Business

NEW YORK — ChatGPT, Silicon Valley's latest app sensation, has investors rushing to find the next big thing in generative AI, the technology that some hail as the beginning of a new era in big tech.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasingly present in everyday life for decades, but the November launch of the conversational robot from start-up OpenAI marked a turning point in its perception by the general public and investors.

"Every so often we have platforms that come along and result in an explosion of new companies. We saw this with the internet and mobile, and AI could be the next platform." said Shernaz Daver of California-based Khosla Ventures.

Generative AI, of which ChatGPT is an example, wades through oceans of data to conjure up original content — an image, a poem, a thousand-word essay — in seconds and upon a simple request.

Since its discrete release in late November, ChatGPT has become one of the fastest growing apps ever and pushed Microsoft and Google to rush out projects that had until now stayed carefully guarded over fears that the technology wasn't yet ready for the public.

"Just five days after its release, a million people used ChatGPT — about 60 times faster than it took Facebook to reach one million users," said Wayne Hu, a partner at SignalFire, another venture capital firm..

"Suddenly investors are all talking about how ChatGPT might eliminate millions of knowledge worker jobs, disrupt trillion-dollar industries, and fundamentally change the way we learn, consume, and make decisions," he said.

The explosion of generative AI comes at an otherwise morose time for the tech sector, with tens of thousands of layoffs cascading through the world's biggest companies as well as smaller ones that are struggling for survival.

"While other categories are facing a contraction in valuations and raising capital, generative AI companies are not," said Daver.

Hu said that the market valuations for generative AI companies have been sky high, while they have contracted for everything else.

'Hard to keep up' 

OpenAI, the ChatGPT creator, is valued by Microsoft at nearly $30 billion despite still burning through money at a high speed, he said.

Entrepreneurs specialising in generative AI say they no longer need to scream out for attention when hunting for cash or walk through the details of what they are trying to offer.

"It's helped us a lot," said Sarah Nagy, founder of Seek AI, a start-up that allows nonspecialists to extract technical data from a database using queries in everyday language.

"Before ChatGPT... I had to explain what generative AI is, and why it matters," she added.

Now the appetite for ChatGPT-like capabilities is seemingly limitless, and not only from investors.

"The demand from customers has increased a lot," said Nagy. "It's even hard to keep up, because we're still a small company."

The entrepreneur wants to grow her team and, according to Daver, while the trend is to downsize, "we are currently hiring" in generative AI. 

In the last few weeks, it is mainly the giants that have been in the news, first and foremost Microsoft, OpenAI's partner and investor, followed by Google, which is trying to keep up. 

But in their shadow, a galaxy of start-ups have ideas on offer too. 

Other recent examples of funding rounds include California-based Kognitos, which aims to automate administrative tasks, and the platform for designers Poly that can whip out 3D graphics or maps in seconds. 

In addition to the usual venture capitalists, tech giants are on the lookout, like Google, which just invested $300 million to acquire 10 per cent of newcomer Anthropic and its chatbot Claude.

Hu said the ChatGPT "gold rush" could be unprecedented and expand well beyond Generative AI because the very technology itself minimises the need for a computer coder or designer to execute ideas. 

"Now you no longer need to get a Stanford PhD in computer science: any developer can build something amazing on top of ChatGPT and other foundation models in one weekend." 

"This wave of AI could be bigger than mobile or the cloud, and more on the scale of something like the Industrial Revolution that changed the course of human history," Hu said.

ZURICH — Swiss food giant Nestle and liquor group Pernod Ricard, owner of Absolut vodka and Jameson whiskey, announced fresh price hikes on Thursday due to inflation even as consumers across the world face a cost-of-living crunch.

Nestle, which makes Nespresso capsules, Maggi bouillons, KitKat chocolate bars and Purina pet food, said sales rose by 8.4 per cent to 94.4 billion Swiss francs (95.5 billion euros, $102.3 billion) in 2022.

But its real internal growth — a measure of sales volumes — was up just 0.1 per cent year-on-year, much lower than in 2021, suggesting that consumers were buying fewer of its products.

"Last year brought many challenges and tough choices for families, communities and businesses," Nestle Chief Executive Mark Schneider said.

