Three startups in the artificial intelligence space—MosaicML, NoTraffic, and CalypsoAI—have raised a combined $2 billion in recent rounds, signaling an intensified interest from investors in the dynamic and profitable AI sector.
The funding influx underscores how venture capitalists are recognizing the potential of AI to disrupt industries, spark innovation, and deliver hefty returns.
Investors' burgeoning interest in AI is hard to ignore. AI stocks have been on fire since the beginning of 2023, and AI has gotten a never-seen-before level of interest among the mainstream population. Many tech businesses are looking for ways to integrate AI into their products and services to increase efficiency—and their appeal to investors.
Databricks Nabs MosaicML: Generative AI Goes Big
The most important announcement of the week comes from MosaicML, a pioneer in large scale neural network training and inference, which has recently announced that it was acquired by Databricks to build a new generative AI platform. The deal is worth $1.3 billion.
If that number is not impressive enough, consider this number as well:
$21M per employee
That's the price Databricks is paying for MosaicML ($1.3B for 62 employees)
If you're going to be aggressively acquiring Generative AI startups, you're going to have to pay up
It may turn out to be cheap in the long term given the size of the opportunity
— Matt Turck (@mattturck) June 26, 2023
"$21M per employee, that's the price Databricks is paying for MosaicML," wrote venture capitalist Matt Turck on Twitter. "If you're going to be aggressively acquiring Generative AI startups, you're going to have to pay up."
MosaicML has gained attention for its work on generative AI infrastructure, model training, and model deployment, positioning it near the forefront of the current generative AI wave. The company, founded by a team of researchers-turned-entrepreneurs, prides itself on democratizing AI, encouraging the development of custom models that reflect the data, wisdom, and creativity of individual users rather than centralized, generic alternatives.
The joining of MosaicML and Databricks is expected to expedite the creation of custom AI models. The goal behind the collaboration is to encourage a flurry of unique AI models, potentially bringing about a seismic shift in the generative AI landscape.
CalypsoAI Raises $23 Million: Driving Secure Enterprise Adoption of Generative AI
CalypsoAI, a frontrunner in AI Security, secured $23 million in a Series A-1 financing round. The funding will be channeled into product development, talent acquisition, and market expansion for its Large Language Model (LLM) security solutions. With increasing demand, CalypsoAI is well-positioned to make generative AI and LLMs safer and more reliable for enterprise use.
CalypsoAI's most recent release, the CalypsoAI Moderator, promises to revolutionize the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), providing robust controls that allow organizations to securely and responsibly tap into their potential. With this fresh injection of funding, CalypsoAI plans to drive product development and go-to-market investments.
The adoption of generative AI is expanding at an unprecedented rate. As Decrypt recently reported, the global management consulting firm McKinsey estimates that this field alone could bring $4.4 trillion to the global economy each year, if things keep developing the way they do. But considering all the concerns that have been arising lately, CalypsoAI is focusing on making it possible for organizations to safely scale innovation, while being resilient against potential cybersecurity threats.
NoTraffic Raises $50 Million to Integrate AI Into the Next Generation of Mobility Infrastructure
Lastly, NoTraffic, a startup that builds AI-powered traffic management solutions, recently completed a successful $50 million Series B funding round.
The company's primary offering is a plug-and-play, autonomous AI-powered platform paired with a software-defined SaaS solution, allowing real-time traffic management. NoTraffic's technology integrates into existing transportation infrastructure and reimagines traditional traffic systems, aiming to introduce a future where traffic control is governed by real-time AI mechanisms.
With the newly secured funding, NoTraffic says it will expand its trailblazing technology to international markets, preparing for a mobility infrastructure that can readily adapt to the advent of autonomous vehicles.
AI: The Trend to Watch in 2023
These investments show a growing trend among venture capitalists and investors towards AI startups. The potential economic impact of AI—$15.7 trillion by 2030—combined with its transformative capabilities across various sectors, makes the AI industry a compelling investment opportunity.
As AI continues to evolve and investors grow more attuned to its potential, we can expect to see even more interest—and funding—in this sector.
In light of these developments, it seems clear that the future will be less about artificial intelligence as a standalone concept, and more about how humans and AI can combine to foster a better world. Before long, we may be looking forward to an AI startup that automates the process of writing punchlines to wrap up news articles. That would be really great.