Supria Dhanda’s Post

Raising Funds Without a Product!!! In the world of startups, it's often believed that having a product is essential to secure funding. However, the recent success of Safe Superintelligence (SSI) challenges this notion. Co-founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, SSI has raised an impressive $1 billion in funding, achieving a valuation of $5 billion just three months after its inception. Here’s how SSI managed to raise such substantial funds without a product: 1. High-Profile Leadership :The team is led by renowned AI experts, including Ilya Sutskever and Daniel Gross, whose reputations and previous successes have instilled confidence in investors. 2. Clear Vision and Mission: SSI is laser-focused on developing "safe" superintelligent AI systems. This clear and ambitious goal has resonated with top venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. 3. Strategic Use of Funds: The raised capital is earmarked for securing computing resources and expanding their team, demonstrating a strategic approach to growth and development¹². 4.Strong Investor Relationships: By building strong relationships with key investors, SSI has been able to secure the necessary backing to pursue its ambitious goals. 5. Market Potential: Despite not having a product yet, the potential impact of safe superintelligent AI systems has attracted significant interest and investment. SSI's story is a testament to the power of a strong team, a clear vision, and strategic planning. It shows that with the right elements in place, raising funds without a product is not only possible but can lead to remarkable success. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gK3Jksnc #Startup #Fundraising #AI #Innovation #Leadership #Vision #Teamwork

#Tech #Technology #DevOps #Automation #BigData #DataAnalytics #Data #DataEngineering #AI #ML Y Combinator's Chief Startup Whisperer Is Demoting Himself: As the influential startup incubator downsizes—and navigates political pushback—managing director Michael Seibel is taking a new role to spend more time working with founders. #ArtificialIntelligence #MachineLearning #DataScience

#Tech #Technology #DevOps #Automation #BigData #DataAnalytics #Data #DataEngineering #AI #ML Y Combinator's Chief Startup Whisperer Is Demoting Himself: As the influential startup incubator downsizes—and navigates political pushback—managing director Michael Seibel is taking a new role to spend more time working with founders. #ArtificialIntelligence #MachineLearning #DataScience

How would you bounce back after getting fired from your dream job? For Ajay Bulusu, he channeled an unexpected setback into NextBillion.ai, an AI-powered mapping platform that empowers global enterprises to scale with precision and efficiency. But starting a startup is no easy feat — Ajay experienced months with zero sales and no new customers. What's his secret to staying resilient through it all? Read his inspiring story here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gD4uPhMC #startup #entreprenuer #founders Gaurav Bubna Shaolin Zheng

OpenAI’s Murati Departs as More Top Leaders Exit Startup https://lnkd.in/dwR7rAgY Extracts “Leadership changes are a natural part of companies, especially companies that grow so quickly and are so demanding,” Altman wrote. “I obviously won’t pretend it’s natural for this one to be so abrupt, but we are not a normal company.” The exits are just the latest high-profile leadership changes at the company since Altman’s dramatic and short-lived firing. In the months after Altman’s return, four other members of OpenAI’s founding team stepped back, including Ilya Sutskever, formerly the startup’s chief scientist, who played a key role in its ascent and in pushing Altman out. As of September, Altman and researcher Wojciech Zaremba were the only co-founders remaining from the original 11-person team. Greg Brockman, another founder who is also the company’s president, is on leave until the end of the year. Change has come swiftly for OpenAI, which was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research organization before creating a for-profit subsidiary in 2019. It’s grown into a 1,700-person giant, up from just 770 employees at the time of Altman’s ouster. Now, it’s in talks to raise $6.5 billion at a $150 billion valuation, making it one of the most valuable startups in the world. As part of the transition, there have also been restructurings and staff departures among those whose work is focused on safety at the company. In May, for instance, OpenAI decided to effectively dissolve a team called “superalignment” that focused on ensuring the safety of possible future ultra-capable AI systems. Sutskever and another OpenAI veteran, Jan Leike, had been running the team, but Leike resigned shortly after Sutskever’s exit. A number of other team members also departed over time. The company subsequently integrated the group more deeply across its research efforts to help it achieve its safety goals, it told Bloomberg News at the time. OpenAI has rejiggered its board over this period, too, removing most of the previous members and increasing the total number of directors. It’s also been mulling a transition to a for-profit company, potentially giving Altman a 7% equity stake, the first time he’ll have ownership of the startup. It’s a lot of upheaval for any company, particularly over a short period of time.

