Grok-3 launched, Rigidity and Breakthroughs, Saudi's Mega Ambition 'The Line' and more

A gravity-less megacity in the mid-east.

Author

Charbel Zeaiter
February 19, 2025

Good afternoon!

Grok3 claims it’s the best (well it doesn’t, per se, benchmarks say so); older founders are trading the hustle for meaningful time and experiences; UX personas and journey maps via AI? Yes, things have changed.

Have a great day!

Yours in Wonder,
Charbel
Founder of Velvet Onion, Faster Zebra and more to come …

Today’s Highlights

  • AI: Elon Musk Unveils Grok-3: Another Claimant of the ‘Smartest AI’ Crown

  • Design: A Rigid Mind Cannot Create Breakthroughs: Why to be Experimental

  • Science & Tech: Saudi Arabia’s Grand Ambition: ‘The Line’ Megacity

  • Founding: Pivot or Persevere? The Startup Dilemma 

  • Product: Positioning, Messaging, and Copy

  • Today’s AI image: Your New Pizza Guy: Metal & Wires, Not Flesh & Bone

  • Quote for the day: Leveraging Chaos & Crises

AI

Elon Musk Unveils Grok-3: Another Claimant of the ‘Smartest AI’ Crown

Elon Musk's xAI just unleashed its latest brainchild, Grok-3, which it claims is the sharpest AI on the planet.

This model is turning heads with its performance in math, science, and coding, outshining the likes of Gemini-2 Pro, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, and even GPT-4o in key benchmarks.

All You Need To Know

  • Grok-3 is rolling out on the Grok app, with a faster "mini" version for quick responses.

  • It topped benchmarks like AIME‘24, GPQA, and LiveCodeBench, with an early version leading Chatbot Arena.

  • Features reasoner variations that tackle complex problems, like OpenAI’s o3-mini.

  • Excels in deep research tasks.

  • Trained on 10x the compute of Grok-2 using the Colossus supercomputer and 200,000 H100 GPUs.

Why This is a Big Deal

Grok-3’s launch places Musk’s xAI at the forefront of the AI arms race. With such a massive computational leap, it's making waves in the industry.

However, the clock's ticking.

OpenAI's GPT-4.5 and a potential GPT-5, plus the rising competition from Anthropic, DeepMind, and even Chinese giants like Alibaba and DeepSeek, means the leadership may be short-lived.

Also in AI

Design

A Rigid Mind Cannot Create Breakthroughs: Why to be Experimental

AI is challenging traditional design principles, urging designers to shift from needing full understanding to embracing exploration and emergence in their processes.

  • AI models are designed to work, not to be fully understood upfront—results often reveal themselves after the fact.

  • It's okay for solutions to exist before problems are fully defined, as long as assumptions are clearly stated.

  • With AI, the technology drives discovery, and design follows once we see what’s possible, flipping the traditional approach.

  • Many breakthroughs, like penicillin or the steam engine, happened by accident—AI follows the same pattern of unexpected discovery.

  • Unlike traditional software, AI generates probabilistic, flexible outputs, speeding up the experimentation and discovery cycle.

  • Rather than imposing rigid rules, design environments where AI adapts and evolves over time.

Why Is This a Big Deal?

This shift changes how we approach design itself. Instead of clinging to control and predictability, AI encourages us to embrace the unknown, creating space for unexpected breakthroughs.

By letting go of rigid structures, we unlock a new world of creative possibilities.

Also in Design

Science & Tech

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Ambition: ‘The Line’ Megacity

Saudi Arabia's ambition to build an ultra-modern, 170-kilometre-long city in the desert is now in motion.

The first phase of the megacity, Hidden Marina, is officially under construction, promising a monumental transformation of the landscape.

  • Hidden Marina will stretch 2.5 km (1.5 miles) and rise 500 metres, spanning a vast 21 million square metres.

  • The first phase will house 200,000 residents across 80,000 homes, 9,000 hotel rooms, and a variety of essential services.

  • The 2034 World Cup will see a futuristic stadium situated on the uppermost floor of the development.

  • AI systems will monitor energy usage and occupancy to create a smarter, more efficient city environment.

  • High-speed rail will link the city, with essential services within a five-minute walk of residents.

  • Over US$140 billion has been pumped into supporting this grand endeavour, with construction employing over 140,000 workers.

Why is this a big deal?

This project isn’t just big—it’s redefining city planning on a scale we’ve never seen before.

The Line aims to blend cutting-edge technology with ultra-modern living, pushing the limits of architecture, urban planning, and sustainable living.

If successful, this city could set new standards for how we live and work in the future, making it a pivotal milestone in both Saudi Arabia's development and urban innovation globally.

Also in Science & Tech

Founding

Pivot or Persevere? The Startup Dilemma

Every decision is a choice: stick with what’s working (exploit) or take a risk on something new (explore).

Explore too much, and you never commit. Exploit too soon, and you might be on the wrong path.

Early on, doubt is inevitable. You don’t know if you’re making progress or just spinning your wheels.

Pivoting feels like giving up, but staying put can be riskier.

5 Tactics to Pivot Smarter

  • Fully commit, but set a deadline to reassess.

  • Get blunt feedback from outsiders.

  • Even a few passionate customers signal real potential.

  • Can you find more like them? Is the market big enough?

  • You’ll be deep in this industry. Make sure you care.

Pivoting is not necessarily failure. It’s strategy.

If something isn’t working, own the decision and move fast.

Also in Founding

Product

Positioning, Messaging, and Copy

In one of his LinkedIn posts, Aatir Abdul Rauf talks about how he (many of us) struggle with product storytelling because we fail to connect theory with execution. Key questions often arise:

  • Where does positioning stop and messaging begin?

  • Is positioning strategic while messaging is tactical?

  • Should every product have its own positioning?

  • Does messaging need to change for different audiences?

A Clear Distinction

A quote from Zach Messler simplifies the relationship between these elements:

  • Positioning = how a brand wants to be perceived.

  • Messaging = what needs to be communicated.

  • Copy = how it is expressed.

The Three-Step Framework

#1 Begin with Research

Understanding the market, audience needs, and product strengths is essential for meaningful positioning.

#2 Use Positioning for Internal Alignment

It establishes what the product is, who it serves, and why it stands out. Internal alignment across teams ensures consistency.

#3 Translate Positioning into Messaging

It articulates the problem solved, how the product delivers value, and why it matters to different audiences.

Today’s AI Image

NYT Tries Hands At AI

Quote of the Day

Leveraging Chaos & Crises

"Never let a good crisis go to waste."

Winston Churchill

What we’re working on

Velvet Onion & Friends

The new Velvet Onion & Friends will be launched soon. It’s our latest evolution, helping companies build products. It’s more than services.

Faster Zebra

February 2025 - the product and venture school journey begins. Whitepaper launching in January.

🧞Your wish is my command

Charbel

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