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☆ 2023 has been an AI feeding frenzy, here are the startups that attracted the most investment this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Despite an overall slump in startup funding, 2023 saw a scramble among investors to pour money into AI and machine learning startups. And the company's star still appears to be rising, despite a messy leadership struggle that recently spilled into public view. Meanwhile OpenAI's perennial rival Anthropic attracted multi-billion dollar investments from both Google and Amazon to fund a competing AI model known as Claude. At the same time legacy companies from John Deere to accounting firm PwC played up their AI bona fides to capitalize on the hype. The list doesn't include startups who have not publicly released the amount of their funding rounds.

Persons: OpenAI, Anthropic, Claude, Databricks, John Deere, PwC, Fresh Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Alpha, Technology, Monogram, Sigma, Lambda, Helsing, Metals, Eagle Eye, Amelia, Asimov, Farmers Business, Harbinger, Prins, Silo, Mistral, Alto, AMP, Management Software, Universal, Coro, Kodiak Robotics, Aerospace, Defense, Sana, Corti, Kyte, Mitra, Tech, Boss Digital Technology, Halcyon, & $ Locations: PitchBook

☆ US budget gap soars to $1.7 trillion, largest outside COVID era
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Treasury Department said the deficit was the largest since a COVID-fueled $2.78 trillion gap in 2021. For September, the final month of the fiscal year, the deficit fell to $171 billion from $430 billion in September 2022. The fiscal 2023 deficit would have been $321 billion larger, but was reduced by this amount because the Supreme Court struck down Biden's student loan forgiveness program as unconstitutional. Reuters GraphicsRECORD INTEREST COSTSThe 2023 deficit marks an abrupt end to two years of falling deficits for Biden as COVID-19 spending faded. Fiscal 2023 outlays fell $137 billion, or 2% from the prior year to $6.134 trillion.

Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Joe Biden's, Biden, Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, Biden's, Janet Yellen, Shalanda Young, outlays, Gross, David Lawder, Dan Burns, Andrea Ricci Organizations: U.S, Capitol, REUTERS, Rights, Social Security, Treasury Department, Representatives, . House, Management, Treasury, Reuters Graphics, Federal, Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Ukraine, Israel, U.S

☆ U.S. budget deficit jumps 23% to nearly $1.7 trillion as Social Security, health costs rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S. Capitol building is seen in Washington, U.S., April 6, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Friday posted a $1.695 trillion budget deficit in fiscal 2023, a 23% jump from the prior year as revenues fell and outlays for Social Security, Medicare and interest costs on the federal debt rose significantly. The Treasury Department said the deficit was the largest since a COVID-fueled $2.78 trillion gap in 2021 and marks a major return to ballooning deficits after back-to-back declines during President Joe Biden's first two years in office. The deficit comes as Biden is asking Congress for $100 billion in new foreign aid and security spending, including $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel, along with funding for U.S. border security and the Indo-Pacific region. Reporting by David Lawder and Dan Burns; Editing by Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Joe Biden's, Biden, Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy, David Lawder, Dan Burns, Andrea Ricci Organizations: U.S, Capitol, REUTERS, Rights, Social Security, Treasury Department, Representatives, . House, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Ukraine, Israel, U.S

☆ Tencent-backed AI chip startup Enflame raises $2.7 bln from state-linked investors, others
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - China's artificial intelligence (AI) chip startup Enflame, backed by tech giant Tencent, on Thursday said it raised 20 billion yuan ($2.74 billion) from investors including funds linked to a government authority in Shanghai. The deal came as the development of generative AI, boosted by the success of OpenAI's ChatGPT, raises investor interest in companies working on AI-related infrastructure such as AI chips. Enflame said the latest fundraising was co-led by investors including a few funds backed by Shanghai International Group, which is under the control of the state asset regulating authority in the municipality of Shanghai. Tencent, which has cooperated with Enflame in developing an AI chip named Zixiao and contributed to the startup's earlier fundraising, also participated in the latest investment round, according to a statement by Enflame. ($1 = 7.3103 Chinese yuan)Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Kane Wu; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: OpenAI's, Enflame, Roxanne Liu, Kane Wu, Michael Perry Organizations: Shanghai International Group, Enflame, Thomson Locations: Shanghai

☆ Trump's looming indictment causes his feud with DeSantis to boil over into insults and insinuations about a 'porn star' and 'underage' classmates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The Trump indictment news put DeSantis on the spot, given he's expected to run for president. "I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair," DeSantis said. "But when he can actually make a positive difference — whether that's the Silicon Valley bailout or the Trump indictment — he shuts up for political convenience. Asked about the battle, DeSantis' political team pointed to the governor's comments Monday saying that he would not participate in helping Bragg with an extradition. Ron DeSantis' interview with the New York Post.

The cross-border attacks followed an Israeli operation in the West Bank city of Nablus on Wednesday. The Islamic Jihad said Israeli troops had surrounded two of its Nablus commanders in a house, triggering a clash that drew in other gunmen. Palestinian sources said the two Islamic Jihad commanders had been killed along with another gunman. Palestinian groups in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza went on strike on Thursday. Abdel-Latif Abdu, a vegetable seller in Gaza, kept his shop closed in support of residents of Nablus and the rest of the West Bank.

☆ Congressional budget forecast to provide insight on U.S. debt ceiling deadline
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Wednesday will provide some clarity on when the United States may default on its payment obligations if lawmakers fail to raise the federal borrowing limit amid a tense partisan spending stand-off. A second CBO report will describe the "current debt situation and CBO's expectation about when the Treasury will no longer be able to pay its obligations fully if the debt limit is not raised." "There has been a Republican drumbeat to cut Social Security and Medicare," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, reminded reporters on Tuesday. There is no agenda on the part of Senate Republicans to revisit Medicare or Social Security. Reporting by David Lawder; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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