Welcome back to your daily dossier talking AI, robotics, crypto and the future of tech. 👾

In today’s edition we are tackling the following:

💡 Baidu releases reasoning AI model to take On DeepSeek.
🤖 This robot can perform continuous backflips without failing.
📱 The iPhone 17 Air makes other models look chunky in new leaked dummy shots.
📈 Gold ETFs inflow takes over Bitcoin ETFs amid historic rally.
🏦 Jamie Dimon on AI impact: It will replace jobs in banking and financial services.

AI

• Baidu releases reasoning AI model to take On DeepSeek

  • Chinese search engine Baidu has launched two new AI models: Ernie 4.5, and Ernie X1.

  • Baidu claims that Ernie X1’s performance is ‘on par with DeepSeek R1 at only half the price.’

  • While Ernie 4.5’s ‘high EQ,’ allowing the model to understand memes and satire.

• People are using Google’s new AI model to remove watermarks from images

  • Last week, Google expanded access to its Gemini 2.0 Flash model’s image generation feature.

  • Gemini 2.0 Flash will uncomplainingly create images depicting celebrities and copyrighted characters, and remove watermarks.

  • As several X and Reddit users noted, Gemini 2.0 Flash won’t just remove watermarks, but attempt to fill in any gaps created.

• Amazon’s Echo will send all voice recordings to the cloud starting March 28

  • Amazon Echo users will no longer have the option to process their Alexa requests locally.

  • This means that all of their voice recordings will be sent to the company’s cloud.

  • This comes as Amazon is rolling out a new version of its voice-controlled AI assistant, now known as Alexa+.

ROBOTICS

• This robot can perform continuous backflips without failing

  • Beijing-based NOETIX Robotics has unveiled its latest innovation - the NOETIX N2.

  • A humanoid robot that can perform continuous backflips with remarkable precision.

  • Standing at approximately 1.28 meters tall, the machine is equipped with advanced hardware designed to maintain stability.

• Meet the Rise Robotics Superjammer - the world’s strongest robotic arm

  • Rise Robotics’ electric Superjammer industrial robotic arm has the best name in the business.

  • It’s gunning for a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s strongest non-hydraulic robotic arm.

  • The real trick here is that the machine is fully electric, emissions-free, and doesn’t use energy-intensive or petroleum-based hydraulic fluids

• Chinese scientists train space mining robots for extreme challenges on alien worlds

  • China's first space mining robot has been developed by the China University of Mining and Technology.

  • It not only adapts to the microgravity conditions of space but also navigates the rugged, cratered terrain of asteroids.

  • The prototype has now filed patents with relevant authorities and successfully cleared preliminary reviews, the report said.

CRYPTO

• Gold ETFs inflow takes over Bitcoin ETFs amid historic rally

  • Gold exchange-traded funds have overtaken bitcoin ETFs in assets under management as investors shift toward the traditional asset.

  • BTC price tumbled more than 19% over the past three months, while the precious metal climbed 12.5%.

  • Bitcoin ETFs, which saw significant inflows following their U.S. launch in January last year, have lost about $3.8 billion since Feb. 24 of this year.

• Solana Meme coin sent new JellyJelly App off to a sweet start

  • The launch of the Solana meme coin, JELLYJELLY, in January prompted signups for an app to soar even after it fell 98% from its all-time high.

  • Now nearly two months after its creation, JellyJelly, which debuted on Pump.fun, is set to be integrated into the app.

  • JELLYJELLY climbed to a $250 million market cap, after it was tied to the in-development AI-powered podcasting app of the same name.

• LIBRA token 'facilitator' Hayden Davis connected to $40M crash of 'WOLF' memecoin

  • The man behind the controversial LIBRA token, Hayden Davis, reportedly launched another memecoin that swiftly plummeted in value.

  • Davis was allegedly behind the launch of WOLF of Wall Street, a token referencing former stockbroker Jordan Belfort.

  • WOLF quickly rocketed to a market cap of nearly $43 million on March 8 before crashing 99% to its current value of about $530k.

CONTENT

• Jamie Dimon on AI impact: It will replace jobs in banking and financial services

  • “Artificial Intelligence is as transformative as the steam engine and the internet” says JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in this conversation.

  • Dimon warns that AI will replace jobs across industries, just as tractors and automation did in agriculture and manufacturing.

  • Dimon stresses the need for businesses to prepare for workforce disruptions through attrition, reskilling, and redeployment.

• Building the next generation of conversational AI with Anjney Midha

  • In this episode, Sesame’s cofounder and CTO, Ankit Kumar, joins a16z’s Anjney Midha for a deep dive behind their voice technology.

  • They discuss the technical challenges of real-time speech generation, the trade-offs in balancing personality with efficiency.

  • Ankit breaks down the complexities of multimodal AI, full-duplex conversation modeling, and the computational optimizations.

• How to thrive without changing who you are with Susan Cain

  • Joining the conversation is Susan Cain, the author of the bestseller Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.

  • Cain shares a guide for how introverts can thrive in the workplace without sacrificing their authentic selves.

  • Cain offers a powerful reframing: success doesn't require becoming more extroverted, it demands becoming more fully yourself.

AND MORE…

• The iPhone 17 Air makes other models look chunky in new leaked dummy shots

  • A set of iPhone 17 dummies appeared last night in a new leak from Sonny Dickson.

  • Sonny has a long history of reliably leaking the nonfunctional versions of iPhones that case and accessory makers use for the next year’s handsets.

  • The edge-on shots here really do a good job showing the big difference between the rumored iPhone 17 Air and the others.

• Nvidia’s next act needs to be even bigger

  • Nvidia has barely started shipping its latest artificial intelligence chips, and everybody is already looking to hear about the next ones.

  • Nvidia’s annual GTC developers conference in San Jose, Calif., used to be a relatively modest affair.

  • The event now unofficially dubbed “AI Woodstock” is expected to bring more than 25,000 in-person attendees.

• 110,421 founders, investors and leaders read this*

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• Joby will launch UK air taxi service with Virgin Atlantic

  • Virgin Atlantic announced a partnership with California-based Joby Aviation to launch an air taxi service in the UK.

  • This becomes the latest airline to bet on a new class of electric aircraft vying to become taxis in the sky.

  • Under the partnership, customers will be able to book a seat in one of Joby’s multi-rotor aircraft through the Virgin Atlantic website and app.