A year ago, the atmosphere in Silicon Valley was grim due to declining tech company stocks and layoffs. However, the technology sector is now experiencing a massive surge due to artificial intelligence.
According to a report by The Washington Post, it has become impossible to escape the hysteria surrounding artificial intelligence in San Francisco County.
In restaurants and bars, people debate the use of chatbot AI by robots and whether AI poses a threat to their jobs.
According to the newspaper, artificial intelligence remains a singular field that continues to attract new employees to Silicon Valley, where companies offer massive salaries for expertise, and employees are being retrained to specialize in this field.
Chatbot AI is Tipping the Scales
Venture capitalists invested over $11 billion in AI startups in May, an 86% increase compared to the same month last year, according to the data company “PitchBook.”
Last week, “NVIDIA,” a company manufacturing chips essential for complex AI computing, became one of the few companies in the world to reach a trillion-dollar valuation.
As reported in the newspaper, companies have begun increasingly investing in AI after the launch of “OpenAI’s” GPT program in November.
The launch of this program is made possible by Generative AI technology, using complex algorithms trained on trillions of words and images from the open internet to produce texts, images, and audio clips.
Columbia University business professor Dan Wang notes that the emergence of Generative AI has led to significant quality improvements, much greater than expected.
He added: “This came as a surprise to people and also inspired current entrepreneurs and ambitious business people.” Following the launch of GPT, tech giants like Microsoft and Google have begun competing to produce similar products.
Amazon executives confirmed to employees that the company is also working on key initiatives in AI.
Brendan Burke, an analyst at data company PitchBook, stated that venture capital firms are competing for AI-related deals while avoiding investments in non-profitable traditional software companies.
Startups Shine in Technology Fields.
He stated: “AI startups find conducive working conditions not found in other tech companies.”
Burke mentioned that about $12.5 billion in investments have been directed to AI-focused startups this year so far, while only $4.5 billion was invested in this sector in 2022.
However, there are still many tech workers who have not found employment following significant layoffs in the industry last year due to rising interest rates.
The exacerbation of layoffs concerns employees at Google and other companies, and the collapse of Silicon Valley banks raises concerns for investors in the tech industry, making it difficult for startups to secure the necessary funding to start their businesses.
Property prices in San Francisco are slowly declining, while the commercial rental market is in crisis, impacting the economy overall. Professor Wang, who works at Columbia University, stated that AI will not suddenly impact this situation.
