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By Stephanie Palazzolo

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Recent Editions

Taalas cofounder and CEO Ljubisa Bajic. Courtesy of Taalas.

The Startup Flipping Nvidia’s Playbook on its Head

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Mar 5, 2024 7:00am PST

And now for something completely different, as British comedy troupe Monty Python used to say. It’s no secret in the AI world that Nvidia’s success in selling AI chips lies partly in the chips’ flexibility. Developers can (relatively) easily tweak the chips to run different types of AI models. Taalas, a new AI chip developer, wants to go in the... And now for something completely different, as British comedy troupe Monty Python used to say. It...

Eddie Wu, CEO of Alibaba. Photo by Getty

What’s Behind Alibaba’s AI Funding Frenzy

By Juro Osawa · Mar 4, 2024 7:15am PST · 1 comment

Big tech companies the world over like to spread their bets on large language models. We’ve seen that with Microsoft—which backed OpenAI but has also struck deals with rivals Cohere and Mistral to make their models available to customers of Azure. (Microsoft also invested a tiny amount in Mistral). Similarly, Alibaba, China’s equivalent of ... Big tech companies the world over like to spread their bets on large language models. We’ve seen...

Photo by Getty

Behind Meta’s Effort to Make Llama 3 More Engaging

By Kalley Huang · Feb 29, 2024 7:10am PST

“Promoting or encouraging harmful or illegal activities is not acceptable,” Meta AI, an artificial intelligence assistant, told me the other day. “It's important to respect the safety and well-being of individuals and property.”I had asked the assistant, which is embedded in Meta Platforms’ apps and Ray-Ban smart glasses, how to kill the engine... “Promoting or encouraging harmful or illegal activities is not acceptable,” Meta AI, an...

Art by Midjourney/Mike Sullivan.

Startups Are Using Questionable Metrics in an Effort to Raise Capital

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 28, 2024 7:45am PST · 1 comment

Art by Midjourney/Mike Sullivan.

Startups Are Using Questionable Metrics in an Effort to Raise Capital

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 28, 2024 7:45am PST · 1 comment

Venture capitalists’ wallets are still open for artificial intelligence startups. But as the field has gotten more crowded, some startups that are raising new capital have leaned on metrics that don’t exactly scream confidence in their business prospects. They include the number of AI PhDs on staff, how many Nvidia AI chips the company has, and... Venture capitalists’ wallets are still open for artificial intelligence startups. But as the...

Parspec CEO Forest Flager. Photo courtesy of Parspec.

The Real Risk of Google’s Race Riot; Why Microsoft Took a Stake in Mistral; Your Next House Could Be Built With LLMs

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Jon Victor · Feb 27, 2024 7:00am PST

First, some news. As generative AI has seeped into a number of industries, from law to healthcare, industry-specific large language model startups have proliferated, as we showed in this analysis. But I was still surprised to come across a startup working to apply AI in a traditionally unsexy field: construction.Parspec, a startup that uses AI... First, some news. As generative AI has seeped into a number of industries, from law to healthcare...

Generated by Genmo.

A Sora Rival Raises Millions from NEA

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 26, 2024 7:10am PST

An up-and-coming video-generation startup—and its new investors—may get more than they bargained for when it comes to competition.AI-powered video startup Genmo is set to raise at least $30 million in funding from NEA, according to 3 people familiar with the situation. Word of the fundraising follows OpenAI’s preview of a new video generation... An up-and-coming video-generation startup—and its new investors—may get more than they bargained...

Finpilot cofounders Lakshay Chauhan and John Alberg. Photos courtesy of Finpilot.

Google’s Bet on Synthetic Data; AI Copilots Reach Finance; Another Nvidia Blowout

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 22, 2024 7:50am PST · 1 comment

Google’s artificial intelligence group is having a moment.After getting its flagship Gemini large language model off the ground and roughly on par with OpenAI, Google on Wednesday appeared to take a sudden lead in a parallel race to develop open-source LLMs, which Meta Platforms has been dominating. In the process, Google also gave a shot in the... Google’s artificial intelligence group is having a moment.After getting its flagship Gemini large...

