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Welcome to The Prompt by Kuro House, your daily AI update. Today, we’re diving into some exciting product launches, privacy breakthroughs, and major moves in the AI and tech world. Let’s get right into it.

First up, a fresh take on privacy-conscious AI assistants has arrived. Signal co-founder Moxie Marlinspike just launched Confer, a ChatGPT-style AI that puts privacy front and center, as reported by TechCrunch. Unlike typical AI services, Confer encrypts your conversations and processes them in a Trusted Execution Environment, meaning the host never accesses your data. This setup prevents your chats from being used to train models or target ads, addressing growing concerns about data privacy in AI. Confer offers a free tier with 20 messages daily, while a $35 monthly subscription unlocks unlimited chats and more advanced features.

Next, an inspiring startup story from TechCrunch about Runpod, an AI cloud hosting platform. Runpod began as a Reddit post and has since skyrocketed to a $120 million annual revenue run rate in just four years. The founders turned their cryptocurrency mining rigs into AI servers before ChatGPT even existed, solving a painful problem with GPU software stacks. Today, Runpod supports half a million developers worldwide, including big names like OpenAI and Zillow, offering fast, dev-friendly AI hosting across 31 regions. They’ve bootstrapped, landed a $20 million seed round, and are planning a Series A to fuel even more growth.

In the world of VR, Meta’s Reality Labs division took a hit this week. The Verge reports that Ryan Payton, founder of Camouflaj, one of Meta’s remaining VR studios, was laid off amid broader job cuts. Camouflaj is now reportedly down to just a handful of employees focusing on new user experiences for upcoming hardware. This marks a significant shift, signaling Meta’s ongoing restructuring and challenges in its VR ambitions. We’ll be watching how this impacts the future of Meta’s VR ecosystem.

Samsung is shaking up its Frame TV lineup, but with some surprising changes. At CES, Samsung introduced new Frame TV sizes, including 75-, 85-, and 98-inch models, plus a smaller 55-inch Frame Pro, according to The Verge. However, they’re backing away from their One Connect Box, with only the 43- and 50-inch models supporting it moving forward. This signals a shift in Samsung’s strategy for modular TV components and could affect how consumers set up their home entertainment systems. It’s a subtle but notable product evolution to keep an eye on.

Finally, a deep dive into startup drama from WIRED reveals leadership challenges at Thinking Machines Lab. The cofounder and former CTO, Barret Zoph, was confronted over an alleged office relationship deemed serious misconduct. Following this, Zoph’s working relationship with CEO Mira Murati deteriorated, leading to his departure and subsequent hiring by OpenAI. Meanwhile, multiple other Thinking Machines researchers have also moved to OpenAI and Meta, highlighting broader tensions and misalignments within the startup. Interestingly, the startup is seeking to raise capital at a $50 billion valuation, up from $12 billion.

So that’s a wrap on today’s top AI and tech stories. From privacy-first AI assistants to startup success and shakeups, the landscape keeps evolving fast. Thanks for listening to The Prompt by Kuro House, where we keep you ahead of the curve. Catch you tomorrow for more insights.