It is redundant to the point of comedy to say 2024 was a difficult year to be a game developer (or a human being in general, but right now, we're talking about workers in an industry undergoing such turmoil). With layoffs, drought-like funding environments, and every other nasty thing implied by the changing market conditions we see referenced in the layoff announcements, it's a minor miracle that games still get made, still launch, and still make players smile (or think, or feel something).It's not especially easy to make gamesor game-making tools, or strong, inclusive workplace culturesin the best of times, let alone now.These are a few of the developers wed like to send some kudos, for working through the current reality and making some kind of positive impact on the industry.Image via Godot.Godot, the vanguard of a big-box game engine revolutionGodot isnt just one company. The Godot Foundation shepherds the engine, W4 Games is the corporate entity run by several Foundation board members that makes key contributions to the engine, and its open-source userbase has the collective power of a large workforce at commercial entities like Epic Games and Unity. But however you compartmentalize the engines architects, its stewards were among the standout developers of 2024.This was a game engine made for a moment like the Unity Runtime Fee debacle of 2023. It wasnt a competitor fiercely biting at Unitys heels, it was another toolmaker quietly working in the background to serve its existing audience. As Rmi Verschelde and Juan Linietsky told us at Gamescom 2024, they were never excited at the idea of a mass Unity exodus, worried both that Godot wouldnt be ready for primetime and that a flood of new users would expect it to behave like the tools theyd been trained on.The hard work they and their peers put into improving the engine paid off. Developers found Godot so flexible they could begin porting games made in Unity to the new engine, and frustrated new users found a network of independent contributors who could walk them through the changes in the engineor help create features that would bring parity for the two platforms.Godots success validated the idea that no one company guards the gates to the world of game development. If it or any other game engine fails its users, developers can breathe a little easier knowing somewhere out there will be another tool just as capable for their needs. Bryant Francis, senior editorImage via GSC Game World (via X)GSC Game World, launching a major game from a warzoneBringing a video game to market under normal circumstances is considered nothing short of a miracle. So, how do you describe the achievement of Ukrainian studio GSC Game World, which developed and launched massive open-world survival shooter Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl in the midst of a warzone.The team has been working in unimaginable circumstances since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, marking a significant escalation in the war that began in 2014. At the time, GSC was one of many Ukrainian studios to express defiance but acknowledged "our work will be impacted and our lives can be destroyed." Stalker 2 has since launched and sold over 1 million copies in two days. GSC is working hard to support the title by addressing a number of issuesreleasing three notable patches in the space of a week. Meanwhile, the fighting continues."The war is not over, and the enemy is not stopping," reads a statement on the GSC website. "Right now our families and friends are either trying to find shelter from bombings or are actively assisting those who has already suffered from the occupants. We need all the help we can get. Through pain, death, war, fear and inhuman cruelty, Ukraine will persevere. As it always does!" Chris Kerr, news editorImage via Xbox WireMicrosoft Gaming Accessibility Team, a stalwart champion of accessible playThe Microsoft Gaming Accessibility Team continues to fly the flag for inclusivity and accessibility within the game industry. The division has released a bounty of accessibility hardware and software over the years, and 2024 saw it continue that trend by unveiling the Xbox Adaptive Joystick to help those with limited mobility enjoy video games in a way that works for them.It also debuted additional accessibility devices and accessories, including adaptive thumbtacks that can be 3D printed at home, and two customizable wireless controllers created in tandem with 'Designed for Xbox' partners ByoWave and 8BitDo. The company's ongoing commitment to accessible design is well worth championing, not least because Microsoft remains focused on developing that technology alongside the communities it serves.Discussing that philosophy in a conversation with Game Developer earlier this year, Xbox senior accessibility product manager Kaitlyn Jones said the company believes a "rising tide floats all boats," which is why it doesn't view accessible design as a competitive undertaking. "We just want anyone to play regardless of the title or platform," said Jones. Microsoft isn't alone in advocating for accessibility. There are numerous individuals across the industry who help steer and shape the conversation, but it remains vital that a company with the visibility and resources of Microsoft continues to amplify the message. In a year dominated by hardship, there's some hope in that. Chris Kerr, news editorImage via Capcom.Capcom, the model for sustainable triple-A developmentOn paper, Capcom should have been among the many companies laying people off in 2024. It has over 3,000 employees and a business model led by premium triple-A games. Surely, the slowing growth of player spending that other companies have blamed on their business downturns on would have left it vulnerable for a body blow, right?Wrong. In March, the company announced it was raising its base starting salary and giving existing employees an average of 5 percent raises. And in May it reported its seventh consecutive year of record-high profits, and its next year is looking just as strong. Capcom may as well be asking "Downturn? What downturn?" while it pursues the same multipronged business model thats served it well for much of its lifetime.It didnt need billion-dollar franchises like Grand Theft Auto or Roblox to hit those numbers, either. This year, Capcom released Dragons Dogma 2, Monster Hunter Stories, and Ace Attorney Anthology. Its portfolio juggles a blend of series with cult followings, fan-favorite franchises, and older titles it can remake or re-release in "HD Editions." Companies with similar profiles have stumbled, but its stayed sustainable.At Gamescom 2024, Monster Hunter Wilds game director Yuya Tokuda, executive producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, and art director Kaname Fujioka explained to us that its sustainability has to do with a tight culture of communication and the shared use of RE Engine across several series. These processes have made the development of Wilds (which is gone on for almost six years!) to be a modest gamble for the company, instead of a teetering financial tower ready to collapse.Capcom is not a company without stains on its recordthe closure of Capcom Vancouver in 2018 shows its management can make missteps that cost developers their jobs. You also cant just copy and paste its operations onto another companymaking it to this point in 2024 took years of work. But its success should be a shining light for developers who want to make ambitious games on ambitious budgets. Bryant Francis, senior editorvia Epic GamesThe developers working on UGC platformsThe User Generated Content (UGC) development community made a huge impact in 2024, one we sometimes struggle to discuss on a site like game developer. There are many who deserve praise, but to describe their impact, we must stare the flaws of this demographic dead in the eye.When industry players sing the praises of UGC platforms they struggle to explain why they're so popular. For the most part Roblox Corporation has soaked up all the attention we'd normally heap on developers. It'd be like if we praised the App Store instead of Ustwo Games for the making of Monument Valley. There is some difference. Players move more fluidly between games in the Roblox ecosystem than they do on other app stores, but that fluidity leaves many developers making great games on the service on the sidelines.Praising this wide group of workers comes with complications. A minority of them are under the age of 18, caught in the Robux ecosystem that sells itself both as "baby's first game project" and "the ultimate way to self-monetize." People Make Games and other reporters have documented the stress these young folks have been through, and though the company promises ever-improving protections, they are still a part of the system powering its profits. Some might even say they're exploited.And then we must turn our gaze further up the age range, because many successful developers on these platforms are the ones doing the exploiting. Some take advantage of young folks to underpay them for popular games; others steal their suddenly successful ideas and clone titles, blurring the line between inspiration and theft. And an absolutely vile lot of them are the ones behind the horrendous experiences like "Escape to Epstein Island" and "Diddy Party" spotted by Hindenburg research in its blistering report explaining why it is shorting Roblox Corporation. It is the corporation's responsibility to moderate these games, but damnit, if you make one of these games, you should be permanently cut off from access to the internet.Without these developers, the dream of UGC, the metaverse, or whatever you call it, doesn't exist. As Roblox, UEFN, and other platforms enjoyed notable growth in 2024, we'd like to recognize the positiveand where needed, negativeimpact these workers made. With enough effort, the work of the former can outshine the latter. But the best time to make that happen is now.Bryant Francis, senior editorThank you for celebrating the years amazing devs with us! This article is one of many 2024 reflections hitting GameDeveloper.com this month, with more to come! For even more thoughts and insights on the best of 2024, check out our Game Developers 2024 Wrap-Up keyword to catch up on all our End of Year content.