Daniel Gross, left, and Nat Friedman. Photos via Wikipedia and Erin Beach.

The ‘Magic’ Breakthrough That Got Friedman and Gross to Bet $100 Million on a Coding Startup

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Feb 21, 2024 7:00am PST

Daniel Gross, left, and Nat Friedman. Photos via Wikipedia and Erin Beach.

The ‘Magic’ Breakthrough That Got Friedman and Gross to Bet $100 Million on a Coding Startup

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Amir Efrati · Feb 21, 2024 7:00am PST

Former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and his investment partner, Daniel Gross, raised eyebrows last week by writing a $100 million check to Magic, the developer of an artificial intelligence coding assistant. There are loads of coding assistants already, and the top dog among them is Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot. So what did Friedman and Gross see in... Former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and his investment partner, Daniel Gross, raised eyebrows last...

Photo via OpenAI.

With Sora, OpenAI Casts Shadow Over AI Video Startups

By Kalley Huang and Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 20, 2024 7:00am PST · 3 comments

When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last week posted a series of ultrarealistic and cinematic videos made by Sora, his company’s latest artificial intelligence technology, we imagined alarm bells ringing across the technology industry and, perhaps, Hollywood. Most of all, the videos should put fear in the hearts of at least seven companies in our ... When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last week posted a series of ultrarealistic and cinematic videos made...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

No, Sam Altman Isn’t Raising Trillions of Dollars For Chips

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 15, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Contrary to popular belief, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman isn’t raising trillions of dollars for a large project to develop new server chips for artificial intelligence. A Wall Street Journal report last week that implied Altman was seeking up to $7 trillion worth of capital for what sounds like a joint venture to end all joint ventures caused... Contrary to popular belief, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman isn’t raising trillions of dollars for a large...

Ali Ghodsi. Photo via YouTube.

Databricks CEO On What It Takes to Turn LLMs Into a Big Business

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 14, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Ali Ghodsi, the CEO of Databricks, a $43 billion-valuation enterprise software firm, had lots to say about OpenAI and the potential challenges it faces in a conference call with The Information subscribers yesterday. (One new challenge it's likely wrestling with is the departure of high-profile researcher Andrej Karpathy, as we scooped... Ali Ghodsi, the CEO of Databricks, a $43 billion-valuation enterprise software firm, had lots to...

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

For Google, ‘Good Enough’ Gemini AI Could Be Good Enough to Win

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Jon Victor · Feb 13, 2024 7:00am PST

Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo by David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images.

For Google, ‘Good Enough’ Gemini AI Could Be Good Enough to Win

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Jon Victor · Feb 13, 2024 7:00am PST

Early reviews are pouring in for Google’s Gemini Ultra, the company’s most advanced large language model that powers a paid version of chatbot Gemini, a rival to ChatGPT. The reviews make us think that after an early scramble to catch up to its Microsoft-backed rival, Google is going to be just fine in this market.The vast majority of developers... Early reviews are pouring in for Google’s Gemini Ultra, the company’s most advanced large...

Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

The Most Exciting Thing About Altman’s Chip Dream

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Anissa Gardizy · Feb 12, 2024 7:00am PST

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stole the show last week with a report that he is trying to raise trillions of dollars in capital to develop and manufacture AI chips. But let’s set aside our collective incredulity for a moment (we’ll come back to it!) and consider the implication of Altman’s fundraising: that unlimited computing power will lead to... OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stole the show last week with a report that he is trying to raise trillions...

Google’s Mountain View campus. Photo by The Washington Post via Getty Images.

Google’s Strange Decision to Not Undercut OpenAI and Microsoft; OpenAI’s Secret Agents

By Kalley Huang · Feb 8, 2024 7:15am PST · 2 comments

I’m Kalley, a reporter covering Meta Platforms and social media. I’m now regularly contributing to AI Agenda.Google this morning launched Gemini Ultra, the long-awaited flagship version of its most advanced large language model. It also renamed its ChatGPT rival to Gemini from Bard, which seemed like a logical move. These announcements had... I’m Kalley, a reporter covering Meta Platforms and social media. I’m now regularly contributing...

