Before diving into today’s email, I filmed a quick video last week breaking down Notebook LM. They’re a killer new platform built off of Google’s Gemini product. Feel free to check it out below:

Click here to check it out now.

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Today’s Menu

• Microsoft’s Phi-4: The Small Model That’s Outperforming Giants

• Bitcoin Hits $106K: Santa Claus Rally or Warning Signs?

Markets

TODAY IN AI

Microsoft’s Phi-4: The Small Model That’s Outperforming Giants

Microsoft just dropped Phi-4, a 14B parameter language model that punches far above its weight, outperforming massive rivals like GPT-4o and Gemini Pro 1.5 in math and complex reasoning tasks.

Here’s why Phi-4 matters:

• Brains Over Brawn: Despite being much smaller, Phi-4 beats its teacher, GPT-4o, on STEM Q&A and math competition benchmarks.

• Smarter Training: The model was trained on 400B tokens of synthetic, AI-validated data, proving quality beats quantity.

• Compact Power: Phi-4’s context window handles up to 4,000 tokens, double its predecessor, Phi-3.

Currently available as a limited research preview on Azure AI Foundry, Phi-4 is slated for a wider release on Hugging Face.

^{Today In Crypto}

Bitcoin Hits $106K: Santa Claus Rally or Warning Signs?

Bitcoin surged to a record $106,000 before retreating below $104K, setting the stage for what could be a pivotal December. While traders eye a potential Fed rate cut, concerns over tempered projections for 2024 could challenge BTC’s momentum. On Coinbase, Bitcoin is trading at a discount to Binance, hinting at weaker U.S. demand.

• Santa Claus Rally Incoming? December has historically been a bullish month for Bitcoin, with six of the past eight years ending in gains between 8% and 46%. Analysts predict a run to $125K by 2025, citing sustained upside potential despite recent price moves.

• Broader Market Slows: The CoinDesk 20 Index slipped 1%, with ETH unable to hold $4K due to large staked withdrawals from Lido Finance. XRP fell over 2%, as Ripple CTO David Schwartz cautioned against volatility and speculation around the company’s upcoming RLUSD stablecoin launch.

Bitcoin is holding its $100K foothold for now, but will it maintain momentum or face resistance? All eyes are on the Fed, year-end seasonality, and the market’s appetite for risk.

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Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

Damon James