Lab Weekly - 07/28/2023
Why Meta’s LLaMA 2 matters; plus, the latest news about EV charging networks, TikTok’s new ecommerce initiative, and Shopify’s new AI chatbot, along with some must-know stats
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Meta Enters The AI Race With An “Open” Approach
What Is Llama 2 and what does Meta’s open-source approach mean for the competitive landscape of generative AI
In case you missed it…
Panic in the Streaming Land
Hollywood is losing faith in the streaming model, and scrambling for solutions to cut costs and raise ARPU. What comes next? Four things to consider
Social Media Enters Interregnum
With the launch of Treads, social media has come to an interesting crossroads. Will we double down on centralized platforms, or take a chance on the decentralized “fediverse”? And what does it mean for brands and advertisers that have relied on social media to get the word out?
Threads Is An Overnight Success — Now What?
Some quick follow-up notes on the prospects of Meta’s “Twitter Killer” and Twitter’s responses so far
Seven Major Automakers Team Up To Form EV Charging Network [The Verge]
The race to build out EV charging infrastructure is not over yet — following the developments in recent months where nearly all major automakers and charging networks started adopting Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), one would assume that Tesla has won this race by the virtue of being a first-mover in this space. However, this week, news broke that seven major auto brands — BMW Group, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz Group, Stellantis NV — are joining forces to form a new joint venture to deliver a new “high-powered” charger network across cities and highways in North America to expedite EV adoption and address the “range anxiety” of EV owners.
While this new joint venture remains yet-to-be-named, there is little doubt that such an unprecedented roster of global auto giants coming together would move the needle on building out the EV charging infrastructure. While this certainly be a last-ditch effort to quell Tesla's growing influence over the EV ecosystem, this new charging network could end up competing with other charging networks like Electrify America, EVgo, and ChargePoint, some of which have separate partnerships with these said auto brands. It’ll be interesting to see how the EV landscape and alliances continue to evolve and what brand opportunities emerge from this dynamic space.
Related: EU passes law requiring EV fast chargers along all main transport corridors by 2025 [Electrek]; Tesla vastly overstates its vehicles’ range, report states [Electrek]
Shopify Introduces Generative AI Chatbot Sidekick [TechCrunch]
Ecommerce platform Shopify is doubling down on generative AI with a new Sidekick chatbot that can help merchants redesign their ecommerce websites and analyze sales data. This new chatbot will become available through the Shopify Magic suite of AI tools, which runs on OpenAI’s GPT-4 model. Before Sidekick, Shopify Magic focused mainly on automating the task of writing product listings for online retail sites, and Sidekick will extend Shopify’s AI automation capabilities to new areas, making it more attractive to merchants and empower small businesses that may lack the resources to design their websites and analyze sales data.
As the developments in generative AI continue apace, we can expect to see more enterprise-facing applications being integrated into existing B2B products and platforms to boost their functionality. Soon enough, AI-powered creative tools may just become table stakes for most enterprise SaaS platforms.
Related: Shopify reveals AI suite, business credit card, dropshipping-like feature in latest product showcase [BetaKit]; Spotify CEO teases AI capabilities surrounding personalization & ads [TechCrunch]; Wayfair’s AI tool can redraw your living room and sell you furniture [The Verge]
TikTok Reportedly Looking To Launch Its Own Ecommerce Business [WSJ]
In a drastic departure from its previous strategy around social commerce, TikTok is readying the launch of its own ecommerce platform that will focus on selling “made-in-China” goods to U.S. consumers in a model similar to that of Shein and Temu. Reportedly, the popular short-form video platform is looking to build an Amazon-like marketplace, the TikTok Shop Shopping Center, which integrates different channels where users can view and buy goods into one single page. TikTok will handle the storage and shipment of the goods on behalf of manufacturers and merchants in China, which corroborates with earlier reports that TikTok is leasing warehouses and building fulfillment centers in the U.S.
In addition, TikTok will also leverage the viral reach of its platform to handle the marketing, transactions, and after-sale services. In March, the company said it had hit 150 million monthly active users in the U.S., up from 100 million in 2020. Recent data from Measure Protocol found that Gen Z spends the most time on TikTok compared to any other app. So the scale and affinity are definitely there. However, as the recent backlash against the Shein-sponsored influencer tour of Chinese factories has shown, some U.S. consumers are growing more conscientious about the affordable goods produced in China and the questionable labor practices involved. Taking into account the lack of momentum around live commerce among U.S. users, TikTok will need to address the concerns of U.S. consumers if it wants to compete against other ecommerce platforms.
Related: TikTok is testing an in-app AI chatbot called ‘Tako’ [TechCrunch]; TikTok is adding support for text posts [TechCrunch]; TikTok Shop has been a hit in Southeast Asia [CNBC]; Shein makes an aggressive pitch to woo U.S. Amazon sellers [The Information]
Netflix added 5.9 million subscribers in the last quarter amid password crackdown measures, the company shared. This quarterly gain far exceeded analysts’ expectations of 1.8 million additional subscribers. Netflix said its efforts to enforce password restrictions have reached more than 80% of its revenue base
Spotify gained 10 million Premium customers in the quarter (over its expectations of 7 million), to stand at 220 million. Spotify said the subscription gains topped forecasts across all regions, led by Europe and Latin America. Overall, Spotify had 551 million monthly active users for the period, a pickup of 36 million sequentially — an all-time high, Variety reports.
Buy now, pay later app downloads have suffered a sharp decline. In the US, total BNPL app downloads for the second quarter fell 19%, compared to the year-ago period, per data from Bank of America Securities.
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Great stuff here yall. The charging network announcement seems helpful for customers, but I'm skeptical on two fronts: 1) not sure if the companies will do a good job capturing that value. Seems like it could be helpful to invest that $$ in fast-tracking manufacturing instead (and let others specialize in charging networks since they're so far behind) 2) Do customers have that much range anxiety? They might not be buying EV's because of other factors (affordability, aesthetics, etc.).