Google launches new open-source AI models

Plus new releases from Adobe, Stability, and Groq

Today’s Highlights:

📰 News: Google launches new open-source AI models + new releases from Adobe, Stability, and Groq

💰 Funding: Moonshot AI raises $1Bn from AliBaba

⚡️ Top News Stories:

1.Google introduces Gemma, a new family of open-source AI models, marking its entry into the open-source AI space 

  • Gemma models are designed for text-only applications, and come in two sizes, with neural networks of 2Bn and 7Bn parameters, catering to different computational needs and complexities.

  • The launch of Gemma signifies Google's response to the growing demand for open-source AI models and acknowledges the competitive edge of open-source AI, popular among programmers for its customizability and cost-effectiveness.

  • Google aims to attract developers and businesses to build AI applications within its Cloud Platform by offering both proprietary and open-source models.

  • Google emphasizes safety with Gemma, implementing robust safeguards and extensive red-teaming to prevent misuse of the open-source technology.

  • Gemma is launched with guidelines for responsible use and deployment, including a new technique for building safety filters to block problematic outputs.

2. Adobe introduces an AI assistant in Acrobat, designed to transform the digital document experience by summarizing files, answering questions, and providing recommendations based on content.

  • Currently available in beta for paying Acrobat users and supports all document formats in the app, including Word and PowerPoint

  • Features at launch include content assessment, question recommendations, source citations, and the ability to consolidate information into digestible content for various outputs.

3. Intel to manufacture over $15 Bn worth of custom chips for Microsoft, marking a significant partnership in chip design and production

4. Stability AI announces Stable Diffusion 3 (SD3), the latest version of its image-generating AI model,  introducing a new architecture and a diffusion transformer technique, promising improved scalability and quality on a variety of hardware

5. Google has introduced "Help me write," a generative AI feature in Chrome, powered by Gemini, to assist users in writing or refining text based on webpage content.

6. Groq, an AI chip company, has gained attention for its lightning-fast AI chips (Language Processing Units, claiming to offer "the world’s fastest LLMs," potentially surpassing current AI models like ChatGPT and Gemini.

7. OpenAI has launched the OpenAI Forum, an invitation-only online community aimed at connecting domain experts and students to discuss and collaborate on AI.

8. Google DeepMind launches AI Safety and Alignment org to work on developing safeguards for Google's AI models, addressing issues like medical misinformation, child safety, and bias.

9. After generating historically inaccurate images, Google's Gemini AI pauses on creating images of people, to correct diversity and accuracy issues in historical depictions.

10. The DOJ has appointed Jonathan Mayer, a Princeton University assistant professor with expertise in national security, consumer privacy, and criminal procedures, as its first chief AI officer, tasked with guiding ethical AI integration into the justice system.

11. Pentagon partners with Scale AI to develop a framework for testing and evaluating LLMs for military applications, ensuring real-time feedback and specialized evaluations.

12. US House leaders form bipartisan AI task force to guide innovation and address emerging threats

13. Microsoft announces a $2.1 Bn investment to boost AI and cloud services in Spain, following a substantial investment in Germany

14. Magic's AI coding assistant claims to surpass existing tools like Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot by offering fully automated coding "coworkers" rather than just semi-automated assistance

💰 Top Funding News:

1. Moonshot AI, a Chinese AI startup developing LLMs capable of handling long inputs of text and data, raised over $1Bn in a Series B co-led by Alibaba and HongShan (formerly Sequoia China).

2. Recogni, an AI-based computing company developing AI inference processing solutions for generative AI and intelligent autonomy, raised a $102M Series C co-led by Celesta Capital and GreatPoint Ventures.

3. Napier AI, which specializes in AI-enhanced financial crime and regulation tech compliance software, raised £45M from Crestline Investors, Inc. 

4. Bioptimus, a startup leveraging generative AI to capture the laws of biology across scales, aiming for a holistic understanding to accelerate biomedical and environmental science, raised a $35M Seed Round, led by Sofinnova Partners, w/ Bpifrance Large Venture. 

5. Simetrik, a B2B financial solutions platform that simplifies and automates key financial tasks utilizing no-code development and generative AI, raised a $55M Series B led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management. 

6. Qloo, which operates an AI-powered insights engine that analyzes consumer behavior data globally, raised a $25M Series C, led by AI Ventures, w/ AXA Venture Partners, Eldridge, and Moderne Ventures.

7. Highway 9 Networks, which offers a mobile cloud solution designed for cloud-native mobility and services in AI-driven enterprises, raised $25M in funding from investors including Mayfield, General Catalyst, Detroit Ventures, and others.

8. VectorShift, which simplifies LLM application development with a modular no-code approach, raised a $3M Seed round, from 1984 Ventures, Defy.vc, Formus Capital, and Y Combinator. 

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