Confusing Times for the New York Times 💫📰 Raises Galore and Acquisitions! 💵

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For those that are new around here, this is an extension of my weekly newsletter where I highlight new and innovative AI products that are worth exploring.

Hey hey!

Happy Wednesday!

Here’s your news in newsletter!

Riding off the high of yesterday’s catchup recap, Today’s News issue covers the news from the past week, so it’ll be short and sweet.

In this Issue:

• Your Weekly Industry News Recap

• Investors; We need to talk

• The Raise Recap

The Headliner: Confusing Times for the New York Times 💫📰

After much litigation embroiling copyrights, OpenAI and the New York Times, we find that the news organization has taken a bit of a different angle to its addressing its means of production.⚖️🔥 They’ve just greenlit AI 🤖for internal use. Its product and editorial teams the green light to use tools for summaries, SEO headlines, and even coding! ✍️ Staff can use AI for brainstorming and research but not for drafting full articles or handling sensitive info. 🚫 The Times is also testing AI-powered voice articles and translations, while approving tools like GitHub Copilot and Google’s Vertex AI. 🌍Read More

Your Weekly Industry News Recap

• The Emergence of a Two-Tier AI Economy
  🌐💼 A new two-tier AI economy is emerging, with significant implications for businesses and consumers alike. Read more: Yahoo Finance

• Insurtech Funding Falls as AI Investments Surge
  📉🤖 While insurtech funding dips in Q4 2024, AI investments are on the rise, reshaping the insurance landscape. Read more: Insurance Business Magazine

• Researchers Find Less Data Needed for Training LLMs
  🧠📊 New research suggests that large language models (LLMs) don't require massive datasets for effective reasoning tasks. Read more: VentureBeat

• Fabric Introduces Hybrid AI for Healthcare
  🏥🤖 Fabric unveils Hybrid AI solutions to provide safe and accessible healthcare, earning industry leader recognition from Frost & Sullivan. Read more: Kron4

• Cloud4C Strengthens AI Capabilities with Microsoft Azure Specializations
  ☁️💪 Cloud4C secures dual AI specializations on Microsoft Azure, bolstering its AI service offerings. Read more: Morningstar

• Ascendion Named Market Leader in Generative AI Services
  🏆🤖 For the second consecutive year, Ascendion is recognized as a market leader in generative AI services. Read more: KTLA

• AI Innovation Driven by Applications, Not LLMs
  💡🚀 Experts suggest that the path toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) will be driven by practical applications rather than large language models. Read more: [Inside AI News](https://insideainews.com/2025/02/13/toward-agi-ai-

Investors; We Need To Talk…

Over the past year of reporting on AI, We’ve watched astronomic valuations get slapped on startups building foundational infrastructure—chipsets, core models, and research labs. But here’s the thing: we’re in a sandbox era, where everyone’s experimenting, and the real winners won’t be the ones selling the newest iteration of the shovel. They’ll be the ones digging up value that people actually use. We’re in an exploratory phase that I like to call the sandbox era! What does this mean for investors? It means your chips might want to be balanced across a few positions. Which ones? Read the whole article on the state of funding for the AI space.

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The Raise Recap 📈💰 

• Aramco Ventures Backs AI Startup
  🛢️💰 Aramco's venture arm invests in a Telefónica-backed AI startup, signaling a strong push into the tech sector. Read more: Bloomberg

• Figure AI Eyes New Funding at $3.9 Billion Valuation
  🤖💸 Robotics startup Figure AI is in talks for new funding, aiming for a whopping $3.9 billion valuation. Read more: Reuters

• Appier Acquires AdCreative.ai
  🛍️🤝 Appier snaps up AdCreative.ai to lead the charge in generative AI-powered advertising and marketing innovation. Read more: PR Newswire

• AppliedAI Closes $55 Million Series A
  🧠💡 AppliedAI secures $55 million in a Series A round led by G42, boosting AI innovation in the Middle East. Read more: Wamda

• AI-Powered Sports Media Company Raises $13 Million
  🏀🎥 An AI-driven sports media startup raises $13 million, with backing from Alexis Ohanian and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Read more: NBC Philadelphia

• Sardine AI Raises $70M to Combat Fraud
  🐟🔒 Sardine AI secures $70 million to enhance productivity for fraud and compliance teams. Read more: Business Wire

• ConverzAI Inks $16M Series A
  🧑‍💼🤖 AI-driven HR platform ConverzAI raises $16 million in Series A funding to revolutionize human resources. Read more: Venture Capital Journal

• Paxton Secures $22 Million for Legal AI
  ⚖️💼 Paxton raises $22 million in Series A funding to transform the legal industry with AI solutions. Read more: Pulse 2.0

• Tines Raises €120.7 Million for AI-Powered Workflow Platform
  🔄🤖 Tines secures €120.7 million to enhance its AI-driven workflow automation platform. Read more: EU-Startups

• Encharge AI Raises Over $100 Million
  💡💰 Encharge AI secures over $100 million in funding to bring AI inference chips to market. Read more: Reuters

There’s A New AI Agent Competition 💰 🏆

“ GDA Capital and Alpaca Network, in partnership with Founders Hub Network & Devolved AI, are proud to announce the inaugural Next Top AI Agent, the world’s largest AI agent start-up competition bringing together over 4 million developers and tech leaders virtually to build and present their most impactful AI agents over the course of 1 month. This event features a prize pool exceeding $500,000 in grants and prizes and reaches a global audience of top innovators and enthusiasts.” GET HYPED

Stay well, and see you next week!

-✌🏽 Sam