8/22/23

∆ Tech in the News

AI Algorithms Lose Copyright Battle - A US District Court Judge has ruled that AI-generated artwork cannot be copyrighted — human authorship is a bedrock requirement.

Meta Set to Launch Threads Web - Threads launched only about a month and a half ago but is pushing to enhance its competitor status to X (formerly known as Twitter).

India to Launch Voice Activated AI-Payments - The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in India is set to launch AI-powered conversational payments, allowing users to make transactions through voice commands for over 400 Million citizens.

School’s Back for AI - Universities like U Mich and Cal Tech are shifting from banning AI to teaching effective use and incorporating it into curricula. With ~30% of students using AI, focus is shifting to offering training and workshops.

Recent Study Finds ‘No Obvious Barriers to Building Conscious AI’ - Despite this, no AI models today are showing signs of consciousness. The researchers have created a standardized assessment applicable to future models.

˚The hottest thing in tech this week

YouTube and Universal Music Group Launch AI Incubator - Copyright Rights for Artists in a GenAI World

Youtube took the first step to ensure rights for original works on its platform with this announcement. The incubator partnership already has brought in prominent artists including Sinatra's estate and rapper, Yo Gotti to back it. Artists in the YouTube program will get early access to the latest AI products.

There are concerns regarding the training data they use to create music, and it is still unclear who owns the copyright to music generated by AI, especially after the recent decision of a US district court ruling against AI copyright.

Songburst by PlayListAI creator Brett Bauman is one example of a secondary platform that provides artists funding for AOI access to their music. Music clips it can generate are capped at 30 seconds and may be of lower quality but plans are to extend the music clip length and enhance quality over time.

Deals We’re Watching

Founders to Watch and Opportunities to Catch

Closed Deals:

Bain Capital Leads Investment in No-Code AI - Akkio closed a $15M series A after several platform updates for 2023, including a chatbot for data exploration and a feature for automated data cleaning and preparation via chat.

Axiom Flies High with $350M - US Space tech Startup Axiom Space closed a Series C from Saudi and Korean investors to continue their commercial space station plans.

Micronotes to Go Community - The startup raised $7.5M from BankTech Ventures, Experian Ventures, and TTV in a series C to accelerate growth as they improve the efficiency of community banking/lending processes.

Arkifi's AI Financial Tools - The Startup raised a $9M seed round led by Khosla to develop AI tools to automate financial workflows for financial analysts.

AI Health Payments by Lyric - The Healthtech startup raised $90.9M launching its LyricIQ tool using AI, ML and predictive analytics for more efficient payments.

Companies to Watch:

Stars Align for Fantasy Life - John Legend, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and other big-name investors join the team to support fantasy sports and sports betting media startup founded by NBC Sports analyst Matthew Berry.

Andreessen Bio Backs AI-drug Startup - Genesis Therapeutics’ aims to expand its AI-enabled drug discovery pipeline to clinics. A $200M Series B included some huge names in Fidelity, BlackRock, and Nvidia ventures.

FlashIntel's All-in-One Sales Platform - The startup unlocks 400-500 sales calls per day and has appointed a former Salesforce and ZoomInfo exec as sales VP.

DP Technology AI for R&D - The Chinese firm is launching its AI-powered multi-scale simulation platform for R&D in industries like Biomedicine, New Energy, Chemicals, and Semiconductors after a $100M raise.

Open Deals:

Lesath Launching Satellites - The rocket engine and space vehicle maker is looking to close a $2M seed round to further its breakthrough engine tech. The firm has also applied for a $2M grant from the NSF.

Cybersecurity Firm Explores Sale - SentinelOne (MV $5Bn is exploring a sale after its shares lost 80% and market value is down from $28-$5Bn since 2021. The firm competes with CrowdStrike Holdings and its customers include major companies and the U.S. government.

IPO Watch

Instacart Eyes Sept Listing - Grocery delivery company Instacart’s IPO is planned for September despite recent challenges including a pay cut losing some shopping staff and weakening grocery demand.

Arm Reports 1% Fall in ARR - The much-anticipated September IPO is reportedly eying a valuation of between $60-$70Bn - double the price SoftBank paid.

*NEW* Tools

heyLibby - AI-Powered Chatbot for Small Businesses founded by Former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff.

After popular demand last week, we went ahead and launched the tool section. Our goal is to keep the focus on dealflow and innovative companies and we think that a tools section should be no different.

If you have a deal or company that you would like to host on our next issue, send us a line at @ [email protected].

Thanks for tuning in.

The Tech Buzz Team