Photo via Midjourney.

One Class of AI Startups That Can Thrive Without Funding: Porn Chatbots

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 7, 2024 7:00am PST

Sex sells, and sex created by artificial intelligence is no exception.While many generative AI startups have struggled to manage the exploding costs of AI and retain their customers, AI-powered romantic chatbots haven’t had much trouble attracting and keeping their users. Since OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022, a thriving ecosystem has... Sex sells, and sex created by artificial intelligence is no exception.While many generative AI...

Menlo Ventures partner Rama Sekhar. Photo courtesy of Menlo Ventures.

Why We’re Worried About the Wrong AI Security Risk; Gemini is Coming (Again)

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 6, 2024 7:10am PST · 1 comment

Menlo Ventures partner Rama Sekhar. Photo courtesy of Menlo Ventures.

Why We’re Worried About the Wrong AI Security Risk; Gemini is Coming (Again)

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 6, 2024 7:10am PST · 1 comment

Put aside all of the scary talk about bad people theoretically using large language models to build bombs or bioweapons for a moment. A more urgent threat, says investor Rama Sekhar, are AI models that could leak sensitive corporate data or hackers that trigger ChatGPT service outages. Sekhar is a longtime cybersecurity investor who joined Menlo... Put aside all of the scary talk about bad people theoretically using large language models to...

Nat Friedman holding one of the burnt scrolls from Vesuvius he set out to decipher. Photo via YouTube/Dwarkesh Patel.

Our GPU Reseller Prediction Comes True; 2,000-Year-Old Mystery Solved with AI

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 5, 2024 8:00am PST

In October we predicted that resellers of graphics processing units, an emerging class of startups that provide Nvidia’s in-demand server chips to artificial intelligence developers, would soon be in trouble. Sure enough, three months later, one of those startups is giving up.On Thursday, the startup Banana, which raised $3.4 million in funding... In October we predicted that resellers of graphics processing units, an emerging class of...

Semantiks founder Adrian Sanchez-Castro. Photo courtesy of Sanchez-Castro.

Mistral Reveals its Secret Weapon—Mark Zuckerberg; Struggling Startups Are Looking For the Exits

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Feb 1, 2024 7:00am PST · 1 comment

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a rough time testifying in Congress on Wednesday about social media’s mental health effects, but he must have cracked a smile after seeing the latest example of his company’s impact on the AI sector. For the past few months, AI founders and Meta employees have quietly speculated that Meta’s flagship... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a rough time testifying in Congress on Wednesday about...

Photos via Adobe Stock

Microsoft Dishes on AI Revenue; Google CEO Says ‘Agents’ Are Coming

By Aaron Holmes and Jon Victor · Jan 31, 2024 7:00am PST

Microsoft investors tuned into the company’s earnings call with bated breath Tuesday night, looking to see how much its new AI products were boosting sales. Microsoft didn’t deliver an unequivocal blowout—revenue in the December quarter grew moderately faster, year over year, compared to the prior quarter’s growth—but positive signs abounded... Microsoft investors tuned into the company’s earnings call with bated breath Tuesday night,...

Photo via Adobe Stock

The Rising Underdog In The Information’s AI Chip Database

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 30, 2024 7:50am PST

Photo via Adobe Stock

The Rising Underdog In The Information’s AI Chip Database

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Jan 30, 2024 7:50am PST

For those overwhelmed by the flurry of new chip startups hoping to ride the AI wave, you’re in luck. This morning, we published our AI Chip Database, which tracks both the startups building these chips and those building the software to run them.There’s lots in here. For instance, we make clear whether startups are making chips suitable for... For those overwhelmed by the flurry of new chip startups hoping to ride the AI wave, you’re in...