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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="461" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367602-17067928972022-10-23t204940z_1048320918_up1eian1luq2v_rtrmadp_0_motor-f1-usa-820x461.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-460684" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367602-17067928972022-10-23t204940z_1048320918_up1eian1luq2v_rtrmadp_0_motor-f1-usa-820x461.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367602-17067928972022-10-23t204940z_1048320918_up1eian1luq2v_rtrmadp_0_motor-f1-usa-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367602-17067928972022-10-23t204940z_1048320918_up1eian1luq2v_rtrmadp_0_motor-f1-usa-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367602-17067928972022-10-23t204940z_1048320918_up1eian1luq2v_rtrmadp_0_motor-f1-usa-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367602-17067928972022-10-23t204940z_1048320918_up1eian1luq2v_rtrmadp_0_motor-f1-usa-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107367602-17067928972022-10-23t204940z_1048320918_up1eian1luq2v_rtrmadp_0_motor-f1-usa.jpeg 1600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Apple CEO Tim Cook waves a checkered flag to the race winner at the Formula One United States Grand Prix Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 23, 2022. Mike Segar | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



Apple will wind down its team working on electric cars, called Special Projects Group, according to Bloomberg.



The news signals an end to Apple’s secretive effort to build a car to rival Tesla. The program employed thousands of employees but never fit with Apple’s core business of electronics and online services, and raised questions about where Apple would turn for the manufacturing of a vehicle.



Reports of Apple’s ambition to build a car first surfaced in 2014 after the company recruited automotive engineers and other talent from auto companies. While there was little public information about Apple’s plans, the company operated a program with autonomous Apple-owned cars equipped with sensors and safety drivers cruising around the San Francisco Bay Area.



Apple’s Special Projects Group had several reorganizations over the years, including layoffs in 2019, when employees were moved to different parts of the company. Some Apple employees in the car division may move to a generative artificial intelligence team, according to Bloomberg.



The company has other automotive-related projects, including its infotainment CarPlay software, which Apple says is installed on 80% of new vehicles.



Apple’s car project was part of an internal effort to look for technologies the company could develop with huge potential markets. Apple continues to develop health technologies, especially for the Apple Watch. And last month, the company released its first virtual reality headset, the Vision Pro.



Some of Apple’s Asian rivals in smartphones have invested heavily in designing and potentially manufacturing cars. Xiaomi, a maker of Android smartphones, announced a new electric vehicle this week. Foxconn, Apple’s main manufacturing partner, said last year it will build electric vehicles.



Apple and CEO Tim Cook never acknowledged the car project publicly, instead referring to it as work on “autonomous systems.” In 2016, Cook was asked by a shareholder about the project, and teased that “it’s going to be Christmas Eve for a long time.”



As part of its silence, Apple’s hasn’t outlined its expenditures in the auto space. Overall, the company spent about $30 billion on research and development in 2023, a 14% increase over the prior year. Apple’s R&amp;D budget includes investments in new software and features for its existing products such as the iPhone.



Apple shares rose less than 1% on the news on Tuesday. Apple declined to comment.

107367602-17067928972022-10-23t204940z_1048320918_up1eian1luq2v_rtrmadp_0_motor-f1-usa

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="552" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107343954-1701877568407-gettyimages-1835240563-wm_10263_h1xkdgsj-820x552.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-460391" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107343954-1701877568407-gettyimages-1835240563-wm_10263_h1xkdgsj-820x552.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107343954-1701877568407-gettyimages-1835240563-wm_10263_h1xkdgsj-300x202.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107343954-1701877568407-gettyimages-1835240563-wm_10263_h1xkdgsj-134x90.jpeg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107343954-1701877568407-gettyimages-1835240563-wm_10263_h1xkdgsj-768x517.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107343954-1701877568407-gettyimages-1835240563-wm_10263_h1xkdgsj-1536x1034.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107343954-1701877568407-gettyimages-1835240563-wm_10263_h1xkdgsj-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



The burgeoning artificial intelligence tools from companies such as OpenAI still have their share of skeptics, but don’t count JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon among them.



