Welcome to AI Collision 💥,
In today’s collision between AI and our world:
AR to AR to Frames
How many trillion dollars?
Rotten eggs and ham Sam I am
If that’s enough to get the trillions investing, read on…
AI Collision 💥
I wanted to see how much the Apple Vision Pro was going to cost me.
The cheapest set costs $3,499. I specced up a pair with storage, prescription inserts and AppleCare+ and it rose to $4,574.
Now assuming the worst case, those 200,000 are at the lowest price point, so at a bare minimum that’s $699.8 million of revenue into Apple’s coffers.
Damn. Apple is making bank.
We’re not sure of the margins yet though, so to be fair, how much profit it’ll make, we’ll see next quarter.
But Vision Pro is not a game changer… yet.
The first iteration of augmented reality goes some way back.
So let’s head back to 1962.
Morton Heilig, a cinematographer, created a device called the “Sensorama”.
It is one of the earliest examples of immersive, “multi-modal” technology. It laid the groundwork for virtual, immersive experiences.
Not too long after, computer scientist Ivan Sutherland developed the first head-mounted display system that was true AR. Although rudimentary (as you can see from this grainy video) it introduced the concept of overlaying computer-generated graphics over the real world.
It seemed like there was a significant break in the progress of AR and virtual reality until the 90s and the explosion of home gaming and the PC took hold.
The term “augmented reality” is believed to have been first used by Boeing researcher Tom Caudell in his 1992 paper, “Augmented reality: An application of heads-up display technology to manual manufacturing processes.”
In the paper he describes a digital display system – the “HUDset” – which is designed to guide workers in assembling wiring harnesses for aircraft.
What’s fascinating about this is the unbelievable similarity to the Vision Pro today.
Remember, this is 32 years ago…
The 90s also saw the introduction of Nintendo’s Virtual Boy in 1995. Although this was more virtual reality than augmented reality, it showed there was a way to market with a device for the home.
A mate recently sent me a picture of one he came across in a second-hand store only a week ago, for £300. The Virtual Boy packed a game-changing 64KB of PSRAM, 128KB of DRAM and 128KB of VRAM. It also has 1×224 linear arrays per eye to deliver the virtual experience.
Virtual and augmented reality took a backseat again for a while. It was a case where there was still a wide divergence between the tech, the content and the industrial design. Other technologies were more relevant and fast growing in both gaming and connectivity by this stage too.
Then of course in 2009 the iPhone hit the market. This opened up a whole new world of digital connectivity and engagement.
That is until Google launched Google Glass in 2013. It was the first modern iteration of a device that provided a heads-up display (HUD) with modern features of connectivity and devices like a camera and video recorder, as well as access to apps like Maps and Gmail.
It packed 2GB RAM with a 640×360 pixel “prism projector”. Its design was minimalist, but again, for the virtues of its design, the tech and experience seemed to be lacking. Also amid concerns around privacy, it was eventually discontinued just two years later.
The failure of Google Glass was significant. It was hyped up much the same way Vision Pro is today, but after people actually got to use it, Google never really found a market fit for it.
There’s been a. few more iterations since then but nothing has really caught the hype train like Vision Pro has…
But maybe there’s something else.
Vision Pro it’s not the first game-changing tech in the AR realm. Yet, every step forward does change the game.
Virtual Boy was going to change gaming. It didn’t.
Google Glass was going to usher in AR to the mass market. It didn’t.
HoloLens and Magic Leap were also going to bring AR to the masses. They didn’t.
I don’t think Apple bring AR to the masses either.
I think somewhere in-between Vision Pro and Google Glass wins. And it must integrate AI. That is the big collision that makes an AR world and our physical world work well together.
We’re not yet there, but this might get us pretty close.
They are “Frames” by Brilliant Labs. And they may be the thing that makes the Apple Vision Pro obsolete.
Seriously. I suggest heading to the Brilliant Labs site to see for yourself.