Here are the shipping and return policies for all the big-name retailersHere are the shipping and return policies for all the big-name retailers / Weve read the fine print and rounded up the policies for each major retailer to make things simpler.Updated Dec 20, 2024, 9:10 PM UTCShare this storyIf you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty ImagesAs people scramble for last-minute gifts and late-year bargains, everyone is double-checking their lists and figuring out the fastest way to get their purchases. Thankfully, many retailers are offering generous shipping policies for their products, with some offering free two-day shipping or even same-day delivery if you pay extra. And just in case the gift you choose isnt quite right, many retailers are also offering extended return policies so your giftee can get something more to their liking.RelatedFor your convenience, weve collected the current holiday shipping cutoff windows for items that can still arrive by Christmas. Weve also checked the latest return policies for several major retailers below, highlighting which will give you a little more time to place that order or start a return. Hopefully, knowing more about how much leeway you have will help lessen that inevitable holiday angst (fingers crossed).AmazonShipping: Same-day delivery is not available on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. However, Prime members can get free same-day delivery on select products in qualifying ZIP codes through December 24th, provided they meet the minimum threshold (which varies by location) of eligible items in their cart. One-Day Delivery with no minimum purchase amount required is also available to Prime members for qualifying products through December 23rd, while Two-Day Delivery is available through December 22nd. Non-Prime buyers will find shipping options on the order page of each specific product. Returns: During the holidays, most items purchased between November 1st and December 31st can be returned until January 31st, 2025. Apple products, however, must be returned by January 15th, 2025. Note that this policy applies to both Prime and non-Prime buyers.Apple Store BeijingAppleShipping: Apple offers free delivery of in-stock items by Christmas Eve if you order by 9PM ET on December 21st, though engraved items wont ship in time by Christmas. Apple also offers two-hour delivery for an added fee from local stores in most metro areas, or you can opt to pick up purchases yourself by visiting your local Apple Store. Returns: Except for T-Mobile- and Verizon-financed iPhones, all products purchased online between November 8th and December 25th can be returned through January 8th, 2025. Purchases made after December 25th are subject to the usual terms and conditions, and must be returned within 14 calendar days of your initial purchase date.TargetShipping: Target offers free two-day shipping on many orders if you spend $35 or more or use your Target RedCard. Select purchases made by December 23rd at 1PM ET will arrive before Christmas. You may also be able to take advantage of same-day shipping or in-store pickup on December 24th. Same-day delivery costs $9.99 per order, but its included with a Target Circle 360 membership ($10.99 a month or $99 a year). Your mileage may vary for same-day delivery availability based on the item and your location.Returns: Target allows electronics and entertainment items (excluding Apple products) purchased from November 7th through December 24th to be returned as late as January 24th, 2025, for a full refund. Mobile phones and Apple products (including Beats products) purchased during the same window must be returned by January 8th, 2025. Targets standard return policy applies for most other items, with a generous 90-day window for third-party products and up to a year for Target-branded products with a receipt.WalmartShipping: For eligible orders of $35 or more, Walmart provides free next-day delivery in eligible ZIP codes, free two-day delivery, or free standard shipping. However, be aware you must order your gifts by 12:30PM local time on December 23rd to get them in time for Christmas. Walmart Plus subscribers also get free next-day and two-day shipping with no order minimum.Same-day delivery and pickup is available on December 24th for orders made by 12PM local time. If youre willing to pay a $10 Express Delivery fee and order by 4PM local time, Walmart will also deliver your packages in less than two hours on Christmas Eve. Walmart Plus subscribers may be exempt from paying this fee, however, as members get one Express Delivery for free during the month of December.Returns: Most items purchased between October 1st and December 31st may be returned until January 31st, 2025. Some exceptions, like phones, may apply.B&HShipping: During the holidays, B&H offers free two-day and next-day shipping on select items, including discounted products. Most other products are eligible for free standard shipping (thats one to seven business days), and free expedited shipping (one to three business days) is generally available for items over $49. Returns: B&H allows purchases bought after November 3rd through December 31st to be returned or exchanged through January 30th, 2025 (with the usual exceptions of non-returnable items such as computers or TVs whose packaging has been opened). Photo by Umar ShakirBest BuyShipping: Best Buy is offering free next-day and two-day shipping on qualifying orders for My Best Buy Plus andMy Best Buy Total members. Non-members, meanwhile, can get free next-day shipping on qualifying orders totaling $35 or more. If youre ordering a gift for Christmas, Best Buys extended holiday shipping window gives you until 11:30AM ET on December 23rd if you want your gift to ship for free and arrive before December 25th.You can also get free same-day delivery by 7PM on December 24th if you place an order by 12PM local time. The cutoff for placing curbside or in-store pickup orders is 5PM local time through December 24th. Stores will close at 7PM that day.Returns: Purchases made November 1st through December 31st can be returned through January 14th, 2025. This doesnt include items that come with a third-party contract, such as phones, cellular tablets, and wearables (which have a 14-day return period), or holiday products, such as tree decorations and major appliances, which have a 15-day return window. My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total members also have until January 14th, 2025, to return any purchases made between October 24th and November 16th; otherwise, theres a 60-day return window for purchases made on November 17th or later.CostcoShipping: At Costco, shipping fees depend on the product and the shipping method, though in many cases, shipping is free. The wholesale retailer also offers a variety of delivery options, including white glove service for larger appliances. You can get your gift in time for Christmas without paying for shipping when you place a qualifying order by 5:59PM ET on December 20th. Same-day delivery is also available on some items via Costcos partnership with Instacart. Returns: Costco generally has an open return policy, except for electronics such as TVs and computers, which have a 90-day return window. There are other exceptions, though, which are listed on its return page. Photo by Sean Hollister / The VergeGameStopShipping: GameStop currently offers free shipping on orders over $35. It also offers same-day delivery in certain locations if you order from your local store at least three hours before closing.Returns: Products purchased between November 17th and December 24th can be returned until January 18th, 2025. The package must be unopened, however, and certain items like trading cards, clearance items, and seasonal products cant be returned.DellShipping: Most of Dells products come with free standard shipping (no minimum purchase necessary), and some gifts may ship for free in time for Christmas if you place your order by December 21st. The delivery window can vary based on your order, but Dell does offer expedited shipping options as well as a delivery date estimate based on the zip code you provide at checkout. Orders placed by December 23rd with qualifying express delivery windows should arrive before December 25th.Returns: Dell offers a 30-day return policy with some exceptions; a restocking fee of up to 15 percent may be charged.DJIShipping: DJI offers free shipping on purchases of $149 or more. Otherwise, shipping fees are specified on the order form. Shipment times can vary for each product depending on availability.Returns: DJI offers returns within 14 days of receiving the purchase, provided it remains in like-new condition or suffers from some type of manufacturing defect.GoogleShipping: All standard orders qualify for free shipping with no minimum. Just note that this applies to the lowest-cost shipping available, which may not be the fastest.Returns: Google will accept returns through January 15th, 2025, for all purchases made between November 21st and December 31st. Standard return dates for products purchased within that window that extend beyond January 15th will be eligible for the later return date. All purchases made after January 1st, 2025, are subject to the standard return policy, which allows you to return most items up to 15 days after receipt (or 14 days for AT&T phones). However, Nest Thermostats and Verizon contract phones have an extended, 30-day return window. HPShipping: For many items, standard (three- to six-day) shipping is free. You can get ready-to-ship gifts in time for Christmas with free express shipping if you place an order by 3AM ET on December 21st. Orders placed by December 23rd can still arrive by Christmas, though youll have to pay extra for priority shipping. HP will not ship or deliver items on Christmas, Thanksgiving, or New Years Day.Returns: Items purchased between December 1st and December 25th can be returned until January 15th, 2025, or 30 days after delivery, whichever is later. There are exceptions, however, and select items may be subject to a restocking fee of up to 15 percent. Returns totaling more than $250 may also require additional review before your return request is approved.MicrosoftShipping: Most products sold through the online Microsoft Store include free two- to three-day shipping with express shipping available for an additional fee. To receive your gifts by Christmas Eve, however, youll have to place your order by 2PM ET on December 23rd.Returns:NeweggShipping: Many of Neweggs items come with free shipping and are delivered within one to five business days; for details, check the individual product page. If you want your gifts to arrive in time for Christmas, youll have to place your order by 12PM local time on December 23rd and opt for next-day delivery.Returns: Qualifying items purchased between October 7th and December 31st can be returned or replaced until January 31st, 2025.Sams ClubShipping: According to the Sams Club FAQ, the shipping cost for most items varies based on the items size, weight, shipping method, and delivery address. Plus Members get free shipping on many online items, and same-day delivery or curbside pickup is available for free if youre a Plus member ($110 a year) and place a qualifying order totaling $50 or more by 1PM local time. Club members ($50 a year) can pay $12 for same-day or next-day shipping, or get free curbside pickup on orders of $50 or more.Returns: Sams Club has no specified return period; some return periods may be stated for specific products. For example, electronics and major appliances have a 90-day return window, while phones are subject to a 14-day return policy.SonosShipping: Sonos offers free shipping on all of its products, with in-stock items typically shipping the same day if theyre purchased by 11AM local time. If you want to receive your items by Christmas, though, youll likely have to pay extra for two-day or express shipping.Returns: Sonos gives you 30 days to return a purchase and even offers free return shipping. However, you must have bought the product directly from Sonos and the return must be initiated within 30 days of receiving your purchase. The product must also include the original packaging and be in new or as-new condition to be eligible.Update, December 20th: Updated the shipping deadlines and return policies as they pertain to the 2024 holiday season.Most PopularMost Popular

For my last issue of the year, Im focusing on the AI talent war, which is a theme Ive been covering since this newsletter launched almost two years ago. And keep reading for the latest from inside Google and Meta this week.But first, I need your questions for a mailbag issue Im planning for my first issue of 2025. You can submit questions via this form or leave them in the comments.Its like looking for LeBron JamesThis week, Databricks announced the largest known funding round for any private tech company in history. The AI enterprise firm is in the final stretch of raising $10 billion, almost all of which is going to go to buying back vested employee stock.How companies approach compensation is often undercovered in the tech industry, even though the strategies play a crucial role in determining which company gets ahead faster. Nowhere is this dynamic as intense as the war for AI talent, as Ive covered before.To better understand whats driving the state of play going into 2025, this week I spoke with Naveen Rao, VP of AI at Databricks. Rao is one of my favorite people to talk to about the AI industry. Hes deeply technical but also business-minded, having successfully sold multiple startups. His last company, MosaicML, sold to Databricks for $1.3 billion in 2023. Now, he oversees the AI products for Databricks and is closely involved with its recruiting efforts for top talent.Our conversation below touches on the logic behind Databrickss massive funding round, what specific AI talent remains scarce, why he thinks AGI is not imminent, and more.The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity:Why is this round mostly to help employees sell stock? Because $10 billion is a lot. You can do a lot with that.The company is a little over 11 years old. There have been employees that have been here for