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☆ AI startup Perplexity is in talks to raise more money at a significantly higher valuation just months after its last round
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewOnly months after buzzy AI search-engine startup Perplexity AI raised its last round of funding, the company is yet again raising additional funds, as investors clamor to back tech's next big generative AI startup. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Perplexity is raising this additional money at a significantly higher valuation cap than its previous pricing of $520 million, according to two people with direct knowledge. A spokesperson told Business Insider that the details of the deal were incorrect but did not clarify when asked for further information.

Persons: —, clamor, Jeff Bezos, Perplexity, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Bard, Aravind Srinivas, It's, Elad Gil, Nat Friedman, Fred Wilson, aren't Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Institutional Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Bessemer Venture Partners, Nvidia Locations: OpenAI

☆ Google's new AI-powered wingman highlights the challenges of using a tool that could eventually replace you
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. In today’s big story, we’re looking at Google’s new internal AI model aimed at improving worker efficiency. The big storyAI assistanceCBS Photo Archive/Getty ImagesGoogle employees are getting an AI-powered wingman in the company’s bid to improve efficiency. Goose can answer questions about Google's tech and write and edit code, according to an internal summary of the model. Tech companies have tested inventions on their own employees for years in a process known as "dogfooding," writes BI's Alistair Barr.

Persons: —, Denny's, customizations, Hugh Langley, Tom Cruise’s copilot, Alistair Barr, Tyler Lee, “, Bryan R, Smith, Wall, Gary Gensler, We’re, Société, Elad Gil, Gil, ChatGPT, it’s, Uber, Nomura, Young homebuyers, Meredith Whitney, Donald Trump, Dan DeFrancesco, Hallam Bullock, Jordan Parker Erb, George Glover Organizations: Business, Service, CBS, Getty, Microsoft, OpenAI, Tech, Google, Big Tech, Fed, UBS, SEC, Silicon Valley’s, BI, Xbox, Dragon, Workers, Wall Locations: China, New York, London

☆ Elad Gil, tech's biggest solo capitalist, sees an AI app wave coming
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementThe year of the "AI app layer"Gil sees 2024 as the year that the “AI app layer” will start to crystalize, bringing the power of rapidly advancing foundation models to the masses. For someone with so much skin in the AI game, it’s notable that Gil’s portfolio does not include the big foundation models companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. Gil says he has been impressed with how quickly the legacy tech companies have moved to corner the market on cutting-edge AI research. But with the Biden administration’s more robust antitrust posture, Gil says there’s a lot of much-needed consolidation that’s not happening.

Persons: —, OpenAI, Elad Gil, Harvey, Character.ai, “ We're, ” Gil, ChatGPT, Gil, Gil's, ”, “ they’ve, Biden, there’s Organizations: Service, Business, Twitter, Mixer Labs, Google, Apple, Fortune, “ Enterprises Locations: Airbnb, MistralAI, Silicon Valley

☆ Generative AI startup Recraft just raised $12 million from Khosla Ventures and Nat Friedman with this 22-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewRecraft, a startup that aims to vastly improve the quality of AI-generated images, has raised $12 million in fresh funds. "We are building some unique things using technology that no one else has," Anna Veronika Dorogush, Recraft's CEO and founder told Business Insider. Recraft has brought in $12 million from Khosla Ventures and former GitHub CEO, Nat Friedman, with participation from RTP Global, Abstract VC, Basis Set Ventures, Elad Gil, and other angel investors. The startup originally wanted to raise $10 million but increased the round size due to being heavily oversubscribed, Dorogush said. AdvertisementThe company hasn't spent money on marketing, relying on word-of-mouth referrals to accrue more than 350,000 users, Dorogush added.

Persons: —, Anna Veronika Dorogush, Recraft, Nat Friedman, Elad Gil, Dorogush, hasn't Organizations: Service, Business, Khosla Ventures, RTP Global Locations: London, New York

☆ AI models from OpenAI and other tech giants are being bombarded by a new swarm of bots 'extracting intelligence'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

These bots scrape information from AI models, including OpenAI's GPT-4. "AI models can, in theory, share everything they know. This is often done by infiltrating applications that have official accounts and API connections with the largest and most powerful AI models, Rauch explained. Evading China's AI model blockadeA third reason for this new phenomenon: China blocked access to ChatGPT, GPT-4 and many of the other top generative AI models. So an an app could offer a seat where the user can only query AI models a certain number of times per day.

