James Lau’s Post

Groq, a Mountain View, Calif.-based artificial intelligence chip startup backed by the likes of Tiger Global and Lee Fixel's Addition, is gearing up to raise a fresh round next quarter after taking in a small recent cash infusion, the company tells Axios. Why it matters: The company, which says its AI chips can be 10 times faster than conventional ones, is at the center of the recent firings at venture firm Social Capital. The big picture: Founded in 2016 by Ross, Groq has built chips specifically designed for inference, that is, running generative AI models. It says its chips, dubbed "language processing units" (LPUs), are not only quicker but also one-tenth the cost of conventional AI hardware. The company currently has about 4,500 chips deployed, and Ross tells Axios it will have 1.5 million by end of next year. While at Google, Ross helped invent the company's tensor processing unit (TPU), its chip designed specifically for machine learning. To date, Groq has raised $367 million, most recently a $300 million round in 2021 at a $1.1 billion valuation led by Tiger Global and D1 Capital. Zooming in: The startup's strategy is two-pronged. It's selling access to developers who want to run their AI software on its cloud infrastructure, and selling its hardware to customers …

🌟 𝐱𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 $5 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 $50 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🌟 Elon Musk’s generative AI startup, xAI, has closed a $5 billion funding round, catapulting its 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 $50 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 — 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 its $24 billion valuation from earlier this year. 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 🚀 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐱𝐀𝐈 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝: July 2023 by Elon Musk. 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: 🔹Generative AI, including Grok-1, a ChatGPT competitor released in November 2023. 🔹Scaling the Colossus 100k H100 training cluster, described as the "most powerful AI training system in the world," with plans to double its capacity to 200k GPUs. 💰 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝: $5 billion. 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: $50 billion. 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: Previously valued at $24 billion in May 2024 during a $6 billion Series B round. This round reflects a 108% increase in valuation within just six months. 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: Qatar Investment Authority. Valor Equity Partners. Andreessen Horowitz. Sequoia Capital. 𝐂𝐮𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 2024 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠: $11 billion. 🛠 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 🔹Purchase of 100,000 additional Nvidia GPUs, leveraging cutting-edge H200 GPUs for generative AI and large language models. 🔹Scaling the Colossus supercomputer to 200k GPUs, reinforcing its position as a leader in AI infrastructure. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Accelerating innovation and scaling the adoption of Grok-1 across platforms. 🌐 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: xAI is now the second-most valuable generative AI company globally, trailing only OpenAI. 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Enterprise spending on generative AI increased sixfold this year—from $2.3 billion (2023) to $13.8 billion (2024), per Menlo Ventures. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐂 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐈: xAI’s rapid valuation growth underscores the unwavering belief in transformative AI technologies. 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Investors are focusing on startups with scalability and proven infrastructure, such as xAI. 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞: Scaling AI infrastructure like Colossus will enable advancements in healthcare, automation, and enterprise solutions. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞: xAI’s accelerated growth will likely spur increased competition and innovation across the AI sector. #VentureCapital #AI #GenerativeAI #ElonMusk #xAI #FundingNews #Innovation https://lnkd.in/dHVVmZng

