Hard Numbers: Search wars, Lumen lights up, Anduril gets a raise, Public-private partnership

August 13, 2024

An image of a woman holding a cell phone in front of a Perplexity AI logo displayed on a computer screen.

Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Reuters

250 million: Perplexity, the AI search engine, says it’s answered 250 million user questions in the past month alone. That’s half of the 500 million it answered in all of 2023. Surging popularity for the service comes as OpenAI readies its forthcoming SearchGPT product and as Google lost a major antitrust case over its dominance in search.

500: Lumen Technologies is watching its stock surge thanks to AI. The US telecom company revealed its fiber optics infrastructure is in demand by data centers needed for the AI boom. The company’s stock jumped 500% in the past month, when it was hovering around $1 per share.

14 billion: Palmer Luckey’s defense tech company, Anduril, just raised $1.5 billion in a new funding round, valuing the company at $14 billion. Luckey, best known as the founder of Oculus VR, which he sold to Meta in 2014, started Anduril in 2017 to make drones and other autonomous aircraft, and it is seen as one of the major AI companies challenging the legacy defense contractors.

100,000: The state of California has struck a partnership with Nvidia to train 100,000 students in AI-related skills. The initiative focuses on community colleges and will feature new curriculums, certifications, workshops, and labs to get students ready for careers in AI — including those with the state government.

Serbian president name-checks Assad, vows not to flee amid protests

FREIBERG, GERMANY - DECEMBER 10: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not pictured) speak to the media following talks over lithium mining on December 10, 2024 in Freiberg, Germany. Germany and Serbia will be cooperating in the sustainable mining of lithium, a critical substance for the production of batteries for electric cars. A company called Zinnwald Lithium GmbH intends to mine up to 15,000 tons of lithium annually in the region of Saxony near Freiberg, enough to build one million electric car batteries. Serbia also has extensive lithium deposits.

(Photo by Sean Gallup - Pool/Getty Images) via Reuters

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Tuesday said he would not flee in the face of demonstrations against his administration.

Israel strikes Syria, Netanyahu goes to court

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu smiles as he prepares to testify in his trial on corruption charges at the district court in Tel Aviv on Dec. 10, 2024.

Menahem Kahana/Pool via Reuters

Israel has launched over 350 airstrikes this week targeting naval bases, ships, ammunition depots, and weapon facilities across Syria, devastating the Syrian Army’s remaining capabilities, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Walmart associates are finding new ways to grow in their careers

Walmart

Walmart provides opportunities for associates to unlock their potential and grow their careers. With a $1 billion investment in career-driven training and development programs, Walmart provides associates with opportunities to grow from hourly roles to salaried management positions. In the past two years, over 300,000 associates have earned promotions into positions with higher pay and greater responsibility. Whether it’s a first job, next step, or second career, there is a path for anyone at Walmart. Learn how Walmart is supporting careers.

How AI can help advance the Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America and the Caribbean

Microsoft

In October 2023, 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean signed the "Declaración de Santiago," a commitment to responsible AI development tailored to the region's cultural context and needs. Microsoft’s Global Perspectives: Responsible AI Fellows and CAF Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean recently released a report exploring how AI can help achieve the UN SDGs. From health and wellness to gender equality and sustainable tourism, AI is unlocking solutions to longstanding challenges. Learn more.

Macron works to end France’s political deadlock

Marine Tondelier, of Les Ecologistes party, talks to journalists next to colleagues as they leave a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Dec. 10. They had met with the French president as part of consultations aimed at appointing a new prime minister.

REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

On Tuesday, France’s President Emmanuel Macron hosted a meeting with the leaders of center, center-right, and center-left political parties at the Elysee Palace in a bid to end France’s political crisis by building support for a new prime minister and a 2025 budget.

Can Trump's tariff plan boost the US economy?

- YouTube

youtu.be

President-elect Donald Trump has made no secret of his love of tariffs, vowing steep import taxes on China, Mexico, Canada, and almost every product that crosses the US border on his first day in office. Will they boost US jobs and manufacturing, as Trump promises, or lead to rising inflation, as many economists warn? On GZERO World, Oren Cass, founder and chief economist at conservative think tank American Compass, joins Ian Bremmer for an in-depth discussion about Trump’s tariff plan and the future of US-China trade policy.

Hard Numbers: Search wars, Lumen lights up, Anduril gets a raise, Public-private partnership

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Macron works to end France’s political deadlock

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Hard Numbers: Search wars, Lumen lights up, Anduril gets a raise, Public-private partnership

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More from GZERO Media

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has wanted this for years -- but what could go wrong?

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on Tuesday said he would not flee in the face of demonstrations against his administration.

On Tuesday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva underwent a successful craniotomy in Sao Paolo after complaining of a severe headache.

Israel has launched over 350 airstrikes this week targeting naval bases, ships, ammunition depots, and weapon facilities across Syria, devastating the Syrian Army’s remaining capabilities, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

GZEROMEDIA

Subscribe to GZERO Media's newsletter: Signal

On Tuesday, France’s President Emmanuel Macron hosted a meeting with the leaders of center, center-right, and center-left political parties at the Elysee Palace in a bid to end France’s political crisis by building support for a new prime minister and a 2025 budget.