a long time. This is a way to get them liquidity.Most people dont understand that this is not going into the balance sheet of Databricks. This is largely going to provide liquidity for past employees, [and] liquidity going forward for current and new employees. It ends up being neutral on dilution because theyre shares that already exist. Theyve been allocated to employees and this allows them to sell those to cover the tax associated with those shares.How much of the rapid increases in AI company valuations have to do with the talent war?Its real. The key thing here is that its not just pure AI talent people who come up with the next big thing, the next big paper. We are definitely trying to hire those people. There is an entire infrastructure of software and cloud that needs to be built to support those things. When you build a model and you want to scale it, that actually is not AI talent, per se. Its infrastructure talent.The perceived bubble that were in around AI has created an environment where all of those talents are getting recruited heavily. We need to stay competitive.Who is being the most aggressive with setting market rates for AI talent?OpenAI is certainly there. Anthropic. Amazon. Google. Meta. xAI. Microsoft. Were in constant competition with all of these companies.Would you put the number of researchers who can build a new frontier model under 1,000?Yeah. Thats why the talent war is so hot. The leverage that a researcher has in an organization is unprecedented. One researchers ideas can completely change the product. Thats kind of new. In semiconductors, people who came up with a new transistor architecture had that kind of leverage.Thats why these researchers are so sought after. Somebody who comes up with the next big idea and the next big unlock can have a massive influence on the ability of a company to win.Do you see that talent pool expanding in the near future or is it going to stay constrained?I see some aspects of the pool expanding. Being able to build the appropriate infrastructure and manage it, those roles are expanding. The top-tier researcher side is the hard part. Its like looking for LeBron James. There are just not very many humans who are capable of that.I would say the Inflection-style acquisitions were largely driven by this kind of mentality. You have these concentrations of top-tier talent in these startups and it sounds ridiculous how much people pay. But its not ridiculous. I think thats why you see Google hiring back Noam Shazeer. Its very hard to find another Noam Shazeer.A guy we had at my previous company that I started, Nervana, is arguably the best GPU programmer in the world. Hes at OpenAI now. Every inference that happens on an OpenAI model is running through his code. You start computing the downstream cost and its like, Holy shit, this one guy saved us $4 billion.You start computing the downstream cost and its like, Holy shit, this one guy saved us $4 billion.Whats the edge you have when youre trying to hire a researcher to Databricks?You start to see some selection bias of different candidates. Some are AGI or bust, and thats okay. Its a great motivation for some of the smartest people out there. We think were going to get to AGI through building products. When people use technology, it gets better. Thats part of our pitch.AI is in a massive growth base but its also hit peak hype and is on the way down the Gartner hype curve. I think were on that downward slope right now, whereas Databricks has established a very strong business. Thats very attractive to some because I dont think were so susceptible to the hype.Do the researchers you talk to really believe that AGI is right around the corner? Is there any consensus of when its coming?Honestly, theres not a great consensus. Ive been in this field for a very long time and Ive been pretty vocal in saying that its not right around the corner. The large language model is a great piece of technology. It has massive amounts of economic uplift and efficiencies that can be gained by building great products around it. But its not the spirit of what we used to call AGI, which was human or even animal-like intelligence.These things are not creating magical intelligence. Theyre able to slice up the space that were calling facts and patterns more easily. Its not the same as building a causal learner. They dont really understand how the world works.You may have seen Ilya Sutskevers talk. Were all kind of groping in the dark. Scaling was a big unlock. It was natural for a lot of people to feel enthusiastic about that. It turns out that we werent solving the right problem.Is the new idea thats going to get to AGI the test-time compute or reasoning approach?No. I think its going to be an important thing for performance. We can improve the quality of answers, probably reduce the probability of hallucinations, and increase the probability of having responses that are grounded in fact. Its definitely a positive for the field. But is it going to solve the fundamental problem of the spirit of AGI? I dont believe so. Im happy to be wrong, too.Do you agree with the sentiment that theres a lot of room to build more good products with existing models, since they are so capable but still constrained by compute and access?Yeah. Meta started years later than OpenAI and Anthropic and they basically caught up, and xAI caught up extremely fast. I think its because the rate of improvement has essentially stopped.Nilay Patel compares the AI model race to early Bluetooth. Everyone keeps saying theres a fancier Bluetooth but my phone still wont connect.You see this with every product cycle. The first few versions of the iPhone were drastically better than the previous versions. Now, I cant tell the difference between a three-year-old phone and a new phone.I think thats what we see here. How we utilize these LLMs and the distribution that has been built into them to solve business problems is the next frontier.ElsewhereGoogle gets flatter. CEO Sundar Pichai told employees this week that the companys drip-drip series of layoffs have reduced the number of managers, directors, and VPs by 10 percent, according to Business Insider and multiple employees I spoke with who also heard the remarks. Relatedly, Pichai also took the opportunity to add being scrappy as a character trait to the internal definition of Googleyness. (Yes, thats a real thing.) He demurred on the most upvoted employee question about whether layoffs will continue, though Im told he did note that there will be overall headcount growth next year.Meta cuts a perk. File this one under sad violin: Im told that, starting in early January, Meta will stop offering free EV charging at its Bay Area campuses. Keep your heads held high, Metamates.What else you should know aboutOpenAI teased its next o3 reasoning model (yes, o2 was skipped) with impressive evals.TikTok convinced the Supreme Court to hear its case just before its US ban is set to take effect. Meanwhile, CEO Shou Chew met with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago to (Im assuming) get a sense of what his other options are should TikTok lose its