Nearly three years after ChatGPT’s release, it seems like there’s new AI products everywhere you look.

But consumers have recently begun to latch onto some clear favorites. That was the biggest takeaway from Andreessen Horowitz’s list of the top 100 GenAI consumer apps, in which the venture firm ranked AI-native products with traffic data from Similarweb and Sensor Tower.

Among web products, this fifth edition of the list contained fewer newcomers than the same ranking assembled six months ago (11 versus 17). And in certain popular categories, like AI assistants and creative tools, the top handful of apps are starting to grow entrenched, Andreessen Horowitz partner and list author Olivia Moore told us.

“We are at the phase of seeing what I might call some early winners—or at least early leaders—in a couple of the categories where the models have been ready from day one,” Moore said. “And so that would be the general LLM assistants, like the ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity group. And then also the creative tools—Midjourney, ElevenLabs, Photoroom.”

Keep reading here.—PK

The Covid pandemic’s effects continue to reverberate throughout the automotive industry—namely, in supply-chain management.

Automakers have long had close working relationships with Tier 1 suppliers—the companies that directly supply them with components. But up until the start of the pandemic and the ensuing semiconductor shortage, their view into the network of smaller sub-tier suppliers was more opaque, Jeff Morrison, GM’s SVP of global purchasing and supply chain, told Tech Brew.

“What we really learned with Covid was, we have to take it to a whole next level,” he said.

Map it out: So in 2022, the automaker worked with its suppliers (of which it has roughly 18,000 around the world) to launch a suite of AI tools to improve visibility and resiliency and mitigate risks. They include:

• A supply-chain mapping tool based on data from global suppliers
• “SupplyHealth,” a tool that monitors thousands of sites to identify potential risks
• A communications platform that notifies employees when risks have been identified
• And a “risk intelligence” system that uses machine learning and AI to tag public posts that could represent risks in GM’s supply chain.

Keep reading here.—JG

The phenomenon of EV buyers rushing to take advantage of a federal tax credit that expires at the end of September has been well-documented here and elsewhere.

But changes to transportation policy under President Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill also spell the end of a tax credit that helps offset the costs of installing EV charging equipment.

“There’s a lot of public attention in the market on the expiration of 30D coming up at the end of September,” Josh Cohen, who heads up the policy team at Swtch Energy, told Tech Brew. Swtch provides EV charging solutions to multifamily property owners and commercial real estate developers across the US and Canada.

“But there’s less general awareness about 30C,” he added. “And that is a very impactful incentive.”

Credit where due: The 30D credit offers EV buyers up to $7,500 in incentives on certain new EVs and up to $4,000 for eligible used models.

30C refers to the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit, which was established by the 2005 Energy Policy Act under former President George W. Bush. The program has since been extended numerous times, including in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Under the Biden administration, new eligibility requirements expanded access to the credit. It’s now set to expire on June 30, 2026.

Keep reading here.—JG