"Inflation surged to unprecedented levels, cost-of-living pressures intensified and the effects of geopolitical tensions were felt around the world," he added, referring to the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The company raised its prices by 8.2 per cent on average last year as the cost of milk, grains and energy rose.

"Continued pricing action is needed to repair some of the damages we've taken from inflation," Schneider said in a conference call.

Last week, British consumer group Unilever, which makes Magnum ice cream, Cif surface cleaner and Dove soap, also reported rising sales in 2022 after raising its prices by 11.3 per cent on average.

But the group said its sales volume fell 2.1 per cent and warned that it would continue to face higher costs.

Nestle's underlying profit margin fell slightly to 17.1 per cent.

Net profits fell by 45 per cent to 9.3 billion francs in 2022 but the comparison with 2021 is deceptive since the disposal of shares Nestle held in L'Oreal boosted 2021 earnings.

Nestle's board proposed a dividend of 2.95 francs per share, a 0.15-franc increase.

For 2023, the company expects sales growth of between 6 and 8 per cent when excluding exceptional changes, down from the 8.3 per cent registered on this basis in 2022.

It hopes to hold, if not improve, its underlying trading operating profit margin, setting a target range of between 17 and 17.5 per cent.

Pricier liquor 

French spirits giant Pernod Ricard, whose other brands include Beefeater gin, Martell cognac and Havana Club rum, posted a net profit of 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion) for the six months to December, up 29 per cent from the same period in 2021.

Sales were up 19 per cent to 7.1 billion euros in the same span thanks to a 10 per cent price hike, with more increases looming.

"Costs were very high in this first half," chief financial officer Helene de Tissot told AFP, adding that glass, logistics and ingredients such as grains and rectified spirit are more expensive.

Shipping bottles to Asia and the United States is one of the group's biggest expenses.

"To protect our margins... we raised our prices significantly," De Tissot said, adding that prices would have to go up as production costs remain high.

WASHINGTON — World Bank chief David Malpass announced on Wednesday he would step down nearly a year early, ending a tenure at the head of the development lender that was clouded by questions over his climate stance.

The veteran of Republican administrations in the United States was appointed to the role in 2019 when Donald Trump was president and previously served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for international affairs.

His tenure at the World Bank saw the organisation grapple with global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and an international economic slowdown.

"After a good deal of thought, I've decided to pursue new challenges," the 66-year-old was quoted as saying in a statement from the bank, having informed its board of his decision.

"This is an opportunity for a smooth leadership transition as the Bank Group works to meet increasing global challenges," Malpass added.

In recent months, Malpass has come up against calls for his resignation or removal.

Climate activists had called for Malpass to be ousted for what they said was an inadequate approach to the climate crisis and the chorus grew louder after his appearance at a New York Times-organised conference last September.

Pressed on stage to respond to a claim by former US vice president Al Gore that he was a climate denier, Malpass declined several times to say if he believed man-made emissions were warming the planet — responding, "I'm not a scientist."

He later said he had no plans to stand down and moved to clarify his position, acknowledging that climate-warming emissions were coming from man-made sources, including fossil fuels.

The White House previously rebuked Malpass, with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying the expectation was for the bank to be a global leader on climate crisis response.

Quick response 

The bank said in a statement on Wednesday that it has "responded quickly" in the face of recent global challenges, in particular mobilising a record $440 billion to tackle climate change, the pandemic and other issues.

"Under [Malpass's] leadership, the Bank Group more than doubled its climate finance to developing countries, reaching a record $32 billion last year," the statement added.

In a note to staff seen by AFP, Malpass said: "Developing countries around the world are facing unprecedented crises and I'm proud that the Bank Group has continued to respond with speed, scale, innovation, and impact."

Malpass's term would have originally ended in 2024.

Environmental groups welcomed his departure.

"Under David Malpass, the @WorldBank lost valuable time in fighting climate change," tweeted Friends of the Earth.

"Not only did he fail to stop actions that fuel climate chaos and injustice, Malpass pushed for Wall Street-friendly policies that go against the public interest."

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the world has benefitted from his strong support for Ukraine, his work to assist the Afghan people and his commitment to helping low-income countries achieve debt sustainability through debt reduction.

She added that the United States looks forward to a swift nomination process by the World Bank's board for the organisation's next president.

