el producto #377 🚀
The Strategy Stack, Intentional curiosity, Amazon invests big in AI, Spotify courses, Apple's cross-platform messaging, Robinhood Gold Card, How to price Gen-AI & more
Hey friends,
Happy weekend and welcome to a new edition of el producto!
🎰 The week in figures
$4B: Amazon doubles down on Anthropic, completing its planned $4B investment
50%: Study finds that China produced almost 50% of the world's top AI researchers, compared to ~18% from the US, thanks to China's heavy investment in AI education
43% of U.S. companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue expect to invest at least $100 million in generative AI, according to a survey of 220companies published last week by KPMG
43% of young adults have used ChatGPT, up 10pp since last summer. Just 6% of Americans 65 and up have used ChatGPT
25%: YouTube says over 25% of its creator partners now monetize via Shorts
📰 What’s going on
Google is expanding its AI-assisted search to a small subset of U.S. users as it moves toward a more widespread public rollout. The AI search feature, called Search Generative Experience (SGE), was previously only available to people who signed up to test it
Google will soon roll out on-device AI-powered features on Pixel 8. The company said that Summarizer in Recorder and Smart Reply in Gboard will be released as a developer preview in the next Pixel feature drop
Spotify adds online courses from BBC Maestro, Skillshare, Thinkific, and PlayVirtuoso, covering music, business, creativity, and health, as a UK-only experiment
Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is scheduled from June 10 to June 14, emphasizing the unveiling of the company's highly anticipated AI strategy
Apple will bring the cross-platform messaging standard RCS, or Rich Communication Services, to iPhones starting this fall. RCS support in the Messages app would add features and improve conversations between iPhones and Android smartphones
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over their Home Screen app arrangement, including the ability to create blank spaces, rows, and columns
Mark Zuckerberg has been actively recruiting AI researchers from Google's DeepMind through personalized emails, as reported by sources who saw the messages. Meta has been extending job offers to candidates without doing interviews as it works to expand its AI talent pool
Amazon launches same-day prescription medication deliveries in New York City and the greater Los Angeles area and plans to add 12+ cities by the end of 2024
Productivity platform Airtable launches Airtable AI, adding AI summaries, categorization, and translation via GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and Anthropic's Claude
Microsoft is adding new safety features to its platform for building custom AI assistants, including tools to block jailbreaks and AI hallucinations. The new "prompt shields" will roll out to customers using hosted models on Microsoft's Azure AI Studio and Azure OpenAI Service
Robinhood challenges Apple Card with the launch of its Gold Card. The Gold Card is available to Robinhood Gold members, requiring a subscription of $5 per month or $50 annually. Membership includes benefits like a 5% APY on uninvested brokerage cash. Cardholders earn 3% cash back on all categories, including dining and groceries, and 5% cash back on travel booked through Robinhood's new travel portal
Disney launches Hulu on Disney+, after testing the integration in beta in 2023; Disney+ users that do not subscribe to Hulu can still search for Hulu shows
📚 Good reads
Why Meta’s Android moment is finally here. Hugo Barra (former Head of Oculus at Meta) writes about why Vision Pro is an over-engineered “devkit,” its amazing hardware (but disheartening software), and what they got wrong at Oculus that Apple got right. “The Vision Pro is a devkit that helps prepare the world to receive a more mainstream Apple VR headset that could have product-market fit in 1 or 2 generations.“ A long but insightful read by one of the leading experts in the industry
The Strategy Stack: connecting business, Product, and technology strategy. Roman Pichler’s Strategy Stack provides a structured approach to guide decision-making and align strategies at different levels
Instagram’s motion identity system. Instagram refreshed and expanded its brand identity. With motion playing a key role in the way their product is both marketed and experienced, Instagram invited Studio Dumbar/DEPT® to collaborate on the next phase of expansion: the creation of a vibrant, all-encompassing motion system. Even if you are not involved in UX (all PMs should ;)), it’s always cool to see how one of the most-used apps in the world things about UX
How to price your generative AI features, by A16Z. Effectively monetizing any new technology is a race to capture market share while still giving yourself room to grow your business. But the stakes are much higher with generative AI: though it promises to deliver unprecedented value to businesses, it can also be very expensive to serve to each incremental customer. In this piece by VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, they explain some factors to consider when you’re putting together your pricing strategy for genAI
Intentional curiosity: get your brain to focus on what matters. Anne-Laure LeCunff, one of my favorite authors, explores intentional curiosity: it’s not about never losing your focus—which would be unrealistic—but about monitoring your attention and using simple strategies to bring it back to the task at hand when you get distracted, while keeping track of recurring sources of curiosity so you can explore them further in a deliberate way
Digital markets and power in Europe. On March 6th, the EU enacted the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark legislation designed to redefine the boundaries of power and control in the digital marketplace. This article from Platform Papers delves into the structural implications of DMA on digital economies, emphasizing the act's potential to alter the landscape of digital power dynamics. How much policy enforcement will be effective in maintaining the digital landscape of Europe equitable and open is to be seen. An important piece if you work on big tech, or your products compete against it in the EU
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