【AI Daily Report】2024-12-30

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Permira’s Brian Ruder talks AI, Squarespace acquisition, and the value of co-leadership

**Main points:** - Permira, a London-based private equity firm, has made significant investments in tech companies, including Adevinta ($13 billion) and Squarespace ($7.2 billion). - The firm has a "core digital backbone" and has invested $28 billion in 80 tech companies across various sectors, including SaaS, cybersecurity, fintech, and online marketplaces. - Permira focuses on growth-centric, long-term investments, often partnering with founders and embracing co-leadership models. **Supporting details:** - Permira's new co-managing partner and co-CEO, Brian Ruder, emphasizes the importance of co-leadership and digital transformation in the company's investment strategies. - The firm is also focused on AI adoption across its portfolio, with examples including Zendesk's AI-powered customer service tools and Squarespace's "design intelligence" suite. - Permira prioritizes investing in quality assets with strong unit economics, often backing founders and their visions, rather than seeking distressed companies to salvage.

Google CEO says AI model Gemini will be the company’s ‘biggest focus’ in 2025

**Main points:** - Google CEO Sundar Pichai considers 2025 a "critical" year for the company. - Pichai emphasizes the need to move faster, citing high stakes in the tech industry. **Supporting details:** - Google is investing heavily in AI, with mixed results. - Pichai acknowledges the need to catch up in AI, focusing on scaling Gemini in 2025.

Africa’s newest fintech unicorns are winning by keeping their feet on the ground

Crypto industry groups sue IRS over broker reporting rule

**Main points:** - Three crypto groups are suing the IRS over new regulations requiring DeFi entities to report customer information. - The IRS aims to "close the information gap" with these rules, part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. **Supporting details:** - The lawsuit claims the rules unduly burden DeFi trading platforms and infringe on user privacy rights. - The groups argue against defining these platforms as brokers, as they don't "effectuate transactions" themselves.

AI data centers could be ‘distorting’ the US power grid

**Main points:** - Data centers, particularly those for AI, may strain the US power grid, causing power distortions and potentially destructive effects on households. - Proximity to data centers is linked to "bad harmonics," or less-than-ideal power flow, which can harm appliances and increase fire risk. **Supporting details:** - A report by Bloomberg found over half of households with poor power quality live near significant data center activity. - Experts warn that volatile energy demands from AI data centers can lead to brownouts and blackouts.

India’s mobile payments dilemma

**Main points:** India's payments regulator may curb PhonePe and Google's dominance in the mobile payments market by enforcing a 30% transaction limit on UPI (Unified Payments Interface). This could impact PhonePe's plans to go public and affect the growth of fintech startups. **Supporting details:** PhonePe handles 47.8% of UPI transactions, while Google Pay processes 37.1%. The regulator may delay or increase the limit, having already pushed back deadlines several times. A market share cap could impact consumer experience and is part of India's efforts to balance innovation with competition.

支付宝发布2024 AI年度总结：通过AI智能生成财务情况

支付宝发布年度总结，用户可查看个人财务情况。马云预测AI时代将带来巨大变革，强调创新和准备的重要性。支付宝的年度总结展示其在金融科技领域的影响力，未来将继续推动技术创新和服务升级。