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Over the past few weeks, there has been no shortage of announcements related to advancements in Generative AI technology. In part-one of this two-part blog post series, the 451 Alliance shared the most-recent product releases and updates for Generative AI technology. In part-two of this blog post series, we’ll be highlightight funding/M&A trends, and regulatory changes in this space.
Funding and M&A trends
IBM has been active in acquisitions recently, acquiring DataStax, a NoSQL database company known for its support of Apache Cassandra. DataStax has ventured into generative AI with its AstraDB database and acquired LangFlow to bolster its GenAI strategy, RAGStack. Additionally, IBM has acquired HashiCorp, a company specializing in infrastructure management and security, highlighting its products’ capabilities in automating and securing hybrid cloud and generative AI infrastructures.
NVIDIA has reportedly acquired Gretel Labs, a synthetic data generator, for a substantial nine-figure amount exceeding Gretel’s last valuation of $320 million. Meanwhile, x.AI has taken over Natural Synthetics, known as HotShot, which developed text-to-video and text-to-GIF models with a small team of four developers.
UiPath has acquired the UK-based startup Peak AI to strengthen its vertical AI solutions strategy. Peak AI specializes in AI applications for product inventory and pricing and had raised $120 million since its inception in 2014.
Anthropic has secured $3.5 billion in funding, led by Lightspeed Ventures, valuing the company at $61.5 billion. The funding will support the development of new AI systems and expand computing resources, with plans to grow internationally, particularly in Asia and Europe.
Bria, an image generator startup, raised $40 million in a Series B round, attracting investments from several firms, including Red Dot Capital and Intel Capital. Reflection AI, aiming to create a “superintelligent autonomous coding system,” announced a $105 million Series A round, co-led by Charles River Ventures and Lightspeed Ventures.
BlackRock has announced that x.AI and NVIDIA will join the AI Infrastructure Partnership fund, collaborating with GE Vernova and NextEra Energy to provide energy for their projects.
Safe Superintelligence, a startup founded by Ilya Sutskever, has raised an additional $2 billion from Greenoaks Capital Partners. The company, still without a product, focuses on achieving “superintelligence” in the long term.
Regulatory changes and policy
In the US, President Donald Trump criticized the $52.7 billion CHIPS Act, which aims to bolster the domestic semiconductor industry. During a speech to Congress, he labeled the act as “horrible, horrible” raising concerns among semiconductor companies about potential reductions in funding and a shift from incentives to penalties.
Reports indicate that the UK government is postponing its AI regulation plans, possibly to align more closely with the US approach. This delay might also reflect Prime Minister Keri Starmer’s goal to enhance the UK’s AI sector. The proposed legislation included a mandate for large AI models to undergo assessment by the UK’s AI Security Institute.
Japan has enacted an AI misuse bill that requires corporate cooperation with various AI measures. The law stipulates that if individual rights are violated, the government will investigate and demand corrective actions. In cases of malicious conduct, the offending company’s name will be publicly disclosed. However, the bill does not specify penalties for improper practices. A task force led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will oversee AI policy and investment strategies.
The EU is implementing its AI Act, with Article 5 now in effect, prohibiting AI practices that significantly manipulate behavior to cause harm. It also bans the indiscriminate collection of facial images from the internet or CCTV footage for facial recognition databases.
Meta Platforms Inc. is dealing with ongoing copyright challenges, including new lawsuits from three publishing trade groups in Paris over economic “parasitism.” The company also faces multiple AI copyright cases in the US, with a federal judge recently allowing the Kadrey v. Meta Platforms, Inc. case to proceed, despite some claims being dismissed.
China’s Cyberspace Administration has introduced new labeling requirements, mandating that all AI-generated content be distinctly marked as such, effective September 2024.
Generative AI: From Hype to Value
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