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- A record-breaking AI funding round
A record-breaking AI funding round
PLUS: MIT AI lets users talk to future selves
Rowan Cheung
October 03, 2024
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Welcome, AI enthusiasts.
Despite the constant drama, leadership churn, and stiff competition, investors are still betting BIG on OpenAI as the golden goose of the AI boom.
With a $6.6B funding round at an eye-popping $157B valuation, the AI leader just got a record-breaking boost to fuel its reign at the industry's top. Let’s get into it…
In today’s AI rundown:
OpenAI secures record-breaking $6.6B in funding
Google developing reasoning AI to rival OpenAI
Turn YouTube videos into AI-powered podcasts
MIT’s ‘Future You’ taps AI to speak with older self
6 new AI tools & 4 new AI jobs
More AI & tech news
Read time: 4 minutes
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
OPENAI
Image source: Midjourney
The Rundown: OpenAI just closed a massive $6.6B funding round, valuing the company at an unprecedented $157B and solidifying its position as the most well-funded AI startup in the world.
The details:
Thrive Capital led the round, which included participation from Microsoft, Nvidia, SoftBank, MGX, and others.
OpenAI announced that it plans to use the funds to expand research, increase computing capacity, and develop new tools.
OpenAI expects revenue increases to $25B by 2026 and $100B by 2029, according to investor documents.
The company reportedly asked investors for exclusive arrangements, discouraging them from backing rivals like Anthropic and xAI.
The move comes amid a corporate restructure to a for-profit entity, which, according to the NYT, will not happen until ‘sometime next year’.
Why it matters: The long-rumored funding round is finally official, and the numbers are staggering. Despite the drama, leadership churn, and heavy competition, the company’s giant’s sky-high valuation shows that investors still see OpenAI as the golden goose of the AI boom — regardless of the noise.
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Image source: Midjourney
The Rundown: Google is reportedly making significant strides in developing AI models with advanced reasoning capabilities similar to OpenAI’s o1 system, intensifying the rivalry between the two AI giants.
The details:
Multiple teams at Google are working on AI that can solve complex, multi-step problems, according to Bloomberg.
The AI uses chain-of-thought prompting, a technique created by Google, to tackle complex math and programming problems by ‘thinking’ before responding.
Google is taking a more cautious approach to its releases than OpenAI but has already debuted math-focused reasoning models like AlphaProof and AlphaGeometry 2.
Microsoft also infused reasoning capabilities into its Copilot assistant this week, leveraging OpenAI’s o1 model.
Why it matters: Human-like reasoning and agentic capabilities are clearly the two major developments on every AI firm’s roadmap, and the release of o1 may have signaled a new phase in the LLM race. The question is — will OpenAI’s speed keep it a step ahead, or is the competition for top-tier models about to get a whole lot tougher?
AI TRAINING
The Rundown: NotebookLM's latest update allows users to transform lengthy YouTube videos into concise AI-generated podcasts, saving time and enhancing study efficiency.
Step-by-step:
Visit NotebookLM and create a new notebook.
Click on "Link" in the source selection area, choose "YouTube" and paste your desired YouTube video URL.
Select "Generate" in the Audio Overview section to create your AI podcast.
Interact with your podcast by playing it, asking questions via chat, or generating additional study materials.
Pro tip: Use the chat feature to ask specific questions about the content, turning your AI podcast into an interactive study session!
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AI RESEARCH
Image source: MIT
The Rundown: Researchers at MIT have developed an AI system called "Future You" that allows users to interact with and ask questions to a simulated version of their older selves.
The details:
The system uses personal information provided by users to create a realistic future self-simulation, including generating an age-progressed photo.
Users engage in text-based conversation with an AI-generated 60-year-old version of themselves, capable of answering questions and offering insights.
In a study of 344 participants, those who used Future You reported decreased negative emotions and anxiety.
Why it matters: While aging simulation apps are constantly going viral, the implications of AI-driven psychological support are massive. With AI’s ability to create and simulate highly personalized, empathetic experiences, studies like Future You are only scratching the surface of the future of therapy and psychology.
NEW TOOLS & JOBS
🎥 Pika 1.5 - AI video update with longer clips, cinematic outputs and new Pikaffects
⏱️ Semblian 2.0 - Outsource your time-consuming tasks to AI
🧠 Hedy AI - Real-time insights in meetings and classes
🏠 Vox - An AI voice agent built for the mortgage industry
🔎 Tilores - Customer data search, unification, and retrieval for LLMs
👥 Waymo - HR Business Partner
🏢 UiPath - People Operations Specialist
📈 Meta - Growth Marketing Manager
🤝 Character AI - Head of Partnerships
QUICK HITS
Free event: The Executive Guide to Building AI Apps. Learn how to build AI apps that have a bottom-line moving impact within your org. RSVP.*
Microsoft announced a $4.8B investment into AI and cloud infrastructure in Italy, with plans to expand its data center in the region to become one of Europe’s largest cloud hubs.
Character AI is reportedly shifting its focus away from building AI models in the wake of its $2.7B deal with Google and prioritizing its consumer chatbot service.
Elon Musk posted ‘OpenAI is evil’ on X in response to reports that the AI giant asked investors to avoid funding competing AI firms like Anthropic and Musk’s xAI.
Accenture announced a new partnership with NVIDIA to accelerate enterprise AI adoption, launching a business group and AI Refinery platform to scale agentic AI systems across industries.
The Cancer AI Alliance formed a $40M collaboration between major medical institutions and tech giants like Microsoft, AWS, Nvidia, and Deloitte to advance AI-driven cancer care.
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THAT’S A WRAP
That's it for today!Before you go we’d love to know what you thought of today's newsletter to help us improve The Rundown experience for you. |
See you soon,
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