Once revered as a leading figure in Silicon Valley, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, faces scrutiny and criticism from some corners of the tech and finance communities, especially venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. A recent report from Insider highlights discontent among venture capitalists and startup executives regarding Altman’s leadership style and grandiose ambitions. #AI #AiChips #ArtificialIntelligence #OPENAI #SamAltman

The inside scoop. The real deal. The nitty gritty details. The inside scoop on how top VCs bet early on AI startup Perplexity's mission to reinvent search. The "Why they invested: Perplexity" article provides an authentic look behind the scenes at the conversations that led investors to write those critical early checks. Investors attracted to the founders' pedigree across AI research, consumer tech, and enterprise - Impressed by the team's speed of execution and shipping velocity - Saw potential to disrupt search with a new "answer engine" category - Pain points emerging for users with conventional search engines - Traction and user experience showed disruptive potential #venturecapital #startups #fundraising #investmentstrategy #artificialintelligence

🚀 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆: 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗔𝗜 𝗣𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 🚀 DeepMind alumni are making waves in the AI startup scene! 🌟 Here’s a quick snapshot: 12 former employees have founded AI-focused companies across Europe. • Notable startups include Mistral, H, and EquiLibre. • Mistral raised €1.1bn, focusing on foundational AI models. • H secured $220m for AI model development and expansion. • EquiLibre applies AI to algorithmic trading, raising $17m. • Human Native AI offers a data marketplace for AI developers. • DeepMind’s culture fosters entrepreneurial spirit and innovation. • Venture capitalists are keen to back ex-DeepMinders’ ventures. • DeepMind’s acquisition by Google in 2014 boosted its alumni’s credibility. How to Become a Founder: • 𝗚𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲: Work at leading AI companies to build skills and network. • 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Spot gaps in the market where AI can make an impact. • 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺: Collaborate with like-minded experts to form a strong founding team. • 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: Leverage your network and credibility to attract investors. Innovate: Focus on developing cutting-edge AI solutions. #DeepMind #AIStartups #TechInnovation #Entrepreneurship #AIRevolution #FounderJourney #VentureCapital https://lnkd.in/dWzY_Vg7

𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗹𝗲. Your innovative idea could’ve started in university, but as a startup, it’s a business activity and no longer your research project.   A deep-tech company’s journey from lab to market often spans longer than other ventures’ journeys. Carbon Engineering, founded in 2009, took six years to develop its first functioning prototype and an additional seven years to open its first large-scale commercial plant.   Commercialisation of deep tech startups is full of hurdles, and knowing the exact journey makes it less complex.   Understand the five stages:   − Research − Prototype − Pilot − First-of-a-kind − Development   And throughout the journey you should ask yourself this question, “is this the product that will improve people’s lives?” If the answer is 'Yes,' then your chances of lab-to-market success will become significantly higher. To evaluate your chances of a successful lab-to-market transition, do this:   − Put your imagination into art and make a sketch − Identify the targeted industry and look for professionals in that industry − Reach out to those individuals and arrange meetings − Discuss your product and take notes of their feedback − After meeting a bunch of professionals, you will notice common feedback   This wouldn’t only help you analyze your product's success but also convince your potential investors when they ask you about traction.   #Venturecapital #AI #Deeptech #Startups   Follow us for strategies and resources for Deep Tech founders and VCs!   And get access to exclusive content on deep tech startups like Quibim, contextflow, kiutra, and planqc in our newsletter:   https://t2m.io/EV2qHQuo

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