FTI Consulting News Bytes – 7 June 2024

FTI Consulting News Bytes

This week saw numerous exciting developments across the sector. At the Computex conference in Taiwan, Nvidia announced the launch of its next generation AI processors. News of Shein’s potential IPO in London has divided opinions in the City, with the business practices and transparency of the company coming under scrutiny. Also, a group of former and current employees from AI companies like Open AI and Google DeepMind, have written an open letter which raises concerns about the risks of AI technology and potential threats to humanity. In other news, VC’s have predicted a return to growth as enthusiasm for AI start-ups and a rally in Big Tech valuations give the industry a much-needed boost – seen this week after Zurich-based semiconductor startup Synthara raised $11 million in a funding round supported by OTB Ventures, a leading European Deep-Tech VC. 

Lastly, as the tech community gathers for London Tech Week next week, our TMT team will be hosting a drinks reception on Tuesday 11th June from 6pm, for professionals across the tech industry to discuss the big themes emerging from the event and to catch up ahead of summer. If you’re interested in coming, please do drop us a line. 

This week’s news

Nvidia launches next-gen AI processors for 2026 

Nvidia announced the launch of its next generation AI processors for 2026 at the Computex conference in Taiwan on Sunday, Reuters reports. CEO Jensen Huang said the chip platform was called ‘Rubin’ and that the family of chips would include new graphics and central processors as well as processing chips. Nvidia announced it would also be accelerating the release of new AI chips to every year, instead of once every two years, adding that it would be putting out new software as well. This comes after CNBC reported Huang is “worried and concerned” about Nvidia losing its edge in the chip business as competitors like AMD, Intel, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft pour millions into developing their own chips.  

Shein’s potential listing causes a stir in the City

Whilst news of Shein’s potential £50 billion float on the London Stock Exchange has stirred up excitement, it has also been met with intense scrutiny – with concerns over copyright claims, supply chain and workforce issues being highlighted as major points of contention. Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, Sarah Jones, the shadow minister for industry, and Chris Bryant, the shadow minister for creative industries, are understood to have met Donald Tang, the executive chairman of Shein, to discuss the chance of a potential IPO in London, reports The Times. Sources told The Times that Labour was “very supportive” of Shein choosing to list in the UK. Whilst the potential listing would be the largest share debut on the LSE in over a decade and could provide a much-needed spark the London market is looking for, the retailer is facing scrutiny and pushback over its business practices. One of London’s leading fund managers has also warned against the float, outlining London must not become a listings venue of “last resort” for companies with “dubious human rights records”. Watch this space!

AI insiders warn of risks in open letter

A group of current and former employees from AI companies, including OpenAI and Google DeepMind, have raised concerns about the risks of AI technology, emphasising that financial motives hinder effective oversight. According to Reuters, the group argues that current corporate governance structures are inadequate and warn of dangers such as misinformation, loss of control over AI systems, and inequalities, potentially threatening humanity. The letter criticises AI companies for having weak obligations to share information with governments about their systems’ capabilities and limitations, noting that these companies cannot be relied upon to share this information voluntarily. They urge AI firms to create a process for employees to voice concerns about risks and to avoid enforcing confidentiality agreements that prevent criticism.

European tech start-up funding shows signs of green shoots

After the pandemic-driven surge in tech investment came to a halt nearly two-years ago, VCs are predicting a return to growth this year as the enthusiasm for AI start-ups combines with a strong rally in Big Tech valuations on Wall Street, the Financial Times reports. This week, Creandum, an early investor in the likes of Spotify, Klarna and Depop, unveiled a €500 fund and became the latest European-focused private tech investor to secure capital for startups, following similar sized deals by Accel Europe and Plural. According to Sifted, VC investment remains down from 2021 highs, but the closure of Creandum’s latest fund highlights a growing appetite from top investors for exposure to European tech.

Chip technology developer raises $11m to support AI applications

OTB Ventures, a leading European Deep-Tech VC specialising in investing in seed and series A startups, this week contributed to a $11 million funding round for Zurich-based semiconductor startup Synthara, as reported in Sifted. Synthara, launched in 2019, has developed a technology that allows chips to work faster and more efficiently across various AI-enabled devices, such as hearing aids, wearables, biomedical monitoring and AR/VR. The new funding will enable the integration of in-memory computing capabilities to existing chip designs. Synthara’s CEO Manu Nair also said that funding will be used to double down its focus on smart sensors and wearables and scale up its technology to work for more complex use cases.

Top Tweets of the Week

• Joe Tidy, BBC’s cybersecurity reporter: Major hospitals in London have declared a critical incident after a cyber-attack led to operations being cancelled and emergency patients being diverted elsewhere. It applies to hospitals partnered with Synnovis – a provider of pathology. 
• Elon Musk: Tesla went public at $1.5B valuation 14 years ago. Valuation today is over $500B.
• Cristina Criddle, Tech Reporter at the FT: EXCLUSIVE: OpenAI has said its mission is not to build “superintelligence” in an apparent backtrack from previous comments by Sam Altman, as it readies its new model.

Number of the Week

$1bn – Cisco unveils $1bn fund to invest in AI startups.