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☆ EV boat maker Arc debuts a premium wake sport model for $258,000
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Lora Kolodny | In Lorakolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Arc Boat Company's fully electric Arc Sport model gets four to six hours of typical use on a single charge. Arc Boat Company began sales of its second electric boat model in just three years this week. The new $258,000 Arc Sport was designed for wake sports enthusiasts and follows the company's earlier Arc One, a limited-edition luxury cruiser. The 23-foot Arc Sport can carry up to 15 people at a time. Arc plans to begin deliveries of its new battery electric Arc Sport to customers this year.

Persons: Mitch Lee, Ryan Cook, Arc, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Will Smith, Andreessen Horowitz, Lee, Rivian Organizations: Boat Company, GM, Sacramento –, SpaceX, EV, Eclipse Ventures, Menlo Ventures Locations: Malibu, Stockholm, Sacramento – San Joaquin, Stockton , California, Lyft, Brunswick, MarineMax

☆ Nvidia chases $30 billion custom chip market with new unit: Reuters
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The dominant global designer and supplier of AI chips aims to capture a portion of an exploding market for custom AI chips and to protect itself from the growing number of companies interested in finding alternatives to its products. Nvidia officials have met with representatives from Amazon.com , Meta, Microsoft, Google and OpenAI to discuss making custom chips for them, according to two sources familiar with the meetings. $30 billion marketAccording to estimates from research firm 650 Group's Alan Weckel, the data center custom chip market will grow to as much as $10 billion this year, and double that in 2025. The broader custom chip market was worth roughly $30 billion in 2023, which amounts to roughly 5% of annual global chip sales, according to Needham analyst Charles Shi. "With Broadcom's custom silicon business touching $10 billion, and Marvell's around $2 billion, this is a real threat," said Dylan Patel, founder of the silicon research group SemiAnalysis.

Persons: OpenAI, Greg Reichow, Meta, Dina McKinney, Alan Weckel, Charles Shi, Dylan Patel Organizations: Nvidia, Microsoft, Broadcom, Marvell Technology, Eclipse Ventures, Amazon.com, Meta, Google, Reuters, Devices, Marvell, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Locations: Krakow, Poland, Santa Clara , California

☆ Nvidia wants to work with the world's most powerful tech companies to make customized AI chips
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nvidia is in talks with tech giants like OpenAI and Google to build custom AI chips. It's held talks with leaders from Meta, Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI to build custom chips for data centers, two sources told Reuters. AdvertisementAny move by Nvidia into the custom chip market bodes ill for other manufacturers. Nvidia isn't just trying to work with major tech companies. The company is also turning to its own AI to produce its own AI chips faster.

Persons: —, It's, Nvidia's, OpenAI, Greg Reichow, Dylan Patel, Nvidia isn't, Sam Altman, Jensen Huang, Aaron Mok Organizations: Nvidia, Google, Broadcom, Reuters, Service, Meta, Microsoft, Business, Marvell Technology, Eclipse Ventures, OpenAI, United Arab Emirates

☆ Nvidia's dominance in AI chips deters funding for startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Max A. Cherney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

U.S. chip startups have raised $881.4 million through the end of August, according to PitchBook data. Nvidia has "indirectly" contributed to overall AI chip fundraising woes, because investors want "Home run only type investments with a huge investment, huge return," Mythic CEO Dave Rick said. About two years ago, new investments in chip startups were often $200 million or $300 million. At least two AI chip startups have overcome investor reluctance by trumpeting potential customers or their relationships with well-known executives. While these chip makers in Nvidia's shadow struggle, startups in AI software and related technologies do not face the same constraints.

Persons: Ann Wang, Nvidia’s, Greg Reichow, Dave Rick, Rick, Rivos, Brendan Burke, Tenstorrent, Jim Keller, Max A, Kenneth Li, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, Nvidia, Eclipse Ventures, Apple, Devices, Microsoft, AMD, Intel, Thomson Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Santa Clara , California, U.S, San Francisco

☆ Voxel uses AI and computer vision to improve workplace safety. Check out the 8-slide pitch deck it used to raise $12 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A startup that uses AI and computer vision to detect and prevent workplace accidents has just secured $12 million in strategic funding from Rite Hite. San Francisco-based Voxel, which launched in 2020, allows companies to integrate its AI tool into their security cameras. "Despite the rapid advancements in AI and computer vision, their potential remained largely untapped in ensuring workplace safety," said Alex Senemar, cofounder and CEO of Voxel. The startup's AI tool also integrates with existing security camera infrastructures, so companies don't have to buy new equipment. It provides tiered pricing, as well as analytics on workplace safety, so corporations can assess how to create a safer setting for workers.

