Apple and Google share new research for AI-powered video generation
Plus Anthropic expected to raise $750M from Menlo Ventures
Today’s Highlights:
📰 News: Apple and Google share new research for AI-powered video generation
💰 Funding: Anthropic expected to raise $750M from Menlo Ventures
⚡️ Top News Stories:
1.Apple shares new research, introducing new techniques for creating photorealistic 3D avatars from video and enabling advanced AI systems to run efficiently on devices with limited memory, such as an iPhone or iPad.
2. Google Research has unveiled VideoPoet, a new LLM designed for video generation tasks, showcasing impressive capabilities in creating high-quality, consistent motion videos.
3. Anthropic is introducing a new simplified Commercial Terms of Service w/ expanded copyright indemnity and enabling customers to retain ownership rights over outputs generated.
4. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. agency tasked w/ the mission to curb the risks of AI, is facing budget constraints and may be forced to rely on private companies.
5. Bill Gates shares thoughts on 2023's advancements in AI and global challenges, highlighting AI's potential to shape a better future particularly in areas like medicine, education, mental health, and reducing global inequities.
6. Google shares their comprehensive approach to the 2024 elections including AI tools for policy enforcement and surfacing high-quality information to voters as they prepare for AI's impact on the misinformation landscape
7. Microsoft partners w/ Suno, an AI-based music creation tool, to integrate the capabilities into Microsoft Copilot, allowing users to create personalized songs with simple prompts.
8. Airbnb is using AI to clamp down on unauthorized New Year’s Eve parties, enforcing global booking restrictions.
9. The FTC proposes barring Rite Aid from using facial recognition software for 5 years due to improper use leading to false positives and racial bias.
10. DP Technology, a Chinese AI startup, is working on applying AI to molecular simulations, aiming for global expansion with a focus on "scientific research for humanity.
11. Amazon has implemented AI summaries to billions of customer reviews, however, they've been criticized for inaccuracies and exaggerating negative feedback.
12. A new report from the Stanford Internet Observatory reveals that popular AI image-generators have been trained on thousands of images of child sexual abuse.
💰 Top Funding News:
1.Anthropic is in talks to raise $750M from Menlo Ventures, valuing the company at $15Bn, amidst potential conflict between mission-driven goals and investor pressures for rapid AI commercialization.
2. Lightmatter Inc, a startup specializing in computing that uses light instead of electricity (a.k.a Photonic Computing), raised a $155M Series C Extension, led by GV and Viking Global Investors.
3. GreyOrange Inc, a leader in AI-driven fulfillment automation for warehouse and retail store operations, raised a $135M Series D led by Anthelion Capital.
4. Harvey AI, a secure generative AI platform for legal services, raised an $80M Series B, co-led by Elad Gil and Kleiner Perkins, w/ OpenAI Startup Fund and Sequoia.
5. VideoVerse, a SaaS platform using AI models, computer vision, and ML to transform full-length video into short-form content and highlights in real time for key rights-holders and content providers, raised $45M from Bluestone Equity Partners..
6. Red Cell Partners has raised a $91.2M fund focusing on pre-seed investments in AI driven healthcare and defense technology
7. ImpriMed, which builds AI-powered dog cancer treatment technology, raised a $23M Series A led by SoftBank Ventures Asia
8. Unnatural Products, a biotech company that combines parallel chemistry and AI-driven platforms to create synthetic macrocycles with drug-like properties, raised a $32M Series A, led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund (MGHIF) and TechBio-focused ARTIS Ventures.
9. Halcyon, an AI-powered anti-ransomware platform designed to defeat ransomware from the outset, raised a $40M Series B led by Bain Capital Ventures.
10. TuMeke, a computer vision platform that automatically assesses injury risk in manufacturing facilities, raised $10M Series A led by Intel Capital.
11. Agtonomy, a SaaS platform providing advanced autonomous and AI solutions for agriculture, raised a $22.5M Series A, led by Momenta w/ strategic partners including Doosan Bobcat North America and Toyota Ventures.
12. rabbit inc., an AI startup developing a personalized operating system (OS), raised a $10M Series A, led by existing investor Khosla Ventures.