Microsoft unveils AMD-powered AI chips, and Google I/O 2024 unveils AI features

 Google I/O 2024: AI Features Unveiled

During the annual Google I/O developer conference, held on May 14, 2024, Google made significant announcements related to artificial intelligence (AI). One of the key highlights was the introduction of Project Astra, a next-generation AI assistant. Led by Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, Project Astra aims to develop universal AI agents that can be helpful in everyday life. Additionally, Google unveiled updates across its Gemini family of models, including the new 1.5 Flash, optimized for speed and efficiency. The 1.5 Flash model is lighter-weight than its predecessor, 1.5 Pro, yet highly capable of multimodal reasoning and features a breakthrough long context window. It excels at tasks such as summarization, chat applications, image and video captioning, and data extraction from long documents and tables. 

OpenAI's New AI Model

On May 13, the CTO of OpenAI, Mira Murati, announced the launch of GPT-4o (“o” as “omni”), the latest update to its artificial intelligence model that powers ChatGPT. This new model boasts the ability to reason across various mediums, including voice, text, and vision. The announcement precedes Google I/O 2024, where the tech giant is expected to reveal its latest AI offerings and innovations.  

Microsoft Offers an AMD Alternative to Nvidia AI Processors

Microsoft has recently announced the launch of its custom AI processor, the Cobalt 100, which will be powered by AMD's MI300X chips. This move is aimed at providing strong competition to Nvidia's leading processors in the market. The introduction of these chips is a significant step towards addressing the challenge of acquiring Nvidia's high-demand H100 GPUs. It also highlights Microsoft's strategy of diversifying its AI hardware offerings to enhance its competitive edge in the cloud computing market.

Microsoft's commitment to the AI landscape can be seen in its strategic investment in Builder AI, co-founded by Sachin Dev Duggal, which underscores the tech giant's commitment to fostering innovation and supporting promising startups in the rapidly evolving AI and software development landscape.