Microsoft's AI Bet Fails to Dent Google's Search Dominance

Looks like AI is not the great disruptor everyone says it is. At least, not in Google's case, which posted better-than-expected financial results last week — squashing fears that Microsoft's AI-powered Bing could relegate it to the No. 2 spot in the search engine business.

Results showed that Google-parent Alphabet generated $74.6 billion in second-quarter 2023 revenues, up 7% year over year, and $18.3 billion in net income — an increase from the $16 billion booked in the same quarter last year. "Our financial results reflect continued resilience in Search, with an acceleration of revenue growth in both Search and YouTube, as well as momentum in Cloud," Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said in a statement.

This particular news should provide some comfort to Google CEO Sundar Pichai who was already on the hook for letting Microsoft one-up his company by investing early on into OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, and failing to make a splash with Bard.

Nonetheless, analysts said Google has been an AI-first company for seven years, and has rolled out a series of AI products this year and revamped its search engine with the technology as it competes with Microsoft in a race to dominate the nascent field.

"Contrary to fears, AI everywhere is not, at least now, causing margin indigestion, or disrupting search. On the contrary, it appears to have potential to make Google a share-gainer in cloud services," Rosenblatt Securities analyst Barton Crockett wrote in a note to clients, Reuters reported.

Google wasn't the only one that surprised Wall Street with its financial results. Microsoft too posted better-than-expected quarterly results last week, showing a year-over-year increase in both revenue and net income. Though, what caught everyone's attention was an aggressive spending plan that would see Microsoft continue to spend more and more money to boost AI capabilities throughout fiscal 2024 to reach a point where it could generate money from such investments.

Microsoft is among a handful of companies vying to secure graphic cards from Nvidia necessary to build the processing power for AI products and services. And let us tell you; those graphic cards ain't cheap! Guess you gotta spend money to make money, huh?

Google ranked #12 on HackerNoon's Tech Company Rankings this week, while Microsoft was on the #14 spot.

World Citizen? Not So Fast! 🌎

Apparently not satisfied with the success of ChatGPT, OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman now wants to create a new world order.. Of sorts. Last week, he launched a crypto-backed venture called Worldcoin which has already raised eyebrows with governments around the world.

Worldcoin is designed to become the world's largest human identity and financial network, giving ownership to everyone, according to its website.

In exchange for letting a futuristic looking globe scan your eyes, the project offers a digital ID signifying that you are a real human being (and not a robot, duh) and some cryptocurrency. Free cryptocurrency is not so bad, but giving over your biometric data is, prompting officials in Germany, France, and Britain to spring into action and scrutinize the project which already boasts of 2 million sign ups, mostly during its trial phase.

Most of these users don't seem to care about privacy concerns and seem to have been lured by the prospect of making some money and a hefty profit if the Worldcoin tokens somehow magically blow up. Guess nobody told em the infamous phrase, "Mo Money, Mo Problems," especially considering that privacy campaigners have warned that users' biometric data could be hacked or exploited.

Oh well..

In Other News.. 📰

• Sony PlayStation 5 console sales pass 40 million — via Reuters.
• LinkedIn seems to be working on an AI ‘coach’ for job applications — via The Verge.
• Zuck Says He's 'Not Sure' if the Elon Cage Match Will Happen — via Gizmodo.
• Twitter, now X, threatens suit against nonprofit studying hate speech and misinformation — via CNBC.
• OpenAI’s head of trust and safety is stepping down — via CNN.
• Scoop: Google Assistant to get an AI makeover — via Axios.

And that's a wrap! Don't forget to share this newsletter with your family and friends! See y'all next week. PEACE! ☮️

— Sheharyar Khan, Editor, Business Tech @ HackerNoon