☕️ iPhone AI

Apple and Google may be teaming up on AI... March 19, 2024 [View Online]( | [Sign Up]( | [Shop]( [Morning Brew]( PRESENTED BY [Aura Health]( Good morning and happy first day of spring! One step closer to Walgreens running out of Claritin, neighborhood dads judging each other’s lawns, and the Mets being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. —Cassandra Cassidy, Molly Liebergall, Sam Klebanov, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman MARKETS Nasdaq 16,103.45 +0.82% S&P 5,149.42 +0.63% Dow 38,790.43 +0.20% 10-Year 4.340% +3.6 bps Bitcoin $66,553.30 -2.65% Tesla $173.80 +6.25% *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 3:00am ET. [Here's what these numbers mean.]( - Markets: Stocks started the week off [strong]( yesterday as tech companies rose. Chipotle, Progressive, and more hit all-time highs. Tesla got a boost after announcing higher prices for its Model Y in the US and parts of Europe.  AI [Apple may bring Google’s Gemini to its products]( [Illustration of a disassembled iPhone screen with the Gemini logo]( Francis Scialabba These days, Apple and Google probably have similar dating app profiles: “Big Tech leader lacking confidence in AI capabilities seeks same.” And it looks like they may have found their match. Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Apple is [in talks]( to license Google’s Gemini AI for iPhones and other Apple devices with the forthcoming iOS 18. This may have OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sweating, but for Apple and Google, it could be the [answer]( to their generative AI troubles: Alphabet shares rose over 7% following the news, and Apple’s rose more than 2% (though both gave up some of those gains before the market closed). It’s not their first time teaming up: Google reportedly pays $18 billion to Apple every year to be the default search engine on its devices. A deal involving Gemini could help both companies overcome OpenAI’s seemingly big head start in the AI race. What’s in it for Apple? It could help shift investors’ perception that the company is an AI laggard. Tim Cook said last month that the company is “investing significantly” in AI…but Apple’s products are inferior to the leading models, according to Bloomberg. Apple could still use its own AI for on-device tasks and use Gemini for more complex features in the cloud (like text-to-image generation). How about Google? This deal could be for Gemini what The Ed Sullivan Show was for The Beatles. It would be the AI model’s highest-profile partnership and its best chance at getting ahead of the white-hot competition. - If the deal happens, Gemini could be on 2+ billion iPhones around the world. - Another plus would be some reputation rehab: Gemini briefly [shut down last month]( due to controversy over the model generating historically inaccurate images. What could get in the way? As regulators clamp down on Big Tech, there could be pushback to Google and Apple getting even cozier. Their search engine deal is already the subject of a DOJ [lawsuit](. But…Apple has also considered using OpenAI’s model, and any deal probably won’t be announced until Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June.—CC   PRESENTED BY AURA HEALTH [Brothers solve $100b problem…for their mother]( [Aura Health]( After seeing their mother struggle with depression, these Forbes 30 Under 30 brothers founded [Aura]( to reinvent the $100b mental wellness industry. Aura leverages the marketplace model to aggregate the world’s most extensive library of meditations, sleep tracks, and wellness tracks. And you can [invest as they expand this all-in-one mental wellness marketplace]( across the world. The platform has grown to 8m+ users and 100k+ paying subscribers so far. Plus, Aura has attracted investments from well-known Silicon Valley investors like Cowboy Ventures and Berkeley SkyDeck, as well as executives from Spotify, Facebook, and Apple. The best part? They’ve opened a new round so you can invest alongside 2k+ investors in building the future of mental wellness. [Invest now before the opportunity closes](. WORLD [Tour de headlines](#) [Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang presenting its next gen chip]Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Nvidia showed off its next-gen chip. Jensen Huang, the CEO of the AI explosion’s big winner so far, Nvidia, [revealed]( its latest tech to keep the good times rolling at its developer event yesterday, dubbed the “Woodstock of AI” by analysts. Speaking in a packed arena, Huang showed off Blackwell, Nvidia’s new, more powerful graphics processor chip design, which the company says is significantly faster than the chips that support most of the AI out there now. The old design—which propelled Nvidia to its spot as the world’s third-most valuable company—was good, Jensen told the crowd, but “we need bigger GPUs.” SCOTUS probably won’t limit government contact with social media companies. During oral arguments yesterday, the justices [seemed skeptical]( of claims made by Republican-led states that the federal government had acted improperly and sought to censor conservative viewpoints when trying to get social media companies to remove misinformation and harmful posts from their platforms. The case could see the Supreme Court draw a new line between what is considered acceptable persuasion versus unlawful coercion. It’s one of several cases this term that asks the court to grapple with how free speech works on the internet. Trump can’t find an insurer to back $464 million appeal bond. Attorneys for Donald Trump [told a court]( yesterday that no one is willing to underwrite a bond to cover the $464 million verdict against him in New York’s civil fraud suit (it’s the case accusing him of inflating the value of his assets) while he appeals it. He’s talked to 30 companies, but they want Trump to use cash rather than properties as collateral, the former president’s lawyers said. They’re asking the court to delay the judgment until the appeal is over or accept a smaller bond of $100 million—otherwise, the New York attorney general’s office could try to collect by seizing assets. ENTERTAINMENT [MrBeast is taking his knack for virality to Prime Video]( [MrBeast smiles next to Amazon Prime Video logo]( Illustration: Francis Scialabba, Photo: Steve Granitz/Getty Images Amazon’s streaming service has been struggling to make content that gets noticed, but it’s hoping to turn things around by bringing on YouTube’s most-followed creator: MrBeast, the 25-year-old stunt philanthropist behind viral videos like “[Survive 100 Days Trapped, Win $500,000]( and “[1,000 Blind People See For The First Time]( MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, just inked a deal with Amazon MGM Studios to [host and executive produce]( Beast Games for Prime Video, the studio announced yesterday. Considering Donaldson hosted a real-life [Squid Game contest]( in 2021 that got 588 million YouTube views, he’s qualified for the job. There’s no release date yet, but Beast Games will pit 1,000 people against each other for a $5 million grand prize—the largest “in the history of television and streaming,” per Amazon. Going mainstream Donaldson said one of his goals is to “prove YouTubers and creators can succeed on other platforms.” While it can be tough for influencers to [pivot]( to Hollywood, Donaldson is better positioned than most: - The MrBeast empire, which includes monetized videos and branded merchandise and snacks, grossed [$82 million]( from June 2022 to June 2023—more than double that of any other digital creator, according to Forbes. (The executive chairman of Morning Brew invested in his snack line.) - Plus, he already has 245 million subscribed fans. Amazon is counting on it: The company has spent [billions]( of dollars in recent years on original content that’s consistently failed to crack most-watched lists.—ML   PRESENTED BY WALL STREET PREP [Wall Street Prep]( Class is in session. Time to lean in and level up, finance pros. Wharton Online and Wall Street Prep partnered to create [eight-week online certificate programs]( that combine Wharton Online’s top faculty with real-world modeling skills from Wall Street Prep. Earn a certificate from Wharton Online, access exclusive networking events, and more. Use code [MORNINGBREW for $300 off](. REAL ESTATE [Austin’s housing market takes a chill pill]( [Austin skyline]( Art Wager/Getty Images Houston, we have descent: Austin’s housing prices are finally coming down to Earth after a meteoric rise during the pandemic. Buying and renting a dwelling in the ever-weird Texas boomtown has become [less expensive]( per the Wall Street Journal. A couple of years ago, Austin’s economic dynamism and allure to West Coast transplants made its residential real estate sizzle amid historically low interest rates. From late 2019 to mid-2022, home prices shot up 66%. But now it’s as if someone blasted the A/C: - Rents fell 7% over the last year, the biggest drop of any US city, per Apartment List. - Home prices have fallen over 11% since 2022, more than any other metro in the country, according to the Freddie Mac House Price Index. Why the cooldown? Austin’s homebuilding boom is helping it avoid the severe supply crunch seen nationwide. It’s expected to add more new apartments as a proportion of existing units this year than any other city. Plus, after decades of rapid population growth, more people are looking to [move out of Austin]( than in, per Redfin data from last fall. Good deals are uneven…Austin’s rents are [declining faster]( for shiny luxury apartments than they are for more affordable housing options, the WSJ reports.