European AI startups can succeed by building on US platforms, says tech investor

Niklas Zennström, co-founder of Skype and prominent European tech investor, believes European startups can thrive in AI despite the significant funding gap with US competitors. In an interview with the Financial Times, as reported by Tim Bradshaw, Zennström explained that European companies can succeed by developing applications on top of established AI platforms from companies …

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ChatGPT Pro subscription operates at a loss for OpenAI

OpenAI is currently losing money on its $200 monthly ChatGPT Pro subscription due to higher-than-expected usage by subscribers. According to reporting by Kyle Wiggers for TechCrunch, CEO Sam Altman personally set the price, expecting it to be profitable. The premium service, launched in late 2024, provides access to advanced AI models and removes usage limits. …

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AI medical transcription tools see major investment boost

Investment in AI-powered medical note-taking applications doubled to $800 million in 2024, marking a significant shift in healthcare technology adoption. According to a report by Madhumita Murgia in the Financial Times, this surge reflects growing competition between Big Tech companies and startups in the $26 billion AI healthcare market. Microsoft’s Nuance DAX Copilot and solutions …

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Record Investment in Generative AI Reaches $56 Billion

Venture capital investment in generative AI companies hit an unprecedented $56 billion in 2024, marking a 192% increase from the previous year. According to reporting by Kyle Wiggers for TechCrunch, this funding was distributed across 885 deals worldwide. Major contributors to this surge included substantial investments in industry leaders, with Databricks securing $10 billion, xAI …

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Nvidia acquires Run:ai and makes software open source

Nvidia has completed its acquisition of Run:ai, a software company specializing in GPU cloud management for artificial intelligence, as reported by Dean Takahashi. While the purchase price wasn’t officially disclosed, earlier reports valued the deal at $700 million. The company announced plans to make Run:ai’s software platform open source, potentially allowing it to support GPUs …

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SoftBank Plans $100 Billion AI Chip Investment

Masayoshi Son, founder of SoftBank Group Corp., is developing plans to enter the AI chip market with a projected $100 billion investment over the next four years. According to a report by Min Jeong Lee and Ian King for Bloomberg, Son aims to challenge Nvidia’s dominance in AI hardware. The initiative involves leveraging SoftBank’s 90% …

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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 …

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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. …

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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 …

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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 …

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