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AI startup AI21 Labs secures $155 million at a $1.4 billion valuation

Baidu's ChatGPT-like Ernie Bot tops Apple App Store

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Saran
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AI startup AI21 Labs secures $155 million at a $1.4 billion valuation

What's Inside

  • AI startup AI21 Labs secures $155 million at a $1.4 billion valuation

  • Baidu's ChatGPT-like Ernie Bot tops Apple App Store

  • India and Japan join Google's AI-powered search outside of the U.S.

  • Copyright Office seeks public input on AI ownership questions

AI startup AI21 Labs secures $155 million at a $1.4 billion valuation

Tel Aviv-based startup AI21 Labs has successfully raised $155 million in a Series C funding round, led by investors such as Walden Catalyst, Pitango, SCB10X, b2venture, Samsung Next, and co-founder Amnon Shashua. Google and Nvidia were also contributors. This funding round brings AI21 Labs’ total capital to $283 million and values the company at $1.4 billion.

AI21 Labs emerged from stealth mode in October 2020 with its pioneering AI writing tool, Wordtune. Since then, the company has experienced significant growth, doubling its workforce and planning further expansions.

Founded in 2017 by Shashua, Shoham, and Ori Goshen, the startup's flagship product is AI21 Studio, a developer platform for crafting custom text-based business applications using AI21’s advanced text-generating AI models, including the cutting-edge Jurassic-2 model. The company also offers Wordtune, a multilingual reading and writing AI assistant akin to Grammarly.

Baidu's ChatGPT-like Ernie Bot tops Apple App Store

  • Baidu's Hong Kong-listed shares increased by over 3% in early trading as a result.

  • The release of Ernie bot signals a lenient AI policy from Beijing, highlighting a more relaxed stance.

  • The waitlist grew to over 1.2 million before Baidu ceased disclosing its numbers.

  • As of now, Ernie bot can be accessed by CNBC without the previous requirement of a Chinese ID number.

  • In response to the popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT, Chinese companies are rapidly unveiling their generative AI projects.

  • However, ChatGPT remains unofficially restricted in China due to the country's internet access limitations.

India and Japan join Google's AI-powered search outside of the U.S.

Google is expanding its generative AI search feature, known as SGE (Search Generative Experience), to countries beyond the U.S., beginning with India and Japan. This AI-powered search enhancement, available through Google's Search Labs, introduces a conversational mode that allows users to query Google about various topics and receive AI-generated responses resembling a chatbot interaction. The feature has evolved to support videos, images, local information, travel tips, coding assistance, and more, providing an enhanced search experience. Source

Copyright Office seeks public input on AI ownership questions

The US Copyright Office has initiated a public comment phase, beginning on August 30 and concluding on November 15, to explore the intricate interactions between generative AI systems and copyright regulations. This 24-page document, available on the Federal Register as a PDF, delves into critical questions regarding the application of copyright laws to AI technology. The inquiry encompasses topics such as using copyrighted materials for training AI models, the potential copyright status of AI-generated content, liability for AI-generated content's copyright infringement, and the influence of AI replicating human artistic styles. The insights gained from these comments could shape future decisions on granting copyrights.

AI Scoops

AI combats toxicity in Call of Duty voice chats

  • This year's Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will make use of Modulate's ToxMod AI to help moderate voice chat in multiplayer, Activision has revealed.

  • Modulate claims the Toxmod system is designed and tested "to ensure we are not more likely to flag certain demographics as harmful, given the same behaviour.

Walmart introduces Generative AI

  • Walmart is integrating a generative AI-driven tool named "My Assistant" into its Me@Campus app, targeting corporate employees.

  • This feature utilizes generative AI, which leverages machine learning to generate various types of content, such as conversations, stories, images, videos, and music.

  • Info from Walmart Exec. VP Donna Morris here

AI Research: Small, shape-shifting robot can squeeze into tight spaces

Envision a robot capable of wedging through crevices in debris to locate survivors within the ruins of a collapsed structure. Engineers are striving to achieve this objective with CLARI, an acronym for Compliant Legged Articulated Robotic Insect. Source

Over the next 12 months, OpenAI is on track to generate more than $1 billion in revenue

  • OpenAI is anticipated to generate over $1 billion in revenue within the upcoming year through AI software and computing resources sales, according to The Information.

  • Initially, OpenAI's revenue projection for the current year was $200 million.

  • The company's monthly revenue has surged to over $80 million, a significant increase from last year's total revenue of $28 million.

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