AI

Google's Project Gemini: The Ultimate ChatGPT Rival

Business & Leadership - November 28, 2023

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What Is Google's ChatGPT Killer

Google has developed a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT named "Bard." This new chatbot, developed by Alphabet Inc's Google, began its public release on March 21, 2023. Initially, Bard was made available to select users in the US and UK, with plans to expand its access to more people. Users interested in trying Bard can join a waitlist​​​.

ChatGPT and Google Bard

Bard, also called "Apprentice Bard AI," is in the beta-testing phase. It is an artificially intelligent chatbot designed to generate responses similar to ChatGPT. The perceived threat and growing popularity of ChatGPT drove Google's focus on developing Bard. Bard is primarily a language model optimized for dialogue, similar to ChatGPT, and represents Google's strategic move to maintain its foothold in the rapidly evolving AI landscape​​.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has highlighted Bard as a crucial development in countering the popularity of the ChatGPT tool. Before its wider release, Bard is assessed by a group of "trusted testers." This careful rollout reflects Google's systematic approach to introducing AI technology​.

The goal of Project Genesis is to:

  • create a richer user experience across all Google products
  • access the most advanced language models available
  • create the largest and most trusted knowledge base in the world
  • develop robust AI tools for business and personal use
  • handle search queries from anywhere
  • developer access through Google Cloud

Project Genesis will be a multimodal intelligence network capable enough to handle simultaneous tasks:

  • data-driven requirements
  • summaries of books, chapters, reports, PDFs, etc.
  • images
  • audio
  • videos
  • video transcripts
  • training data
  • 3D models
  • graphs

Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who eventually became billionaires due to the company's immense success. They started Google as a research project while they were PhD students at Stanford University in 1996. Their unique approach to online search, which initially focused on analyzing the relationships between websites, led to the creation of a search engine that quickly became popular and transformed the landscape of the internet.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin

Larry Page (Left) and Sergey Brin (Right)
Photo Source: twoviews.co.nz

Larry Page, born on March 26, 1973, in East Lansing, Michigan, is an American computer scientist and entrepreneur best known for co-founding Google Inc. with Sergey Brin in 1998. Page's technological journey began early, influenced by his parents, who were both computer science professors. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in engineering, where he developed an interest in the structure and functioning of the Internet. His passion for technology and innovation led him to Stanford University for a Ph.D. in computer science. At Stanford, Page met Brin, and together, they embarked on a project that would revolutionize the internet: developing a search engine that ranked pages based on the number and relevance of links to them, laying the groundwork for what would become Google.

Under Page's leadership as CEO, Google transformed from a simple search engine into a global technology giant. He oversaw major decisions and developments, including the company's IPO in 2004 and the expansion into various areas like email (Gmail), mobile operating systems (Android), and various other technologies. In 2015, Page took a significant step in restructuring Google by establishing Alphabet Inc., a conglomerate under which Google and other subsidiary companies were reorganized, with Page as its CEO. This move allowed for a more organized management of Google's vastly diversified interests. Throughout his career, Page has been recognized for his vision and innovation, earning numerous accolades and becoming one of the most influential figures in the tech industry. Despite stepping back from day-to-day operations at Alphabet in 2019, Page's legacy continues to shape the future of technology and the internet.

Sergey Brin, born on August 21, 1973, in Moscow, Russia, is a renowned computer scientist and internet entrepreneur, best known as the co-founder of Google alongside Larry Page. Brin's family immigrated to the United States to escape Jewish persecution in the Soviet Union, settling in Maryland when he was six. His interest in computers and technology was kindled early by his father, a mathematics professor, and his mother, a researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Brin pursued his undergraduate mathematics and computer science studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, showing early signs of his exceptional talent and innovative thinking. He then went to Stanford University for his graduate studies, where his path crossed with Larry Page. Their shared interest in data mining and the structure of the internet led to the conception of their groundbreaking project: a search engine that would use links to determine the importance of individual pages on the World Wide Web.

