Coding assistant Cursor raises $100M, reaches $2.5B valuation

The AI coding assistant Cursor has secured $100 million in Series B funding, reaching a post-money valuation of $2.6 billion. According to Marina Temkin of TechCrunch, the funding round was led by returning investor Thrive Capital, with Andreessen Horowitz also participating. The investment comes just four months after Cursor’s $60 million Series A round. The … Read more

New AI tool Backflip transforms text into 3D designs

Backflip has developed an AI-powered platform that converts text prompts, sketches, and photos into 3D designs. As reported by Charles Rollet for TechCrunch, the startup has secured $30 million in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz and New Enterprise Associates. The technology aims to simplify computer-aided design, reducing hours of specialized work to minutes. … Read more

Perplexity raises $500 million at $9 billion valuation

Perplexity AI Inc., a company developing an AI-powered search engine to compete with Google, has secured $500 million in new funding. According to reporting by Shirin Ghaffary for Bloomberg, the investment was led by Institutional Venture Partners and values the company at $9 billion. The valuation represents a dramatic increase from the company’s $3 billion … Read more

Study reveals strong influence of former Google employees in AI startup landscape

Former Google employees are playing a significant role in shaping the artificial intelligence industry, according to a new study by WriterBuddy.ai. The research found that 14 of the top 50 AI startups are led by ex-Google staff, with these companies collectively raising $14.7 billion in funding and achieving a combined valuation of $71.6 billion. The … Read more

xAI raises $6 billion in new funding round

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI has secured $6 billion in new funding from 97 investors, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Thursday. Kyle Wiggers reports for TechCrunch that the minimum investment was $77,593, with expected participants including Valor Equity Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz. The funding doubles xAI’s total … Read more

Vanguard warns of overvaluation in AI stock market

Vanguard’s chief economist Joe Davis cautions that investors have overestimated the short-term potential of artificial intelligence technologies, suggesting a market correction may be imminent. In an article published by the Financial Times, Davis explains that while AI could be more impactful than personal computers, current market valuations reflect unrealistic expectations. The stock market is pricing … Read more

Voice cloning startup PlayAI raises $21M amid safety concerns

PlayAI, a company developing AI-powered voice cloning and text-to-speech technology, has secured $21 million in seed funding led by 500 Startups and Kindred Ventures. As reported by Kyle Wiggers for TechCrunch, the Y Combinator-backed startup offers tools for creating synthetic voices, including a voice cloning feature and automated customer service agents. While the technology allows … Read more

Anomalo launches unstructured data quality monitoring for AI systems

Anomalo has expanded its data quality platform to handle unstructured data monitoring for enterprise AI applications. As reported by Sean Michael Kerner for VentureBeat, the new solution aims to reduce AI deployment time by 30% through improved data quality control. The platform adds structured metadata to unstructured documents, helping organizations identify sensitive information and data … Read more

AI company Writer secures major funding round

Generative AI platform Writer has raised $200 million in Series C funding at a $1.9 billion valuation. As reported by Kyle Wiggers for TechCrunch, the round was co-led by Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, and ICONIQ Growth, with participation from major tech investors including Salesforce and Adobe Ventures. The company, founded in 2020 by May Habib … Read more

Perplexity raises $500M at $9B valuation in fourth funding round this year

AI search startup Perplexity is set to raise $500 million at a $9 billion valuation, tripling its worth from a few months ago, according to people familiar with the matter. Reported by Berber Jin for the Wall Street Journal, this would be Perplexity’s fourth funding round this year, and the company has faced criticism from … Read more