The Wall Street titan told CNBC’s Leslie Picker on Monday that AI is not just a passing fad and is bigger than just the large language models such as Chat GPT. He compared the current moment favorably to the tech bubble around the start of the 21st century, when investor excitement seemingly got ahead of the actual changes.



“This is not hype. This is real. When we had the internet bubble the first time around … that was hype. This is not hype. It’s real,” Dimon said. “People are deploying it at different speeds, but it will handle a tremendous amount of stuff.”



JPMorgan has done work on the ability to use the new technologies internally, with Dimon saying that AI will eventually “be used in almost every job.” JPMorgan created a new role of chief data and analytics officer last year, in part to handle AI.



Dimon said Monday that there are 200 people at JPMorgan doing research on the large language models that have recently been rolled out by tech companies.



While acknowledging that AI can be used by bad actors, Dimon called himself a “big optimist” about the emerging technology, mentioning cybersecurity and pharmaceutical research as areas where it can be helpful.



“It may invent cancer cures because it can do things that the human mind simply cannot do,” Dimon said.

107343954-1701877568407-gettyimages-1835240563-wm_10263_h1xkdgsj

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says AI is not just hype — ‘This is real’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107223050-1681209527842-gettyimages-911964384-set04375-29january2018kw0061-1-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-460361" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107223050-1681209527842-gettyimages-911964384-set04375-29january2018kw0061-1-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107223050-1681209527842-gettyimages-911964384-set04375-29january2018kw0061-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107223050-1681209527842-gettyimages-911964384-set04375-29january2018kw0061-1-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107223050-1681209527842-gettyimages-911964384-set04375-29january2018kw0061-1-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107223050-1681209527842-gettyimages-911964384-set04375-29january2018kw0061-1.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The bitcoin halving is an event that happens roughly every four years where rewards to miners are cut in halve, effectively limiting supply of the token. S3studio | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/BTC=X/">Bitcoin</a>, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, extended a rally in Asia trading on Tuesday, reaching a two-year high of over $56,000 and uplifting the broader crypto market amid positive market developments and buying from crypto bulls.



The price of bitcoin increased over 10% within two days, according to data from CoinMarketCap, after crypto investing and software firm MicroStrategy disclosed a purchase of about 3,000 bitcoins for $155 million on Monday.



MicroStrategy, based in Virginia, is currently the largest publicly traded owner of bitcoin. The company reported a holding of about 190,000 of the cryptocurrency tokens earlier this month, which would be worth over $10.5 billion today.



According to Greta Yuan, head of research at digital asset platform VDX, the market was “encouraged by crypto bulls such as MicroStrategy” as well as a “new record of Bitcoin ETF inflows.”



Most of the cryptocurrency market experienced a lift from the latest rally. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, reached a multi-month high above $3,200.



Crypto-related equities also surged in trading in the U.S. MicroStrategy and San Francisco-based crypto exchange company Coinbase both leaped over 16% on Monday and continued gaining in aftermarket trading.



The two crypto-related companies have seen their stock prices grow 200% over the past year. 



Speaking to CNBC last week, Alesia Haas, Coinbase’s CFO, attributed the company’s recent strong financial results to the regulatory approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. last month, which had triggered renewed fervor surrounding the cryptocurrency.&nbsp;



According to VDX’s Yuan, the surging price of bitcoin also reflects the “bullish sentiment of investors, especially in the U.S.,” ahead of an upcoming “bitcoin halving” set for the second half of April.&nbsp;



A bitcoin halving event occurs every four years, with the reward for bitcoin mining — the process by which transactions are digitally verified on the blockchain — cut in half, thus reducing the rate at which new bitcoin tokens are created and lowering the amount of new supply available.



“As Bitcoin’s halving draws closer, investors are rushing to the best positioning for the event. The new record of inflow volume of Bitcoin ETFs is another confidence check for bullish investors,” Yuan added.&nbsp;



The strong bitcoin performance also comes amid the dollar trading down on Monday and Tuesday. Markets anticipate U.S. economic data this week that could signal how soon the Federal Reserve may begin cutting interest rates.



