Running AI in the public cloud can presents enterprises with numerous concerns about data privacy and security.

That’s why some enterprises will choose to deploy AI on a private cloud or on-premises environment. Together AI is among the vendors looking to solve the challenges of effectively enabling enterprises to deploy AI in private clouds in a cost effective approach. The company today announced its Together Enterprise Platform, enabling AI deployment in virtual private cloud (VPC) and on-premises environments.

Together AI made its debut in 2023, aiming to simplify enterprise use of open-source LLMs. The company already has a full-stack platform to enable enterprises to easily use open source LLMs on its own cloud service. The new platform extends AI deployment to customer-controlled cloud and on-premises environments. The Together Enterprise Platform aims to address key concerns of businesses adopting AI technologies, including performance, cost-efficiency and data privacy.

“As you’re scaling up AI workloads, efficiency and cost matters to companies, they also really care about data privacy,” Vipul Prakash, CEO of Together AI told VentureBeat. “Inside of enterprises there are also well-established privacy and compliance policies, which are already implemented in their own cloud setups and companies also care about model ownership.”

How to keep private cloud enterprise AI cost down with Together AI

The key promise of the Together Enterprise Platform is that organizations can manage and run AI models in their own private cloud deployment.

This adaptability is crucial for enterprises that have already invested heavily in their IT infrastructure. The platform offers flexibility by working in private clouds and enabling users to scale to Together’s cloud.

A key benefit of the Together Enterprise platform is its ability to dramatically improve the performance of AI inference workloads. 

“We are often able to improve the performance of inference by two to three times and reduce the amount of hardware they’re using to do inference by 50%,” Prakash said. “This creates significant savings and more capacity for enterprises to build more products, build more models, and launch more features.” 

The performance gains are achieved through a combination of optimized software and hardware utilization.

 “There’s a lot of algorithmic craft in how we schedule and organize the computation on GPUs to get the maximum utilization and lowest latency,” Prakash explained. “We do a lot of work on speculative decoding, which uses a small model to predict what the larger model would generate, reducing the workload on the more computationally intensive model.”

Flexible model orchestration and the Mixture of Agents approach

Another key feature of the Together Enterprise platform is its ability to orchestrate the use of multiple AI models within a single application or workflow. 

“What we’re seeing in enterprises is that they’re typically using a combination of different models – open-source models, custom models, and models from different sources,” Prakash said. “The Together platform allows this orchestration of all this work, scaling the models up and down depending on the demand for a particular feature at a particular time.”

There are many different ways that an organization can orchestrate models to work together. Some organizations and vendors will use technologies like LangChain to combine models together. Another approach is to use a model router, like the one built by Martian, to route queries to the best model. SambaNova uses a Composition of Experts model, combining multiple models for optimal outcomes.

Together AI is using a different approach that it calls – Mixture of Agents. Prakash said this approach combines multi-model agentic AI with a trainable system for ongoing improvement. The way it works is by using “weaker” models as “proposers” – they each provide a response to the prompt. Then an “aggregator” model is used to combine these responses in a way that produces a better overall answer.

“We are a computational and inference platform and agentic AI workflows are very interesting to us,” he said. “You’ll be seeing more stuff from Together AI on what we’re doing around it in the months to come.”

Two of the industry’s most famous sisters, Erin and Sara Foster, sit down alongside business partner Phil Schwarz at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 to talk about consumer investing, culture curation, and what it means to be a creator in the modern age. 

Moderated on the Disrupt main stage, the conversation will surround the creator economy, consumer investing, and so much more.

Erin and Sara Foster are the definitions of a multi-hyphen duo. 

They are the founders of Oversubscribed Ventures, which invests in consumer brands and tech (investments include the diaper brand Kudos). Sara is an angel investor, too, with a portfolio that includes the swimwear brand Summersalt. The sisters are also the founders of the clothing and lifestyle brand Favorite Daughter, which is sold at luxury retailers Moda Operandi and Saks. There’s also an upcoming Netflix show called “Nobody Wants This,” created by Erin and starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, playing a podcaster and a rabbi who fall in love. 

Sara and Erin themselves have a podcast called The World’s First Podcast, which breaks down topics of love and self-improvement. 

In other words, there will be much to talk about. 

And of course, not to forget Phil Schwarz. Schwarz is a partner at the early-stage firm Corazon Capital. He helped Sara and Erin Foster create Oversubscribed Ventures and serves as an adviser on its investment committee. He was the CMO of Tinder and Head of Growth at Match Group and co-founded the Kaplan/Techstars EdTech Accelerator.

In other words, even more to talk about!

Don’t miss out on this game-changing conversation! Be part of Disrupt 2024 with 10,000 fellow attendees, including startup, tech, and VC leaders, at Moscone West, San Francisco, October 28–30. Grab your tickets now to unlock savings of up to $600 during Ticket Reboot Week.

By the end of the month, the United Kingdom is set to shutter its last operating coal-fired power plant.

The Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire is slated to close on September 30th, marking the end of coal power in the UK. It’s turning the page on an era of dirty energy that the UK helped usher in globally and now has to leave behind to meet climate goals.

The coal power plant was first commissioned in 1967, and received its last coal delivery in June. The 2,000 megawatt-capacity plant can produce enough electricity for some two million homes, according to the energy company Uniper that owns it. Over its decades in operation, it’s generated enough energy to make more than 21 trillion cups of tea, or roughly 1 billion cups per day, Uniper says.

Still, it’ll reportedly take two years to decommission the plant after it shuts down, requiring 125 staff to stay on board until then. Uniper announced plans last year to eventually produce hydrogen at the site instead of coal power. Unlike fossil fuels, hydrogen fuel doesn’t create planet heating carbon dioxide pollution when burned.