🌟 𝐱𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 $5 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 $50 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🌟 Elon Musk’s generative AI startup, xAI, has closed a $5 billion funding round, catapulting its 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 $50 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 — 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 its $24 billion valuation from earlier this year. 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 🚀 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐱𝐀𝐈 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝: July 2023 by Elon Musk. 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: 🔹Generative AI, including Grok-1, a ChatGPT competitor released in November 2023. 🔹Scaling the Colossus 100k H100 training cluster, described as the "most powerful AI training system in the world," with plans to double its capacity to 200k GPUs. 💰 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝: $5 billion. 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: $50 billion. 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: Previously valued at $24 billion in May 2024 during a $6 billion Series B round. This round reflects a 108% increase in valuation within just six months. 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: Qatar Investment Authority. Valor Equity Partners. Andreessen Horowitz. Sequoia Capital. 𝐂𝐮𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 2024 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠: $11 billion. 🛠 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 🔹Purchase of 100,000 additional Nvidia GPUs, leveraging cutting-edge H200 GPUs for generative AI and large language models. 🔹Scaling the Colossus supercomputer to 200k GPUs, reinforcing its position as a leader in AI infrastructure. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Accelerating innovation and scaling the adoption of Grok-1 across platforms. 🌐 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: xAI is now the second-most valuable generative AI company globally, trailing only OpenAI. 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Enterprise spending on generative AI increased sixfold this year—from $2.3 billion (2023) to $13.8 billion (2024), per Menlo Ventures. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐂 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐈: xAI’s rapid valuation growth underscores the unwavering belief in transformative AI technologies. 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Investors are focusing on startups with scalability and proven infrastructure, such as xAI. 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞: Scaling AI infrastructure like Colossus will enable advancements in healthcare, automation, and enterprise solutions. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞: xAI’s accelerated growth will likely spur increased competition and innovation across the AI sector. #VentureCapital #AI #GenerativeAI #ElonMusk #xAI #FundingNews #Innovation https://lnkd.in/dHVVmZng

Editorial: The Big Bucks in Gen AI Investments Mega financing rounds are the norm in this wave of generative AI, but have you ever wondered where the money comes from? One might assume that venture capital (VC) funds are driving the massive valuations of foundation model startups. After all, firms like Thrive Capital have been active in major rounds at OpenAI. However, that assumption would be misleading. The traditional VC industry is simply too small to sustain regular rounds of tens of billions of dollars. The main source of capital for foundation model makers is coming from strategic investors, specifically the hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and NVIDIA. This phenomenon is unique to this wave of generative AI and is based on three key factors: * The capital required to continue pushing the scaling laws of foundation models is in the hundreds of billions of dollars. * The business model for most large foundation model makers revolves around achieving AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), which, as an investment thesis, is too long-term for most VCs. * Much of that investment is used for cloud computing hours and GPU purchases, effectively returning the money to the investors themselves. The trend of strategic capital displacing financial VCs in foundation model markets is likely to accelerate as the scaling laws of these models continue to push forward. Ironically, it seems the VC industry is being disrupted by AI itself.

Betting on the future. Today, a very successful Silicon Valley serial tech entrepreneur engineer shared with me this assessment of the AI frenzy. "Its like 1995 when the Internet launched". I agree. To me, having started and invested in early startups in 1995, means we are at the very early stages of AI investment, infrastructure build, expansion of the sector impact, creation of new technology AI solutions, and formation of AI companies that haven't been thought or dreamed about yet. Very exciting times ahead for the next two decades and beyond. Fasten your seat belts. Forward. #openAI #ai #articificalintelligence #AIfunding

Nvidia's latest earnings report last night reignited the AI frenzy and sent the stock market to new highs. Within just one day, Nvidia added the value of 1 whole Netflix to its market value and knocked on the door to the $2 trillion valuation club. This set the record for the biggest single-day market cap gains, with Meta in the second place which just set the record on Feb 2 this year. Now let's look at the AI startup landscape in general. The first three weeks of February saw more than $2.6 billion invested into artificial intelligence startups, including a half-dozen rounds of $100 million or more.

