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☆ Intel matters to US chipmaking. Its tangled relationship with China makes things complicated.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-24 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

As things stand, Intel is the only US chip firm with plants, known as fabs, that are capable of making advanced semiconductors. TSMC is set to open a fab in Arizona next year, while reports suggest Sam Altman is seeking to raise funds to create chip manufacturing plants. Intel's customers in China include Alibaba and TikTok parent company ByteDance, which have been subject to scrutiny from the US government. "Intel's ties to key businesses in China are typical for a high-tech firm," he said. As Intel and the US consider plans to increase manufacturing capacity at home, the company's China ties will loom large in the global chip race.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, Biden, Forrester's, Alvin Nguyen, HWA CHENG, Sam Altman, Pat Gelsinger, Gelsinger, Forrester's Nguyen, it's, Stacy Rasgon, Bernstein, Rasgon Organizations: Service, Intel, Business, Qualcomm, Street Journal, Bloomberg, China Intel, HWA, Getty, Nvidia, AMD, New York Times, The Times, South Korea's SK Hynix, Intel Capital, Financial, Financial Times, Yahoo Locations: chipmaking, Washington, Intel's Arizona, China, AFP, Taiwan, Arizona , New Mexico, Oregon, Arizona, Chengdu, Dalian, South, Beijing

☆ Amazon, Meta back Scale AI in $1 billion funding deal that values firm at $14 billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Riley De León | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Artificial intelligence startup Scale AI said Tuesday that it has raised $1 billion in a Series F funding round that values the enterprise tech company at $13.8 billion — almost double its last reported valuation. 12 on this year's CNBC Disruptor 50 list, has now raised $1.6 billion to date. Existing investors including Y Combinator, Nat Friedman, Index Ventures, Founders Fund, Coatue, Thrive Capital, Spark Capital, Nvidia, Tiger Global Management, Greenoaks, and Wellington Management also participated in the round. Scale AI is playing a key role in the rise of generative artificial intelligence and large language models, with the data — whether it is text, images, video or voice recordings — needing to be labeled correctly before it can be digested and used effectively by AI technology. Scale AI has evolved from labeling data used to train models that powered autonomous driving to now helping to improve and fine tune the underlying data for nearly any organization looking to implement AI, powering some of the most advanced models in use.

Persons: Elad Gil, Y Combinator, Nat Friedman, Alexandr Wang Organizations: CNBC, Accel, Cisco Investments, Intel Capital, ServiceNow Ventures, AMD Ventures, WCM, Color Genomics, Meta, Ventures, Founders Fund, Spark Capital, Nvidia, Tiger Global Management, Wellington Management Locations: San Francisco, AGI

☆ How satellite connectivity startup Skylo hooked backers such as Intel, BMW and Samsung to raise $37 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Silicon Valley space startup Skylo Technologies landed funding from the corporate venture arms of Intel, BMW and Samsung, as the company aims to bridge the gap between satellite and terrestrial communications. Skylo raised $37 million through an equity round, the company told CNBC, that was led by Intel Capital and Innovation Endeavors and joined by BMW i Ventures, Next47, Samsung Catalyst Fund and Seraphim Space. We just don't want extra hardware, because that adds complexity," Skylo CEO Parth Trivedi told CNBC. That way, Trivedi sees Skylo operating as a "roaming partner" to existing cellular networks, effectively rubber-stamping and linking devices made by other connectivity players. "You're going to find that this approach is very, very scalable, because the carriers don't have to change behavior, the users don't have to change behavior, the satellite operators don't have to change behavior, and regulators don't have to change behavior," Trivedi said.

Persons: Skylo, Parth Trivedi, Trivedi, Dave Johnson, They've, Johnson Organizations: Technologies, Intel, BMW, Samsung, CNBC, Intel Capital, Innovation, BMW i Ventures, Next47, Samsung Catalyst Fund, SoftBank, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Sony Locations: Mountain View , California

☆ With an intensified focus on AI, VC firm Mayfield is closely watching for 'maturing' early-stage gen AI startups in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In July, the firm announced its first dedicated seed fund focused on AI called AI Start. Prior to launching AI Start, Mayfield had already backed 25 early-stage startups in the space like MindsDB. Reddy's background makes him a perfect fit to lead the $250 million fund, Chaddha told Business Insider. This year, Chaddha tapped him to lead its new AI seed fund. With the AI Start fund, the team plans to double down and lead deals in seed stage and pre-seed generative AI startups, as well as AI infrastructure startups with an enterprise focus.

Persons: Mayfield, Vijay Reddy, who's, Reddy, Navin Chaddha, Mayfield's, Chaddha, He's Organizations: Business, Intel Capital, Cisco, Clear Ventures, Mayfield Locations: Mayfield

☆ Meet the contrarian VC: Why Mayfield's Navin Chaddha is writing more checks than ever before while other investors pull back
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The longtime VC firm just announced a new $250 million seed fund focused on AI. In tough economic times, the firm's leader, Navin Chaddha, believes it's a prime time to invest. That has essentially been Navin Chaddha's mantra since he took over the reins at venture-capital stalwart Mayfield Fund in 2009. With a dedicated $250 million AI seed war chest, Mayfield is now prepared to lean in even more. "We believe that AI will emerge as our teammate and that the Gen.AI wave will create many iconic companies," Chaddha said in a press release.