case.More tech-meets-Mar-a-Lago news: Elon Musk inserted himself into the meeting between Jeff Bezos and Trump. Robinhood donated $2 million to Trumps inauguration. And Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son pledged to invest $100 billion into AI tech in the US, which happens to be the same number he has floated for a chip venture to compete with Nvidia.Apple complained about Meta pressuring the EU to make iOS more compatible with third-party hardware. Anyone who has synced photos from the Ray-Ban Meta glasses to an iPhone will understand why this is a battle that is very important for Meta to win, especially as it gears up to release its own pair of AR glasses with a controller wristband next year.Amazon is delaying its return-to-office mandate in some cities because it doesnt have enough office space.Perplexity, which is projected to make $127 million in revenue next year, recently raised $500 million at a valuation of $9 billion. It also acquired another AI startup called Carbon to help it hook into other services, like Notion and Google Docs.Job boardA few notable moves this week:Meta promoted John Hegeman to chief revenue officer, reporting to COO Javier Olivan. Another one of Olivans reports, Justin Osofsky, was also promoted to be head of partnerships for the whole company, including the companys go-to-market strategy for Llama.Alec Radford, an influential, veteran OpenAI researcher who authored its original GPT research paper, is leaving but will apparently continue working with the company in some capacity. And Shivakumar Venkataraman, who was recently brought in from Google to lead OpenAIs search efforts, has also left.Coda co-founder and CEO Shishir Mehrotra will also run Grammarly now that the two companies are merging, with Grammarly CEO Rahul Roy-Chowdhury staying on as a board member.Tencent removed two directors, David Wallerstein and Ben Feder, from the board of Epic Games after the Justice Department said their involvement violated antitrust law.Former Twitter CFO Ned Segal has been tapped to be chief of housing and economic development for the city of San Francisco.More linksMy full Decoder interview with Arm CEO Rene Haas about the AI chip race, Intel, and more.Waymos new report shows that its AV system is far safer than human drivers.The US AI task forces recommendations and policy proposals.Apples most downloaded app of the year was Temu, followed by Threads, TikTok, and ChatGPT.Global spending on mobile apps increased 15.7 percent this year while overall downloads decreased 2.3 percent.If you arent already getting new issues of Command Line, dont forget to subscribe to The Verge, which includes unlimited access to all of our stories and an improved ad experience on the web. Youll also get access to the full archive of past issues.As always, I want to hear from you, especially if you have a tip or feedback. Respond here, and Ill get back to you, or ping me securely on Signal.Thanks for subscribing.

For education research, access to high-quality educational resources is critical for learners and educators. Often perceived as one of the most challenging subjects, mathematics requires clear explanations and well-structured resources to make learning more effective. However, creating and curating datasets focusing on mathematical education remains a formidable challenge. Many datasets for training machine learning models are proprietary, leaving little transparency in how educational content is selected, structured, or optimized for learning. The scarcity of accessible, open-source datasets addressing the complexity of mathematics leaves a gap in developing AI-driven educational tools.Recognizing the above issues, Hugging Face has introduced FineMath, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at democratizing access to high-quality mathematical content for both learners and researchers. FineMath represents a comprehensive and open dataset tailored for mathematical education and reasoning. FineMath addresses the core challenges of sourcing, curating, and refining mathematical content from diverse online repositories. This dataset is meticulously constructed to meet the needs of machine learning models aiming to excel in mathematical problem-solving and reasoning tasks.The dataset is divided into two primary versions:FineMath-3+: FineMath-3+ comprises 34 billion tokens derived from 21.4 million documents, formatted in Markdown and LaTeX to maintain mathematical integrity.FineMath-4+: FineMath-4+, a subset of FineMath-3+, boasts 9.6 billion tokens across 6.7 million documents, emphasizing higher-quality content with detailed explanations.These curated subsets ensure that both general learners and advanced models benefit from FineMaths robust framework.Creating FineMath required a multi-phase approach to extract and refine content effectively. It started with extracting raw data from CommonCrawl, leveraging advanced tools such as Resiliparse to capture text and formatting precisely. The initial dataset was evaluated using a custom classifier based on Llama-3.1-70B-Instruct. This classifier scored pages based on logical reasoning and the clarity of step-by-step solutions. Subsequent phases focused on expanding the datasets breadth while maintaining its quality. Challenges like the improper filtering of LaTeX notation in earlier datasets were addressed, ensuring better preservation of mathematical expressions. Deduplication and multilingual evaluation further enhanced the datasets relevance and usability.Image SourceFineMath has demonstrated superior performance on established benchmarks like GSM8k and MATH. Models trained on FineMath-3+ and FineMath-4+ showed significant mathematical reasoning and accuracy improvements. By combining FineMath with other datasets, such as InfiMM-WebMath, researchers can achieve a larger dataset with approximately 50 billion tokens while maintaining exceptional performance. FineMaths structure is optimized for seamless integration into machine learning pipelines. Developers can load subsets of the dataset using Hugging Faces robust library support, enabling easy experimentation and deployment for various educational AI applications.Image SourceIn conclusion, Hugging Faces FineMath dataset is a transformative contribution to mathematical education and AI. Addressing the gaps in accessibility, quality, and transparency sets a new benchmark for open educational resources. Future work for FineMath includes expanding language support beyond English, enhancing mathematical notation extraction and preservation, developing advanced quality metrics, and creating specialized subsets tailored to different educational levels.Check out the Collection and Dataset. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our60k+ ML SubReddit. Trending: LG AI Research Releases EXAONE 3.5: Three Open-Source Bilingual Frontier AI-level Models Delivering Unmatched Instruction Following and Long Context Understanding for Global Leadership in Generative AI Excellence.The post Hugging Face Releases FineMath: The Ultimate Open Math Pre-Training Dataset with 50B+ Tokens appeared first on MarkTechPost.

