The Springtime AI Giveaway
To celebrate an exciting start to Spring, we are hosting an online giveaway where you have a chance to win a ticket to Data Council, a Nintendo Switch 2 or a subscription to Needle AI.
We are excited about a few things this March and April.
1.) The arrival of Spring on March 20th!
2.) Needle AI’s second launch on Product Hunt on March 25th!
3.) Nintendo Direct will air on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 6 a.m. PDT, offering a closer look at the Nintendo Switch 2’s AI image scaling technology and other features.
4.) DataCouncil.ai, best data conference in the land, will be in Oakland April 22nd — 24th! Needle will be there :)
To celebrate, we are giving away:
1 tickets to the DataCouncil.ai conference (a $2000 value)
2 Nintendo Switch 2 bundles (a $750 value per bundle)
Each bundle includes a Nintendo Switch 2 console, two Pro Controllers and one Nintendo Switch 2 game.5 subscriptions to Needle AI Pro for one month (a $50 value per subscription)
About The Prize — Data Council
I have written about DataCouncil in the past, way back when it was called DataEngConf, and to this day… it’s still my favorite data conference.
Why? The content is excellent and the community is kind and welcoming.
DataCouncil has such a wonderful community, that I have volunteered multiple times in the past and I even hosted a panel in 2017 (ahhhh sweet youth… how you have faded), on leveling up your data science career.
I highly recommend attending the Data Council conference, speaking or getting involved in some way.
About The Prize — Nintendo… huh? Why a Nintendo Switch 2?
Well, we at Needle AI are nerds and we love Nintendo!
The design, the gameplay… how Nintendo consistently punches above its weight class and outsells major competitors using cheaper hardware but with better craftsmanship, innovation and sheer brilliance…and…cough… Zelda… ahem… Zelda.
These are all good reasons, but here is the the main AI reason we are excited about: AI upscaling!
That’s right, Nintendo recently published a patent showing that the Nintendo Switch 2 will use AI upscaling (drools on laptop).
We know the Switch 2 represents a dramatic leap in performance compared to the original Switch. However, the upgraded Nvidia Tegra processor inside might not be powerful enough to consistently deliver 1080p resolution gaming in handheld mode for more demanding games. That’s where the concept of AI Upscaling enters the picture.
The newly published patent update (first posted by Mike Odyssey on X) reveals more detail, including a diagram showing the journey of an image through a trained neural network, and the input and output resolutions — 540p to 1080p.
The updated patent confirms the Switch 2 will use AI technology like Nvidia’s DLSS, which can take a lower resolution image and transform it to a higher resolution image, making a game look sharper and more detailed.
However, the Switch may not specifically tap Nvidia’s upscaling tech. It’s possible that there may be some Nintendo secret sauce in the mix, similar to how Sony’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) works.
All of this should serve as confirmation that the Switch 2’s native display will be 1080p.
There’s a lot for original Switch owners to get excited about.
These resolution numbers are important, especially where backwards compatibility is concerned. The majority of Switch games will work on Switch 2, and we hoped playing them on the new console might bring some visual upgrades to the experience. At this point, that wish looks like will come true.
Think about it. “Your Switch games look better on Switch 2.” Oh yea :)
Thank you dear data scientists and AI engineers at Nintendo for working on AI image upscaling :) ❤
About The Prize — A subscription to Needle AI
Get a month of Needle Pro and see how your productivity skyrockets! :)
How does Needle help you at work?
The Problem: According to McKinsey research, knowledge workers spend 1.8 hours (108 minutes) every work day searching for information.
Solution: Needle helps you find the information you need fast, saving you 60–90 minutes a day, so you can focus on what matters: your job.
All Your Data in One Place: Connect data sources like Notion, Slack, Google Drive, Gmail, etc. and Needle will search everything for you and find what you need. All in one window.
Beyond search, Needle will soon enable you to update (i.e. write) files via the Needle chat interface. This saves you from having to open up other programs or switching between windows. Stay tuned for this update here: https://bit.ly/needle-ai-product-hunt-page
Can’t wait for the giveaway to end?
Try Needle for FREE for 7 days here: https://bit.ly/needle-ai
Update - Winners Announced
Our Data Council Winner is:
Josh Bernard
Our Two Nintendo Switch 2 Winners are:
Christine Gant
Dan Xie
Our Needle AI Winners are:
TBD
Hey, just wanted to check, for the giveaway, do we need to refer 10 friends before the final task unlocks?
Hello, I'm running into the same issue. I've referred a friend and completed everything else, but can't get the final task. Can you please assist? Thank you!