Jeff Bezos backs Google challenger

Read time: under 4 minutes

Welcome back, Superhuman

Monopolies don’t get any monoplier than Google’s 90% hold over the online search market. But that might be about to change, as an upstart challenger gets backing from a heavyweight investing roster that includes Jeff Bezos and Nvidia.

TODAY’S MENU

• Perplexity gets Bezos backing to take on Google Search

• How to use Perplexity AI to find better answers

• Chart: Expected years until superintelligent AI arrives

• 5 new AI tools to boost your productivity

• AI Generated Images: Famous paintings as photos

NEWS

Today in AI & Tech

• Levelling Up: Google is working on Bard Advanced, a chatbot that uses Google’s most powerful Gemini Ultra model.

• Fresh Candy: OpenAI is launching the GPT store next week.

• Gotcha: AI detects Raphael may not have painted the face in famous art masterpiece attributed to him.

• So Long: Google just disabled cookies for 30 million Chrome users, more coming soon.

• Prodigy: Teenage boy becomes first person ever to complete the game of Tetris.

NEXT IN AI

Perplexity raises $73.6 million war chest from Jeff Bezos and Nvidia to take on Google Search

The stage is set for the tech industry’s equivalent of a David v Goliath match-up, as AI-powered search engine Perplexity AI announced a $73.6 million funding round at a $520 million valuation.

While there’s no shortage of alternative online search engines - like Bing and Yahoo - Perplexity brings a new set of features to the table that make it an interesting proposition:

• Direct Search Answers: Instead of giving you a list of links, Perplexity gives you an answer when you search for something.

• Conversational Search: A conversational search model allows for a more natural and interactive search experience.

• Ad-Free: As the number of ads grows on other search engines, Perplexity is trying to offer a better, ad-free experience.

We’ve been using Perplexity for a few weeks and have found its performance to be remarkably good, providing accurate and simple answers to most of our questions.

And the company looks set to mount a challenge to Google’s dominance in the online search market. Investors in Perplexity’s latest funding round include Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke, ex-GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and several other investors and venture capital funds.

TOGETHER WITH AE STUDIO

Unlock Success with AE’s Proven Software & AI Solutions - Trusted by Industry Leaders

Join forces with AE's world-class team for unrivaled business growth.

🔑 Efficient MVPs built for your specific use case.

🔑 Innovative Enterprise Initiatives for your digital revolution.

🔑 ROI-driven AI/ML Solutions uniquely designed for your business.

Book an Intro Call Now

AI AT WORK

How to use Perplexity AI to find better answers

Keeping with today’s theme, here’s a quick tutorial on how to use Perplexity to search the web. Unlike other search engines which give you a list of links, Perplexity gives you actual answers to questions with links to sources attached.

Here’s how to use it:

• Go to https://www.perplexity.ai/

• Ask a question or search for something in the search bar

• Perplexity will give you an answer

• You can click on the links attached to the answer, get images or videos by clicking on the buttons on the right of the screen, or find related searches at the bottom of the page

CHART

Expected years until superintelligent AI arrives

Estimates for when General Artificial Intelligence (superintelligent AI) will arrive have decreased from 80 years to less than 8 years over the last 4 years.

5 AI Tools to Supercharge Your Productivity

Source AI: Generate code for programming in any language with AI.

Lucidchart: A diagramming application that brings teams together to make better decisions and build the future using AI.

Rawuser: Improve your website's user experience and conversion rates effortlessly with AI-driven insights.

HeyCloud: Automate, build, and manage cloud stacks in simple English with AI.

Clearword: Create summary notes and complete actions live during your calls.

^{* indicates a sponsored tool}

AI GENERATED IMAGES

Famous paintings as photos

ADVERTISE WITH US

Acquire new customers and drive revenue by partnering with us

Superhuman is the world’s biggest AI newsletter for businesses and professionals with 500,000+ readers working at the world’s leading startups and enterprises. Companies like Amazon, Calendly, and Masterworks feature their products in Superhuman. Main ads are typically sold out 4 weeks in advance. You can book future ad spots here.

🧞 Your wish is my command

Reviews of the day

Thanks for reading.

Until next time!

Zain

p.s. if you want to sign up for this newsletter or share it with a friend or colleague, you can find us here