Brin and Page developed the PageRank algorithm at Stanford, which became Google's foundation and officially launched in 1998. As President of Google, Brin was instrumental in shaping the company's unique culture and commitment to innovation. He played a vital role in some of Google's most ambitious projects, including Google Books and the development of the Android mobile operating system. In 2015, with the restructuring of Google into Alphabet Inc., Brin assumed the role of President of the newly formed parent company, overseeing various subsidiaries and driving forward technological advancements in areas like self-driving cars and renewable energy. Known for his vision and philanthropic efforts, Brin has been involved in numerous social and environmental causes. Despite stepping back from active management at Alphabet in 2019, Brin's influence in the tech world remains significant, and he continues to be recognized as a pioneering figure in the evolution of the internet and technology at large.

What is Project Gemini?

Project Gemini is a significant undertaking by Google in artificial intelligence (AI) to develop an advanced AI system. Announced at the Google I/O developer conference in May 2023 by CEO Sundar Pichai, Gemini represents Google's ambitious efforts to build a next-generation AI. This project is a collaborative effort led by Google's Brain Team and DeepMind, the creators of AlphaGo. It builds upon the advancements of PaLM 2, a new language model with enhanced multilingual, reasoning, and coding capabilities​​​​​​.

Project Gemini

Gemini is designed from the ground up to be a multimodal system, highly efficient in tool and API integrations, and capable of supporting future innovations such as memory and planning. This AI project aims to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT, leveraging the expertise of Google's top minds in the field. In April 2023, Google combined the efforts of Google Brain, its native deep learning AI research unit, with DeepMind to create Google DeepMind, further bolstering its capabilities in AI development. As of September 2023, Google has started providing access to an early version of Gemini to a select group of companies, signaling its progress in this ambitious AI venture​​​​.

Who Is Investing In This New Company?

This is a compilation of some of the foremost investors in a newly established company, which is a pivotal supplier of a crucial technology that Google requires in its endeavor to outpace OpenAI's ChatGPT in the competitive AI landscape. Google has already allocated over $200 billion to this project and has even coaxed Larry Page and Sergey Brin out of retirement after three years, underscoring the project's critical importance.

The list of investors reads like a roll call of financial titans and includes:

  • Larry Fink, the visionary founder of BlackRock, is acclaimed as the world's premier asset management firm.
  • Ken Griffin, the enterprising founder behind Citadel, is recognized globally as the most expansive hedge fund.
  • Jeff Yass stands as the 50th wealthiest individual globally.
  • Forbes often lauds David Tepper as his era's unparalleled hedge fund manager.
  • Warren Buffett is a legendary investor and one of the most influential financial figures worldwide.

Google's escalated commitment to its AI project can be attributed to the meteoric rise of ChatGPT, which debuted in December 2022 and astonishingly amassed a million users in just five days. This unprecedented growth rate eclipsed that of major digital platforms like Netflix, Facebook, and Instagram. Furthermore, forecasts from Fortune suggest that ChatGPT may soon be generating upwards of $1 billion annually—a phenomenal ascent from zero to a billion in less than a year. Such explosive growth poses a significant threat to the foundations of Google's business model.

CNET has reported that Google declared a “Code Red” in reaction to ChatGPT, primarily due to its capability to provide rapid search responses, a core feature that has long been Google's forte. The fact that Microsoft, Google's arch-rival, supports ChatGPT, adds another layer of urgency. The internet took seven years to reach 100 million users, yet ChatGPT achieved this milestone in two months.

google's code red

The broader context of AI's impact is evident in the creation of the world's youngest self-made billionaires, such as Austin Russell of Luminar Technologies and Alexandr Wang of Scale AI. Both entrepreneurs dropped out of college at 19 and achieved billionaire status by 25, demonstrating AI's transformative and lucrative potential. This remarkable journey from modest beginnings to vast wealth in a short span has been underscored by Mark Cuban, who believes AI will eventually produce the world’s first trillionaire. Google's aggressive pursuit of AI innovation is a strategic move to not only defend its turf but also to harness the vast potential of AI for future growth and influence in the tech world.

What is AppLovin Corporation (APP)?

AppLovin Corporation (APP) is a technology company specializing in mobile app development and marketing. The company provides a comprehensive platform that enables app developers to market, monetize, analyze, and publish their apps effectively. AppLovin's suite of solutions includes advanced analytics, AI-driven marketing tools, and a proprietary ad network, which help app developers optimize user acquisition and revenue generation. It's known for supporting a wide range of clients, from independent app developers to larger enterprises, in maximizing the potential of their mobile applications. AppLovin has become a significant player in the mobile app industry, known for its innovative app marketing and monetization approaches.