Persons: Guillermo Rauch, OpenAI's, Elad Gil, Sarah Guo, Rauch, OpenAI Organizations: Service, Google Locations: Wall, Silicon, China, GPT

☆ Exclusive: Deel, a $12 billion HR startup, is contemplating an acquisition of competitor Papaya Global
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In the letter, Bouaziz says Deel "may contemplate an acquisition offer" of Papaya Global. "The Deel leadership team and I have been following Papaya Global for quite some time now with great interest," Bouaziz wrote to Papaya's board of directors. A spokesperson for Papaya Global said in a statement that the company is not for sale. Papaya Global is an Israel-based payments processing startup that last raised at a $3.7 billion valuation in 2021 in a round led by Insight Partners and Tiger Global. He also floated the possibility of an eventual full takeover of Papaya Global, which would require the approval of its board.

Persons: Philippe Bouaziz, Bouaziz, Deel, Eynat Guez, Dovi Frances, Guez, Francis, onboarding, Andreessen Horowitz, Emerson, Alexis Ohanian, Elad Gil, Y, Goldman Sachs, Adam Schiff, Julie Su Organizations: Insight Partners, Tiger Global, Global, Coatue Management, Nike, Labor Locations: San Francisco, Israel

Silicon Valley is bracing for what it fears will be an "extinction event" threatening the survival of hundreds of startups. Tom Loverro, a investor at 40-year-old Bay Area venture capital firm IVP, has been loudly warning for months on Twitter and in media interviews about a coming "mass extinction event" for startups. The total volume of venture capital investment into US startups has slumped for six consecutive quarters, according to data firm Pitchbook. Even a last-ditch slashing of the startup's prospective valuation — a "down-round," in Silicon Valley parlance — didn't whet investors' appetites. Over the past year, many startups that rely on Silicon Valley funding have been steeling themselves for the slowdown to avoid similar fates.

Persons: —, they're, Jennifer Neundorfer, That's, Tom Loverro, Loverro, Consuelo Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt, Cameron Lester, I've, Lester, Linda Ahrens, Ahrens, Unown, " Ahrens, Anna Dittrich, Plastiq, Vincent Harrison, Elad Gil, Steve Brotman, Brotman, Will Hawthorne, VC's, Mike Ryan, Pitchbook's Harrison, Sell, Hawthorne Organizations: Ventures, Sequoia Capital, —, Venture, Twitter, United States Federal Reserve, Jefferies, January Ventures, Alpha Partners, Avid Capital, Sugar, Menlo, BulletPoint Network Locations: Silicon, Sequoia, IVP, Valley, Instacart, Navan, Boston, Snowflake, America

☆ Welcome to the final phase of software eating the world. SaaS companies beware, you're on the menu this time.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This could disrupt the way software is created, distributed, and used, VCs and startup founders say. This outcome would flip the traditional software industry on its head, calling into question the value of SaaS companies in a world where everyday people can build software themselves. "This is the final chapter of software eating the world, where a bunch of people can create enterprise software within the enterprise." A 'healthy pressure' for traditional SaaS providersTo be sure, the death of the traditional software company still seems a long way off. However, even skeptics admit that the threat of generative AI to traditional SaaS will push established software companies to prove their worth.

☆ Google just showed how Big Tech will win again in AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

OpenAI and other AI startups will struggle to match this reach, unless they team up with other tech giants, like Microsoft. After Google I/O this week, it's looking like AI will be another 80/20 situation where a few Big Tech companies benefit the most. Some examples:In Google Docs, ask Google's AI model to help you write a job description. For a Google Slides presentation with photos, you can ask the company's AI model to create speaker notes based on the images. Insider ran into a high-level Google product manager at the conference who'd just watched a developer presentation.