Persons: Mayfield, Navin Chaddha, it's, Navin, that's, Chaddha, – who's, Forbes, –, Vijay Reddy, Reddy Organizations: VC, Mayfield Fund, Mayfield, Tiger, Insight Partners, Clear Ventures, Intel Capital, Wing Venture Locations: Bessemer, Sequoia

OAKLAND, California, May 4 (Reuters) - Impact Nano, a Massachusetts-based startup that makes specialty chemicals for the semiconductor industry and others, said on Thursday it raised $32 million in funding from investors including Intel Capital and Goldman Sachs Asset Management. And they are made in regions of political instability," said Matthew Stephens, CEO and co-founder of Impact Nano. Stephens said Impact Nano is inventing new ways to produce chemicals that chip makers use. Stephens also said Impact Nano is looking to apply for some of the CHIPS Act funding that will support the suppliers for semiconductor manufacturing. Goldman Sachs Asset Management is part of Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Intel Capital is the investment arm of U.S. chip giant Intel Corp (INTC.O).

☆ Startup Unisers raises funds for defect-detecting tools in chipmaking
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Jane Lanhee Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Semiconductor chips are seen on a circuit board of a computer in this illustration picture taken February 25, 2022. So detecting particles soon after they contaminate wafers saves money. "We are the only company which can detect these extremely small, small, smaller than 10 nanometer particles on wafer," Altun told Reuters. The technology in the new machines is the first product from Unisers. The technology of Unisers is also aimed at detecting impurities in materials, another source of defects.

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Chinese chip design company Unisoc (Shanghai) Technologies Co is seeking to raise 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in a new funding round that will value the firm at about 70 billion yuan ($10.3 billion), three people with knowledge of the deal told Reuters. Unisoc has approached several state-backed investment funds for the round, tapping increased local investor interest in China's domestic chip industry, which is gearing up to be more self-sufficient in the face of U.S. pressure, the people said. Unisoc is controlled by private equity firm Wise Road Capital, which took over the company in 2022 after Tsinghua Unigroup, its former parent company, faced bankruptcy. In its statement from Feb. 8, it added it had reached revenue of 14 billion yuan in 2022. A statement in July 2022 said it had revenue of 11.7 billion yuan in 2021.

☆ U.S. investors have plowed billions into China's AI sector, report shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Alexandra Alper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

According to the report, 167 U.S. investors took part in 401 transactions, or roughly 17% of the investments into Chinese AI companies in the period. Those transactions represented a total $40.2 billion in investment, or 37% of the total raised by Chinese AI companies in the 6-year period. According to the report, U.S. investor GSR Ventures invested alongside China's IFlytek Co Ltd (002230.SZ) in a Chinese AI company after the speech recognition firm was added to a trade blacklist. Silicon Valley Bank and Wanxiang American Healthcare investments group made investments in Chinese AI firms alongside China's Sensetime before the powerhouse in facial recognition technology was added to the same trade blacklist. Only one Chinese AI company that received funding from U.S. investors is involved in developing AI applications for military or public safety uses, according to CSET.

☆ Why ChatGPT Could Remain Free Amid Paid 'Pro' Version
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

OpenAI is floating a paid version of its product, prompting questions about future access. The Microsoft tie-up could help develop more sophisticated ChatGPT versions, experts said. The evolution toward paid versions is a common framework for newer technologies, where companies may release free or low cost versions to entice users and to gauge adoption. Keeping a version of ChatGPT free will still help the company develop its technology, Astvansh said. "A free version will help gather data on how people are asking questions, and help it improve other versions of GPT," he said.

HONG KONG, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Zeekr, Chinese automaker Geely's upmarket electric car brand, has confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering, aiming to raise more than $1 billion, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. That compares with a valuation of about $9 billion in its maiden external fundraising last year. In doing so, it joins a growing list of Chinese automakers looking to launch or expand sales of EVs in the region. According to two of the sources, Zeekr also considered Hong Kong as its listing venue but picked New York in the hope of achieving a higher valuation. It said in October it would spin Zeekr off but did not identify a listing venue or the likely value of an offering.

☆ The 13 most promising early-stage artificial-intelligence startups of 2022, according to VCs investing in companies building technical infrastructure and developing tools
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Venture capitalists investing in AI identified the promising startups at earlier fundraising stages. These 13 AI startups are making tools that try to help companies make better use of data. Kim-Mai Cutler, a partner at Initialized Capital, said VCs are seeing potential in the startups able to develop new applications. Top VCs shared with Insider their picks for startups in their earlier stages that they see as demonstrating the most potential. Here are the 13 most promising AI startups of 2022, according to VCs, listed from least to most capital raised:

☆ Chipmaker Astera Labs valued at over $3 bln after latest fundraise
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Chipmaker Astera Labs said on Thursday it was valued at $3.15 billion following a late-stage funding round led by Fidelity Management & Research, signaling investors' bullishness on the semiconductor sector. The company raised $150 million in the latest round amid upbeat long-term outlook for chips, especially as growth in artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and machine learning segments booms. Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N), which typically stays away from big technology wagers, said earlier this week it had bought more than $4.1 billion in TSMC stock. Existing investors, including Atreides Management, Intel Capital and Sutter Hill Ventures also participated in the funding round. Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chinese automaker Geely's new energy brand Farizon raises over $300 mln
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING/HONG KONG, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Chinese automaker Geely's new energy vehicle subsidiary on Wednesday said its brand Farizon has raised over $300 million from a funding round led by Asian logistics firm Global Logistics Properties' (GLP) investment arm Hidden Hill Capital. The new capital raise, which involves other investors such as Chinese logistics and chemical group Transfar and an investment firm backed by major Chinese investment bank CITIC Securities, came as Geely stepped up its new energy vehicle development. Hangzhou-based Geely Holding Group, owner of Zhejiang Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group which sells Farizon, is known globally with its investments in Volvo Cars and Mercedes-Benz. Farizon will use much of the funding "for research & development and ecosystem development, in order to further consolidate its market-leading position in new energy commercial vehicles," Zhejiang Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle Group said in a statement. Geely New Energy Commercial Vehicle did not disclose Farizon's valuation in the statement.

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