"We will put forward a candidate to lead the World Bank and build on the Bank's longstanding work... and who will carry forward the vital work we are undertaking to evolve the multilateral development banks," she said.

The head of the World Bank is traditionally an American, while the leader of the other major international lender in Washington, the International Monetary Fund, tends to be European.

Prior to assuming his role as World Bank president, Malpass repeatedly lambasted the big development lenders as wasteful and ineffective and called for reforms.

AMMAN — Forbes Middle East has revealed its flagship annual list of the region’s most powerful businesswomen for 2023, ranking the female leaders championing business success in the Middle East and beyond. 

The list was constructed based on the size of the business, the individual’s impact, achievements, and performance over the last year, and the scope of CSR and other initiatives led by the person, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.  

Hana Al Rostamani, Group CEO of the First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), climbed two spots to land first place this year. In June 2022, FAB completed a merger with Bank Audi Egypt under the umbrella of FABMISR, making it one of the largest foreign banks in Egypt, with assets worth $10 billion as of March 2022. 

Raja Easa Al Gurg, Chairperson and Managing Director of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group, and Lubna S. Olayan, Chair of the Saudi British Bank and Chair of the Executive Committee and Deputy Chair of Olayan Financing Company, rounded up the top three. 

NBK’s Sheikha Khaled Al Bahar ranks first in Kuwait and fourth regionally. Al Rostamani and Al Gurg were also both recognised on Forbes’ 2022 list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. 

The 2023 ranking celebrates business titans from 27 different nationalities across 27 sectors. Emirati and Egyptian women dominate the list, with 15 and 12 entries, respectively. They are followed by Saudi with 11 listees, Kuwait with eight, and Lebanon, Oman and Qatar with six each. 

AMMAN — The Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) in 2022 realised "record" total operational profits of JD1.058 billion, marking an increase of 96 per cent compared with 2021, JPMC Chairman Mohammed Thneibat said on Wednesday.

Thneibat said that the company achieved JD964 million as pre-tax profits in 2022, and net post-tax profits of JD735.682 million, including 2 per cent allocated as a production allowance for employees, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The chairman said that the JPMC's contribution to the commercial balance and payment balance stood at $3.085 billion, noting that the company's contribution to supporting the Treasury with taxes, mining revenues and fees stood at JD350 million. 

Thneibat noted that in 2022, the company managed to achieve the highest production of phosphate since its establishment, reaching some 11.3 million tonnes. Sales reached 10.8 million tonnes, and fertiliser sales increased to 724,200 tonnes, he said.

For his part, JPMC CEO Abdelwahab Rawad said that the report showed an improvement in the performance of subsidiaries and allies, referring to high quantities of production of the Indian-Jordanian Chemical Company fully owned by JPMC, reaching 308,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid (P2O5). Sales rose by 302,000 tonnes, he noted.

Rawad said that the Jordan-India Fertiliser Company achieved an increase in its acid production, reaching more than 487,000 tonnes of P2O5 and sales hikes of 488,000 tonnes.

The CEO also added that Nippon Jordan Fertiliser Company in 2022 achieved an unprecedented increase in profits, where its production volume increased to 244,000 tonnes and its sales went up to 232,000 tonnes of various kinds of fertilisers.

He also added that the joint project with Indonesia also achieved unprecedented profits in 2022, reaching JD20 million and high production levels of P2O5, which stood at around 181,000 tonnes. 

WASHINGTON — Retail sales in the United States rebounded in January, said government data released on Wednesday, on improving auto supply while policymakers watch for signs that consumer demand is cooling in the longer run.

The US central bank has been working to ease demand as policymakers try to rein in stubborn inflation, raising interest rates rapidly over the past year.

While there have been signals that the effects of policy are rippling across sectors including previously resilient consumer spending, the latest data could spark concern.

Sales bounced by 3 per cent last month to $697 billion after two months of contraction, said a Commerce Department report on Wednesday, markedly higher than analysts expected.

Sales at auto and other vehicle dealers provided a boost, jumping 6.4 per cent from December to January.

Also robust were sales at department stores, which surged 17.5 per cent, while that at restaurants and bars spiked 7.2 per cent, the report said.

Officials are looking for indications that consumers are pulling back, as they consider when to halt their campaign of rate increases.