The Biggest Moves from Microsoft and Copilot

Oct 4

Emerging Tech Roundup — October 4

The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.

This week in tech: Instagram shares new ‘best practices’ for creators, Microsoft Paint is gaining Photoshop-like generative AI fill and erase features, Microsoft's Copilot AI gets a voice and the ability to see websites you browse, Microsoft starts paying publishers for content surfaced by Copilot, Pinterest rolls out genAI tools for product imagery to advertisers, Nvidia drops its new AI model, and OpenAI completes deal that values company at $157 billion.

Instagram’s ‘Best Practices’ Tell Creators How They Should Post

(The Verge, October 1)

Instagram has introduced a new "best practices" feature for professional accounts to guide content creators, businesses, and users on how to maximize engagement on the platform. The hub provides tips ranging from generic strategies like tracking follower growth to more specific advice, such as keeping Reels under 90 seconds for better discovery. While this guidance may help creators better understand platform priorities, it also adds pressure to conform to Instagram's content preferences, with metrics like "views" and content shares becoming key indicators of success.

Microsoft Paint is Getting Photoshop-Like Generative AI Fill and Erase Features

(The Verge, October 1)

Microsoft is adding new AI-powered features to Paint and Photos for Copilot Plus PCs, making creative tasks easier without relying on advanced software. In Paint, the new Generative Fill and Generative Erase tools allow users to add or remove objects with a brush, similar to tools in Adobe Photoshop and Google's Pixel phones. The Photos app is also gaining Generative Erase and a Super-Resolution feature, which uses on-device AI to upscale images up to eight times their original resolution, providing a free and efficient solution for enhancing image quality.

Microsoft's Copilot AI Gets a Voice and the Ability to See Websites You Browse

(Engadget, October 1)

Microsoft is giving its Copilot AI a makeover with a friendlier interface and new features like Copilot Voice, which allows for conversational interaction. The redesigned Copilot aims to be more than just a generative AI tool — as it is integrating deeply into users' daily workflows — and is accessible on platforms including Windows, iOS, Android, and even WhatsApp. Additionally, Microsoft is introducing experimental features via Copilot Labs for Pro subscribers, such as Copilot Vision for viewing web content and Think Deeper for tackling complex problems.

Microsoft Starts Paying Publishers For Content Surfaced by Copilot

(Tech Crunch, October 1)

Microsoft is launching Copilot Daily, a new feature of its Copilot AI assistant that provides spoken summaries of the weather and current events, sourced only from authorized publishers. Publishers like Reuters, Axel Springer, Hearst Magazines, USA Today Network, and The Financial Times are partnering with Microsoft for Copilot Daily — and Microsoft is compensating them. This move reflects a broader trend of AI companies, including OpenAI and Apple, making content payment deals to address copyright concerns and acquire data for training models.

Pinterest Rolls Out GenAI Tools For Product Imagery to Advertisers

(Tech Crunch, October 1)

Pinterest added new generative AI features for advertisers as part of its Pinterest Performance+ suite, allowing them to transform blank or flat backgrounds of Product Pins into lifestyle imagery. This enhancement aims to make ads more visually appealing and attract more clicks — similar to tools offered by Amazon and Google — which also allow advertisers to customize product image backgrounds using AI. The feature is part of a growing trend where image enhancement with generative AI becomes a standard offering for advertisers across major platforms.

Nvidia Just Dropped a Bombshell: Its New AI Model is Open, Massive, and Ready to Rival GPT-4

(Venture Beat, September 1)

Nvidia has introduced NVLM 1.0, a new open-source AI model family, including the powerful 72 billion parameter NVLM-D-72B — competing with proprietary models like those from OpenAI and Google. This multimodal large language model excels at both vision-language tasks and text-only tasks, showcasing superior performance compared to similar models. By releasing model weights and promising to provide training code, Nvidia is setting itself apart by offering open access to cutting-edge AI technology for researchers and developers.

OpenAI Completes Deal That Values Company at $157 Billion

(The New York Times, October 2)

OpenAI just completed a $6.6 billion fund-raising deal, raising its valuation to $157 billion — nearly double from nine months ago. The investment round was led by Thrive Capital and included contributions from Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank, and the UAE's MGX, among others, highlighting ongoing excitement in the tech industry over AI despite safety concerns. OpenAI's revenues are projected to reach $3.7 billion this year and the company has expanded significantly, now employing around 1,700 people.