Autoregressive protein language models (pLMs) have become transformative tools for designing functional proteins with remarkable diversity, demonstrating success in creating enzyme families like lysozymes and carbonic anhydrases. These models generate protein sequences by sampling from learned probability distributions, uncovering intrinsic patterns within training datasets. Despite their ability to explore high-quality subspaces of the sequence landscape, pLMs struggle to target rare and valuable regions, limiting their effectiveness in tasks like engineering enzymatic activity or binding affinity. This challenge, compounded by the vast sequence space and expensive wet lab validation, makes protein optimization a complex problem. Traditional methods like directed evolution, which iteratively select desired traits, are limited to local exploration and lack tools for steering long-term evolutionary trajectories toward specific biological functions.RL offers a promising framework to guide pLMs toward optimizing specific properties by aligning model outputs with feedback from an external oracle, such as predicted stability or binding affinities. Drawing inspiration from RL applications in robotics and gaming, recent efforts have applied RL techniques to protein design, demonstrating the potential to explore rare events and balance exploration-exploitation trade-offs efficiently. Examples include Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) for DNA and protein design and Direct Preference Optimization (DPO) for thermostability prediction and binder design. While these studies showcase RLs potential, there remains a need for experimentally validated, publicly available RL frameworks tailored to generative pLMs, which could advance the field of protein engineering.Researchers from Universitat Pompeu Fabra, the Centre for Genomic Regulation, and other leading institutions developed DPO_pLM, an RL framework for optimizing protein sequences with generative pLMs. By fine-tuning pLMs using rewards from external oracles, DPO_pLM optimizes diverse user-defined properties without additional data while preserving sequence diversity. It outperforms traditional fine-tuning methods by reducing computational demands, mitigating catastrophic forgetting, and leveraging negative data. Demonstrating its effectiveness, DPO_pLM successfully designed nanomolar-affinity EGFR binders within hours.The study introduces DPO and self-fine-tuning (s-FT) for optimizing protein sequences. DPO minimizes loss functions, including ranked and weighted forms, with negative log-likelihood proving effective. s-FT refines ZymCTRL iteratively, generating, ranking, and fine-tuning top sequences across 30 iterations. Model training uses Hugging Faces transformers API, employing batch sizes of 4, a learning rate of 810, and evaluation every 10 steps. Structural similarity is assessed using ESMFold and Foldseek, while functional annotations rely on ESM1b embeddings and cosine similarity with CLEAN clusters. EGFR binder design applies fine-tuning on BLAST-retrieved sequences, followed by AlphaFold folding and optimization to enhance binder performance.pLMs generate sequences resembling their training data and often achieve high functionality despite significant sequence deviations. For instance, ZymCTRL, trained on enzyme data with EC labels, created carbonic anhydrases with wild-type activity but only 39% sequence identity. Similarly, generated -amylases outperformed wild-type activity. However, pLMs primarily replicate training set distributions, lacking precise control for optimizing specific properties like activity or stability. By applying RL, particularly methods like DPO, pLMs can be fine-tuned iteratively using feedback from oracles, enabling the generation of sequences with targeted properties while preserving diversity and quality.In conclusion, pLMs excel at sampling from distributions but struggle to optimize specific properties. DPO_pLM overcomes this limitation by utilizing Direct Preference Optimization DPO, which refines sequences through external oracles without additional training data. ZymCTRL evaluations showed rapid and robust performance, enriching enzyme classes and folds in multi-objective tasks. In an EGFR binder design experiment, DPO_pLM achieved a 50% success rate, generating three nanomolar binders after 12 iterations in just hours. Unlike fine-tuning, DPO maximizes preference rewards, improving global predictions efficiently. Future work will focus on integrating DPO_pLM into automated labs for protein design innovations.Check out the Paper. All credit for this research goes to the researchers of this project. Also,dont forget to follow us onTwitter and join ourTelegram Channel andLinkedIn Group. Dont Forget to join our60k+ ML SubReddit. Sana Hassan+ postsSana Hassan, a consulting intern at Marktechpost and dual-degree student at IIT Madras, is passionate about applying technology and AI to address real-world challenges. With a keen interest in solving practical problems, he brings a fresh perspective to the intersection of AI and real-life solutions. [Download] Evaluation of Large Language Model Vulnerabilities Report (Promoted)

LatestMachine LearningIs AI Worth the Cost? ROI Insights for CEOs Targeting 2025 Growth 0 like December 20, 2024Share this postAuthor(s): Konstantin Babenko Originally published on Towards AI. Source: Image by ImageFlow on Shutterstock74% of companies fail at AI ROI discover what you can do to drive real results.According to a current NTT Data digital business survey, nearly all companies have implemented generative AI solutions, while 83% have created expert or advanced teams for the technology. The Global GenAI Report, spanning respondents within 34 countries and 12 industries, showed that 97% of CEOs expect a material change from generative AI adoption. The same report states that knowledge management, service recommendation, quality assurance, and research and development are the most valuable areas for implementing generative AI.These findings present how generative AI is perceived in a collective sense as the enabler for change. Carlos Galve,Having put a lot of effort into building their AI capabilities, recruiting AI talent, and experimenting with AI pilots, todays CEOs expect ROI from the innovation. Nevertheless, the full realization of AIs potential still presents a challenge. Current research shows that only 26% of companies are equipped with the relevant capabilities to convert AI from proof of concept into value creation (Boston Consulting Group, 2024).This article focuses on the current AI implementation in 2024 and the future trends for 2025 based on the analysis of the latest industry research. The piece will empower CEOs and C-level executives to proactively adapt their business strategies, ensuring they stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly AI-driven marketplace.AI Value DistributionAs per the BCG report, organizations derive as high as 60% of the generative AI value from the core business functions:23% Operations20% Sales and Marketing13% R&D38% Support functions12% Customer service7% IT7% Procurement.It also reveals a wide divergence between industries. Sales and marketing are reported to drive the most value from AI in software, travel and tourism, media, and telecommunications industries. Customer service appears as a prime area where the value of AI usage is tangible in the insurance and banking spheres, whereas consumer goods and retail industries are experiencing massive growth in personalization through AI.Source: Image by SuPatMaN on ShutterstockWhat Separates AI Leaders from the RestThe BCG report covers a major disconnect between AI adoption. Only 4% of companies have cutting-edge AI capabilities that provide major value and another 22% (AI leaders) are reaping big benefits from advanced strategies. On the opposite end of the spectrum, 74% of companies have not yet seen tangible benefits from AI.According to Nicolas