Gm. Moat, schmoat. Zuck is here to play.

🏠 AI

Meta Goes Open-Source

Last month, an anonymous Google AI researcher proclaimed that Google and OpenAI “have no moat”.

The cause of that dramatic declaration?

A belief that open-source AI models were already “lapping us”; a gap that would only widen over time due to open-source’s quicker iteration period.

Well, it appears that Meta got the memo and now wants in on the open-source gold rush.

Zig, Not Zag

Instead of following the industry standard in keeping their AI models closed, Meta is embracing the open-source lifestyle.

This began back in February when Meta released their LLaMA model for research use. It’s since been used to develop open-source LLMs like Vicuna, which is almost as powerful as ChatGPT and Bard by some metrics.

Now, they want to take things to the next level by releasing a commercially available version of LLaMA. Once this happens, it’s all engines a go for open-source AI.

But Why?

Simple. It would help Meta while hurting Google and OpenAI, their two main competitors.

• Open-sourcing their models will likely lead to developers improving them. Meta can then use the improved models in their own products. It’s basically free R&D.

• If Meta’s open-source models take off, fewer people will use ChatGPT and Bard. Naturally, this would not be ideal for Google and OpenAI.

There are still a lot of legal questions to sort out before Meta fully takes the open-source plunge. But, at this point, it looks like a matter of when, not if.

The Big Picture: Open-source models are spreading quickly. If Google and OpenAI want to stay competitive, they will likely have to go open-source as well. Good thing OpenAI is already working on it.

🏠 CRYPTO

BlackRock Gets In The ETF Game

Most crypto bros have the same three dreams:

• To get rich.

• To see SEC Chair Gary Gensler sent to the black cells.

• A spot Bitcoin ETF.

Somehow, a spot Bitcoin ETF has been the dream furthest from reality. Grayscale, VanEck, and WisdomTree have all tried. And they’ve all failed.

Now, BlackRock is throwing its hat into the spot Bitcoin ETF ring. But, unlike the others, there are good reasons to believe they will succeed:

• They are the largest asset manager on the planet.

• CEO Larry Fink is a certified kingmaker with deep Democratic party ties, which happens to be the same party Gensler belongs to.

• They’ve promised a surveillance program to prevent market manipulation, a concern that has killed prior applications.

So, let’s assume that what usually happens happens and BlackRock gets their way. What would this mean for crypto? Well, it depends on who you ask:

• Some believe that the ETF would do for Bitcoin what BlackRock’s gold ETF did gold and cause a boom in price due to all the new exposure.

• Others believe that this is just another move in the SEC’s game to destroy “unregulated” crypto in America, as customers would likely ditch Coinbase for the ETF’s lower fees.

Whatever the case, one thing is clear: this is a big deal.

The Bottom Line: BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF could be the thing that finally makes crypto’s number go up.

🏃‍♀️ QUICKIES

What else is going on?

• Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is a big fan of Elon.

• Binance US isn’t getting completely frozen.

• Twitter is going to start focusing on video and commerce.

• Robot surgeons are getting really good, really fast.

Stat: $2 billion: The amount Tiger Global has raised for their new fund, $4 billion less than the original $6 billion target.

Rabbit hole: Do Foundational Model Providers Comply With The EU AI Act? (Stanford CRFM)

🤩 MONDAY MOTIVATION

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