When it comes to generative AI, size definitely matters. The large in large language model is almost an understatement at times.

But many businesses are finding that what they need from AI doesn’t necessarily take a trillion parameters of knowledge. Those are the companies IBM is targeting with its latest Granite family of models, which feature reasoning, vision focused specifically on document understanding, and—like previous IBM releases—open-source availability.

At the HumanX conference in Las Vegas this week, we caught up with David Cox, VP for AI models at IBM Research, about the lane the enterprise giant is seeking to carve out with small language models in a crowded AI race.

Super-smart, giant models that can grapple with an advanced math problem, then turn around and write a poem, are certainly valuable, Cox said. But businesses are more often concerned with narrower, more routine sets of tasks than that.

“There’s a little bit of a fork in the road,” Cox told us. “There’s this AGI push where we’re trying to say, ‘We want to create the all-powerful, all-knowing single model,’ versus another path, which says, ‘Hey, now, all of a sudden, all of the unstructured text in my enterprise, all of the images and everything, all that unstructured data is now suddenly unlocked, and I’m going to write enterprise applications that take advantage of that.’”

Keep reading here.—PK

A few key stats explain why the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm wants to add EV chargers to apartments and condos.

First of all: Nearly a third of US households live in multifamily housing. Secondly, upward of 80% of EV charging is done at home––but only about 5% of multifamily housing has on-site charging.

That’s quite the gap, one that CBRE aims to fill by teaming up with 3V, an EV charging infrastructure startup, and installing Level 2 charging stations at multifamily properties around the country.

“Property owners recognize tenants are asking for this amenity. In some cases, it will be a deciding factor. They will not rent a property in an apartment building that does not have charging, because they have an EV already,” Mark Kerstens, VP of EV charging solutions at CBRE, told Tech Brew.

“For others, it may be a factor in their decision-making criteria as they look to move into an apartment or renew their lease,” he added. “Property owners recognize this and want to make sure they have the amenities that their clients are looking for. This helps fill apartment buildings. This helps justify whatever the rent is, or maybe even an opportunity to increase the rent.”

Keep reading here.—JG

Geothermal is heating up—pun certainly intended. The renewable energy, which comes from underground hot water reservoirs, is considered an emerging renewable source not yet deployable at scale. But recent news indicates that geothermal’s momentum is growing.

Earlier this month, Google Cloud announced a new partnership with offshore drilling company SLB and Project Innerspace’s GeoMap, which provides information about geothermal sources and prospecting. And last month, green utility Clean Power Alliance signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with geothermal company Fervo Energy to provide geothermal power to almost 55,000 California homes annually over 15 years. Operations will start in 2028.

In a press release, Fervo VP and Head of Development & Commercial Markets Dawn Owens said the Clean Power Alliance PPA proves that geothermal is “not only commercially viable but also ready for large-scale deployment today.”

“We’re excited to deliver always-on, clean power to CPA’s millions of residential and business customers across Southern California,” Owens said, “and demonstrate how geothermal can strengthen and stabilize the grid."

Keep reading here.—TC

Usually, we write about the business of tech. Here, we highlight the *tech* of tech.

Best by: When it comes to devices that are in some way connected to the internet, the story is familiar: You use it for a period of time. Then, in some way, it dies. Wired reports on efforts to get lawmakers to champion legislation that “would require device manufacturers to indicate how long they plan to support the devices they sell, and give users fair warning when their devices are headed toward the end of their lifespan.”

Eyes on the road? Marketing Brew has details on some automakers apparently laying the groundwork for putting ads in cars. What could go wrong?