The caveat is that most hydrogen today is made through a process called steam methane reforming, which still leads to greenhouse gas emissions. A cleaner way to make hydrogen is through electrolysis, splitting water molecules using renewable energy. Uniper says it’s interested in producing hydrogen through electrolysis at the former coal plant, reaching a capacity of 500 megawatts by the end of the decade. After redeveloping the site to produce low carbon energy, Uniper says it could create up to 8,000 jobs.

Coal still makes up more than a third of the world’s electricity mix, generating more power and greenhouse gas emissions than any other fuel. But coal-fired power generation has dropped dramatically in the UK since 2012, falling from nearly 40 percent to just 1 percent of the UK’s electricity mix by 2023. Greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector have fallen 74 percent over the same period of time as wind and solar replace coal.

The UK passed a Climate Change Act in 2008 that set it on a path to ditch coal on the way to reaching a target of net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Once the Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant closes, the UK will become the first advanced economy and Group of 7 nation to phase out coal power, according to climate change think tank E3G.

MSI has quietly launched the Prestige 13 AI+ Evo A2VM, a super-lightweight laptop aimed at business professionals and creatives alike.

First unveiled at IFA 2024, the device is powered by up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 288V processor (offering up to 48 NPU TOPS and a total of 120 AI TOPS), paired with Intel Arc 140V graphics.

Mainframe computers running code dating back to the 1960s are still vital to some banks, airlines and government departments, but the skilled engineers familiar with their COBOL computer language are mostly dead or retired. Now researchers say AI may be able to fill this skills gap and help maintain or replace these antiquated yet essential systems.

COBOL dates back to 1959 and was designed specifically for large, centralised mainframe computers, which carry out bulk data processing for large organisations. When…

September has been a good month on Netflix, especially with the arrival of Rebel Ridge. Jeremy Saulnier’s action thriller stars Aaron Pierre as a former Marine who takes on the corrupt police officers of a small town. With a star-making performance from Pierre and riveting action scenes, Rebel Ridge will easily become one of Netflix’s most popular movies of 2024.

Rebel Ridge will remain on Netflix because it is considered one of the streamer’s original films. However, licensed movies depart from the streamer every month. September is no different. Of the handful of movies leaving Netflix, consider watching these five movies, including a sci-fi classic, a 1980s teen comedy, and a riveting war drama.

Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future is the perfect blockbuster — original, smart, funny, and entertaining. All age groups love Back to the Future for its easy-to-understand adventure, so don’t worry about the sci-fi jargon. Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is a teenager living in 1985. He leaves his house one night to help his friend, scientist Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), with an experiment. Libyan terrorists interrupt the test and attempt to kill Marty, which eventually leads to him going to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean.

Stuck in the past, Marty runs into teenage versions of his parents (Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson) and interrupts the meeting when they fall in love. With the aid of Doc, Marty must make his parents fall in love before attempting his return to 1985 or risk altering the space-time continuum and destroying his universe.

Stream Back to the Future on Netflix.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

No filmmaker is more integral to the coming-of-age movement of the 1980s than John Hughes. The Chicago-based filmmaker is behind several classic teen comedies, including Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. However, his best edition to the genre is The Breakfast Club.

On a Saturday morning, five students from different walks of life arrive at their high school for all-day detention. The students include Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald), the queen bee; Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez), the jock; Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy), the social outcast; Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), the nerd; and John Bender (Judd Nelson), the rebel. The group begins as enemies, but throughout the day, they slowly realize that they share the same feelings of anxiety and resentment that many teenagers face.

Stream The Breakfast Club on Netflix.

Dumb and Dumber (1994)

Dumb and Dumber is an aptly chosen title for the 1990s comedy. The two dummies at the center of the film are best friends Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels), who are not the sharpest tools in the shed. While working as a limousine driver, Lloyd comes across a suitcase full of money that belonged to Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly). Lloyd fell in love with Mary on his short drive with her to the airport.

Lloyd and Harry load up the Shaggin’ Wagon and embark on a cross-country road trip to find Mary in Aspen, a place where “the beer flows like wine and beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano.” The plot might be dumb, but the laughs are plentiful. Don’t ask questions; enjoy the comedic genius of Carrey and Daniels.

Stream Dumb and Dumber on Netflix.

The Conjuring (2013)

When done correctly, demonic possession films always play well with audiences. Most of these spooky tales are based on true stories. What’s scarier than a story that actually happened to someone? The Conjuring follows the supernatural exploits of Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson) Warren, paranormal investigators and demonologists who rose to prominence in the 1970s. Their next case involves Roger (Ron Livingston) and Carolyn Perron (Lili Taylor), who believe their new farmhouse in Rhode Island is haunted.

Upon further investigation, the Warrens believe a hostile demon is occupying the house, leading to a series of strange occurrences. When the demon makes its presence known, the Warrens must rid the house of its presence before it occupies one of the children. With terrific jump scares and a spine-chilling atmosphere, The Conjuring is an effective thriller with legitimately frightening moments.

Stream The Conjuring on Netflix.

The Outpost (2019)

The Outpost is a riveting, edge-of-your-seat military drama that is impressively made and harrowing to watch. Yet, a July 2020 release at the height of COVID-19 buried its chances of gaining traction with audiences. Ever since it hit Netflix, The Outpost has gained a devoted following, with many declaring it one of the more underrated war movies of the last decade.

During the war in Afghanistan, a group of soldiers man Combat Outpost Keating, a secluded community surrounded by three mountains. In other words, the soldiers are susceptible to an attack from the Taliban. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened in 2009, and the ensuing Battle of Kamdesh became one of the bloodiest fights of the war.

Stream The Outpost on Netflix.