Google’s Cloud Subsequent 2024 occasion takes place in Las Vegas by way of Thursday, and which means numerous new cloud-focused information on all the pieces from Gemini, Google’s AI-powered chatbot, to AI to devops and safety. Final 12 months’s occasion was the primary in-person Cloud Subsequent since 2019, and Google took to the stage to point out off its ongoing dedication to AI with its Duet AI for Gmail and lots of different debuts, enlargement of generative AI to its safety product line along with different enterprise-focused updates and debuts.
Don’t have time to observe the complete archive of Google’s keynote occasion? That’s OK; we’ve summed up an important components of the occasion under, with extra particulars from the TechCrunch crew on the bottom on the occasion. And that Tuesday’s updates weren’t the one issues Google made obtainable to non-attendees, Wednesday’s developer-focused stream started at 10:30 a.m. PT.
Google Vids
Leveraging AI to assist prospects develop inventive content material is one thing Huge Tech is on the lookout for, and Tuesday, Google launched its model. Google Vids, a brand new AI-fueled video creation device, is the newest characteristic added to the Google Workspace.
Right here’s the way it works: Google claims customers could make movies alongside different Workspace instruments like Docs and Sheets. The enhancing, writing and manufacturing is all there. You may as well collaborate with colleagues in actual time inside Google Vids. Learn extra
Gemini Code Help
After studying about Google’s new Gemini Code Help, an enterprise-focused AI code completion and help device, you could be asking your self if that sounds acquainted. And you’ll be appropriate. TechCrunch Senior Editor Frederic Lardinois writes that “Google beforehand supplied an identical service below the now-defunct Duet AI branding.” Then Gemini got here alongside. Code Help is a direct competitor to GitHub’s Copilot Enterprise. Right here’s why
And to place Gemini Code Help into context, Alex Wilhelm breaks down its competitors with Copilot, and its potential dangers and advantages to builders, within the newest TechCrunch Minute episode.
Google Workspace
Among the many new options are voice prompts to kick off the AI-based “Assist me write” characteristic in Gmail whereas on the go. One other one for Gmail features a technique to immediately flip tough electronic mail drafts right into a extra polished electronic mail. Over on Sheets, you’ll be able to ship out a customizable alert when a sure area adjustments. In the meantime, a brand new set of templates make beginning a brand new spreadsheet simpler. For the Doc lovers, there’s help for tabs now. That is good as a result of, in accordance with the corporate, you’ll be able to “manage data in a single doc as a substitute of linking to a number of paperwork or looking by way of Drive.” In fact, subscribers get the goodies first. Learn extra
Google additionally appears to have plans to monetize two of its new AI options for the Google Workspace productiveness suite. This may appear to be $10/month/consumer add-on packages. One will likely be for the brand new AI conferences and messaging add-on that takes notes for you, gives assembly summaries and interprets content material into 69 languages. The opposite is for the launched AI safety package deal, which helps admins preserve Google Workspace content material safer. Learn extra
Imagen 2
In February, Google introduced a picture generator constructed into Gemini, Google’s AI-powered chatbot. The corporate pulled it shortly after it was discovered to be randomly injecting gender and racial variety into prompts about folks. This resulted in some offensive inaccuracies. Whereas we waited for an eventual re-release, Google got here out with the improved image-generating device, Imagen 2. That is inside its Vertex AI developer platform and has extra of a deal with enterprise. Imagen 2 is now usually obtainable and comes with some enjoyable new capabilities, together with inpainting and outpainting. There’s additionally Google’s calling “text-to-live pictures” the place you can now create quick, four-second movies from textual content prompts, alongside the strains of AI-powered clip technology instruments like Runway, Pika and Irreverent Labs. Learn extra
Vertex AI Agent Builder
We are able to all use a bit of little bit of assist, proper? Meet Google’s Vertex AI Agent Builder, a brand new device to assist firms construct AI brokers.
“Vertex AI Agent Builder permits folks to very simply and shortly construct conversational brokers,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian stated. “You’ll be able to construct and deploy production-ready, generative AI-powered conversational brokers and instruct and information them the identical method that you just do people to enhance the standard and correctness of solutions from fashions.”
To do that, the corporate makes use of a course of known as “grounding,” the place the solutions are tied to one thing thought-about to be a dependable supply. On this case, it’s counting on Google Search (which in actuality might or couldn’t be correct). Learn extra
Gemini involves databases
Google calls Gemini in Databases a group of options that “simplify all points of the database journey.” In much less jargony language, it’s a bundle of AI-powered, developer-focused instruments for Google Cloud prospects who’re creating, monitoring and migrating app databases. Learn extra
Google renews its deal with information sovereignty
Picture Credit: MirageC / Getty Photos
Google has supplied cloud sovereignties earlier than, however now it’s targeted extra on partnerships fairly than constructing them out on their very own. Learn extra
Safety instruments get some AI love
Google jumps on board the productizing generative AI-powered safety device practice with plenty of new merchandise and options geared toward massive firms. These embrace Risk Intelligence, which might analyze massive parts of probably malicious code. It additionally lets customers carry out pure language searches for ongoing threats or indicators of compromise. One other is Chronicle, Google’s cybersecurity telemetry providing for cloud prospects to help with cybersecurity investigations. The third is the enterprise cybersecurity and danger administration suite Safety Command Middle. Learn extra
Nvidia’s Blackwell platform
One of many anticipated bulletins is Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell platform coming to Google Cloud in early 2025. Sure, that appears so far-off. Nonetheless, here’s what to look ahead to: help for the high-performance Nvidia HGX B200 for AI and HPC workloads and GB200 NBL72 for big language mannequin (LLM) coaching. Oh, and we will reveal that the GB200 servers will likely be liquid-cooled. Learn extra
Chrome Enterprise Premium
In the meantime, Google is increasing its Chrome Enterprise product suite with the launch of Chrome Enterprise Premium. What’s new right here is that it primarily pertains to largely to safety capabilities of the prevailing service, primarily based on the perception that browsers at the moment are the endpoints the place many of the high-value work inside an organization is completed. Learn extra
Gemini 1.5 Professional
Picture Credit: Google
Open-source instruments
At Google Cloud Subsequent 2024, the corporate debuted plenty of open-source instruments primarily geared toward supporting generative AI initiatives and infrastructure. One is Max Diffusion, which is a group of reference implementations of assorted diffusion fashions that run on XLA, or Accelerated Linear Algebra, units. Then there’s Jetstream, a brand new engine to run generative AI fashions. The third is MaxTest, a group of text-generating AI fashions focusing on TPUs and Nvidia GPUs within the cloud. Learn extra
Axion
We don’t know loads about this one, nonetheless, here’s what we do know: Google Cloud joins AWS and Azure in saying its first custom-built Arm processor, dubbed Axion. Frederic Lardinois writes that “primarily based on Arm’s Neoverse 2 designs, Google says its Axion cases provide 30% higher efficiency than different Arm-based cases from opponents like AWS and Microsoft and as much as 50% higher efficiency and 60% higher vitality effectivity than comparable X86-based cases.” Learn extra
The whole Google Cloud Subsequent keynote
If all of that isn’t sufficient of an AI and cloud replace deluge, you’ll be able to watch your entire occasion keynote by way of the embed under.
Google Cloud Subsequent’s developer keynote
On Wednesday, Google held a separate keynote for developers. They supplied a deeper dive into the ins and outs of plenty of instruments outlined in the course of the Tuesday keynote, together with Gemini Cloud Help, utilizing AI for product suggestions and chat brokers, ending with a showcase from Hugging Face. You’ll be able to try the complete keynote under.