🌮 Yum Brands Is Bringing Nvidia's AI To A Taco Bell Drive-thru Near You

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In today’s newsletter we discuss Yum Brands is bringing Nvidia's AI to a taco bell drive-thru near you, EVs will make up ⅓ of Cadillac’s vehicle line up for 2025, and NASA returned astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams from space in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule after Boeing wasn’t able to, Tracy Morgan threw up at the Knicks game, Coinbase launches futures trading on Natural Gas (NGS) and Cardano (ADA), and it’s time for businesses to lose worker productivity due to the NCAA's March Madness tournament.

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WHAT WE’RE READING

🌮 Yum Brands Is Bringing Nvidia's AI To A Taco Bell Drive-thru Near You

Yum Brands, the global restaurant powerhouse behind KFC, Pizza Hut, and my favorite Taco Bell, has forged a strategic partnership with Nvidia to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence across its expansive operations. This collaboration aims to revolutionize the customer experience and optimize operational efficiency, ultimately driving down costs.

I’d just be happy if they could get my order right!

By leveraging Nvidia's cutting-edge AI platform and integrating it with Yum's proprietary "Byte by Yum!" system, the company is excited about ushering in a new era of technology-driven restaurant management, or so they say.

A key component of this initiative involves none other than using Nvidia's AI chips and Riva and NIM microservices to power an AI voice in drive-thrus and call centers, enabling seamless and accurate order processing. They’ll also be using Nvidia's computer vision technology to provide real-time operational analysis, optimizing drive-thru efficiency and back-of-house labor management (i.e. the inevitable AI taking human’s jobs). Restaurant analytics, fueled by AI, will generate personalized action plans for restaurant managers, empowering them to make data-driven decisions.

Yum Brands plans to roll out these AI-powered tools in approximately 500 restaurants during the second quarter of the year, demonstrating their commitment to rapid implementation. Yum Brands will retain all IP and ownership of the developed AI intelligence.

This partnership is focused on:

• Voice AI Enhancement: Improving drive-thru and call center experiences with Nvidia's Riva and NIM microservices.

• Operational Optimization: Utilizing Nvidia's computer vision for real-time analysis of drive-thru and back-of-house operations.

• Data-Driven Management: Implementing AI-powered restaurant-level analytics for personalized action plans.

The future of the fast food industry is clear: use AI to improve order accuracy and speed, optimize labor management, enhance customer service, and enable data-driven decision-making. Nvidia has been having a couple of really big years thanks to AI, and this partnership marks Nvidia's first major collaboration with a restaurant company, to bring AI-driven innovation to the fast food industry.

🚗 Business

I’ve been in love with Cadillac ever since I was a little kid. I used to see their iconic cars being driven in gangster movies back in the day, and then the world of hiphop embraced the Cadillac Escalade and the baller status it brought.

Cadillac hasn’t always been known as the most environmentally friendly car company, but that’s changing now.

Cadillac is making a significant push into the electric vehicle market, with roughly one-third of their U.S. sales being made up of EVs in 2025. Their new EV lineup includes models like the Lyriq, Escalade IQ and IQL, Optiq, and Vistiq, along with the ultra-luxury Celestiq.

I’ve never even heard of most of these models, but the Cadillac Escalade will always have a special place in my heart. True story: I almost bought one. The year was 2022. We were just coming out of Covid, and my company had just had its best year ever. My whole family was all for it, then I did the fiscally responsible thing and paid off our mortgage instead. By far that has been one of my best financial moves ever, next to buying Bitcoin early (shout out to my boy Jake for turning me onto crypto back in 2013).

Cadillac had previously announced that they would be converting to an all-EV lineup by 2030, but have now backtracked and said they will continue to produce gas-powered vehicles for as long as there is consumer demand.

🤮 Entertainment

Tracy Morgan experienced a medical incident at the New York Knicks versus Miami Heat game on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, throwing up as he sat courtside. He later attributed it to food poisoning, which fans had a ball with on social media. He explained that he became ill during the game, leading to concern among those present.

Tracy Morgan has built a successful career spanning decades, starting with stand-up comedy and gaining widespread recognition on "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock." His versatile talent extends to film, where he's contributed to numerous box office hits. Tracy Morgan makes around $10 million dollars in annual income, derived from various sources including acting roles, stand-up specials, endorsements, and residuals. His filmography has collectively generated a staggering $1,277,774,964 in worldwide box office revenue, solidifying his status as a commercially successful entertainer.

🚀 Space

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams concluded their extended stay in space, returning to Earth aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Their journey, initially intended to be much shorter, was prolonged due to complications with the Boeing Starliner test flight, leading them to utilize SpaceX for their return. After spending 286 days in orbit, they successfully splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, marking the end of an unplanned, yet productive, mission on the International Space Station. Their return highlights the adaptability and collaboration within the commercial spaceflight program.

🪙 Crypto

Coinbase has recently announced the launch of futures contracts for Natural Gas (NGS) and Cardano (ADA). This expansion into the energy and crypto derivatives markets signifies a move toward integrating cryptocurrency with traditional financial markets. 

By offering Cardano futures, Coinbase provides traders with more ways to engage with ADA, while Natural Gas futures allow for betting on price fluctuations within a familiar platform. 

This trend, also seen with CME Group launching Solana (SOL) futures, suggests a future where cryptocurrency and traditional finance increasingly converge, offering more diverse trading opportunities and potentially increasing market accessibility and maturity.

🏀 Sports

It’s that time of year again. A time when worker productivity craters, and all that can be heard around the old water cooler is people talking about their March Madness brackets.

Welcome to the March Madness 2025 edition!

The NCAA's March Madness tournament, while a beloved sporting event, significantly impacts workplace productivity. Career coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas estimates businesses lose between $9.6 billion and $17.3 billion annually due to distractions stemming from the college basketball tournament.

These distractions include streaming games, checking scores, participating in office pools, and engaging on social media. The financial toll the NCAA March Madness has on businesses shows up in missed deadlines, delayed projects, and a general decrease in efficiency across various sectors, demonstrating the considerable influence of March Madness on the modern workday.

But who cares about worker productivity, when I’ve got Duke on my brackets going all the way!

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irl Media NEWSLETTER is written, edited, and published by Chris Thompson.