AI Literacy is the #1 skill in the US

👋 Good morning/evening (wherever you are). It’s Wednesday. LinkedIn unveiled their inaugural list of Skills on the Rise in the U.S., which features “the 15 fastest-growing skills that professionals should be investing in to get ahead in today’s world of work.”

To no one’s surprise, the #1 skill is AI — check out the full list.

Why it’s on the rise: As AI rapidly transforms industries, companies are increasingly looking for professionals with the ability to understand and utilize tools harnessing that technology for business purposes.

🤝 It’s a good thing you’re subscribed to this newsletter…imagine how much you’ll know about AI by the end of the year.

OK let’s keep going ↓

Here’s what you should know:

• Nvidia, Musk's xAI to join Microsoft, BlackRock and MGX to develop AI infrastructure

  Originally launched with a $30 billion commitment, AIP is now gunning for up to $100 billion to supercharge AI infrastructure, including next-gen data centers and energy solutions.

• LG AI Research unveils EXAONE Deep

  Immediately after its release, the EXAONE Deep 32B model was listed in Epoch AI’s Notable AI Models, validating its performance.

• Japan lacks workers to care for the elderly. This company is using AI to help

  Sompo Holdings, Inc., one of Japan’s biggest insurance companies, says it’s using artificial intelligence to help alleviate a critical shortage of workers needed to care for the country’s aging population.

• Tencent expands AI push with open-source 3D generation tools

  Tencent released five open-source models based on its Hunyuan3D-2.0 technology, including so-called "turbo" versions it said can generate 3D visuals within 30 seconds.

• 'Titanic' and 'Avatar' VFX Innovator Robert Legato Joins Stability AI

  Robert Legato – the respected VFX innovator who won Oscars for “Titanic,” “Hugo” and “The Jungle Book” – has joined Stability AI at chief pipeline architect. In doing so, he reteams with James Cameron, an influential board member for the AI firm.

• Andor creator refuses to publish scripts thanks to AI

  Tony Gilroy doesn’t want his work to become training data.

• Can AI help you win your March Madness bracket? One disruptor bets $1 million on ‘yes’ (and Houston)

  “We’re not a crystal ball,” says Alan Levy, whose platform, 4C Predictions, is running this challenge. “But it’s going to start to get very, very creepy. In 2025, we’re making a million-dollar bet with a professional sports bettor, and the reason we feel confident to do that is because data, we feel, will beat humans.”

• Razer launches new Wyvrn game dev platform with automated AI bug tester

  It encompasses dev-focused automation tools like the Razer AI QA Copilot to assist with quality assurance / game testing and the AI Gamer Copilot (formerly called Project Ava) for real-time tips and guides via voice assistant while playing games.

The numbers:

• Abu Dhabi Forms $25 Billion US Energy Venture to Power AI

  An Abu Dhabi sovereign investor is forging a $25 billion US partnership to invest in power generation for data centers and artificial intelligence projects, soon after President Donald Trump hosted a top royal from the emirate.

• NVIDIA acquired synthetic data startup Gretel for nine figures

  Nvidia’s acquisition is strategic — and timely. Tech giants like Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic are already using synthetic data to train flagship AI models as they exhaust sources of real-world data.

• Graphite raises $52 Million and launches Diamond to reimagine code review for the age of AI

  Led by Accel, with participation from Menlo Ventures via its Anthology Fund with Anthropic, Shopify Ventures, and Figma Ventures, as well as returning investors Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and The General Partnership.

• Augment, the AI-driven logistics platform, announced $25 Million in seed funding led by 8VC

  The company's debut product, Augie, is an AI teammate for the freight industry, designed to collaborate and execute complex logistics tasks.

Thought starters:

• Can AI create impossible videos?

• Joint California Policy Working Group on AI Frontier Models

• Anthropic’s Response to Governor Newsom’s AI Working Group Draft Report

Thanks for reading,

Eddie

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