Jesse Landry’s Post

Big News in AI! What a power-play strategy! Andreessen Horowitz has just taken a bold step to stay ahead in the AI game, acquiring over 20,000 NVIDIA chips. This move shows their unwavering commitment to AI, proving that money alone isn't enough to secure the best AI deals. It is about having the right technology and resources to support innovation. This strategic decision is set to raise the bar for other funds, pushing them to enhance their capabilities. More importantly, it highlights a crucial point: this is not about creating dependency or monopolizing resources. Instead, it is about empowering AI startups with cutting-edge technology, enabling them to push boundaries and drive breakthroughs. By making high-end technology accessible, Andreessen Horowitz is democratizing AI, ensuring that even smaller players can compete with the big names. This can lead to a surge in innovative solutions across various sectors, fostering a more vibrant and competitive ecosystem. This move could also set a new standard in venture capital, encouraging firms to invest not just financially but also in the technological infrastructure needed for success. This holistic approach could drive substantial progress in AI and beyond. Kudos to Andreessen Horowitz for leading the charge in AI innovation! #AI #Innovation #Technology #VentureCapital #AndreessenHorowitz #NVIDIA #TechNews #FutureOfAI #Startups #Investment #ArtificialIntelligence #TechEcosystem #AIRevolution

Andreessen Horowitz has shaken up the #AI sector with a strategic move to acquire >20,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs, which they plan to rent to AI #startups. This innovative approach goes beyond traditional funding, offering crucial #hardware to fledgling companies. While this could be a boon for emerging AI businesses, it raises concerns about the potential for "monopolizing resources" and "creating dependency". By controlling a significant portion of the AI chip supply, Andreessen Horowitz might influence the direction of AI research, potentially stifling competition and distorting market dynamics. This move might lead to an #unfair advantage for startups under their wing, impacting the broader development of AI technologies. Surely something to look for in the future!

After media-for-equity and advisory-for-equity, GPU-for-equity is the new kid on the VC block. As VCs increasingly face commoditization of capital (the ironically million-dollar question "how is your money different from that VC's money?") in the hot AI infra/applications startup space, this appears to be the newest lever for differentiation among investors. Marquee global VCs such as Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Conviction VC et al. are now renting out thousands of GPUs to their portfolio's AI companies in lieu of equity, or even as a complimentary platform service. The VCs are buying or renting them from large chipmakers. As the demand for AI chips continues to soar - and even capacity powerhouses such as NVIDIA grapple to keep up with it - this enables access for their portfolio companies to an expensive and increasingly scarce resource. This new standard of the 'entrepreneur service' model also of course helps a16z one-up competing VCs in winning hot AI deals. While a clutch of AI companies including OpenAI, Mistral AI, xAI are part of a16z's portfolio, Luma AI's CEO categorically said that the VC's GPU supply made them pick a16z over other investors. While countless sectors just can't seem to escape the long-drawn funding winter, clearly investors are vying to embellish 'capital' as much as possible to woo the hottest contenders in several sunrise sub-sectors within deep tech. The convergence of technology, equity, and strategic resources underscores the evolving nature of VC engagements in the quest for market differentiation and value creation.

Launched in 2022, Figure aims to develop a general-purpose humanoid robot named Figure 01. This AI-powered robot features human-like dexterity and the ability to learn and improve. In February 2024, Figure AI raised $675 million in Series B funding round, boosting its valuation to $2.6 billion. Investors in Series B round include Microsoft, Open AI Startup Fund, Nvidia, Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, Jeff Bezos, Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital, Align Ventures and ARK Invest. Since 2024, Figure AI's broker contributions have been mostly on the bid side: 78% in Q1 2024 and 60% from April 1st to June 17th, 2024. For more insights and updates, check: https://lnkd.in/dEwNNe_v #privatemarkets #investing #ai #stockspotlight

🎯 What does joining NVIDIA Inception mean for our customers? 🎯 By being part of NVIDIA’s Inception Program, composability will have access to the latest in AI model development and performance tools, which means: 1️⃣ Enhanced real-time analytics for startups and investors. 2️⃣ Even more accurate risk-adjusted scoring using NVIDIA’s optimised AI models. 3️⃣ Smarter, faster decision-making to help founders secure funding and growth. We’re committed to continuously improving our platform, and this is just the beginning! The future is bright for tech startups, and we’re here to lead the way. 🚀 #AI #Startups #NVIDIAInception #TechInnovation #investor

SoftBank Group Corp. founder, Masayoshi Son, is planning to raise $100 billion for a new chip venture targeting the AI market. This venture could potentially pose a challenge to NVIDIA Corp. and also comes at a time when OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has set an ambitious $7 trillion AI chipmaking plan. Son’s project, codenamed Izanagi, is his latest initiative as SoftBank scales back its startup investments. #nvidia #ai

The Information just broke news showing that Andreessen Horowitz has amassed an incredible 20,000+ NVIDIA chips to more successfully compete and win for the best #AI deals. Andreessen Horowitz has always been all in on #AI but this move truly shows that money alone will not get even the best investors into the hottest #AI deals. This will definitely raise the bar for other funds. What do you think? #management #venturecapital #privateequity #capitalmarkets #AI #AiFunding #AIStrategies https://lnkd.in/gSJVFRV3

Why is NVIDIA interested in acquiring Israeli startup Run:ai? Also on #TheEdgeofTech: How Blockaid helped save Coinbase users over $75 million from being stolen, and the latest news from the GTC conference. Watch the latest news on CTech by Calcalist's AI-native news shows, powered by Caledo News. link to the full episode in the first comment.

AI Chip Startup Groq Secures $640M to Compete with Nvidia Groq, an innovative AI chip startup, has successfully raised $640 million in a funding round led by Blackrock, elevating its valuation to $2.8 billion. The company, co-founded by Jonathan Ross, the inventor of Google’s TPU, is dedicated to creating LPUs that enhance the efficiency of running AI models. In a significant move, Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun has joined Groq as a technical advisor. GroqCloud, the company's cutting-edge platform, is gaining traction among enterprise developers by supporting popular AI models. Despite facing formidable competition from industry titans like Nvidia, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, Groq is determined to establish its presence in the burgeoning AI chip market. #AI #TechStartup #AIChips #Groq #Nvidia #Innovation #MachineLearning #Funding #Blackrock #JonathanRoss #YannLeCun #GroqCloud #EnterpriseDevelopment #TechNews #ArtificialIntelligence

xAI’s rapid climb to a $40 billion valuation showcases how valuable AI companies are becoming, especially with their ambitious tech investments like expanding their GPU power. Musk’s goal of doubling the Nvidia GPUs in xAI’s Memphis supercomputer cluster — now positioned as the world’s largest — is not only a technological flex but a calculated move in the race for AI supremacy. This level of infrastructure could enable xAI to handle far more complex AI models and data, possibly putting it in direct competition with giants like OpenAI. The AI funding landscape overall is intense, with OpenAI and Perplexity’s valuations reflecting a similar hunger from investors who see AI as central to future tech advances. What’s notable is how xAI is positioning itself not just as another AI company but as one heavily invested in infrastructure and scalability, which could make it uniquely capable of tackling projects with massive computational needs, like advanced generative AI applications or autonomous tech. It will be interesting to see how these investments pay off and whether xAI can carve out its own identity and niche in a space already populated by big players. With Musk's track record of pushing the boundaries in other industries, it’s likely that xAI will take an aggressive approach to shape the AI landscape.