Weekly Consulting Snapshot #2: AI Talent Wars, OpenAI’s New Models, Hyperliquid’s Rise
Hey there, another week brings a fresh mix of tech stories worth talking about. Let’s break it down, keep things chill, and see what’s been happening.
AI Talent War
The race for top AI talent is getting intense. Databricks recently raised $10 billion, not for some wild project but to ensure their team is well-compensated and motivated. Naveen Rao, their VP of AI, likened hiring elite AI researchers to finding a “LeBron James” rare and transformative. It’s a reminder that while AI dominates the headlines, the real breakthroughs depend on the talent building these systems. For now, the focus is on refining infrastructure rather than chasing AGI.
A Work Hack You Didn’t Know You Needed
Here’s a simple productivity tip shared by Daniel Doubrovkine: keeping a personal CHANGELOG at work. It’s essentially a daily log of what you’re working on, written in plain, human-readable language. Turns out, it’s a low-effort way to boost one-on-one meetings, help onboard new team members, and give yourself a snapshot of everything you’ve accomplished. It might not be flashy, but it’s one of those habits that can quietly make a big difference.
OpenAI’s Models Get Smarter
OpenAI rolled out two new models, o1-preview and o1-mini, designed to improve reasoning. These models are outperforming their predecessors in competitive programming, math, and scientific tasks. What sets them apart is how they take a bit more time to “think” before answering, which leads to sharper problem-solving. It’s another step toward more practical, reliable AI tools that can handle complex reasoning tasks.
Ubisoft’s NFT Game Makes a Quiet Entrance
Ubisoft has quietly dropped another NFT-based game featuring Rayman and Blood Dragon elements. Players can own and trade in-game items as NFTs. Compared to their earlier attempts at blockchain gaming, this release seems to have a more subdued rollout. It’s interesting to see how they’re still experimenting in this space, despite mixed reactions to NFTs in gaming.
Outdated Cancer Guidelines Are a Problem
Cancer treatment guidelines are lagging behind modern research, and it’s a problem. Outdated recommendations can slow down access to better care, which is frustrating when new discoveries are being made all the time. The reasons range from bureaucratic inertia to a lack of streamlined systems for updating standards. It raises a bigger question about whether tech like AI or better data processing can help bridge this gap and bring treatments up to speed faster.
AI vs. Humans: A Tough Question
Here’s a thought-provoking question from The Register: are you a better value than AI? As AI becomes more efficient at certain tasks, companies are reevaluating the balance between human employees and automated systems. While humans bring creativity and adaptability to the table, it’s clear that the bar for what we offer compared to machines is shifting. It’s worth considering where we stand as AI continues to evolve.
If you noticed ChatGPT acting up this week, you weren’t alone. OpenAI’s chatbot had an outage, with users reporting server errors. The issue was tied to an upstream provider and was resolved fairly quickly. Just a little hiccup to remind us that even our favorite tools have their off days.
Product Highlight: Hyperliquid
This week’s standout is Hyperliquid, a decentralized perpetual exchange (DEX) designed to combine the efficiency of centralized exchanges with the transparency of decentralized finance. Built on its proprietary Layer 1 blockchain, Hyperliquid offers high-speed, gas-free transactions and a fully on-chain order book, enabling precise trades and reduced slippage.
Here’s where Hyperliquid stands in numbers:
- Total Value Locked (TVL): $2.168 billion
- Market Cap: $9.002 billion
- Token Price: $26.83
- Fully Diluted Valuation: $26.957 billion
- 24h Token Volume: $320.92 million
- Volume (24h): $312.49 million
- Perpetuals Volume (24h): $3.85 billion
- Fees (annualized): $62.9 million
- Revenue (annualized): $62.9 million
Hyperliquid just flipped Solana in 24-hour fees generated. Its market strength, coupled with community-focused features like one-click trading and fair airdrop distribution of its $HYPE token, makes it a noteworthy platform for traders seeking efficiency without sacrificing transparency.
That’s it for this week. Hopefully, something here sparked your interest or gave you something new to think about. If any of these topics caught your eye, let’s discuss them. Until next time.