Bitcoin prices and the U.S. dollar index have historically shown an inverse correlation.

107223050-1681209527842-gettyimages-911964384-set04375-29january2018kw0061-1

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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-459995" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/107374413-1708024437471-gettyimages-1992338676-AA_10022024_1525083.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Betul Abali | Anadolu | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Google is bullish on the prospect of its more advanced artificial intelligence models coming to smartphones in the next year.  



The internet giant expects that its currently available Gemini large language model (LLM), which competes with Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s most powerful GPT-4 AI model, will begin to get embedded into devices starting next year.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Google already offers Gemini Nano, which is the company’s most efficient model for “on-device” AI, across its Pixel devices and on all other capable Android devices.&nbsp;



Brian Rakowski, vice president of product management for Google’s Pixel unit, said that he expects the company’s most advanced large language models, which are currently only accessible via remote data centers via an internet connection, to begin arriving on smartphones directly next year.&nbsp;



“There are smaller versions of our Gemini model on the cloud,” Rakowski told CNBC. “There’s been quite a few breakthroughs to compress these models to get them to run on device.”&nbsp;



“Some have already been proven and some are being explored for some applications. It’d be great having all models on device. It still has wondrous applications.”&nbsp;



“Gemini Nano is performing at a level that our online models were at less than one year ago,” Rakowski added. “You can do a lot with these distilled small versions of the models on device.”&nbsp;



“If you just follow that trajectory, some of that stuff we thought we would have had to go to the cloud for next year will be on device, which is pretty exciting, which is instantaneous without requiring a connection or subscription.”&nbsp;



Large language models, or LLMs, are AI models capable of understanding and generating language in a humanlike way. Gemini Ultra is Google’s top LLM, clocking in at a whopping 1.56 trillion parameters. For comparison, OpenAI’s GPT-4 consists of 1.76 trillion parameters.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dreaming-of-a-smartphone-supercycle"><a></a>Dreaming of a smartphone ‘supercycle’</h2>



Smartphone makers have been dreaming of a “supercycle” in their industry, driven by artificial intelligence, after a bruising few years that saw device sales slow aggressively. In 2023, smartphone sales fell to 1.16 billion units, the lowest point for unit shipments in a decade.  



Analysts say a supercycle is unlikely to occur within the next few years as there’s not enough going on in the market in terms of novel features and innovation that will convince people holding their aging smartphones to upgrade.&nbsp;



“Unfortunately, we don’t expect that boom,” Francisco Jeronimo, vice president of data and analytics at research firm IDC, told CNBC.&nbsp;



“The last supercycle we saw was between 2010 and 2015, where in five years the market grew five times from around 300 million smartphones per year to 1.5 billion.”&nbsp;



Nonetheless, more and more smartphone makers are making big investments in AI in the hope that it will drive some more excitement around mobile technology.&nbsp;



The likes of Humane, Rabbit, and China’s Meizu are betting on a future for smartphones that doesn’t even look like a traditional smartphone. These are devices that would be smaller and more compact, and that we could interact with via voice activation, like an Amazon Echo speaker but on the go.&nbsp;



Google has been making huge bets on AI in an effort to gain an edge over its rivals like OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed company behind ChatGPT.



Google recently announced a major rebrand of Bard, its ChatGPT alternative, including a fresh app and subscription options. Bard was renamed Gemini, the same name as the suite of AI models that power the chatbot.



Android users can download a dedicated Android app for Gemini, while iPhone users can use Gemini in the Google app on iOS.



Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted the firm’s commitment to AI during the company’s Jan. 30 earnings call. Pichai said he eventually wants to offer an AI agent that can complete more and more tasks on a user’s behalf, including within Google Search, although he said there is “a lot of execution ahead.”



Likewise, chief executives at tech giants from Microsoft to Amazon have underlined their commitment to building AI agents as productivity tools.&nbsp;



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