Hi everyone. Taro here.
If you haven’t seen it already, AI chatbot ChatGPT has been going viral with eerily accurate and reliable answers. People have created diet plans, poems, scientific explanations, and lines of code using this tool.
I played around with it and I was also very impressed with the quality of the experience. One thing I was curious about was the quality of writing it could generate so I asked it to write a short piece on technology adoption by chicken rice restaurants in Singapore, and got this:
“Singaporean chicken rice shops are embracing technology to improve their operations and better serve their customers. Online ordering and delivery platforms, such as Foodpanda and GrabFood, allow customers to order their favorite chicken rice dishes from the comfort of their own homes, and have the food delivered straight to their doorstep. In the kitchen, many chicken rice shops are using specialized equipment and cooking techniques, such as sous-vide cookers, to improve the quality and consistency of their dishes. Overall, technology is helping these humble restaurants stay relevant and thrive in the modern food landscape.”
Other similar AI tools now include:
Interior AI – Provides ideas for interior design for different areas of your house.
Topaz – Upscales videos in low resolution to high definition right up to 4k.
Khroma – Used by designers to generate color combinations.
AI Duet – Play the piano and have an AI buddy play back related melodies.
It seems digital media is getting close to being taken over by AI, but whether it will make things better is yet to be seen. Perhaps this newsletter will be written by my AI twin Yaro soon.
Nothing But Net
Recent Startup Wins
- IOT startup Unabiz finished off the year with a Series B round USD 50 million with existing investors led by SPARX Group, with participation from G K Goh Holdings and Optimal Investment.
- Indonesian poultry farming tech startup Pitik announced a new MoU with Charoen Pokphand Indonesia to improve production efficiency of chicken farms affiliated with the Charoen Pokphand group.
- Seedstars announced the launch Seedstars Capital in partnership with xMultiplied to help fund managers launch new funds in emerging markets.
- Financial management platform Osome closed a USD 25 million Series B round led by Illuminate Financial, AFG Partners, and Winter Capita.
Pick & Roll
Interesting Drops From the Week
- Japanese craft is getting easier to access and admire thanks to Japanese startup Naro’s use of immersive technology.
- Dyson revealed further details about its air-purifying headphones that will provide clean air for the user while they listen to some Mobb Deep. [via Gizmodo]
- NEST founder and CEO Charles Anderson wants to give people the power of choice through decentralised ID’s, and thinks a lot of hyped web3 products have no real use case.
- With everything now digital, is there a chance for moments to be enjoyed without tech interruptions? Degen explores this in this week’s Bullet column, with an example of a comedy experience that doesn’t allow the use of attendees’ phones during performances.
- Has the modern world’s frantic push for efficiency taken away the uniqueness and beauty of all things around us? [via N+1]
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