This week in the realm of artificial intelligence, the headlines were abuzz with discussions of a fresh search engine competition. Microsoft and its former ally, OpenAI, wielding the impressive ChatGPT, found themselves pitted against the steadfast Google and its unassuming Bard.
As these giants of the industry lock horns, it’s vital to acknowledge that the AI landscape boasts a multitude of innovators. The past week was no exception, marked by a vibrant array of activities, a touch of enchantment, the infusion of “glossy” AI, and even the emergence of a Moonhub.
1. Is it AI or is it Enchantment?
Some individuals might perceive contemporary AI as akin to a form of enchantment. While this may not align with the precise technical reality, there exists at least one emerging startup aspiring to infuse a touch of enchantment into the realm of AI.
Magic, a San Francisco-based startup, unveiled a $23 million funding round this week. Magic is actively developing technology tailored for software engineering, which it aptly labels an “AI collaborator.” This innovative technology harnesses natural language capabilities to facilitate enhanced comprehension and collaboration among programmers engaged in software development.
Eric Steinberger, Magic’s co-founder and CEO, articulated their mission, stating, “We are dedicated to deploying AI to expedite scientific progress and enhance global productivity. For decades, technology has merely served as a tool, but soon, it will assume the role of a colleague.” He further emphasized, “The widespread adoption of ‘AI assistants’ within workplaces will wield an impact akin to that of the Industrial Revolution, underscoring the importance of navigating this transition effectively.”
2. GlossAi Secures $8 Million in Funding to Advance Generative Video-AI (V-AI)
The buzz around generative AI has not only swept through text and images but is also gaining traction in the realm of video content. GlossAi, a company based in Tel-Aviv, Israel, recently announced a successful seed funding round, raising $8 million.
GlossAi’s core promise lies in its innovative AI technology, designed to empower organizations to rapidly produce video content with unprecedented efficiency compared to traditional video creation methods. The company’s technology operates by analyzing an extensive array of parameters, including text, tone, pacing, facial expressions, and audience engagement, harnessing billions of data points to achieve near-real-time content generation that closely emulates human-like creativity.
3. Kognitos secures $6.8 million in funding for the development of generative AI aimed at revolutionizing enterprise automation.
This week, Kognitos is making headlines as another prominent player in the generative AI startup scene, successfully closing a $6.8 million seed funding round.
Kognitos leverages generative AI technology to construct an innovative enterprise automation platform called “Koncierge.” The primary goal of this platform is to streamline the creation of intricate business processes that would typically be challenging to produce.
Binny Gill, the visionary founder and CEO of Kognitos, expressed their mission in these words: “We are unleashing the potential of AI for the benefit of humanity. Now, anyone can harness the power of Generative AI to automate tasks using plain English. It’s time for computers to emulate human behavior, while humans can break free from the monotony of machine-like tasks.”
4. Moonhub Secures $4.4 Million in Seed Funding to Enhance the Hiring Process with AI
The quest to enhance the hiring process using artificial intelligence continues, with Moonhub joining the ranks of startups featured here on VentureBeat.
This week, Moonhub successfully secured a seed funding round of $4.4 million, earmarked to bolster the development of its talent management and recruitment technology. In line with its mission, Moonhub proudly asserts its utilization of cutting-edge generative AI, as highlighted in its FAQ, to expedite and optimize talent acquisition for organizations.
5. Mattiq Secures $15 Million in Seed Funding for Advancing Sustainable Materials with AI
Mattiq, headquartered in Chicago, is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to revolutionize materials science, aiming to empower organizations in the creation of a cutting-edge generation of sustainable materials. In a recent announcement, the company revealed its successful fundraising effort, securing $15 million in a seed funding round.
With ambitious aspirations, Mattiq envisions a future where, by 2024, it will have leveraged its state-of-the-art materials AI technology to synthesize and analyze over one trillion innovative material combinations.
Founder and Director of Mattiq, Chad Mirkin, stated, “From the Stone Age to the Silicon Era, the process of material discovery has been characterized by its sluggishness, unpredictability, and limitations imposed by the available materials. Mattiq is poised to disrupt this conventional paradigm, leading to breakthroughs that enable the development of new technologies at an unprecedented pace.”
6. Entropik Secures $25 Million in Series B Funding to Enhance AI-Powered Market Research
The realm of market research is experiencing a transformative impact from artificial intelligence.
Entropik, headquartered in Bengaluru, India, recently announced a successful $25 million series B funding round. The company intends to employ these funds for its expansion into the U.S., European, and Asian markets.
Entropik specializes in cutting-edge AI technology designed to provide organizations with a deeper understanding of consumer preferences. This includes a portfolio of AI innovations, with numerous patented advancements in eye tracking and facial coding. Notably, Entropik’s facial coding technology allows for the quantification of user facial expressions, enabling precise sentiment analysis.
7 Ushur, an AI vendor focused on enhancing customer experiences, recently secured a substantial $50 million in series C funding.
The Santa Clara, California-based company aims to further enhance its Customer Experience Automation (CXA) platform through this latest financial infusion, announced this week.
Ushur’s platform harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to streamline various processes, utilizing an innovative approach known as “Conversational Apps.” These apps empower users to build processes involving interactions between customers and companies without the need for coding. Leveraging AI capabilities, they excel in natural language processing and automation.
Simha Sadasiva, Ushur’s CEO and co-founder, highlighted the distinctive vision behind their AI platform, stating, “While the prior generation of enterprise automation primarily focused on infrastructure processes, Ushur’s AI platform was purpose-built to achieve a different objective: delivering exceptional, scalable customer experiences and meaningful interactions that prioritize the customer’s needs.”
8. MindsDB, in its pursuit of aiding organizations in integrating machine learning into their applications, has announced the successful completion of a $16.5 million Series A funding round this week.
The company is diligently expanding its open-source-based machine learning (ML) platform, which empowers organizations to construct AI-driven applications of their own.
Back in 2020, MindsDB came to the attention of VentureBeat when it secured $3 million in seed funding. Since then, the company has experienced significant growth, owing in part to its collaborations with OpenAI and Hugging Face. These partnerships have facilitated the incorporation of both generative AI and natural language processing capabilities into database-centric applications.
Chetan Puttagunta, General Partner at Benchmark, remarked on the current landscape: “Today, there is immense interest within the developer community to seamlessly incorporate machine learning into their applications. However, this endeavor is often perceived as complex and costly. MindsDB is empowering developers across the spectrum, from burgeoning startups to global enterprises, by enabling them to swiftly and cost-effectively execute their chosen ML models in conjunction with their preferred databases.”