Persons: Voxel, Hite, Alex Senemar, Senemar, Rite Hite Organizations: Rite, PPG Industries, Eclipse Ventures, MTech Locations: San Francisco, Rite Hite, North America

☆ 29-year-old’s self-driving car startup was born in a garage—now it has Bill Gates’ attention and a $1 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Since launching Wayve in 2017, CEO Alex Kendall has often felt like the self-driving car industry's mostly ignored little brother. In 2017, Kendall got a Ph.D. in deep learning and computer vision at the University of Cambridge. While there, he helped develop a deep learning algorithm for a computer vision concept called "semantic segregation." A delivery van outfitted with Wayve's autonomous driving software is part of the fleet of vehicles making grocery deliveries across London. When he and Kendall launched Wayve, "many of the big technology giants had just put billions of dollars of funding into building autonomous vehicles," Kendall says.

Persons: Alex Kendall, Kendall, Amar Shah, Wayve, Bill Gates, we've, it's, Shah, I've Organizations: Microsoft, Virgin, CNBC, University of Cambridge, PACE, Eclipse Ventures Locations: London, South, Cambridge, Asda, Kendall

☆ AI chip firm Tenstorrent raises $100 mln from Hyundai, Samsung
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Courtesy of Tenstorrent /Handout via REUTERSAug 2 (Reuters) - Tenstorrent, a Canadian startup headed by chip industry veteran Jim Keller that is developing artificial intelligence chips, said on Wednesday it has raised $100 million from Hyundai Motor Group (005380.KS) and a Samsung (005930.KS) investment fund, among others. Keller, who has previously developed chips for Apple (AAPL.O), Tesla (TSLA.O) and Intel (INTC.O), took over as the startup's CEO earlier this year. Tenstorrent makes its own AI chips, but also sells its intellectual property and other technology to customers looking to make their own AI chips. Hyundai established a semiconductor development group last year and said that it plans to use Tenstorrent technology in "future Hyundai, Kia and Genesis" vehicles. “With this investment, the Group expects to develop optimized but differentiated semiconductor technology that will aid future mobilities and strengthen internal capabilities in AI technology development," Heung-soo Kim, executive vice president and head of the global strategy office at Hyundai Motor Group, said in a statement.

Persons: Jim Keller, Heung Soo Kim, Keller, Tenstorrent, Kim, Stephen Nellis, Marguerita Choy Organizations: Global, Hyundai, REUTERS, Hyundai Motor Group, Samsung, Nvidia, Apple, Intel, Kia, Catalyst Fund, Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Epiq, Maverick Capital, Tesla, LG, Thomson Locations: Santa Clara , California, U.S, Handout, Canadian

☆ The electric-car industry is set for a pivotal year. Here are 6 VCs' top predictions for 2023, from new trends to investment opportunities.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Alexa St. John | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

2023 is set to bring even more momentum to the electric-car industry than 2022 did. Even with challenges — and some executives' losing faith in the EV biz — the industry can't turn back on its ambitions. Robert Knopes/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesCharging, charging, chargingHistorically, charging hasn't been a money-making venture. Alexei Andreev, a managing director at AutoTech Ventures, said a shakeout could come in the battery industry, where hundreds of startups are racing to compete with giants. The autonomous-vehicle industry took several hits in 2022, but General Motors is still optimistic about Cruise.

☆ Printing the future: New factory tech reshapes the U.S. industrial economy
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Timothy Aeppel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

DEVENS, Mass., Sept 21 (Reuters) - The giant machines churning out metal parts on this factory floor do not bang or clang - or make any other noise usually associated with heavy-duty manufacturing. VulcanForms builds metal parts by layering on and fusing together materials bit by bit — rather than cutting them out of blocks of metal or stamping them out in metal foundries. The factory has made everything from medical implants and gun suppressors to tire molds and computer cooling devices. VulcanForms is unique among 3D printing companies in that it builds its own proprietary machines - which it will not sell to other producers - and uses them to make parts for its customers. The company is growing quickly, with plans to double the number of 3D printing machines at the Devens factory by the end of this year.

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