de Bellefonds, senior partner at BCG, AI leaders are raising the bar with more ambitious goals. They focus on finding meaningful outcomes on cost and topline, and they focus on core function transformation, not diffuse productivity gains.Lets take a closer look at what makes AI leaders excel:1. Core business focus. Core processes generate 62% of leaders AI value, with leaders optimizing support functions to deliver a broader impact.2. Ambitious goals. By 2027, they plan to invest twice as much in AI and workforce enablement, scale twice as many AI solutions, and generate 60% more revenue growth and 50% more cost reductions.3. Balanced approach. Over half of leaders are using AI to transform the cost of their business and a third are using AI to generate revenue compared to their peers.4. Strategic prioritization. Leaders focus on fewer, higher-impact opportunities to double their ROI and scale twice as many AI solutions as others.5. People over technology. Leaders allocate 70% of resources to people and processes, thus assuring sustainable AI integration.6. Early adoption of GenAI. Generative AI is quickly adopted by leaders emerging as a modern tool for content creation, reasoning, and system orchestration, leading the curve.Results That Speak VolumesOver the past 3 years, AI leaders have demonstrated 1.5x revenue growth, 1.6x shareholder returns, and 1.4x ROI, outperforming their peers. In addition to superior financial performance, they are also crushing in nonfinancial areas such as patent filings and employee satisfaction, demonstrating how their people-first, core-focused strategies are driving transformational outcomes.Challenges Faced in the Process of AI IntegrationAccording to the BCG report, organizations experience different issues with the implementation of AI; among them, 70% are linked to people and processes. The remaining 30% covers such categories as technology (20%) and AI algorithms (10%). The survey underlines that many companies tend to think of themselves as primarily technical organizations while the human aspect is what should not be overlooked if an enterprise wants its AI endeavors to succeed.The Human-Centric GapAI integration is not just about deploying the latest technology; it is about having a workforce that is prepared to accept AI-driven changes. Lack of AI literacy, resistance to change and unclear roles in AI initiatives can often derail progress. The way leaders overcome these challenges is by investing in workforce enablement and training programs as well as building a culture in which data-backed decisions are valued.Technology and AlgorithmsOn the technical side, it is difficult to integrate AI into existing systems, scale solutions across departments and keep data of the right quality. Leaders tackle these issues by strategically prioritizing a few high-value opportunities, with robust infrastructure and data governance practices.Bridging the GapHow well you balance the technical and human parts is key to success in AI integration. Leaders put the wheels in motion for sustainable AI adoption by placing 70% of resources in people and processes, proving that its not just algorithms that unlock AIs potential, but also the technology with human capital and operational processes.Source: Image by SuPatMaN on ShutterstockEnterprise AI Perspective for 2025The role of AI in the enterprise environment will make further progress in 2025 as an influential element of changes in business development strategies and operational activities. Therefore, as technology advances, automation will become complementary to human talent and the way organizations manage human capital will change further. In the future, the primary competitive advantage will not lie in developing or tuning LLMs, but in their applications.Technology complement will be one of the significant trends to be noticed in the adoption of AI because of the need to have human talent plus technology talent in an organization. Instead of outsourcing jobs to robotics, enterprises will look for tools that increase the competency and efficiency of their workers. This approach keeps the tacit knowledge of the employees within the organization as a key resource.Data assets will remain or may even become more important as we move into 2025, as the efficiency of utilizing company-specific information will turn into a competitive advantage. Therefore, organizations need to make their data AI-prepared, which goes through several stages including cleaning, validating, structuring, and checking the ownership of the data set. AI governance software adoption will also be equally important, estimated to have four times more spending by 2030.As the adoption of AI continues to rise, questions about its use, costs and return on investment will also increase. By 2025, a new issue will enter the picture: determining how much more it could cost to expand the use of AI and how much value organizations will be getting from these investments. Solving such issues requires finding new modern frameworks and methodologies, which will supplant already known simple KPIs, and measure customer satisfaction, decision-making, and innovation acceleration.To sum up, the role of AI in the enterprise landscape of 2025 leads to certain challenges, such as workforce augmentation, data asset management, defining cost and ROI, and dealing with disruption.Final ThoughtsFor CEOs navigating the complexities of AI integration, the insights from this article provide a clear takeaway: AI future isnt just about technology, its about leveraging the power of AI to make business value real and meaningful, aligning AI capabilities with human potential.Looking into 2025, leaders will need to think about AI not as a standalone innovation but as an integral part of the driving force of an organizations strategy.There is a wide gap between the leaders and laggards in AI adoption. The difference between leaders and the rest is that they are able to prioritize high-impact opportunities, invest in workforce enablement and treat AI as a tool to drive transformation, not incremental improvement. CEOs should ask themselves:Are we placing bets on AI initiatives directly touching our core business functions? Leaders here get 60% of their AI value, optimizing operations, sales and marketing.Are we ready for AI-driven change in our workforce? To bridge the human-technology gap, resources will continue to be allocated to upskilling employees and developing a data-first culture.Do we have the infrastructure to scale AI solutions effectively? Robust data governance and scalable systems are important because scattered pilots wont yield tangible value.From my experience, enterprise AI deployments show the best results when organizations think of AI adoption as a collaboration of human expertise and technological progress. This requires CEOs to implement a long-term, strategic approach: define ambitious but achievable goals, focus on fewer, high-value AI initiatives, and create a culture open to change.Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming asponsor. Published via Towards AITowards AI - Medium Share this post

As part of its last minute Christmas sale, Best Buy is offering a great deal on our favorite budget gaming chair. Right now, you can pick up a Corsair TC100 Relaxed Chair in Black Leatherette upholstery for30% Off Corsair TC100 Relaxed Gaming ChairCorsair TC100 Relaxed Gaming ChairThe TC100 Relaxed is Corsair's least expensive gaming chair available. The "Relaxed" series offers a broader seat width and minimal bolstering on the sides to fit a wider range of body sizes. This gaming chair can hold up to 264lbs, accommodate heights up to 6' 2" tall, and features a height adjustment range of 45-65cm (21.725.5"). It is available in either fabric or leatherette, (although the leatherette model is a bit more affordable at the moment). Although the chair doesn't have any internal lumbar adjustments, it does include a headrest and lumbar pillow in the package. This chair is reclinable up to 160 degrees and has 2D armrests. It's also backed by a two-year warranty. If you don't want to spend $400 or more on a gaming chair, then the TC100 Relaxed is seriously a gaming chair worth buying.Why Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