Just like we said the other week, when form factor and tech combine, that’s when you’ll see a real inflection point of this tech hit the masses.
AI gone wild 🤪
Look, I know I use this meme a lot, but it would be nice if the market didn’t call for it every. single. day.
Only problem today is that we’re not talking about one trillion dollars.
We’re talking about seven trillion dollars.
Some perspective as to how much $7 trillion is…
It’s over twice the GDP of India
More than the combined GDP of, Australia, Russia, South Korea and Mexico
It’s at least three Nvidia’s
Two Microsoft
132 billion turtle doves, and
159 billion partridges in pear trees.
Get the idea?
So, why are we talking about seven trillion dollars?
That’s the amount of capital Sam Altman (founder of ChatGPT) needs to build AI chip fabrication infrastructure in the UAE.
According to multiple reports around the AI news waves, Altman is seeking to raise a quarter of the US GDP to build gigantic fabrication plants to make AI chips and meet the future demand of the world.
Now, for a few months we’ve been writing to you about the flow of capital into AI as a signal that the AI boom is not peaking, but it’s just getting started.
And the numbers we’ve bandied about have been in the millions – and even the billions in Elon Musk’s case (although apparently he’s now denying he’s looking to raise capital).
But we’ve never considered that trillions might be up for grabs.
But the WILDEST thing in all of this, and yes, this is about as wild as it gets… so far no one has outright laughed Altman away.
I get the felling no one has outright said, “No, go away,” because no one actually has seven trillion dollars.
If they did though, hence why I suspect the UAE is the target of the location of these plants, maybe, just maybe, he’s not wildly off the mark.
Then again for seven trillion dollars, he could just buy Nvidia, AMD, Super Micro, Broadcom, and more or less every chip manufacturer in the US and Taiwan right now.
Either way, if you thought the AI boom was a 2023 story, news flash – what’s coming has nothing on what we saw last year!
Boomers & Busters 💰
AI and AI-related stocks moving and shaking up the markets this week. (All performance data below over the rolling week).
Boom 📈
Brainchip (ASX:BRN) up 57%
C3.ai (NASDAQ:AI) up 29%
BigBear.ai (NASDAQ:BBAI) up 27%
Bust 📉
Cyngn (NASDAQ:CYN) down 3%
Duos Technology (NASDAQ:DUOT) down 11%
Gorilla TEchnology (NASDAQ:GRRR) down 10%
From the hive mind 🧠
I love the breadth and reach of where AI is finding itself. How about organising telco networks? Typically any improvement for telcos would be a bonus, so if AI can make them better, and cheaper, and just better, that’s a win for everyone.
I find these stories fascinating. It seems weird to me, the idea of an AI girlfriend. Also my wife probably wouldn’t like it 😂 But it is interesting so it’s cool to hear why people turn to AI partners.
Google is worth $1.8 trillion. They have billions in cash. So to throw just €20 million at this seems like a bit of a non-event. Are they even serious about it, or are moves like this a political point grabber just to be seen to be doing something?
Artificial Polltelligence 🗳️ the results show
Would you buy a company worth $1.8 trillion, expecting it to turn into an $18 trillion company?
Just for some perspective, India’s GDP, as we mentioned above, is “only” $3.16 trillion.
Could Nvidia be worth more than India’s GDP?
Well it seems that some think maybe. Microsoft isn’t far off, so who’s to say that Nvidia can’t do it?
Here’s the results of our poll from last week to show what you think about Nvidia’s stock price over the next year…
A new poll will be with you on Thursday.
Weirdest AI image of the day
Inappropriate Children's Books – r/Weirddallee
ChatGPT’s random quote of the day
"Technology is anything that wasn’t around when you were born." - Alan Kay
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to leave comments and questions below,
Sam Volkering
Editor-in-Chief
AI Collision
Thanks Sam, I look forward to these 'reports' every time. So interesting! I'm a new Subscriber to your Predictive Edge too.. Many thanks.
Interesting Sam.First predictive edge I have read
thanks
Bill