☆ Autonomous agents are Silicon Valley's latest AI obsession. Here's why pizza-ordering bots may be coming to a computer near you soon.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"Autonomous AI agents" are AI bots that can plan and prioritize to achieve user-provided goals. However, the rise of AI agents has sparked concerns around safety and the potential for AGI. From assistants to digital friendsHowever, AI doomsdayers don't have to be too worried yet — the performance of these AI agents have often been less than stellar. Without the proper guardrails, AI agents with unrestricted access to the Internet may similarly take unanticipated steps to complete its goals, like transferring money from a bank account. And sometimes, the misuse of AI agents is intentional, rather than accidental.

☆ 7. Anduril Industries
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Anduril Industries operates in an increasingly complex security environment, where science and technology innovation are needed for the U.S. military to keep an edge. Throughout 2022, defense technology specialist Anduril Industries supplied drones, artificial intelligence software and training to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions. With a recent round of venture financing directed toward cutting-edge autonomous militaristic products, Anduril Industries stands to help fill this gap and scale it up. Building on that acquisition, last year Anduril Industries partnered with the U.S. Special Operations Command on a 10-year, $967 million contract to provide systems for shooting down drones. Anduril also bought startup Dive Technologies, a maker of underwater vehicles, to expand its suite of autonomous vehicles.

May 4 (Reuters) - Two prominent former Google (GOOGL.O) researchers who authored the groundbreaking paper that paved the way for the generative AI boom, have raised $8 million for their new startup Essential AI, four sources told Reuters. Thrive Capital had led the round in Essential AI, founded by Ashish Vaswani and Niki Parmar. Thrive Capital, founded by Joshua Kushner, is also an investor in Microsoft-backed OpenAI. Essential AI aims to build software for enterprises to use large language models, the core software of a new artificial intelligence system that has powered generative AI applications such as ChatGPT, sources said. The raise came after Vaswani and Parmar left Adept AI, a company they also co-founded in 2021 with former Google director David Luan.

April 26 (Reuters) - With more and more lawyers at major law firms using fast-advancing generative artificial intelligence tools, legal AI startup Harvey said Wednesday that it raised $21 million in fresh investor cash. Sequoia Capital, which is leading the Series A fundraising round, said more than 15,000 law firms are on a waiting list to start using Harvey. The company says it builds custom large language models for law firms. Technology companies and investors have rushed to embrace large language model-based generative AI since Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT debuted in November. Casetext in March released its AI legal assistant product, CoCounsel, which uses GPT-4 to speed up tasks like legal research, contract analysis and document review.

☆ VCs are scrambling to invest in AI startups in Y Combinator's latest class: 'There's hysteria for a reason'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

VCs are scrambling to back the AI startups in Y Combinator's latest batch. Several generative AI startups have already secured funding from top firms, sources say. And while valuations are down across the board, YC AI startups are still hot. Startups focused on AI, and generative AI specifically, which saw a substantial jump in the latest batch, were some of the most highly sought after by investors. An AI feeding frenzyVC buzz was common across generative AI startups both in the application and infrastructure layers.

☆ Developer tool startups in Y Combinator's latest class are grabbing the attention of investors like Elad Gil and Google's Gradient Ventures. Here are 4 that have already landed funding.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Developer tool startups that were part of Y Combinator's latest class are drawing strong interest from several high-profile venture capitalists. Sequoia partner Lauren Reeder personally participated in the code review startup's recent funding round, according to a Sequoia spokesperson. That fundraising was at a $30 million post-money valuation, one person familiar with the deal said. Developer tool startups accounted for 26% of the companies in YC's winter 2023 batch, up from 16% of the summer 2022 class, according to the accelerator's startup directory. Have a tip on a startup funding round?

☆ Y Combinator's latest class is a feeding frenzy for VCs looking to back AI startups: 'There's hysteria for a reason'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

☆ Exclusive: Buzzy legal generative AI startup Harvey taps Sequoia to lead funding round at a $150 million valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Legal generative AI startup Harvey has raised a funding round from Sequoia, Insider has learned. This funding round landed the startup a $150 million post-money valuation. Industry-specific generative AI startups have emerged in nearly every industry, from healthcare to gaming, to offer specialized services beyond the capabilities of general models like OpenAI's GPT-4. Legal generative AI startup Harvey has raised a Series A round of funding at a $150 million post-money valuation from Sequoia Capital, according to three people with knowledge of the financing who were not authorized to speak publicly. The relatively few customers makes Harvey's valuation seem rich in comparison, the source said, pointing to a broader trend of elevated valuations and round sizes in the hyped-up generative AI space.