—SK   GRAB BAG [Key performance indicators](#) [Don Lemon and Elon Musk]Don Lemon/YouTube Quote: “If you used too much ketamine, you can’t really get work done, so I have a lot of work.” Don Lemon released the uncomfortable interview with Elon Musk that caused the mercurial billionaire to cancel X’s partnership with the show—and Musk’s [use of ketamine]( was just one of the touchy topics discussed. Musk insisted he only took the drug as prescribed to treat low moods, was nearly always sober when making late-night social media posts, and that, given Tesla’s success, “from an investor standpoint, if there is something I’m taking, I should keep taking it.” You can watch the whole thing [here](. Stat: The ocean keeps smashing records like it’s Caitlin Clark. But unlike Clark’s, we’re not rooting for these ones: For the past year, the ocean has broken a new temperature record [every day]( CNN reports, based on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer. The unbroken string of daily heat records since last March likely stems from human-caused climate change as well as natural heatwaves and the El Niño phenomenon. Globally, average ocean temps went up 0.25 degrees Celsius in 2023—or about 20 years’ worth of typical warming, an NOAA oceanographer told CNN. Read: What the data says about pandemic school closures, four years later. ([New York Times]( NEWS [What else is brewing](#) - [A report backed by the UN]( said famine is “imminent” in Northern Gaza as the Israel–Hamas war continues. - [The EPA]( has banned the last form of asbestos that was legal in the US, more than 30 years after a court overturned its first attempt to ban the cancer-causing substance. - [Sports Illustrated’s]( print edition will live on: A new deal will let Minute Media, which owns The Players’ Tribune and Fansided, publish the struggling magazine for at least 10 years. - [Volkswagen employees]( at a plant in Tennessee have filed a petition for a vote on joining the United Auto Workers union. - [The 81-year-old fabric store chain Joann]( has filed for bankruptcy as customers spend less on crafting. - [Dan Schneider]( who created Nickelodeon TV hits like iCarly, told Variety he never intentionally sexualized kids’ shows, responding to allegations of misconduct in a new documentary. RECS [Tuesday To Do List] Ring the bell: When you see fish on [this livestream]( you can ring the doorbell to let them through a dam. Learn something new: Here’s a [map of the US]( with the literal translations of state and city names. Watch: Find out the best way to [store spices](. Let AI do the recommending: Tell [this chatbot]( what you’re into, and it’ll suggest movies, books, TV shows, and podcasts. Last chance for Excel workshop: Tomorrow’s the day for Miss Excel’s free live workshop on data cleaning and VBA macros, so [sign up now](. Spend $1, save $500: …on every flight. Get round-trip flights to Europe from $250, to cities like Paris and Barcelona. Try Dollar Flight Club for just $1—[offer ends in 12 hours]( *A message from our sponsor. GAMES [The puzzle section](#) Brew Mini: If you’re feeling competitive this morning, you can try to beat Neal’s time of 28 seconds. [Play the Mini here](. NCAA nickname trivia In the men’s NCAA tournament basketball field of 68 teams, you can find plenty of animal nicknames, from eagles to gators to longhorns. But one animal appears more than any other, with five teams using it as their nickname. Can you name the most popular animal nickname in this year’s tournament? SHARE THE BREW [Share Morning Brew]( with your friends, acquire free Brew swag, and then acquire more friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We’re saying we’ll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 [Click to Share]( Or copy & paste your referral link to others: [morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=4904f90a]( ANSWER There are five bulldogs: Gonzaga, Mississippi State, Drake, Yale, and Samford. Word of the Day Today’s Word of the Day is: mercurial, meaning “characterized by rapid and unpredictable changeableness of mood.” Thanks to Emily Schaeper, from Buffalo, New York, and several other stalwart readers for the suggestion. Submit another [Word of the Day here](. ✢ A Note From Aura Health This is a paid advertisement for Aura Health’s Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at [invest.aurahealth.io](. Written by [Neal Freyman]( [Abigail Rubenstein]( [Cassandra Cassidy]( [Molly Liebergall]( and Sam Klebanov Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Get smarter in just 5 minutes - Money & Career: [Money With Katie](  [Bossy]( Interested in podcasts? - Check out ours [here]( [ADVERTISE]( // [CAREERS]( // [SHOP]( // [FAQ]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here](. View our privacy policy [here](. Copyright © 2024 Morning Brew. All rights reserved. 22 W 19th St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10011