new fund, which is in the final stages of fundraising, speaks to the strong demand for venture funds focused on AI—a contrast with the challenges most emerging fund managers face. Though Guo's first, $101 million fund is too young to return much cash, if any, to its investors, its paper returns are likely to reflect steep markups on the startups it backed. Conviction invested in open-source model developer Mistral AI at around a $147 million valuation, according to PitchBook; investors recently valued it at $6 billion. Conviction also backed coding startup Cognition Labs, customer service company Sierra, and AI law startup Harvey at valuations between 3 and 7 times lower than where investors currently value the companies. Conviction was able to market itself to founders with more than just cash. Last May, it paid a cloud provider for access to sought-after graphic processing units and made servers available to the startups it backs at cost. "Many cloud providers won't work with startups at small scale," Guo said in a previous interview with The Information. "We have the relationships, we are taking on the up-front cash payments, we are taking on the long-term commitment risk." | | | | Google accidentally publicized an internal preview of artificial intelligence that takes over a person's computer to complete tasks, confirming an earlier report in The Information about the product, codenamed Jarvis. The prototype of the AI, known as a computer-using agent, was briefly available to be downloaded through Google's Chrome web browser extension store and described itself as "a helpful companion that surfs the web with you." It's supposed to allow a person to task Google's AI with anything from purchasing a product to booking a flight. The downloadable prototype did not appear to work because of access permissions when a reporter asked it to complete a task. By midafternoon, Google had removed the product from its Chrome extension store. Google had aimed to publicly reveal Jarvis in December alongside the launch of its next flagship large language model. Anthropic released a similar product aimed at developers last month, and OpenAI has also been working on a similar product, The Information has reported. | | | | SuperMicro, which makes computer servers, had net sales for the quarter between $5.9 billion and $6.0 billion, up 178% from the same quarter last year, but below its previous guidance of $6.0 billion to $7.0 billion, according to preliminary earnings released on Tuesday. The company's stock fell 16% in after-hours trading to its lowest price in over a year. The company's financial results are preliminary because its auditor Ernst & Young resigned over concerns about SuperMicro's accounting practices. SuperMicro said Tuesday an independent audit committee found "no evidence of fraud or misconduct on the part of management or the Board of Directors." The committee will deliver a full report in the next week or two, including recommendations to strengthen internal governance at SuperMicro, the company said. SuperMicro anticipates a slowdown or a reversal of net sales for the quarter ending December 31, projecting net sales of $5.5 billion to $6.1 billion. | | | | | Popular articles
By Cory Weinberg and Anissa Gardizy
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