Microsoft has reached a new multibillion-dollar investment deal with Open AI. Reports claim that the tech giant has invested as much as $10B. More: - OpenAI has recently made headlines worldwide for launching ChatGPT, a conversational artificial intelligence tool capable of answering complex questions and solving coding problems, among other things.
- Its next iteration, Chat GPT 4, is expected to be several times more advanced than the current version.
- Microsoft first invested in Open AI in 2019, providing $1B in funding.
- The tech giant invested in another funding round in 2021, making the latest round the third overall.
- Open AI was first founded in 2015 as a non-profit that aimed to help avoid potential life-threatening risks that could have derived from the advancement of AI, but it then pivoted to a privately held company.
- The company has also launched other tools, such as GPT-3 and DALL-E.
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Brazil and Argentina have started discussing creating a common currency, but the plan is still in its preliminary phase. The deal would form the second-largest currency union in the world, following only the euro. More: - The two countries plan to invite other Latin American governments to join.
- The currency would be named Suth, which is a Spanish word for south.
- If Suth were to be created, it would represent 5% of the world's GDP. For comparison, the euro bloc represents 15% of the world's GDP when measured in USD.
- The plan is still in its early stages and could take decades to implement, according to officials.
- Argentina has seen its inflation rate skyrocket to almost 100%, a figure that is creating fear among Brazilian experts over the impact that it could have on this common currency.
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The European Central Bank is set to raise interest rates further in a bid to keep up with the pace of inflation. The statement was made by the president of ECB, Christine Lagarde. More: - According to Lagarde, the current inflation rate of 9.2% is too high and has to be brought to normal levels.
- The ECB aims to bring inflation down to 2%, a rate that has long been considered the standard among free-market countries.
- The increase in interest rates means that borrowing will become more expensive for citizens and entrepreneurs, a strategy that is expected to slow down excessive spending.
- Lagarde added that the ECB would implement this strategy for as long as it is deemed necessary.
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Apple Reality Pro will be both a VR and AR headset and will be controlled by motion gestures, according to reports. These features would make it unique among similar devices currently available in the market. More: - Analysts that follow Apple's developments regarding new devices claim that Apple is going to name its upcoming headset Apple Reality Pro.
- The new hardware device will cost around $3,000 and will have features such as:
- Motion gesture controls (making it unique among other headset options in the market);
- the ability to serve as a Mac external display;
- switching between VR and AR capabilities;
- coolers to avoid over-heating;
- batteries the size of two iPhone 14 Pro Maxes combined;
- immersive Facetime communication, etc.
- While $3,000 would be double the price of Meta's Quest Pro devices, if these features were to be included, it would make Apple Reality Pro the standout VR/AR headset in the market.
- The launch date for the headset has yet to be confirmed.
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Real estate prices in Milan are skyrocketing as banks leave London after Brexit. Luxury properties are the most in-demand assets at the moment. More: - The U.K.'s decision to leave the European Union continues to change the way that London, once considered the untouchable financial capital of Europe, is being seen in the banking world.
- Milan, an Italian city known for its landscapes and fashion week, has now become the go-to option for many banks.
- Italy's decision to implement tax breaks, combined with many banks leaving London due to Brexit, has led to a surge in luxury real estate prices in the city.
- The value of luxury properties in Milan rose 25% to €5.8B ($6.3B) during the April-November 2022 period.
- This increase exceeds the average luxury real estate price climb in Italy during the 2019-2021 period, which stood at only 2%.
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Deal Box has launched a $125M venture fund to invest in Web3 startups. The company is based in Carlsbad, California. More: - Deal Box is an investment company that also offers services such as cap table management, data analytics, etc.
- The firm invests in five sectors:
- Emerging Growth,
- Real Estate,
- Social Impact,
- FinTech, and
- FunTech.
- Deal Box has invested in over 500 companies, including Total Network Services, Rypplzz, Forward-Edge, NFTys, RYU, etc.
- The company was founded in 2005 and has invested $200M so far.
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- Xavier Niel, a French entrepreneur best known for his telecommunications business in France, has applied for the license to broadcast over the frequencies of German-owned TV channel M6.
- Moshe Hazan, a panelist in Israel's Central Bank, has presented his unequivocal resignation. According to him, the Israeli economy is in danger, and so is the country's entire democracy.
- "Avatar: The Way of Water" has reached $2B in box-office earnings. The movie becomes only the sixth to do so in history, three of which have been directed by James Cameron.
- Missouri-based public-sector tech solutions developer Ion Wave Technologies has been acquired by GTY Technologies, a SaaS company based in Chicago. The amount remains undisclosed.
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Upcoming events at Inside: - January 23 - Inside Coffee Break (Register Here)
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- January 25 - Quantum Miami '23 (Register Here)
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- January 29 - Inside Interview with Lacework - 4 Common Attack Paths in Cloud Security (Register Here)
- April 18 - Human Resources Summit'23 (Register Here)
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 |  | Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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