Google expands NotebookLM & Tech leaders back Trump.

STARTUPS RAISING MILLIONS

Startup Funding Updates

Text-AI Firm Raises £1.6M UK

• Wordnerds, a Gateshead, UK-based business that uses AI to train computers to understand unstructured text, raised £1.6M in funding.

• The round consisted of £720K from two of Northstar Ventures’ funds, with £160K from the Northstar EIS Growth Fund and £560K from the North East Innovation Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund.

AI-Powered Recruitment Tool Raises $3M

• Pin, a NYC-based provider of an AI-powered recruitment tool, raised $3M in funding.

• The round was led by Expa Ventures.

Robotics AI Research Firm Raises $10.5 M

• Eureka Robotics, a Singapore-based robotics and AI research company, raised USD 10.5M in Series A funding.

• The round was led by B Capital, with participation from new investors Airbus Ventures, Maruka Corporation, G. K. Goh Ventures, and returning investors UTEC and ATEQ.

AI-Driven Robotic Inspection Firm Raises $60 M

• ANYbotics, a Zurich, Switzerland-based AI-driven robotic inspection solutions company, raised additional $60M in funding.

• The round was led by Qualcomm Ventures & Supernova Invest with participation from new investors including TDK Ventures and existing investors Walden Catalyst, NGP Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Swisscanto, and Swisscom Ventures.

AI-Powered Silicon Chip Firm Raises $11.5M

• Azimuth AI, a Sacramento, CA- and Hyderabad, India-based startup producing highly customized silicon products for edge and embedded computing markets, raised $11.5M in funding.

• The round was led by Cyient, and Moneta Ventures, with participation from Growth Factory and AUM ventures.

Generative AI Fintech Platform Raises $4.3M

• Finny, a NYC-based provider of a fintech platform using Gen AI, raised $4.3M in Seed funding.

• The round was led by Maple VC and HNVR, with participation from Crossbeam Ventures, Liquid 2, Y Combinator, Morningstar CEO Kunal Kapoor, Gusto CPO Tomer London and Deel COO Dan Westgarth. 

KEY AI STORIES

What Companies Are Doing With AI

Meta asks the government to block OpenAI’s switch to a for-profit

• Meta urges California AG to block OpenAI's transition from non-profit to for-profit status, arguing that using charitable assets for private gains violates the company's original mission.

• OpenAI, which raised billions as a non-profit, must return recent investments with interest if it fails to convert to for-profit within two years - highlighting the high stakes of this transition.

• In a surprising alliance, Meta supports Elon Musk's position against OpenAI, despite recent tensions between Musk and Zuckerberg, suggesting the significance of this issue transcends personal rivalries. (Continue Here)

OpenAI cofounder Ilya says the way AI is built is about to change

• OpenAI's former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever declares we've reached "peak data" for AI training, comparing internet data to fossil fuels - a finite resource that's running out.

• Future AI systems will evolve beyond current pattern-matching to become more "agentic" and capable of true reasoning, though this may make them more unpredictable - similar to how AI chess players can surprise even grandmasters.

• Drawing parallels with evolutionary biology, Sutskever suggests AI development might discover new scaling patterns beyond current pre-training methods, just as human ancestors showed unique brain-to-body mass ratios compared to other mammals. (Continue Here)

Silicon Valley Shifts to Trump After AI Control Fears

• After "horrifying" meetings about AI control with government, Marc Andreessen turns to Trump for tech-friendly policies.

• Trump responds by promising Silicon Valley freedom to innovate, Appointing VC David Sacks as AI czar.

• Major tech leaders join the shift, with OpenAI's Altman Pledging $1M to Trump's inaugural fund. (Continue Here)

OpenAI whistleblower found dead at 26 in San Francisco apartment

• Former OpenAI researcher Suchir Balaji, 26, found deceased in SF, After recently voicing concerns about AI copyright issues.

• One day before his death, Balaji was named in a copyright lawsuit Against OpenAI, following his public criticism of the company.

• Known for his work on ChatGPT and GPT-4, Balaji had left OpenAI Believing the technology could harm society. (Continue Here)

Google debuts NotebookLM for enterprises

• Google expands NotebookLM to enterprise with NotebookLM Plus, Adding security features and team collaboration tools.

• The platform joins Google's new Agentspace ecosystem, Offering AI agents for document analysis and translation.

• NotebookLM adds interactive podcast feature and redesign, Letting users join AI-hosted conversations about their content. (Continue Here)

EMERGING AI TOOLS - DON’T MISS THESE

Paperguide: AI Research Assistant

Paperguide is an all in one AI Research Assistant, Reference Manager & AI Writing Assistant. Paper guide was previously known as ChatWithPDF aka Chat With PDF.

Mentara: Pitch to legendary VCs

Mentara is AI-powered platform to practice startup pitching with VCs, perfect your deck, and negotiate term sheets like a pro.

Animate AI: AI video generator for animated series

Animate AI is the world's first all-in-one AI video generator for animation video series. Fast, Simple, Stunning! No hassle, just magic!

PUBLISHED PAPERS AND ARTICLES

Something is cooking in AI Industry

a16z request for AI Founders

Recently a16z published an article where they request upcoming founders to work on some of few ideas like: advanced, personalized memory bank, enabling real-time collaboration, specialized video generation, integrated qualitative and quantitative analysis, and the emergence of autonomous chatbots operating in decentralized networks.

Ilya Sutskever talk at NeurIPS 2024 in Vancouver, Canada

In recent talk, Ilya (Former Cofounder Open AI) declares we've reached "peak data" for AI training, comparing internet data to fossil fuels - a finite resource that's running out. Highly recommend video to watch.

AI EVENTS

Upcoming AI Talks

• CAIT 2024 - 5th Conference on Artificial Intelligence Technology | Chine - Registered Here

• ICLAIML - 25 - International Conference on Logics in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - Registered Here

• ICAIMLH-25 - International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Healthcare - Registered Here

• EAI AICON 2025 - International Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Communications and Networks - Registered Here

AI JOB OPPORTUNITIES

• Karbon - Collaborative work management software for accounting firms

  • AI Engineer | Sydney - Apply Here

  • Revenue Operations Specialist | Remote - Apply Here

• Raylu - AI for Financial Services

  • AI Engineer | USA - Apply Here

  • Full-stack Product Engineer | USA - Apply Here

• Aicade - AI tool for creating 2D games

  • AI Engineer | Remote (India) - Apply Here

  • Senior Product Designer | Remote - Apply Here