el producto #365 🚀
2024 predictions, Creating for the GPT Store, How to land an interim leadership role, HSBC's new payments app, Top AI salaries, How Airbnb designs Product & more
Hey team,
Happy weekend and welcome to a new edition of el producto!
🎰 The week in figures
$73.6M: AI-powered conversational search engine startup Perplexity AI raised $73.6M at a post-money valuation of $520M
$1M: OpenAI offered some media companies as little as between $1M and $5M per year to license their news articles for use in model training
$865k: OpenAI and Anthropic offer the highest compensation to AI researchers, according to data compiled by Rora. OpenAI and Anthropic are offering up to $865,000 and $855,000, respectively
51%: Chinese AR firm XREAL, formerly NREAL, has captured 51% of the AR market. XREAL's AR glasses resemble regular glasses and offer prescription options, functioning as an external monitor for Windows PCs and Android phones. XREAL has shipped 350k units of its AR glasses, combining sales of both XREAL Air and XREAL Air Pro models
📰 What’s going on
Microsoft launches its Copilot app on Android, iOS, and iPadOS, allowing users to type a question or prompt and receive responses generated by AI
Microsoft unveils a Copilot keyboard key, shipping in new PCs and laptops from its partners, the first major change to the PC keyboard layout in nearly 30 years
GitHub makes Copilot Chat available in the sidebar in Microsoft’s IDEs, Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio — included as a part of GitHub Copilot paid tiers, letting devs ask questions about code
Facebook rolls out Link History, which creates a repository of all the links clicked by a user on the mobile app, and plans to use the data for targeted ads
Meta cuts prices for the Quest 2 headset and accessories, dropping the 128GB version from $299 to $249 and the 256GB version from $349 to $299
OpenAI plans to launch its “GPT store” next week, allowing customers to share and sell OpenAI-powered chatbots customized for different purposes
Apple to incorporate generative AI into Siri for more natural conversations and user personalization. A blogger claims Apple will preview the "new Siri" at its 2024 Worldwide Developer Conference in June. The leak coincides with a Bloomberg report that said Apple is developing AI technology to power a smarter version of Siri for launch as early as 2024
Netflix is considering ways to make money from video games, including via IAPs and ads
Uber tests a flexible pricing service in India, a move that could expand its consumer base in the South Asian nation
Intel forms a new independent company around its artificial intelligence software efforts with backing from digital-focused asset manager DigitalBridge and other investors
Telegram’s new update includes animations and enhancements, introducing improved calls with a new design that uses less of your phone’s battery
Design scaleup InVision will be shutting down by the end of this year. The news follows a tumultuous period for the company, where revenues dropped 50% to $50M in 2022, forcing it to sell its core business line to competitor Miro
Peloton plans to create custom content for TikTok. The move comes as the company seeks to boost its popularity among Generation Z. Peloton will create a "fitness hub" on TikTok as part of a new agreement with the platform. The hub will host Peloton's first bespoke social content outside of its own channels. Content will include an instructor series, live Peloton classes, and celebrity collaborations
A new app called Flush is a double-sided marketplace for restrooms. Business owners put up their restrooms for rent and users can book nearby spots in high traffic areas
HSBC plans to debut an international payments app challenging the dominance of fintechs like Revolut and Wise by offering cheap foreign exchange
📚 Good reads
How to (actually) calculate CAC. Brian Balfour explores the intricacies of customer acquisition cost, distinguishing it from cost per acquisition and delving into the nuances of its calculation. Looking at Dropbox as an example, as a freemium product, CAC would be the cost to acquire a paying user. CPA would be used for items like the Cost Per Registration (of a free user), Cost Per Activated (free) User, and other actions that signal that someone has moved from being a visitor to a user of the product
How Meta does AI product debugging - case study. Meta created the Prediction Robustness program to innovate on tools and services to ensure the quality of Meta products relying on ML model predictions. Learn how Meta does AI debugging at scale to get inspiration for your own product
Ben Evans 2024 predictions. This year's Benedict Evans presentation hits the mark on the key questions on GenerativeAI. The most important question according to the world-renowned tech analyst should be about understanding what kinds of companies and businesses will be created as a consequence
How Airbnb designs Product. Felix Lee has compiled a bunch of useful insights to share with you Airbnb’s design playbook
How to land an interim leadership role - a brief guide by Elena Verna. After a great write-up on what actually means to be an interimn leader, Elena now shares practical advice to help shifting from full-time roles to more flexible contracting work
Creating for the GPT store - a winning 2024 opportunity. Kishor K. tells us to forget apps and to create custom AI! The GPT Store is opening in 2024, offering creators & businesses endless opportunities for monetization, innovation, and audience reach
The 30 best pieces of advice for entrepreneurs in 2023. One of our favourite publications, First Round Review, shares their anual collection of wisdom by their top collaborators
🧑🔬 Cool Products
RecordOnce - create internal updates or product demo videos without having to edit out mistakes
Moodboard - kick off design sessions with an instant AI mood board generator
10 pay-as-you-go User Testing tools. Including info on features and pricing
That’s all for this week. As usual, feel free to reach out and share your thoughts by replying back to this email or commenting on Substack
Thanks for your support!
Angel