Oracle's Biggest Gain Since 2022 and Bitcoin's Record Rise | Bloomberg Technology

Oracle

• Oracle reported strong earnings, with 20.5% topline growth in its cloud business.
• The company's backlog of business indicates strong customer demand.
• Oracle is well-positioned for training AI models due to its resource-intensive nature.

OpenAI and Lawsuit

• OpenAI disputes Elon Musk's claims in a lawsuit, calling them "convoluted" and "incoherent."
• OpenAI argues that the lawsuit could reveal its secrets in the context of AI, which is important for national security.

Lawsuit Against NVIDIA and Authors

• NVIDIA and several authors are being sued for allegedly building their models on a library of pirated digital e-books.

Bitcoin's Performance and Predictions

• Bitcoin continues its record-breaking run, with large capital inflows and strong demand.
• Some investors are eyeing a target of $80,000 for Bitcoin in the medium term.
• Grayscale Investments is looking to launch a clone of the world's largest Bitcoin fund.
• Bitcoin's short-term demand has surprised expectations, despite the overall market pressure.
• Many analysts agree that Bitcoin is likely to reach higher milestones, such as $80,000 or even $100,000, before a pullback.

Cryptocurrency Discussions and Concerns

• The Riksbank Governor's opinion to minimize Bitcoin's influence in the financial sector is not a new sentiment, and many countries have expressed similar concerns.
• The underlying technology and adoption of cryptocurrencies, such as altcoins and technology tokens, should be highlighted more in mainstream media discussions.
• There seems to be bipartisan acknowledgment of the growth of cryptocurrencies in Washington, D.C., with a focus on blockchain technology as a trusted verification and decentralization tool.

Artificial Intelligence in Business

• Artificial intelligence is gaining importance within companies like JPMorgan Chase, with its potential for various functions like risk, fraud, marketing, and customer relations.

TikTok and the 2022 Election

• TikTok has emerged as a platform for connecting with young voters in the current election cycle, but its effectiveness as a campaigning tool is still being debated.
• Katie Porter's Senate campaign heavily relied on TikTok, with high engagement rates and popularity among young voters.
• Despite her strong online presence, Porter came in third in the primary, as young voters did not show up to vote.
• Democrats need young voters to turn out in large numbers, as they did in the 2018 midterms, and TikTok provides a platform to reach them.
• President Biden could benefit from using TikTok to connect with younger voters and counter the narrative around his age.

Reddit's Upcoming IPO

• Reddit's upcoming IPO has generated mixed reactions among its users, with concerns about the commercialization of the platform.
• Reddit is offering 8% of its shares to its users, incentivizing them to speak positively about the company.
• The timing of Reddit's IPO is being debated, with some arguing that they missed the boat in 2021 but may benefit from more favorable market conditions now.
• Reddit is emphasizing its potential to license its content and data for training large language models, but the viability of this strategy remains uncertain.
• Reddit is trying to push a narrative to sell more like an AI data company.
• They have a lot of proprietary user-generated content around various interest groups.
• They have done deals with Google for data revenue, including a $60 million deal.
• There is a risk of inflaming users who may feel their data is being sold without their consent.
• Reddit's valuation is stretched and it may be a challenge to convince the market to buy into the emerging data AI story.

AI Startup and Investment Trends

• Venture capital firm Excel is backing an AI startup that uses the technology to streamline finance paperwork.
• The startup has raised $40 million in funding.
• Salil Deshpande, founder and general partner of Uncorrelated Ventures, believes AI is a subset of infrastructure software and gets a lot of feel-good value from it.
• He sees the most success in AI investments at the Series A and B stages, with small checks, and geographically in the U.S. or global markets with an exception for India.
• Salil Deshpande, founder and partner at Uncorrelated Ventures, believes that crypto-adjacent startups are focusing more on underlying technology rather than additional tokens themselves.
• Deshpande's $315 million fund raised mostly from institutional investors, including four sovereign wealth funds and one university endowment.
• Deshpande expresses concerns about AI valuations and the impact of interest in AI on valuations in the short term, hoping for a "trough of disillusionment" before investing more.

Rent the Runway's Strategy and Challenges

• Rent the Runway is pledging $1 million in free subscription gifts to women who have reached career milestones, collaborating with LinkedIn to encourage women to share professional accomplishments on the platform.
• Rent the Runway's strategy with this incentive aims to bring their brand back into the spotlight and create momentum as a brand that supports professional women.
• Jennifer Hyman, CEO of Rent the Runway, acknowledges the success of newer platforms like Nuuly in the fashion rental market and emphasizes Rent the Runway's focus on catering to women accelerating in their careers, socializing, and traveling.
• Rent the Runway is focusing on attracting a younger customer base compared to its competitor, Neiman Marcus.
• The company has implemented AI-enabled search and styling features to enhance the user experience and offer personalized recommendations to customers.
• Rent the Runway believes in the growth potential of the rental market, which is expanding faster than the overall fashion industry.
• The company aims to achieve free cash flow profitability and make long-term decisions to ensure the sustainability and profitability of the business.
• Rent the Runway acknowledges the challenges it has faced, but remains committed to its role in shaping the fashion rental market and meeting the evolving needs of its customers.