Will be an interesting story to watch. See also Brain.ai for related... https://lnkd.in/gCQVNMyy Per Perplexity, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and former Apple design chief Jony Ive are indeed in talks to raise up to $1 billion from major venture capital firms for their secretive AI-powered personal device startup.[1][2][3][4][5] The key details are: - Altman and Ive have formed a new unnamed startup to develop an AI-powered personal device that will not resemble a traditional smartphone.[1][2][3][4][5]  - They are currently in advanced discussions with investors like Thrive Capital (an OpenAI investor) and Emerson Collective to secure around $1 billion in funding.[1][2][3][4][5] - The device is expected to leverage OpenAI's advanced language models and AI capabilities, similar to products like the Humane AI Pin that Altman has invested in.[2][4][5] - While details about the device remain under wraps, it is positioned to challenge the conventional smartphone experience and explore new ways of interacting with AI.[3][4] - Ive left his role as Apple's design chief in 2019 but continued to work with the company as a consultant until 2022.[2] - The collaboration between Ive and Altman has been in the works for some time, with initial reports of their partnership surfacing last fall.[4] In summary, the search results confirm that Altman and Ive are actively seeking significant funding for their secretive AI device startup, which aims to reimagine how we interact with artificial intelligence on a daily basis.[1][2][3][4][5] Citations: [1] https://lnkd.in/g8DtiRWM [2] https://lnkd.in/gxmva8TJ [3] https://lnkd.in/g35_T4By [4] https://lnkd.in/g3K2KEG7 [5] https://lnkd.in/g_UpN6rr

💰 #ElonMusk's xAI Raises $5 Billion and Doubles Valuation 🚀 📊 STARTUP SNAPSHOT - Founded: 2023 - Total Funding: $16 billion - Key Product: Colossus 100k H100 training cluster - Category: AI/ML Infrastructure 💫 NEWS HIGHLIGHT xAI's significant $5 billion raise elevates its valuation to $50 billion, bolstering its AI capabilities on a colossal scale. 💡 INNOVATION ANGLE - Technical Edge Expanding the computational power for cutting-edge AI model training - Market Opportunity Doubling their competitive edge in a market valuated at billions. - Business Model Building AI services at a massive scale 🏗️ GROWTH METRICS - Customer Growth: Ongoing collaborations with key industry players - Market Penetration: Strengthens global presence in AI computing 🔮 STARTUP TRAJECTORY - Near-term (6 months) Enhance AI model training capabilities - Scale-up (12-18 months) Expand into new tech verticals through further partnerships 💪 COMPETITIVE EDGE Positioned against top competitors, leading with superior tech infrastructure. #AIStartups #VentureCapital #AIInfrastructure #StartupLife #xAI

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence startup, xAI, is on the verge of securing a new funding round that could value the company at $18 billion. The funding round, expected to close imminently, represents a significant boost for Musk's project as it competes with emerging rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as established tech giants such as Meta, Microsoft, and Google. Details regarding the timing, valuation, and size of the funding round are still being finalized. Investors, including Sequoia Capital, are reportedly attracted to Musk's track record at companies like Tesla and SpaceX, as well as xAI's connections to Musk's other ventures like the social media platform X. The funding will likely accelerate xAI's efforts to develop its chatbot Grok and compete with leading #AI models in the industry. Follow Amanda Newman to stay up to date with technology. https://lnkd.in/eGXn8xxi

As analysts debate whether high investments and valuations in the AI space are creating a bubble akin to the dot-com bubble of the 90s, a less than six-month-old startup is seeking a valuation in the billions. Cognition Labs, an AI startup founded in November that’s building an AI tool for writing code, is reportedly seeking a valuation of up to $2 billion in its current fundraising round, according to the Wall Street Journal. Earlier this year, the startup was valued at $350 million, after a $21 million Series A round led by Peter Thiel-founded Founders Fund. The fund reportedly plans to invest in the current round. If Cognition Labs completes its current round with the $2 billion valuation, its valuation will have increased sixfold in just weeks. The startup has also reportedly turned down offers of a $1 billion valuation. Subscribe to the Daily Brief, our morning email with news and insights you need to understand our changing world. The startup, which launched what it calls “the world’s first fully autonomous AI software engineer,” Devin, in March, reportedly started working on the product only last year, and currently doesn’t generate any real revenue. According to the startup, its product “can plan and execute complex engineering tasks requiring thousands …