Google is testing out an AI therapist
⚡ Today’s Highlights
📰 News: Google is testing out an AI therapist
💰 Funding: Mitra Chem, Helm.ai, Aether, Lindus Health, DynamoFL, and Margo
🌎 Content: You might be able to talk to your pets soon with the power of AI!
📰 Today's Top Stories
Google Tests an A.I. Assistant That Offers Life Advice
(7 min read) (Source: The New York Times)
TLDR: Earlier this year, Google merged its acquired research lab DeepMind with its own artificial intelligence team Brain, aiming to bolster AI technology. In the time since, the combined groups experimented with novel tools that potentially transform generative AI, like OpenAI's ChatGPT, into personal life coaches.
Google DeepMind tested generative AI's ability in performing diverse tasks, including offering life advice, planning instructions, and tutoring tips.
Google collaborated with Scale AI to evaluate the AI assistant's capabilities, involving more than 100 experts in various fields to ensure quality assessments.
The Big Picture: Google's pursuit of generative AI as a personal life coach signifies AI's broad applicability, including potentially revolutionizing therapy accessibility and affordability. However, this innovation raises substantial concerns about the quality of advice it might offer and the privacy implications associated with AI model training. This echoes the intricate challenge of harnessing AI's potential while navigating the pitfalls of reliability and user privacy.
OpenAI acquires Global Illumination
(2 min read) (Source: OpenAI)
TLDR: OpenAI has acquired AI-focused startup Global Illumination, signaling its first public acquisition. The startup's team is set to enhance OpenAI's core products, including ChatGPT by building creative tools, infrastructure and digital experiences.
Global Illumination, backed by Paradigm, Benchmark, and Slow, has contributed to projects for Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Pixar, and Riot Games, indicating expertise in diverse digital experiences.
OpenAI's strategic move aligns with its pursuit of commercial success, aiming to leverage acquisitions and investments to achieve substantial revenue growth, in a landscape where AI's economic potential is burgeoning.
Adobe Express now has AI-powered features to take on Canva
(3 min read) (Source: The Verge)
TLDR: Adobe Express, the cloud-based design platform, is integrating AI-powered features through its Firefly generative AI model. The platform aims to simplify content creation for non-design professionals, offering templates for graphics, videos, and more.
Users can access the latest version of Adobe Express on desktop web for free, with premium features included in the Adobe Express Premium plan and an enterprise tier for collaborative workflows.
Adobe Express incorporates generative AI to produce custom images and text effects using text prompts in over 100 languages, competing with design app Canva's AI-powered features.
Consulting giant McKinsey unveils its own generative AI tool for employees: Lilli
(8 min read) (Source: VentureBeat)
TLDR: McKinsey has introduced its own AI tool called Lilli, developed by the ClienTech team under CTO Jacky Wright. Lilli is a chat application that provides information, insights, data, and recommendations to employees based on over 100,000 documents and transcripts.
Lilli has been in beta use by around 7,000 employees and has significantly reduced research and planning time, offering responses to queries and tasks in minutes.
Lilli features two tabs: "GenAI Chat" sources data from a generalized large language model (LLM), while "Client Capabilities" retrieves responses from McKinsey's extensive document repository.
McKinsey envisions Lilli assisting consultants throughout client projects, from initial research to drafting plans, using available LLMs and acting as a secure intermediary layer for data retrieval and responses.
👀 More Reading:
One think tank vs. ‘god-like’ AI (POLITICO)
‘AI cannot taste the way a chef can’: are chatbots a threat to fine dining? (The Guardian)
Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt to launch AI-science moonshot (Semafor)
Inside the messy ethics of making war with machines (MIT Technology Review)
AI is coming for your audiobooks. You’re right to be worried. (The Washington Post)
💰 Funding News
1. Mitra Chem, a lithium-ion battery materials product company using an in-house ML tech advantage to shorten the lab-to-production timeline by over 90%, raised a $40M first close of a $60M Series B.
Round led by GM, with participation from other investors including Social Capital, Fontinalis Partners, Earthshot Ventures, and more.
Funding is for supporting the development, deployment, and commercialization of U.S.-made iron-based cathode materials to power affordable and accessible EV batteries
2. Helm.ai, a provider of next-generation AI software for autonomous driving and robotics, raised a $55M Series C.
Helm.ai software focuses on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and Level 4 autonomous driving.
Round led by Freeman Group (Brandon Freeman, President) and included investments from ACVC Partners, Amplo, Honda Motor, Goodyear Ventures, and Sungwoo Hitech.
Funding is for research and development, productization of self-driving technologies, and strengthening commercial engagements with automotive and robotics sector partners.
3. Aether, a molecular assembler platform that utilizes robotics, ML, and synthetic biology to extract lithium from untapped sources, raised a $49M Series A.
Aether’s platform has applications across industries including automotive, healthcare, and electronics.
Round led by Natural Capital and Unless, with participation from other investors.
Funding is for scaling Aether's platform, expanding its engineering, machine learning, and hardware teams, and further advancing the development of nanoscale machines for enhanced product creation.
4. Lindus Health, a London-based startup that accelerates clinical trials three times faster than the industry standard, raised a $18M Series A.
Their platform combines a world-class clinical operations team with a pioneering software platform that employs real-time data monitoring and ML to predict trial outcomes and enhance trial designs.
Round led by Creandum (Fredrik Cassel, General Partner), with participation from investors including PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, firstminute, Seedcamp, Hambro Perks, Amino Collective, Page One Ventures, and Calm/Storm, as well as angel investors.
Funding is for further investing in Lindus Health's tech platform, enabling the company to deliver clinical trials in new and more efficient ways.
5. DynamoFL, a software that enables enterprises to utilize large language models (LLMs) while fine-tuning them on sensitive data, raised a $15.1M Series A.
The software offers solutions to enhance LLM data security and mitigate risks related to data leakage.
Round co-led by Canapi Ventures and Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from Formus Capital and Soma Capital.
Funding is for expanding DynamoFL's product offerings and bolster its team of privacy researchers.
6. Marqo, an AI-powered search engine that offers an end-to-end multimodal vector search experience, raised a $5.2M Seed round.
The search engine utilizes ML models to provide accurate search results based on understanding content and meaning, supporting text and image searches.
Round led by Blackbird Ventures, with participation from Creator Fund, January Capital, and Cohere’s co-founders, Ivan Zhang and Aidan Gomez.
Funding is for scaling Marqo's existing cloud service and further develop its search technology.
🌎 Fresh Content
1. Being able to talk to our beloved pets has been a sci-fi dream for years. Now with the help of AI that may be just around the corner.
Hear how scientists are using AI to decipher various forms of animal communication and what we might uncover from understanding their chatter.
2. George Hotz, famous for being the first to hack the iPhone and PlayStation, and then founder of self-driving startup Comma.ai, debated AI researcher and critic Eliezer Yudkowsky on AI safety.
They cover the debate from various angles including the presumed technical evolution underway, the potential existential threat that is looming, and the moral and ethical concerns we should all be considering as super intelligence continues to be developed.
3. A couple of days ago we covered how Amazon is jumping into the AI chip race by designing its own custom silicon for the AI era. Get an inside look into their process and what their plans are in this report from CNBC.