Hello! We're back again with a fresh batch of stories and updates in this week’s newsletter – just for you.
Web3
Vitalik Buterin Calls for Gas Limit Increase on Ethereum
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed increasing Ethereum's gas limit by 33%, which would allow more transactions per second at the expense of more expensive storage. This continues Buterin's push to scale Ethereum ahead of competition from alternative L1s.
SEC Approves Bitcoin Spot ETFs
The SEC gave the green light for several asset managers to launch spot bitcoin ETFs, providing an easier way for mainstream investors to gain exposure to bitcoin. The decision sent bitcoin prices falling and ether rising as investors rotate into the second largest cryptocurrency.
Layer 1 Blockchains Compete for Developer Mindshare
Alternative layer 1 blockchains like Solana, Avalanche, and Polygon are aggressively competing for developer mindshare by offering incentives, hackathons, and strategic partnerships. With Ethereum transitioning to proof-of-stake, there may be opportunities for one of these chains to establish itself as the go-to smart contract platform.
Cloud
Microsoft Taps Qcells to Power Data Centers with 12 GW of Solar
Microsoft has partnered with solar panel provider Qcells to purchase 12 GW of American-made solar panels through 2032. This will help Microsoft reach its goal of 100% renewable energy for its operations by 2025.
Delinea Acquires Authomize for Access Management
Cloud security firm Delinea acquired authentication platform Authomize to expand its identity and access management capabilities. The acquisition builds on Delinea's strategy to provide a unified cloud security and visibility platform spanning infrastructure, workloads, data, and people.
Nvidia Announces GPUs for AI and Generative Computing
Nvidia unveiled its latest GPU architecture focused on AI, graphics, and generative computing, representing an evolution of its efforts to provide specialized hardware for modern workloads. The release aims to cement Nvidia's dominance as the go-to provider of AI and generative computing chips.
Gaming
Netflix Games See Surge in Downloads
Downloads of Netflix mobile games increased 180% year-over-year in 2023, driven by titles like Destiny 2 and immersive adventure games. Netflix is expected to double down on mobile gaming as a key differentiator as streaming video competition heats up.
Voice Actors Negotiate New Contract with Gaming Studios
SAG-AFTRA voice actors signed a new 3-year contract with major video game studios after threatening to strike. The deal provides bonuses for voice actors on the most successful games and improves transparency around roles and payments.
Nintendo Rumored to Launch Switch 2 Console This Year
Nintendo is expected to launch its next-generation Switch console in 2024 based on supply chain reports. The Switch 2 is rumored to support 4K graphics when docked, better battery life, an OLED screen, and Nvidia's new Tegra chip.
AI
Anthropic Develops Self-Supervised AI Model
Anthropic unveiled a new self-supervised AI technique requiring 10x less training data. By pretraining on diverse unlabeled text and images, the model better understands human language and requires fewer examples to adapt to specific tasks.
X Super App to Focus on Payments, Content Creators
Elon Musk's X super app plans to disrupt industries from payments and ecommerce to content creation and AI. X's approach of combining messaging, crypto, and digital services could see traction in emerging markets with less established financial systems.
FINRA Flags AI as Emerging Risk in 2023 Report
Wall Street's self-regulatory body FINRA called out AI and machine learning as an emerging risk in its 2023 annual industry report. FINRA cited model biases, data quality issues, and explainability as top concerns around responsible AI adoption in financial services.
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And that wraps up this week’s DCI news. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to keep our finger on the pulse of all things gaming, cloud, AI and Web3!
Until next week!
Team Aethir.
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