“Elon’s Gonna Elon,” xAI Crashes Altman’s Party

∆ Tech in the News

Turbo-Charged - OpenAI unveiled GPT-4 Turbo (able to process the equivalent of a 300-page book) and introduced a GPT app store at its dev conference. 

Google Expands AI Security - The Vulnerability Rewards Program (VRP) now includes generative AI to encourage safety and security research.

China’s AI Unicorn - Kai-Fu Lee's 01AI hit a $1B Valuation with its open-source, bilingual and efficient LLM Yi-34B optimized for China.

Ant’s Giant AI Win - The Chinese fintech parent co. of Alibaba was approved by the Government to launch public-facing AI products built on its Bailing LLM.

AI's Quantum Leap - Fintech innovator Axyon AI landed a grant for its groundbreaking integration of AI with Quantum computing.

˚The hottest thing in tech this week

“Elon’s Gonna Elon,” Grok Crashes OpenAI’s Party

Elon Musk’s announcement about his plans to merge xAI, with the X social media platform and the launch of Grok, its first (and definitively “un-woke”) AI model overshadowed OpenAI’s DevDay despite leaks about upcoming features.

While Grok is clearly not as advanced as GPT4 yet, like Google, xAI’s real superpower is its access to real-time data and efficiency gained from a leading text-based social media platform, not to mention Tesla and SpaceX. Another is its mission statement of working on AI tools to "assist humanity in its quest for understanding and knowledge." Musk has also criticized Big Tech's AI efforts as ridden with censorship, referring to xAI as a "maximum truth-seeking AI”.

Meanwhile, Altman shrugged off Musk’s trollish timing saying “Elon’s gonna Elon” as he announced the release of GPT-4 Turbo, a GPT App Store, and an Assistant API. He even hinted at an AI device saying: “We’d like to figure out something amazing.” That would likely be with Microsoft as CEO Satya Nadella made a surprise cameo in a show of his commitment to the partnership.

Can xAI build an AI ecosystem to rival OpenAI, Microsoft and Google?

News Bytes

• YouTube to test GenAI comments summarizer and conversational tool

• Research: AI has potential to predict and prevent heart attacks

• Microsoft and Inworld AI launch AI-driven tools for Xbox developers

• China aims to build advanced humanoid robots by 2025

Deals We’re Watching

Founders to Watch and Opportunities to Catch

Open Deals:

Adapt or Die - New AI startup Adaptive is in talks to raise $20M at a $100M Post Investment Valuation led by Index Ventures per The Information.

Closed Deals:

Cyber Security Move - Palo Alto Networks has acquired Israel’s Talon for ~$625M gaining its innovative security-focused corporate browser.

Europe’s OpenAI - German AI startup Aleph Alpha’s $500M Series B led by Lidl Owner and Bosch Ventures will help to expand their EU-compliant services.

Honda Backs Green Batteries - Princeton NuEnergy's innovative plasma-based lithium-ion battery recycling process attracted a $16M Series A.

Construction AI Shows Promise - Promise Robotics closed a $15M Series A seeking to automate American homebuilding by 2025.

Scaling PropTech - SF real estate brokerage platform Radius Agent secured its $13M Series B led by AXA to empower real estate professionals.

Democratizing AI Training - Invoke AI raised a $3.75M seed led by Storm Ventures to build an open-source AI platform for creators to train LLMs.

Companies to Watch:

AI Home Heating - PassiveLogic, an Apple-partnered startup backed by Nvidia has launched the world's first "fully autonomous" heating systems.

Fintech AI Synergy - Fintech Bond.AI acquired Elastech (CEO and all) to enhance data capabilities and broaden AI accessibility for financial institutions.

Reinventing The Gig Economy - Workforce mgmt platform Nowsta’s $35M Series C led by VMG Partners signals strong belief in its vision.

Giving Back To Workers - AI-powered coding startup Replit executed a $20M liquidity event benefiting its long-term employees.

Wearable Innovation - Articulate Labs has landed a $1.3M grant to aid West Point cadets’ rehab with their pioneering neuromuscular KneeStim device.

Agile AI Ads - Taboola’s new GenAI AdMaker has been embraced with 25%+ (3,500) of its advertisers leveraging it to outperform standard campaigns.

The Funding Buzz (New)

Link Ventures - The U.S. early-stage VC firm hired angel investor and lawyer Boaz Fachler as a principal for its LV3 Fund, focusing on AI and data companies.

Tools

GrokAI - Your AI solution to understanding the universe by X.ai

RunwayML - 1stAI Machine is a physical device for creating no-film AI videos

Animated AI - Produce animations and educational videos on neural networks.

Rewind - Makes everything you’ve seen on your Mac and iPhone AI searchable.

If you have a deal or company that you would like to host on our next issue, drop us a line at @ [email protected].

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The Tech Buzz Team