☆ Former Greylock VC Sarah Guo is betting her career on the AI boom with new fund Conviction. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Ex-Greylock GP Sarah Guo surprised the tech world when she launched her AI fund Conviction last year. In addition to her fund, Guo has gained prominence in SF's AI scene through her podcast and events. Kovalsky knew of only one person who could be behind this — Sarah Guo, then a general partner at VC firm Greylock. Within the tech community, Guo has differentiated herself from other VCs through her honesty, business savvy, and grit, they added. Although Guo launched Conviction, a $100 million fund investing up to Series A, in late 2022, her interest in artificial intelligence has been long in the making.

☆ Ex-Google employees' A.I. chatbot startup valued at $1 billion after Andreessen Horowitz funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Character.AI, an artificial intelligence start-up founded by two former Google employees, is capitalizing on venture capitalists' unquenchable thirst for deals in technology's hottest space. The two-year-old company said on Thursday that it raised $150 million at a $1 billion valuation in a funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Andreessen Horowitz has been a significant player in driving up prices in both markets. The firm announced a $4.5 billion crypto fund in mid-2022 as the digital currency market was in freefall. A year earlier, it added to its investment in audio app Clubhouse, valuing the early-stage startup at $4 billion.

☆ Exclusive: Buzzy generative AI-powered search engine Perplexity AI taps NEA to lead funding round at a $150 million valuation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | Ben Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AI search engine startup Perplexity AI is raising a funding round led by NEA, Insider has learned. The deal aims to raise between $20 and $25 million at a $150 million post-money valuation, according to sources. The fundraise continues the trend of large rounds and valuations in the buzzy generative AI space. AI search engine startup Perplexity AI is in talks to raise a funding round led by NEA, according to three people with knowledge of the financing who were not authorized to speak publicly. Perplexity AI cofounder and CEO Aravind Srinivas declined to comment.

☆ Pitch Decks That Advertising Tech Startups Used to Raise Millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Business Insider | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

Check out these pitch decks that they've used to sell their vision and raise millions from private equity and VC investors. Blocking ad fraudAdtech startup Lunio, announced a $15 million Series A funding round in September 2022. In May 2022, the software-as-a-service startup raised a $30 million Series B round, led by Insight Partners. Marketing in the metaverseAnima, an augmented-reality startup, raised a $3 million funding round from investors in Janury. He raised $50 million in Series D after closing a $34 million Series C last year, bringing its total raised to $100 million.

☆ How OneSchema, a Y Combinator-backed data-importing startup, raised $6.3 million from Sequoia and General Catalyst without a pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Here's how OneSchema raised $6.3 million from General Catalyst and Sequoia without a pitch deck. Luo's experience inspired him to start OneSchema alongside his cofounder, Christina Gilbert, to try to streamline the data-importing process for companies. The startup recently raised a $6.3 million seed round led by General Catalyst with participation from Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, Elad Gil, and Contrary Capital. Because of inbound investor interest, OneSchema was able to raise its seed round without a pitch deck, Gilbert told Insider. A decade ago, many might have argued that OneSchema's focus would someday become obsolete because of the development of automated methods to transfer data, Gilbert told Insider.

☆ See the presentations that hot healthcare startups used to raise millions from top VCs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-08 | by ( Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Here are the presentations obtained by Insider that healthcare startups have used to raise millions. Even so, healthcare startups raised $15.8 billion in the first half of the year, according to Silicon Valley Bank. Insider rounded up all the presentations we've published that healthcare startups have used to raise cash from investors. For instance, check out the 13-slide presentation heart-health startup Miga Health used to raise $12 million in seed funding. Brightside used this presentation to break through a crowded field of mental health startups and convince VCs to invest $24 million.

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