Your Weekly Industry News Recap

The Raise Recap

NVIDIA AI has just released a new prototype framework called Universal Deep Research (UDR). 🧠 This framework is designed to create scalable and auditable AI research agents. 🧑‍🔬 Read More

Google just announced new AI agents for Chrome, Ads, and Analytics. 💻 These new tools will help with things like campaign recommendations and data visualization. 📊 Read More

In an interesting counterargument to the mainstream, an AWS scientist argues that "hallucinations" in large language models could actually be a good thing. 🧐 They say these unpredictable moments might be key to creativity and problem-solving. ✨ Read More

AWS just launched Amazon Bedrock AgentCore, a new service for creating scalable AI agents. 🚀 This will help developers build powerful AI tools more easily. 👨‍💻 Read More

Yikes, Snorkel AI, a Silicon Valley unicorn, just announced layoffs as it cuts its workforce. 😔 The article discusses the challenges facing some tech companies, even big ones. 📉 Read more

This article explores a new concern: while AI can improve threat detection, it might also make human cybersecurity skills rusty. 🛡️ It's a debate about how we can best work with AI in security. 🤔 Read More

Huawei has launched its new Xinghe AI Fabric 2.0 to help companies create better data center networks. 🌐 The press release talks about how this technology will make networks more intelligent and efficient. 💡 Read More

The Alberta Energy Regulator is adopting 3CLogic's Voice AI and contact center platform to improve its services. 🤖 This new tech will help them with things like customer interactions and internal operations. 🗣️ Read More

This article talks about a very serious topic: the potential for Big Tech to be held liable for chatbots that give dangerous advice. ⚖️ It explores how courts are starting to treat AI chatbots as "products" in liability lawsuits. 💬 Read more

OpenAI's latest research on AI models that can deliberately lie is pretty wild. 😲 The article dives into the implications of this finding for the future of AI. 🧐 Read More

This article from WP touches on a pretty loaded topic - the bias found in Generative AI models, more specifically image generation of people. 🖼️ It shows how unchecked topic bias can perpetuate harmful stereotypes. 😔

Some argue that AI agents alone won't solve a company's problems unless they have a strong technical foundation first. 🏗️ I can’t help but agree! With emphasis that companies should focus on data and infrastructure before jumping on the AI hype train. 🚂 Read More

LAUNCH ALERT! Introducing Pulumi Neo, which they say is the first of its kind for modern AI infrastructure. 💻 The platform helps developers manage and deploy AI applications with ease. 🚀 Read More

Enterprise network management just got a pretty smart upgrade! Ribbon just launched a new AI platform called Acumen for autonomous networking. 🌐 The platform is designed to help service providers and enterprises manage their networks better using AI. 💡 Read More

Convex has chosen Docosoft's VEW AI platform to help with its claims management. 🤝 This new partnership aims to improve efficiency and decision-making for Convex. 📈 Read Mode

ScaleKit is an up and coming startups making sure AI agents are transparent and accountable. 🕵️ The more AI is deployed with ability to impact, the more we need trust in those system’s actions 🔒 Read More

As of late, I’m exposed more and more to the growing concern of job losses linked to AI. Studies on the use of OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude are raising concerns about potential job losses. 😟 The article explores how AI could impact the future workforce. 💼 Read More

California's new proposed bill, SB 53, and how it could put a check on big AI companies. ⚖️ It's all about new regulations and their potential impact. 📜 Read More

TLDR; this new proposed Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act (TFAIA), focuses on "frontier models" developed by "large frontier developers," which are defined as companies with over $500 million in annual revenue. It requires these companies to publish their safety and security protocols and report "critical safety incidents" to the state. The bill also includes provisions that protect employees and contractors who report critical risks or violations of the law.

Yes, it’s coming REAL soon to the interactive World Regulation map I gave you last week!

Check out the map here below

Canva acquired the AI startup MagicBrief for $225 million to boost its platform with AI-powered marketing tools. 🎨 This is part of Canva's strategy to get ready for its upcoming IPO. 📈 Read More

Rekord, a startup that helps with music rights and royalties, just scored $2.1 million in a pre-seed funding round. 🎶 This funding will help them expand their platform and reach more customers who need to manage their music data. 📈 Read More

Appzen just raised a huge $180 million to grow its autonomous finance platform. 🚀 The company's goal is to make finance operations more efficient and automated using AI. 🤖 Read More

Veezoo just closed a $6 million Series A funding round to grow its agentic analytics platform worldwide. 🌎 This platform uses AI agents to help businesses get awesome insights from their data. 📊 Read More

Splash Financial raised $70 million in a Series C funding round to expand its AI-powered lending platform. 🤑 The company connects people with loans and just launched a new home equity product. 🏡 Read More

Ozak AI's presale has already brought in over $3.3 million! 💸 With predictions of huge gains, investors are super excited about this new kind of AI. 🤩 Read More

Centari, a legal tech startup, just raised $14 million in a Series A funding round. ⚖️ They'll use the money to hire more people and improve their platform, which helps with complex legal deals. 💼 Read More

MarqVision just got a whopping $48 million in Series B funding! 💰 This AI company helps brands fight against counterfeits and protect their intellectual property. 🛡️ Read More

Ultralytics, the company behind some open-source computer vision models, closed a $30 million Series A funding round. 🚀 They'll use this cash to speed up the development of their open-source vision AI. 🤖 Read More

Welcome to the “Unicorn Watch” block of the raises - right here for outlandishly large raise news of the week:

Kertos, an AI company focused on data privacy and security, just raised $14 million in a Series A round. 🔒 They plan to use the new funds to expand their platform and help more companies with data compliance. 🛡️ Read More

Markup AI just raised a cool $27.5 million in funding! 🤑 They use AI to help teams manage feedback on design and development projects, making collaboration a breeze. ✨ Read More

Calgary startup Ultimarii has secured another $3.2 million in funding, bringing their total to $5.2 million! 🏗️ They use AI to speed up the regulatory process for big infrastructure projects. 🚀 Read More

Druid AI just raised a huge $31 million Series C to grow its agentic AI platform. 🎉 They also have a new CEO, Joseph Kim, leading the company. 💼 Read More

Workday has acquired AI startup Sana for $1.1 billion to boost its AI capabilities. 🤝 Sana's technology will help Workday's platform with things like proactive task automation and personalized learning. 🧠 Read More

A Seattle startup called Ethosphere just raised $2.5 million to analyze retail worker conversations using AI. 🎙️ They use wearable microphones to help improve employee performance and sales. 📈 Creepy, or overoptimizing? I don’t know, but it’s happening! Read More

F2 AI just raised $10 million in funding to help businesses get better at managing data. 📊 They use AI to help companies automate data workflows and create smarter business insights. 🧠 Read More

CreatorDB has secured an oversubscribed $4.7 million Series A funding round to grow its AI infrastructure for influencer marketing. 💸 The company plans to use the money to expand its U.S. operations and launch a self-serve platform. 🚀 Read More

Egyptian AI startup Intella has secured $12.5 million in Series A funding to become a leader in Arabic speech AI. 🗣️ The company plans to expand its technology and its presence in the Middle East. 🌍 Read More

Plumerai just secured an $8.7 million Series A to expand its tiny AI cameras. 📸 Their technology allows for on-device AI that is super efficient and private. 🔒 Read More

Doctronic just secured $20 million to scale its AI doctor platform. 🩺 Their goal is to make healthcare more accessible and efficient with AI. 🏥 Read More