Crypto's War Chest, Open AI Licensing Deals, FCC targets Elon's Starlink
☀️ Need to Know: Crypto's War Chest Coinbase, OpenAI's Strategic Partnership, FCC targets Starlink
By @HooiTerrence
Chief Investment Strategist
The below is the opinion of the authors. Any conclusions are their own. This should not be considered as investment advice. Investing involves the risk of loss and returns are not guaranteed.
1.) Crypto’s War Chest for Pro Innovation 2024
The crypto industry is heavily investing in the 2024 U.S. elections, raising over $78 million to support pro-crypto candidates. This move aims to revamp the financial system in favor of the 52 million Americans holding digital assets, seeking fair and clear regulations. Currently, only 9% of Americans are satisfied with the existing financial system, and the crypto sector is responding by backing candidates who advocate for innovation-friendly policies. This funding, driven by the Fairshake Super PAC and contributions from top industry players like Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase, and Ripple, reflects the industry's push for a regulatory environment that fosters growth and innovation in the U.S. crypto space.
2.) Open AI licensing deals
OpenAI has formed a licensing deal with Axel Springer SE, gaining access to content from its media outlets like Politico and Insider for model training. This deal, similar to one with the Associated Press, includes both free and subscriber-only content. The agreement's financial terms weren't disclosed, but it's nonexclusive and expected to generate significant revenue for Axel Springer. OpenAI will use this content for its models and offer ChatGPT users article summaries with attributions and links.
Singular’s Take: The partnership is particularly significant for the development of OpenAI's upcoming GPT-5, which requires more training data than its predecessors. However, it's uncertain whether this content will also be used to train models in OpenAI's Custom Models program, launched recently to offer enterprises tailor-made versions of its models. OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap emphasized the partnership's role in offering new ways for people to access quality news via AI tools and the company's commitment to collaborating with publishers globally to leverage AI technology and develop new revenue models.
3.) FCC Targets Starlink
The Federal Communications Commission has joined the ranks of Biden administration regulators focusing on Elon Musk. The agency, citing questionable reasons, decided on Tuesday to withdraw financial support for Musk's Starlink satellite initiative, which aimed to bring high-speed internet access to rural parts of the United States.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently reaffirmed its 2022 decision to deny SpaceX's Starlink $885.5 million in rural broadband subsidies. This decision stems from Starlink's inability to meet the fundamental requirements of the program. The FCC's stance follows a comprehensive review that concluded Starlink failed to demonstrate its capability to deliver the service it had promised. This decision comes despite SpaceX's challenge to the FCC's initial ruling in 2022.
Singular’s Insights: Among the reasons for denying the funding was SpaceX's failure to successfully launch its Starship rocket. This uncertainty surrounding Starship's future launches was cited as a potential hindrance to Starlink's commitment to provide high-speed internet to over 642,000 rural homes and businesses across 35 states. The original funding agreement was rescinded in August 2022 after speed-test data failed to meet expectations.