OpenAI looks to close $6Bn+ in funding

Plus Deepmind shares AI-powered chip design project

October 01, 2024

Today’s Highlights:

📰 News: Google Deepmind shares AI-powered chip design project + Governor Newsom vetoes Californian AI regulation bill 

💰 Funding: OpenAI looks to close $6Bn+ in funding

⚡️ Top News Stories:

1. Google DeepMind shared details on its AlphaChip project, which uses reinforcement learning to transform chip design by automating the creation of superhuman chip layouts in hours, instead of weeks. 

  • Since 2020, AlphaChip has designed chips used in a wide array of hardware globally, from data centers to smartphones, helping to accelerate the design cycle for AI accelerators and improving chip performance.

  • By using an edge-based graph neural network, AlphaChip learns from prior designs, improving its efficiency and performance, similar to how human experts evolve with experience.

2. California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed SB 1047, a bill that would have regulated the development of AI models by requiring safety protocols for large-scale AI systems.

  • SB 1047 targeted AI models costing at least $100M and using significant computing power, but faced strong opposition from tech companies like OpenAI and figures like Meta's Yann LeCun.

  • Newsom rejected the bill, arguing that it applied overly strict standards even to basic AI systems and did not sufficiently focus on high-risk or sensitive use cases.

3. Raspberry Pi launches a $70 AI Camera module for vision-based applications, featuring real-time object detection and on-board AI processing.

5. Microsoft announced a $1.3Bn investment over the next 3 years to enhance AI infrastructure and tech initiatives in Mexico, aimed at supporting digital growth and skilling programs.

6. AstraZeneca will pay $18M to Immunai, a biotech company, to leverage its AI model of the immune system in order to make cancer drug trials more efficient by improving clinical decision-making processes such as dose selection and biomarker identification.

7. Archaeologists, from Japan’s Yamagata University in collaboration with IBM Research, used AI and drones to uncover 303 new geoglyphs near the Nazca Lines in Peru, depicting animals and humans, nearly doubling the known number of these ancient figures.

💰 Top Funding News:

1. OpenAI is reportedly nearing the close of a $6.5Bn funding round, which could finalize by the end of next week, according to The Wall Street Journal.

  • OpenAI is targeting a $150Bn valuation, potentially the highest valuation for a private tech firm.

  • Thrive Capital is planning on investing over $1Bn, with the exclusive option to invest another $1Bn at the same valuation next year if revenue goals are met.

  • Apple has exited discussions to invest, leaving tech giants like Microsoft and Nvidia to continue negotiations.

  • Microsoft plans to invest an additional $1Bn, adding to its $13Bn stake in OpenAI, while Nvidia is reportedly considering a $100M investment.

  • OpenAI expects its revenue to surge to $11.6Bn in 2025, up from an estimated $3.7Bn in 2024, driven largely by corporate services and ChatGPT subscriptions, however, the company may still incur losses of $5Bn, signaling the high costs of AI development.

2. AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems has filed for an IPO under the ticker symbol “CBRS” on the Nasdaq, aiming to compete with industry giants like Nvidia and secure its position in the growing AI chip market.

  • Cerebras' WSE-3 chip is positioned against Nvidia’s H100, with more cores and memory. The company also offers cloud-based services using its computing clusters.

  • Founded in 2016, Cerebras has notable investors like Foundation Capital, Benchmark, and Sam Altman. The IPO comes amidst a sparse 2024 tech IPO market, led by Citigroup and Barclays.

3. 11x.ai, which develops AI-powered sales development bots that automate lead generation, research, and customer outreach, raised a $50M Series B, led by Andreessen Horowitz, w/ Benchmark, 20VC, Project A, Lux Capital, and SV Angel.

4. Series, also known as Series AI, which develops the Rho Engine, an AI-native platform that uses LLMs and GenAI to streamline game development, raised a $28M Series A, led by Netflix and Dell Technologies Capital, w/ Andreessen Horowitz, BITKRAFT, and F4 Fund.

5. Artisan, which develops AI-powered virtual "employees" to automate tasks typically handled by sales teams, such as lead generation, research, and personalized outreach, raised a $11.5M Seed round, led by Oliver Jung, w/ Y Combinator, HubSpot Ventures, and Day One Ventures, among others.

That's all for today's email! If you want more please follow us at the social channels linked below, or check out our website!

How'd you like today's email?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Share our newsletter: If you like our work please share/forward this email with your friends, colleagues, and family. It's the best way to support us!

If this email was forwarded to you please sign up here to continue receiving them.

Want your content, product, jobs, or event featured in our newsletter? Reply to this email with the details, and our team will reach out to you.

Do you use AI for work? Tell us how, and you could be featured in our newsletter!

Check out our website for more resources, including a list of AI investors, products, events, and twitter follows.

For an archive of all our posts, click here.

We'd love to hear from you! You can always leave us comments or feedback by replying to this email!

Powered by AI. Curated and edited by Humans.