The best Black Friday deal I saw on Apple AirTags is back, and you can even get it before Christmas. Amazon and Best Buy are both offering a four-pack of Apple AirTags keyfinders for only $69.99. That's $30 off the retail price and only $16.50 for each AirTag. This would make an excellent last-minute stocking stuffer gift idea for anyone who owns an iPhone and tends to lose small wearables like wallets, keys, or remotes. Both Amazon and Best Buy can deliver this item before 12/25.4-Pack Apple AirTags for $69.994-Pack Apple AirTagsThe Apple Airtag is a small coin-shaped device that you can put in your wallet or attach to your phones, keys, remote, or anything small enough to be easily misplaced. It works as a little Wi-Fi keyfinder that helps locate your lost objects by pinging its general location to your iPhone using Bluetooth 5.0. However, if your iPhone model has a U1 chip with Ultra Wideband, then you can take advantage of the "Precision Finding" mode. This gives you numerical distance and direction guidance when your lost item is close by. It points you right to it. The CR2032 coin battery is also user-replaceable.Why Should You Trust IGN's Deals Team?IGN's deals team has a combined 30+ years of experience finding the best discounts in gaming, tech, and just about every other category. We don't try to trick our readers into buying things they don't need at prices that aren't worth buying something at. Our ultimate goal is to surface the best possible deals from brands we trust and our editorial team has personal experience with. You can check out our deals standards here for more information on our process, or keep up with the latest deals we find on IGN's Deals account on Twitter.Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Anime-inspired tower defense Roblox experience Anime Defenders just got its Christmas Update, and with it comes holiday maps, a new battle pass, units, and more.Developer Small World Games published the latest patch for its popular take on tower dense strategy for fans across all devices to help celebrate the season. Although December is quickly coming to a close, the update adds more than enough winter-themed distractions to keep players preoccupied for weeks to come. Highlights include various Christmas decorations and maps, hidden presents to find, a new Gold Shop, and Leaderboard Season 5.Those hopping into Anime Defenders after the Christmas Update will first notice the snow, presents, and trees that now pollute the lobby. These are more than just festive trinkets, though, as the added clutter has been used to carefully hide presents that, once acquired, unlock some of those new maps. Completing additional Santa Claus quests can unlock even more goodies, with daily quests also gifting players with rewards should they continue to log in between now and December 26. There's also a limited Christmas Banner, which contains six new units to collect.Anime Defenders Christmas Update is available now.In addition to every new holiday item added as part of the Anime Defenders Christmas Update, players can take advantage of a new trading currency: Emerald. While the introduction of a new currency is exciting, Small World does clarify that most items, with the exception of gifts, are now untradable.Anime Defenders is one of many Roblox experiences choosing to celebrate the holidays with special Christmas updates. Blade Ball launched into its winter plans earlier this month with its Festivities Update. Christmas may only be one week away, but developers will surely continue to add more themed content throughout December. In the meantime, you can see our full list of every active Anime Defenders code here.You can check out the full patch notes from the Christmas Update below.Anime Defenders Christmas Update Patch NotesCHRISTMAS UPDATE IS HERE!This update contains a whole lot of content, including new maps, units, and more!New Limited Christmas Banner!Contains Units:Novice MageNovice DragonSwift AssassinSpirit DemonExorcistCrazed BrawlerUses Snowflake CurrencyYou can convert your Gems and Relics into Snowflakes!New Christmas Maps!Map 1: Frozen Peaks (Unlocked by Completing Day 1 Quest)Chance to obtain map mythic Blade ExpertMap 2: Dark Icy Woods, (Unlocked by Completing Day 4 Quest)Chance to obtain map mythic Swiftblade PrinceMap 3: Skyline District (Unlocked by Completing Day 6 Quest)Chance to obtain map secret Crimson TyrantSanta Claus QuestsDaily Quests with Exciting Rewards!Daily Quests from Day 1 9 (18 December to 26 December)Complete the Day 9 quest for a Christmas Gift!Christmas Gift contains Mythic-Ancient Rewards!New Christmas Battlepass!Unlock the limited secret unit Draconic Warrior!New Unit Skins!Equip limited-time skins on your favorite units!Skins can change the look of your unit in battle and make them stand out!New Christmas Bundles!Added 4 new Christmas bundles in the shop!Each bundle contains exclusive items, currency, and rewards to help you this season.New Christmas Gift Items!Collect Christmas Gifts during the event!Open them to receive rewards like MythicUnits, Secret Units, and more!New Gold ShopSpend your Gold in this everlasting shop!Discounts come and go every day.New Leaderboard Season!Enjoy Season 5 of leaderboards!Happy Grinding!New Trading Changes: EmeraldMost Items (except Gifts) are now untradable.Introducing a new trade currency called Emerald!Merry Christmas, Defenders!Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.

Over the past few months, two big waves of Apple Intelligence features have debuted via iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2. While some have speculated Apple is planning paid AI services in the future, Apples CEO Tim Cook recently said that charging has never even been discussed. Heres why.Apple views AI as being sort of like multitouchSteven Levy at WIRED interviewed Tim Cook recently about AI and more. One key quote has stuck with me since that interview was published earlier this month.Levy: Some companies charge for AI-enhanced services. Did you consider that?Cook: We never talked about charging for it. We view it sort of like multitouch, which enabled the smartphone revolution and the modern tablet.Straight from the CEO himself, Apple reportedly never talked about charging for AI.His reasoning is interesting, positioning AI as a sort of fundamental new technology akin to multitouch and more.But it also highlights a big difference between Apple and its AI competitors. That difference, I think, points to an even more important reason why monetization wasnt on the table for Apple.Hardware remains Apples big business, bankrolling everything else the company doesWhen multitouch debuted on the first iPhone, it was technically a free feature, yes. But it was inseparably tied to what was then a very expensive new product.Apple Intelligence is very similar.Apple isnt charging for AI, but you also cant use Apple Intelligence unless you first buy a compatible iPhone, iPad, or Mac.Unlike the vast majority of other AI players, Apple has built its primary business around hardware.The company does have an ever-growing services business, but the bulk of its revenue is still tied to hardware. And within that hardware bucket, nothing compares to Apples iPhone revenue.So yes, Apple Intelligence is technically free as part of iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2. But thats only because Apple first sold you an iPhone.And Tim Cook knows that very well.Apple can give AI away, at no extra charge, because its doing just fine selling us all new iPhones.What do you think of Tim Cooks statement? Let us know in the comments.Best iPhone accessoriesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel