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Microsoft Surface Laptop and Tablets

Courtesy: Microsoft

Microsoft on Thursday unveiled new Surface computers and shared details on the release of this year’s version of Windows 11, including its embedded Copilot AI assistant, during an event in New York.

The company introduced the Surface Laptop Studio 2 and the Surface Laptop Go 3, and unveiled enterprise availability for Microsoft 365 Copilot, its supplemental AI tool for core productivity apps like Word and Excel.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella began the event by speaking about how the company’s Copilot AI tools will make a broad impact across its user base for consumers and enterprises.

“I mean, it’s crazy,” he said. “It’s kind of like the 90s are back. It’s exciting to be in a place where we’re bringing some software innovation and really having fun enjoying this entire journey.”

Rivals such as Atlassian, Google and Salesforce have also been racing to update their existing products with generative AI this year.

The Surface Laptop Studio 2 starts at $1,999, while the Surface Laptop Go 3 starts at $799. Both will ship with Microsoft’s revamped Windows 11 operating system, which includes its Copilot software. The new Surface models will be available Oct. 3 and are available for pre-order today, Microsoft said. 

Notably absent from the event was Panos Panay, the Microsoft executive who presented Surface computers to the public for a decade. On Monday Microsoft announced a series of leadership changes as it disclosed that Panay was leaving.

Here’s a rundown of Thursday’s news:

Windows 11 update

Microsoft’s updated Paint app for Windows 11 will allow people to create images by just typing in a few words.

Microsoft

Microsoft said it will begin rolling out the next major update to Windows 11 on Sept. 26.

The update will include the new Copilot in the Bing search engine and the Edge web browser, and people will be able to summon the Copilot by holding down the Windows key and pressing the C key.

Here are some of the key features of the new version:

Testers have gotten access to some of these features in early builds in recent months.

Copilot for advertising

Microsoft Advertising Platform will get a Copilot assistant that will be able to create advertising copy and imagery.

Microsoft

Microsoft is also incorporating generative AI into its advertising tool, although the company did not disclose when exactly it will do so.  A Copilot for the Microsoft Advertising Platform will be able to answer marketers’ questions through a chat interface.

And over time, it will help automate the process of coming up with ads. Alphabet and Meta have both been active in this area.

“Using Copilot in the Microsoft Advertising Platform, you can tailor content, design, and strategies to your branding and advertising goals, creating stunning and effective ads in minutes,” Kya Sainsbury-Carter, corporate VP for advertising at Microsoft, wrote in a blog post.

Surface Laptop Studio 2

Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio

Courtesy: Microsoft

The Surface Laptop Studio 2 has a similar look and feel to the original model that launched in 2021. It can be used like a traditional laptop with a keyboard, but customers can also lay it flat and use it like a tablet.

It offers a 13th-generation Intel Core chip, with a few options for Nvidia graphics processing units: the GeForce RTX 4050 or 4060, or the RTX 2000 Ada Generation. Models with Nvidia graphics will come with 120-watt power supplies. Or people can choose integrated graphics with Intel Iris Xe.

Microsoft has also added a single traditional USB-A port, along with a MicroSD card reader.

People can choose to include up to 64GB of RAM, compared with a maximum of 32GB in the first iteration.

The device has an 14.4-inch screen and is the “most powerful Surface ever built,” Brett Ostrum, Microsoft’s VP of Surface devices, said at the event. He added that the Surface Laptop Studio 2 is twice as fast as the previous model, and it also features an updated haptic touchpad, which is the “most inclusive touchpad on any laptop today.”

Models with 2TB of storage and Nvidia graphics boast up to 16 hours of battery life, while devices with less space and Nvidia cards can deliver up to 18 hours, while Intel graphics models have a 19-hour capacity, Microsoft said. The company claimed the inaugural Surface Laptop Studio boasted 18 hours of battery life, but CNBC found it generally lasted closer to 4.5 hours.

The new version starts at $1,999, compared with $1,599 for the original model.

Surface Laptop Go 3

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go

Courtesy: Microsoft

Surface Go 4

Microsoft Surface Go For Business

Courtesy: Microsoft

Microsoft announced the Surface Go 4, the latest miniature version of its Surface Pro tablet that’s available exclusively for organizations. The company suggested in a release that the new model could be especially useful for businesses and frontline workers.

The Surface Go 4 can be docked to a monitor, used as a laptop with a paired keyboard or like a tablet using the touch screen.

It’s powered by an Intel N200 processor. The Surface Go 4 also features an 10.5-inch touchscreen display and supports 12.5 hours of battery life, which is an increase from the 11 hours of battery life offered by the Surface Go 3.

Surface Hub 3

Surface Hub 3

Courtesy: Microsoft

Microsoft hasn’t forgotten about its Surface Hub, its large touchscreen device for use in the office.

A 85-inch model and a smaller 50-inch option offer organizations an easy way to join Teams video calls. During Teams calls, software will be able to remove the background from various participants and adjust their sizes, Microsoft product marketing director Frank Buchholz wrote in a blog post.

The smaller version can switch between portrait and landscape modes. Two people can simultaneously draw or write on the devices with Surface Hub Pens or Surface Slim pens.

Microsoft is touting 60% better performance in the main processor of these devices and a 160% bump for their graphics processing units.

Microsoft 365 Copilot release for big businesses

Large organizations will be able to start paying for Microsoft 365 Copilot starting Nov. 1.

The launch could provide a financial boost to Microsoft 365, formerly known as Office 365, a key part of the business that had 382 million commercial seats in the fiscal third quarter. Microsoft said enterprises can call their account representatives to get started.

Companies that participated in the tool’s early access program will be given first chance to deploy the software, which will cost $30 per person per month on top of Microsoft 365’s existing costs. Microsoft has also started allowing some small businesses into the early access program.

“In the testing that we’ve already done with preview customers, you’re in a meeting, you can have a meeting summary, and the AI can summarize the entire meeting and give it to you in bite-sized chunks, Yusuf Mehdi, the new head of Surface and Windows at Microsoft, told CNBC’s Steve Kovach.

“If you missed the meeting, you can tell me what happened out of it, you can say to get action items, what did my boss say, when was I mentioned, and you can get all that. That time is unbelievably precious, and for $30 a month, it’s an incredible value. People really love that capability.”

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Nvidia deepens India footprint with $2 billion deep tech alliance to mentor AI startups

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Nvidia deepens India footprint with  billion deep tech alliance to mentor AI startups

Co-founder and CEO of Nvidia Jensen Huang spoke to journalists during a trip to Beijing in July.

Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Nvidia will help train and mentor emerging deep tech startups in India as a founding member of a $2 billion investment alliance, deepening its presence in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem.

The U.S. chipmaker has joined the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) — a group of private equity and venture capital investors pledging $2 billion for deep tech investments — as a founding member. Deep tech startups are an umbrella term for emerging companies in semiconductors, space, AI, biotech, robotics, and energy.

The world’s most valuable company will offer technical talks and training through its Nvidia Deep Learning Institute to emerging startups in India.

Nvidia wants to “provide guidance on AI systems, developer enablement, and responsible deployment, and to collaborate with policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs,” Vishal Dhupar, Nvidia’s managing director of South Asia, said.

Nvidia did not disclose any financial investment, timeline, or training targets, and did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

“Nvidia’s depth of expertise in AI systems, software, and ecosystem-building will benefit our network of investors and entrepreneurs,” said Sriram Viswanathan, founding executive council member of the IDTA.

He told CNBC that the pace of innovation is accelerating in India and there could be a “significant number of Indian deep tech companies of global repute” in the next five years.

The Indian government is also actively encouraging research and innovation in the deep tech space through major initiatives, including over 100 billion rupees ($1.1 billion USD) under its AI Mission and a separate 1 trillion rupees ($11.2 billion) Research, Development and Innovation Scheme Fund targeting deep tech companies.

On Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the country will host the AI Impact Summit in February next year.

The event is likely to see the participation of heads of state and top policymakers, along with business leaders such as Jensen Huang, chief executive officer of NVIDIA, and Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind.

Nvidia’s commitment in India coincides with rising global interest in India’s AI market, where OpenAI counts the country as its second-largest user base. U.S. rivals are also deepening ties: Google recently pledged $15 billion to build an AI hub in the southern city of Visakhapatnam.

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Wall Street is too fixated on the high valuations of tech and speculative stocks, Cramer says

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Wall Street is too fixated on the high valuations of tech and speculative stocks, Cramer says

Some stocks deserve a higher premium, says Jim Cramer

CNBC’s Jim Cramer suggested Wall Street is too fixated the on large valuations of certain tech and speculative stocks, chalking up Tuesday’s market-wide decline in part to Palantir‘s nearly 8% loss despite strong earnings results.

“The larger issue is that we’re at the moment where money managers, when asked if the market’s too expensive, immediately think of the high-flying speculative stocks or those in the high-growth artificial intelligence column, and so they warn you away from the entire asset class,” he said. “These guys don’t think of the other 334 stocks in the S&P 500 that sell for less than 23 times earnings — those aren’t outrageous.”

Declines in Palantir and other artificial intelligence companies helped bring stocks down on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 losing 1.17%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shedding 0.53% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sinking 2.04%. Palantir managed to beat the estimates and offer solid guidance, citing growth in the artificial intelligence business. But investors worried broadly about the huge valuations of tech giants that have been leading the market to new heights.

Investors who saw Palantir as their “north star” were alarmed by its big pullback after a great quarter, according to Cramer. The fears triggered “a raft of selling” as these investors questioned the market as a whole, he continued.

Palantir can be a tough stock to classify, Cramer suggested, saying it straddles two different market segments — one centered around tech and artificial intelligence, and another focused on speculative stocks. He noted that the data-driven software company is very lucrative and fast growing, and it “defies easy description.” He listed off a number of its business arms — including its work as a defense contractor and as a consultant for companies looking to modernize and improve profitability.

To Cramer, it’s reasonable to consider that there’s nothing wrong with Palantir, and it just needs “to cool off in order to grow into its market capitalization.”

“Sure, there are indeed some stocks that are visibly overvalued, and when you pull them apart, many of these valuations can be justified, some can’t,” he said. “I think the Magnificent Seven can be justified on the pace of the growth that’s ahead of them. Same, ultimately, with Palantir.”

Nearly a million workers are unpaid during shutdown, Wall Street can't ignore it, says Jim Cramer

Jim Cramer’s Guide to Investing

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Bitcoin retail investor at ‘max desperation,’ says Bitwise CIO, but crypto winter not coming

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Bitcoin retail investor at 'max desperation,' says Bitwise CIO, but crypto winter not coming

'I think crypto market is close to a bottom': Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan

Bitcoin‘s fall below $100,000, its lowest level since June, has sparked fears that the worst is yet to come, another so-called crypto winter (a prolonged bear market in cryptocurrencies) that the market wrestles with every time digital currencies sell off hard in a short period of time.

But Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan says that while the retail investor is in “max desperation” mode, he sees that as a reason to bet that a bottoming in crypto prices may materialize sooner rather than later. With Wall Street institutional investor and financial advisor support for bitcoin, and growth in crypto ETFs, he is even willing to go out on a limb and say that amid the heavy selling a new record high for bitcoin before the end of the year isn’t unreasonable.

“It’s almost a tale of two markets,” he said on CNBC’s “Crypto World” on Tuesday. “Crypto retail is in max desperation. We’ve seen leverage blowouts. … the market for sort of crypto native retail is just more depressed than I’ve ever seen it,” he said.

But Hougan believes more crypto trading will continue to shift into an institutionally driven market, “and interestingly, that market is still bullish,” he said.

“When I go out and speak to institutions or financial advisors, they’re still excited to allocate to an asset class that if you pan back and look over the course of a year, is still delivering very strong returns. So my view of the market is we have to get through this retail flush out. We have to hit bottom from a sentiment perspective. I think we’re very close to that,” he added.

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Price of bitcoin and ether over the past year.

The boom in crypto exchange-traded fund launches, including iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is changing the investor composition, and while week-to-week flows into these ETFs have slowed since the second quarter of the year, “we continue to see strong inflows into bitcoin,” Hougan said.

He expects more support to materialize for crypto into the end of the year among financial advisors who will look past the current dip and see an “opportunity to show their clients that they understand where this market is going.”

Bitwise’s own Solana staking ETF (BSOL) brought in over $400 million in flows in its first week, he said, though it has sold off sharply in the recent crypto downturn, with a near 20% loss since its Oct. 28 debut.

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This chart is showing BSOL 5 days

Last week, Strategy CEO Michael Saylor told CNBC he thinks bitcoin could reach $150,000 by the end of the year, one among several recent bullish calls on crypto that for now at least look ill-timed. But Hougan said he doesn’t think it’s an outlandish call even as bitcoin hovers near a six-month low.

“I think bitcoin could easily end the year at new all-time highs,” Hougan said. “So that means getting north of about $125,000 up to $130,000. Whether we’ll get all the way to $150,000, we’ll have to see.”

“I do think the sellers are nearing exhaustion and the buyers are still relatively hungry. And when those two things sort of cross paths, again, I think we could end the year close to or at new all-time highs. And if we’re lucky, we’ll get to Saylor’s target as well,” he said.

Institutional investors, whom Hougan described as “more maybe even keeled about what’s going on at a fundamental level in crypto” will start to drive the market forward. “But we do have to finish this washout of retail sentiment … I think we’re closer to the end of that than the beginning, but … there always could be a little bit more downside.”

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